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A 3-seater tandem bicycle is called a?
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Whats a 2-3 seater bicycle called?
Whats a 2-3 seater bicycle called?
Answers:
double-pedal bike?
or bi-bicycle?...
A 2 seater is commonly called a bicycle built for two. A 3 seater is more like a challenge in motion.
tricycle or tribike
I've always head a two-seater bike called a "tandem" bike.
tandem bicycle
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Tandem
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Kinesics is more commonly known as what form of communication?
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Makers of Four Wheel Bicycles and Adult Trikes
Pedicabs
Four Wheel Bike Manufacturers
Adbikes of the UK has a line of four wheelers with high cargo areas that can carry a billboard ad. They also have a 4 wheel courier and load carrying model. Both models have electrical assistance as well as pedal power.
Alternative Vehicles has a line of four wheelers and trikes mostly made by Pacific Cycles in Asia. Their 2 Rider model is a surrey-style bike but a little lower than most surreys, with two active pedaling positions and a kids seat adaptor or cargo area up front. It can tow a trailer. All wheels are suspended, and it has cup holders.
Berg Toys of The Netherlands has four wheelers that look like pedaled go-karts, and tricycles as well, including one with an articulated front wheel for body-lean steering called the BalanzBike. They have off-road and street models, and four-seaters for the whole family. There are mud-guards to protect your arms from the rear wheels, and fully-enclosed chains for wet weather riding. They have US dealers listed on the US web site .
Blackbird Designs has a system called the Quadribent that attaches two normal recumbent bikes to make a four wheel, side-by-side "Sociable Tandem" with independent gearing and pedaling. The recumbents can be detached for solo use. The company can provide doggy platforms and a rumble seat for kids. They also do some custom work for special needs riders.
Bill Blakie - Very Eco has a quad designed by Bill Blakie of Invercargill, New Zealand. The bike is designed for mobility and has a sprung subframe under the seat, five speed gearbox that includes reverse, and front disk/rear coaster brakes.
Body Cycles is an Australian company whose main line is "theraputic" trikes with a handle on the rear for a parent or assistant to help guide the rider. They also have a four wheeler constructed of two side-by-side linked bikes for those who can ride in normal biking posture.
Brox HPVs in Manchester, England, has a four wheeler that comes in various configurations and is designed to carry cargo. The rider is in a recumbent position, with a large cargo bed behind, and the frame is articulated to keep all four wheels on the ground at all times. There is a flatbed, a cargo box and a child carrier model. They also have a "One Less Car" tricycle pedicab and other tricycle models.
Caribbean Riders is a Florida-based designer, wholesaler and marketer of a line of surrey-style four wheelers. They have one model with a single bench seat and another with two seats. Both have the normal surrey top canopy. The Web site mentions drum brakes but does not mention gears.
Carvx is a Dutch company with a four wheel mountain bike with four hydraulic brakes, full suspension and hub gearing. We could not find ordering or price info on the site, and the "news" page has items from 2003 and 2004, so it may never have made it into production.
Chat 'n Bike in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is a US dealer for Dutch and Chinese four wheelers. They order batches of the two and four-seater Dutch Quattrocycles described below. They are also bringing in the Chinese GX01 four-seater. They arrange test rides.
ConferenceBike made by Velo Saliko of Germany, is a round seven-seat bike, with the riders facing each other, steered by the forward-facing rider in the back of the circle. All riders pedal, with seven independent freewheels. The photo gallery on the Web site shows the design well. You may have seen them at bicycle events. In the US, Larry Black of Mount Airy Bicycles in Maryland sometimes has one in stock. You can contact the manufacturer for other dealers.
Contes Engineering has developed and will bring to market in 2012 an impressive four wheel machine that is intended for off-road riding and the kind of hard jumping that BMX riders do. It has long-travel four wheel suspension, a rear differential with two driven wheels and an upright rider position that is secure on jumps and permits using the legs to muscle the bike. Films (some on the Web site) are impressive when powered by Andy Contes , a former top-ranked pro BMX bike racer. It will be pricey, of course, but if you want something for off-road that has a chance of holding up well, this one is worth a look. They have a velocar in the works.
e Quadz from Concept Cycles in Montana, has a four wheeler with or without electric assist and fat tires for back road cycling. The site has interesting info on their frame building techniques, as well as a detailed list of components. The model without electric assist is lighter and more of a road bike.
Electric Bike Car Co has several models of their Ebikecar four wheelers that come as pedaled bikes or with electric motors. There are one, two and four seat models, with yellow seats, red frames and red or yellow 20" wheels. Adult and child models. There is a downward sloping accent over the e in Ebikecar, but we can't reproduce it.
Eric has a four wheeled kiddie bike called the QQ-Bike that uses a rowing action to move forward and is steered by the feet. Colorful, with red, yellow and green plastic wheels perhaps 10" in diameter. For kids from 3 to 12 years old. The Web site won't work for us.
Feetz of the Netherlands has a four wheeled cargo and child carrier bike. It is very upright and has 20 inch wheels. It has a box for the kids in the front and another box for cargo in the rear. They also have tadpole trikes with the front box only.
The GrannyBike is a conversion kit for linking two solo bicycles into a side-by-side quad. The design includes crossmembers at the front and rear, plus a steering linkage that attaches to the handlebars of each bike. The company is in Ontario.
Greenspeed now makes a quad called the Anura to complement its line of tricycles (see below). They use some off-the-shelf components and some components manufactured just for them. The Anura has an aluminum frame, a differential that drives both rear wheels, and front wheel steering geometry "designed so that when one front wheel leaves the ground, the other seamlessly takes over all the steering control." If you have ever ridden a quad down a bumpy hill you know why that would be interesting, and if you use a quad in snow the two wheel rear drive is a big plus. BentRider Online said it was very stable and "it was definitely one of the funnest machines on the test track." There is a kit to convert the Anura Trike to a fourwheeler.
Gus Wheels is a Miami Beach company that makes four wheel bikes in a factory employing mentally challenged adults. The bikes are made of stainless steel to avoid beach rust. We can't find them on the Web.
GX01 is a Chinese-manufactured four wheel, four person surrey bike. It is available in the US from Chat 'n Bike (above) who organize group buys. They have some interesting comments on usage limitations.
Hoening is a German manufacturer with at least two four wheelers. One looks like a pair of solo bikes linked together and the other is apparently designed as a pedaled wheelchair. They make tandems and regular wheelchairs too.
Hollywood Bike has a side by side tandem four wheeler that looks like it begins by linking two solos together like the ones from Blackbird Designs, Body Cycles or Grannybike but adds a wide seat across the two bikes and a surrey-like canopy top. Made in Thailand and sold from the inventor's Los Angeles office.
Industrial Bicycles has a wide range of four wheelers, trikes and heavy duty industrial bicycles. They sell their own house bikes and many other brands as well. They have delivery vehicles, special needs vehicles, parts, accessories, electric drives, bike racks, car racks for delta and tadpole trikes, tools and a lot of other stuff. They say they have been in business since 1935. Worth a look for nearly anyone looking for a three or four wheeler.
International Surrey Company is a Texas company with two four wheel surrey models that are designed to withstand the rigors of the rental trade. Their Surrey Deluxe seats two adults plus children on a front bench, and has an awning on top. The Surrey Limousine adds a rear seat as well, with four pedaling positions. Their advertising says they are the original surrey company in the US and have been "pedaling since 1970."
Just Two Bikes of Hugo, Minnesota, has a system that combines two recumbents side-by-side. They can be separated for solo use.
Karbyk of Italy has three basic models, all with aluminum frames, gears and many options amenities. Their machines are used in racing events like the British Pedal Car Racing Championship. They weigh about 55 pounds. An interesting Web site, but have your little yellow sticky note ready to cover the distracting moving gifs. In July of 2000 they emailed us that they are looking for US distributors.
Kettler is a German manufacturer known in the US primarily for their aluminum bikes. They have at least three toy four-wheel models for kids, including one called the Street Hawk in the US market that is sold for as little as $70 at Toys R Us. All have small wheels, a fully enclosed chain guard and a coasting/freewheeling lever allowing the rider to disengage the chain for freewheeling action.
Lightfoot Cycles of Conner, Montana, has several four wheel models, from cargo to lighter weight touring versions, with lots of options. They also make trikes, and models for people with leg or arm disabilities, very heavy riders, and other special needs or uses. They have a fully-enclosed velocar, as well as head-out models scheduled for mid-2012.
Mayfair Bicycle Co of Indiana has a surrey-style four wheeler with a fringe on top around the canopy. They have one model, the Brighton, seating up to six adults and two children with four in pedaling positions.
Mitraco/Maxwin of Taiwan has a four wheel Rickshaw model, with four seats with pedals and space for two kids, a canopy on top and caliper brakes. We can't find it anywhere on their Web page, but here is a photo they sent by email.
Mobilette Ltd. is a Bulgarian company with an extensive line of four wheelers including two-seaters, four seaters and family models. Some models have pedals for all riders, and most have surrey tops. Many are intended for use at hotels and resorts. In the US they are distributed by Scooterbug .
Mupocar by Belik Creation of Texas has three and four wheel versions of their "muscle powered car." They are all powered by cranks directly attached to the front wheels and pedaled directly without gearing. Front wheels are listed as 20 or 28 inch, so that's the fixed gear. The rear wheels vary by model and do the steering. The URL is not working as of June 2010.
Nour has hand-made four wheel pedal cars for kids. The CEO, Tunisian engineer Mourad Feki, plans to produce an adult design as well.
Pacific Cycles is a Taiwanese company producing a wide variety of four wheelers and trikes. They make unique vehicles, including many designed for handicapped riders. Some of their vehicles are available through Alternative Vehicles and a Canadian distributor, Belize Bikes . If you are searching for their products, avoid those of another company that uses exactly the same name except they have dropped the s on Cycles.
Palm Imports has a four-wheeler similar in appearance to the Swiss ZEM, weighing 90kg. They have others as well, including surrey models. Palm is a wholesaler located in Florida.
Pedal Back in Tyme is a Canadian manufacturer of 4 wheel bikes. They make an old-fashioned fourwheeler reminiscent of a Model T. Their Web link is no longer working for us, but we don't know what that means.
Pedalcoupe has a compact-looking four wheeler that they say "speaks to the child in all of us." It is a serious bicycle with a serious price but has brightly colored wheels and other components. Both rear wheels are driven with a "posi-traction" system, and it has gears, high-pressure tires and an 8 foot turning radius. The company is in Minnesota, and has photos of their quad in the snow.
Prime Pedal Karts is a manufacturer and importer of four and three wheel bikes for kids and on up. The designs look to be on the sturdy side. Some of their models have a reverse gear. They have interesting trailers, including one with four wheels. They are in Pensacola, Florida.
QBX-Quad Bike Xcycles produces four wheel bikes in France. They have an aluminum-frame mountain bike with large suspension travel that is shown on the site grabbing some impressive air. They also have an urban model, and electric-assist is available on three hybrid models.
Quadrabyke is a child's four, three or two wheeler. The small wheels can be set up in any of the three configurations.
Quadracycle, Inc. of Hamilton, Indiana, has a line of four wheelers including a child's model, a single adult bike, a side-by-side double adult bike and a taxi that seats four with an awning.
Quadracycle International of Saskatoon has a "Little Duece Coupe" for two adults plus a child. It is a three speed, and has at least two different carts you can add on to pull golf clubs or other cargo.
Note the one letter difference in spelling between the companies above and below!
Quadricycle International of Canada has a line of four wheelers described as "recreational vehicles with four wheels capable of carrying two to nine passengers. With a maximum speed of 8 km/h and being propelled by pedals, these vehicles are safe and in conformity with regulations regarding environmental concerns." Their Web page says they can be profitable rental vehicles.
Quattrocycle of the Netherlands has a large four wheeler for four adults and 3 kids in the back that is more bicycle-like than most of the surrey bikes. Each of the four riders has a separate 3 speed gear hub so they can shift individually or freewheel to accommodate a range of pedal cadences. "The internal gear hubs and chains are the only part that is somewhat fragile. You must only switch gears when you are not pedaling." Front and rear axle suspension lets the bike negotiate obstacles, and there are four drum brakes. The front positions are more reclined, improving the view from the rear. The left rear position steers. The bike can be stored upright to save space. Designed to hold up under rental use, so it weighs 114 kilograms/250 lbs. There is an electric assist available. For a US group buy source, see Chat 'n Bike above.
Rhoades Car is a long-time maker of one seat, two seat, and four seat four-wheeled bikes. The one I rode at Interbike rolled easily on a flat surface and seemed very stable, but at 90 pounds it would be slow on uphills and probably ideal on a boardwalk. In addition to their surrey-style and sport bikes, they have a collection of cargo bikes that can handle up to 700 lbs. Their Recycler carries four removable green recycling containers--that's about as green as you can get. The company has many options available including electric motors and solar power. They can do custom mods for special needs. The factory is in Tennessee, and 80% of their components are made in USA.
Rideable Bicycle Replicas has quad surreys and trikes along with their boneshakers and highwheels. They also have a unique upright tandem trike, some hand-cranked trikes and tricycle pedicabs that can be outfitted with a two or four person trailer if your legs can handle that! They are in Southern California.
Rowbike has a four wheeler called the Crewzer that is powered by a rowing action rather than pedaling. They are in Minnesota.
Seat of the Pants Company (UK) had a line of utility quads configured as taxis and in a pickup truck style. We don't find them on the Web any more, but they still can be found as the producers of the famous Windcheetah tricycle , which in competition with a full fairing has done nearly 50 MPH on a flat road.
SightSeeingBike , also known as Partyfiets in the Netherlands, and as Beerbike in the UK, has very large four wheel party bikes similar to the Fietscafe bikes above. There are up to 18 partiers sitting around a central table and most are pedaling. They use a car differential and drive shaft to link the pedalers. The site has interesting photo sequences of producing the machines that show the underlying frame. They are working on an amphibian as well. The Dutch parent company, RondjeRegio, will produce bikes for the US market in Bend, Oregon.
SurreyBikes has several four wheelers that resemble old fashioned surreys. One has three rows of seats for up to nine adults. In the Service section there is a long list of component parts and some detailed schematic drawings with exploded views of their machines' components. They are in Longwood, Florida.
Tecnoart of America has an Italian-made four wheeler called the Selene Sport (a 2-seater) and the four-seater Selene Bus and a six-seater as well. Check the Web page for details.
2-Rider is a four passenger (two pedaling in the rear) four wheeler made by Pacific Cycles. It's a surrey-type machine with a canopy, front and rear suspension and rim brakes, with the front brakes mounted on a J shaped bar that wraps around the wheels. Note that the original Pacific Cycles has an S on the end and the more recent Pacific Cycle of the US does not.
Trailmate makes a four wheeler called the Double Joyrider with two side-by-side seats, 24" wheels on the back and smaller wheels on the front, independent pedaling and plastic bucket seats. In addition, the company makes several trikes for both recreational and industrial use. The trikes range from an upright Adult model to a Funcycle series for the sportier market and a Joyrider model designed for people with balance issues and other special needs. They are in Bradenton, Florida.
Transport Cycling has pedicabs. Most are three wheeled, but they have one unique four wheeler with the driver in recumbent position. That should improve the forward view of the passengers. They also sell components and do custom work. They are located in San Francisco.
TumTumCar is produced by JMC Motoronics, a California company. They have two models of four wheelers. Both can be pedal-powered, but one also has a 35cc recoil start gas motor. If you must have a four wheeler that burns fossil fuel, here it is. Both have front and rear independent suspension with springs and shock absorbers.
2-Rider is sold by the Austrian company Metallhase. It is a side-by-side two person machine that comes from the ZEM heritage. It is made by Pacific Cycles, and may be available from other dealers, but Metallhase believes they are the only dealer in Europe specializing in them. The ZEMs were nice, well built machines, on the heavy-duty side.
Ulamo , a Dutch company, makes four wheeled go-cart-like pedal vehicles that sell in the Netherlands. We have not been able to find them on the Ulamo Web page, but you might contact Ulamo U.S.A., One Rockefeller Plaza, STE 1420, New York, NY 10020, phone (888) 449-3365.
Van Dalen Products of the Netherlands has four wheel pedal cars for kids styled like an army jeep. They also make gas-powered jeep-style go-carts as well as swan boats and other pedal boats, and a car-sized gas-powered locomotive on tires that pulls a three car train.
Very Eco is a New Zealand maker of what appears to be a practical and well finished four wheeler with a sprung sub-frame under the seat, disk brakes in front with a coaster brake in the rear, and a five speed gearbox including reverse.
Voiturettes Velocar This French company has recumbent models including one, three and 21 speed versions. They are rated to carry 2 adults plus two kids and a baby in the front basket, with 1 double hydraulic disk brake, 2 driven wheels with a differential, a spare wheel, headlights, tailights, removable sun shade, pannier, chainguards and a 250 kg capacity. When we last checked in August of 2007 their Web page said "Nothing here yet. Come back later!" A Google search indicates that the name Velocar was used in the 1930's for a line of recumbents.
Work-Bikes This Berlin company (Work Bikes Dumdei/Eilhauer GbR) has a unique four wheeler with a large rear sign for commercial advertising. The rider is semi-recumbent in the front with a front fairing, and it has disk wheels. The drive train is a design developed by AVD/Windcheetah. It rents for 228 Euros per day in Berlin. The site is in German, but here is an English translation .
Work Cycles is a Dutch site with work tricycles, including unique delivery trikes, old fashioned ice cream trikes, and old fashioned Dutch street vending trike, and a larger industrial trike equipped for waste collection and cleanup.
Worksman Cycles is a US manufacturer founded in 1898 and best known for their utility and cargo bikes, most of the tricycles. In addition to an extensive tricycle line with many variations, they distribute four wheel imports from Italy, the Sirenetta and Delphino Quadricycle Surreys. They are in Ozone Park, New York.
ZEM - Zero Emmission Machine of Switzerland built a truly heavy-duty four seater. Complete with wide gearing and freewheeling pedals for each of the four riders, it weighs 70 kg, and can be fitted with an optional electric assist. They also made two-seaters, and planned to eventually have a sail version and a super light version. Unfortunately ZEM Cycles are out of production, but pre-owned vehicles are available. Larry Black of Mount Airy Bicycles in Maryland emailed us in November of 2007 that he had three Zemcycles in stock. And 2-Rider (above) has the two-person version. They are made by Pacific Cycles.
Z-Rider is a four seater with two independent adult pedaling positions in the rear and two child passenger seats in front. It has 8 speeds. The four 20" wheels are independently suspended. The "main rider" who controls the shifting can be on either left or right. There is an optional plastic canopy on top. Available to dealers through Pacific Cycles of Taiwan.
Other Four Wheel sites
Pedicabs We have a few pedicab makers listed above and below in the trikes, but the International Bicycle Fund site has a listing of over 35 pedicab producers. Highly recommended if that's the machine you need.
Wheel Fun Rentals has a service at resorts that rents seven different three and four wheel bikes. Might be a good place to try out a four wheeler, if they are near you.
Four Wheeler Plans
For those who are inclined to build their own four-wheel bikes:
American Speedster has plans and kits for four-wheeled models, two for kids and two for adults. The kids' bikes are made of plywood or a 55 gallon plastic drum. The adult bikes are made of pvc pipe available at Home Depot. It is cheap, strong and easy to work with, requiring minimal skills and tools you already have. The kits have all the metal parts. If you are looking for an inexpensive fun bike for your beach house or vacation home this might be your solution.
Atomic Zombie sells plans for a wide variety of four wheelers and trikes.
Granny Bike makes a kit to put two standard 2-wheel bikes together to make a four wheeler. Prices start at about US$92 plus shipping, quoted in Canadian dollars.
Ian's do it yourself bike car is a very nice site put up by Teo and Ian Spiller detailing how they built a four wheeler for Ian. The photos are excellent. Design is simple and uses many standard bike parts. Teo also has some links to other do-it-yourself fourwheel projects .
Mark Norwood's MG-TC project is a site detailing in photos how Mark is building a scale model of the MG-TC sportscar for his kids. It seems to be progressing nicely.
Bikecar Corporation will sell you plans for three different models. Their "pickup" model puts the cargo load behind the rear axle, so the more you load it the lighter the front wheels would be. That could make bumpy downhills a thrilling experience, but is probably fine for the beach. In December of 2000 we were informed that their current address is BIKECAR CORP, P.O. Box 72, Ocala, Florida 34478. A note from them said they were having trouble finding any more information sheets to send out, and also said, "our vehicle is Build It Yourself & you need to weld & have parts made in shop." They refer people who need a fully constructed vehicle to Rhoades Car (see above).
Another possible source of plans, or used bikes for that matter, is Ebay , an auction site used by many to market goods as well as auction things. Be sure to check the box for "Search titles and descriptions."
Mother Earth News has plans for an Irish Mail-style hand pump four wheeler . They used electrical conduit to keep it light and cheap, but you could also use something more durable. They have plans for a bike trailer . Just ignore the unprotected child passenger and lack of helmets! They have other human-powered vehicle plans as well if you can find them on the Web site.
Michael Dallas did it himself, twice, learning from the first one and sending us a message about his second machine .
Adult Tricycles
Another possibility for pedaling with more than two wheels is a tricycle. Some of the four wheel manufacturers above also have tricycles, including Berg, Brox, Lightfoot, Prime, Rideable Bicycle Replicas, Ultimate-Quadracycle, Wheel Fun Rentals, Worksman, and Zero. The upright ones can be less stable than a four-wheeler, but if you just want to trundle along at low speeds in your trailer park you may never know the difference. Some of the low slung recumbent trikes are much more stable and harder to tip over, although you you can tip anything with 3 wheels or 4 over if you go fast enough and try hard enough. Since they have one less wheel, they may be lighter and faster than a four wheeler. The ones described as "tadpoles" below are recumbent trikes with two front wheels and one rear wheel. The "delta trikes" have the two wheels in the rear. Here are the ones we are aware of:
Actionbent of Redmond, Washington, has one tadpole trike with 20 inch front wheels and a 26 inch rear drive wheel. Disk brakes, 27 speeds, bolted on front axle that should come off for shipping, weighs 37lbs., attractive price.
Adventurer from CampingWorld is a folding delta trike (two wheels back, one front) that is sold in Recreational Vehicle (RV) stores and designed to fit in an RV or on a rack in back. Three speeds, reasonably priced. If you are looking for inexpensive and simple folders with two or three wheels you may find them at RV stores.
Alternative Vehicles has a line of trikes and four wheelers mostly made by Pacific Cycles in Asia. Designed mostly for rehab and mobility, there are hand-powered models, a folding trike with small wheels, a very upright model and more.
AngleTech Cycles has quite a line of recumbent bicycles and tricycles, tandem recumbents, and folding recumbent cycles, and women's cycles. They make a trike that has both arm and leg power, and offer to do custom stuff. They are located in Colorado.
ASE Manufacturers is a Taiwan company with a line of pedaled and electric tricycles. They are the upright style used for deliveries and for riding in campgrounds and factories. Some have two wheels in front, some in back. In addition they have AseTek Special Needs Tricycles that have structures to help hold the rider upright and other adaptations. Their Web site was not responding the last time we checked.
Au Coin du P�daleur in the Montreal area manufactures and sells trikes. Most are utilitarian delta or tadpole trikes designed with racks or cargo areas to carry things. But they also make special needs trikes and pedicabs. The store has been open for 40 years, and began making trikes 20 years ago. They have an extensive line, and many designs you don't see elsewhere.
Belize Bicycle has a series of tricycles branded Tri-Rider with an upright position and cargo baskets in some models. They also have an electric trike. They are located in Quebec, and distribute to dealers in Canada and the US.
Bella Bike of Denmark has an upright tadpole trike with a front box that carries from one to four kids, or can carry an ice cream box. It steers by the rear wheel and is powered by the front wheels, including a differential.
Berkelbike is a combination of a handcycle and a recumbent bike and is driven by using both the power of the arms as well as legs. There are three models for those with spinal and other injuries. The best description is a wheelchair with a front wheel attachment that includes foot pedals and hand pedals. There is an indoor model, and all can be used with a laptop-based training program.
Berkut Trikes of Romania has been in business and making trikes since 1986, including racers, fully faired races and velocars. Their current production is a line of tadpole recumbent trikes.
Berserker Tricycle Design has a long travel full suspension recumbent tadpole tricycle intended for off road cycling. It has 24" wheels, with 6" rear suspension travel and 5" front suspension travel. There is an electric assist available.
Big Cat Human Powered Vehicles has an aluminum frame tricycle weighing 33 lbs with disk brakes and 27 speeds. They have a helpful page listing their dealers in the US. Their factory is in Winter Garden, Florida.
Body Cycles is an Australian company making "theraputic" trikes with a handle on the rear for a parent or assistant to help guide the rider. They also have a four wheeler constructed of two side-by-side linked bikes for those who can ride in normal biking posture. Their Edge line of chain-driven trikes have tire sizes starting at 12" and going up to 24 inches.
Boomerbents has an electric assist trike called the Raptor with an upright seating position and two wheels in the rear equipped with a differential. They say the top speed is 15 mph on electric power, and range is 35 miles. They are in Las Vegas.
Roger Bowden is a Canadian maker of tricycles and trailers, apparently mostly for himself and his family. He has explanations of his construction and plans up for some of them (see the plans section above).
Cab-Bike is a German recumbent trike "velomobile" with an egg-shaped shell surrounding the rider. There is a fully-enclosed version and a trimmer "speedster" version with the rider's head emerging or covered with a small fairing. That one has managed 30 miles in an hour race. Comes with the 14 speed Rohloff transmission. Comes broken down, so considerable assembly is required. There is an electric motor option. Prototypes include a tandem and a solar-powered version. It looks like a hoot, but it is very expensive. We have not seen one, but it could be a great winter commuting vehicle. Here is a very thorough review posted on the Cab-Bike site .
Christiania Bikes produces in Denmark a number of tricycle models, mostly with the rider behind a large cargo box. Some are designed for transporting children. Maximum loads are up to 100 kg.
Comfort Cycle may still have their slick recumbent trike with 49 gears, Phil Wood hubs, and optional fairing. I managed to almost turn one over doing something flaky on a brief test ride, but that's a trike for you. Their link was not working when we last checked, and leads you to a magazine.
Cycles Maximus has sturdy looking tricycles in pedicab/rickshaw taxi style, cargo style and flat bed cargo style with both pedaled and pedaled/electric options. Starting with the flat bed, you can interchange the cargo or pedicab body. They are based in the UK.
Di Blasi is an Italian company with folding tricycles. They have 20 inch wheels, and a graphic on their UK Web site shows how they fold "in five seconds." They are not the only folding tricycle in the market, but are surely the only one with two independent v-brakes operating on the front wheel. There are good photos of the folder on Helen-Louise Windsor's site along with shots of her old Pashley.
Di Blasi Dirt King has mostly kids trikes, but one adult model that looks like a scaled up kid's trike called the Adult Dually. ETNNIC Bikes & Components of Spain has the ETTNIC line of trikes, including cargo trikes, electrics,off-road models and more. Their unique ETNNIC Garbi is a cargo trike fitted out to pick up trash in parks, with a trash can front end, upright broom holder, internal hub gearing and a trailer.
eZee has the Carro, an electric or electric-assist trike with lithium polymer battery capable of 10 mph and 20 miles + per charge. Seating position is upright, and the frame is an easy stepover design with 20" wheels. There is a large basket over the rear wheels. Seven speeds for the pedaling part, or you can cruise on the electric motor. eZee has distributors in a number of countries .
Die Fahrradwerkstatt is a German company with six models of tadpole-configured cargo trikes and a trailer. They include a child-carrier with a big platform box in front, a commercial vendor's stand on wheels, a big transporter, and a rickshaw. Most appear to have 16 inch front wheels and larger rear wheels. Some are clearly for heavy duty use.
Feetz of the Netherlands has tadpole cargo and child carrying trikes with a front box that can carry either. It is very upright and has 20 inch wheels. They also have a four wheeled version, with a box for the kids in the front and another box for cargo in the rear. Although they appear designed for trundling around town at modest speeds, a video on the home page shows one zipping along and swerving to demonstrate that the wheels tilt into curves, so with some care for weight shifting at appropriate times they could be faster than they look.
Fietscafe is a Dutch four wheeler for 16 happy passengers. The body is made of beautifully polished wood, and has a canopy overhead. The passengers face inward in party style, grouped around a center table to put their drinks on, and most of them have pedals. There is a large beer barrel in the rear, and the driver sits in front in the center. It looks like fun. If you live anywhere around Houston, Texas, you can rent one from Pedal Party . See below for the similar PartyFiets bikes.
Flamingo is a Taiwanese brand from Grace Gallant Enterprises Co Ltd. We have only seen them once at Interbike and don't know where their trikes are available. They are recumbent tadpole style trikes with aluminum frames, 26 inch rear wheels, 20 inch front wheels, disk brakes and 27 speed gear trains.
Fietsen Met Kinderen is a Dutch site with an incredible array of trikes and bikes that have child carriers in front. Although putting the child in front puts them in the way of the parent's body in a front end collision, some of these machines appear to have considerable structure for child protection.
Frank Mobility Systems Inc has a unique Duet model "wheelchair bicycle tandem" that is in fact the back half of a bicycle attached to a wheelchair in front. The bike is a three speed and the wheelchair can be removed and used by itself. There is also a seven speed model with electric assist. Here is a description of how it is used in a medical therapy program . They are located in Pennsylvania.
Freedom Concepts makes custom trikes for children and adults with disabilities, including a forward-leaning prone recumbent with chest support for people with cerebral palsy and a tandem controlled by the rear rider. Their head office is in Winnipeg.
GigaTrike makes bare-bones trike frames to sell on Ebay. They use pieces from 4-6 old bikes, usually with a couple of 20 inch bikes and at least one 26 inch frame. These are combined with plumbing fittings and pipe. There are interesting photos on their site if you want to make a trike frame or are interested in a low-cost trike.
Gomier Electric Trike is less expensive than some electrics. It is an upright position delta design with step-through frame and 8 mile+ crusing range at a maximum 8 mph. The pedaling is single speed, said to be suitable for flat areas. No company Web site, so the link is to a Google search for dealers.
Greenspeed makes a nice line of tricycles. They use some off-the-shelf components and some components manufactured just for them. I enjoyed riding one at Interbike and found it very stable when I deliberately tried to tip it over with sharp turns and braking. They have tadpoles, delta trikes, six models of folding trikes, tandem trikes, a hand-powered trike, a quad and a velocar called the Glyde. In 2012 they added a Magnum Trike designed for heavy users, with a high seat for easy entry that can be adjusted downward if you lose weight from riding the trike. Users of their tandem trikes give them a high rating, and here is a review in BentRider Online that is positively ecstatic . If you can afford custom work, they have a custom shop.
Handy is a hand-driven low-profile tadpole tricycle with high-profile handlebars. It has internal hub gearing on the front wheel and controls for shifting and braking built into the hand pedals. The Handy Upright version has a higher seating position. Both have 20" wheels. They are available to dealers from Pacific Cycles of Taiwan and are recommended for upper body exercise and people who can't pedal with their legs. You can read about Pacific Cycles in the March 1, 2006 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News . The article explains why the original Pacific Cycles has an S on the end and Pacific Cycle of the US does not.
Hase Spezialrader is a German company with a tricycle model they call the KettWiesel with dual rear wheels and one in front. Steering is by joysticks on both sides. You can make up a tandem by removing the front wheel of the rear machine and attaching it to the rear of the front one, resulting in a five wheel tandem. Hase also has a Lepus trike that folds. Hase has an arm powered model, and can set up their bikes for one-handed operation. They have an impressive array of accessories.
Hean Cyklen is a Danish company with trikes for one and two people with and without electric or gasoline motors. Their vehicles appear to be aimed at those with disabilities.
Hell-bent Cycle Works has designs for Thunderbolt Mk II 26 tadpole-style recumbent trikes with an aluminum frame. They sell trike plans and components when ready, and have some copyrighted plans on the Web . Be sure to check out the About page for background on how the company has developed and the What's New page for recent changes. The plans we have seen appear to be very well done, with photos, drawings and dimensional drawings along with discussion of frame materials and a lot of other info. We have not, however, built one, so we don't know how they work out.
Hotmover is a New Zealand manufacturer with a three-wheel design that is different enough to tell you right away it is not US-made. Slick looking and nicely finished. They have dealers in the US and elsewhere, listed on their Web site, but can sell direct if you are too far from a dealer.
HP Velotechnik is a German company with a Scorpion trike that comes in a unique folding version . In two minutes with a 6mm hex key it folds two ways and the wheels readily remove for a very compact bundle that fits in the trunk of a Smart microcar. The Web site has links to magazine reviews. Prices start at 2700 Euros (about $US 5,400). HPV has new models in 2010, including an "entry level" trike with a 20" rear wheel.
Human Powered Machines has trikes available from the Eugene Bicycle Works in Eugene, Oregon. They have a recumbent work trike with a large rear platform that carries 333 US pounds and another that is rated at 666 pounds. There is also a long-wheelbase recumbent trike called the Tritan, and a tadpole-style called the Cyclone.
Husky Bicycles has a balloon-tired "industrial" tricycle suitable for use in a manufacturing plant as well as cargo tricycles designed for vendors or for large volume cargo, maintenance, janitorial use and luggage carrying at hotels or resorts. Their trikes are made in Mexico and marketed by a Texas partner.
Ice Trikes are produced by the UK's Inspired Cycle Engineering. They are suspended tadpole trikes with a choice of longer, more laid back seating position or a more upright position with a much shorter wheelbase.
Industrial Bicycles has a wide range of four wheelers, trikes and heavy duty industrial bicycles. They sell their own house bikes and many other brands as well. They have delivery vehicles, special needs vehicles, parts, accessories, electric drives, bike racks, car racks for delta and tadpole trikes, tools and a lot of other stuff. They say they have been in business since 1935. Worth a look for nearly anyone looking for a three or four wheeler.
International Surrey Company is a Texas company with one recumbent Impello delta trike for two people side-by-side, built with a tub-like body on a steel chassis and seven speed gears. They also have an "easy rider" style electric delta tricycle for one person. It has a maximum speed of 12 mph+ and a range of 22 miles +. See the fourwheeler section above for the surreys.
I-Zip or E-Zip announced a recall in 2012 of some of its tricycle models. See the link for the full story. The delta trike is made by Acetrikes in China and distributed by Currie Technologies. The CPSC press release says "the rear axle can break causing a rear wheel to detach, posing a fall hazard to the rider."
KMX Karts is a UK company with tadpole trikes with two small front wheels and a larger rear wheel. Their base model is one of the least expensive we have seen despite the exchange rate. Their advertising emphasizes rugged components.
Lightfoot Cycles of Conner, Montana, has several trikes plus four wheel models, from velomobiles and cargo machines to lighter weight touring versions, with lots of options. They also make models for people with leg or arm disabilities, very heavy riders, and other special needs or uses.
Gil Linde has built three bump-em car trikes, inspired by the bumper car rides at amusement parks. They have low reclining seats surrounded by a low circular frame and heavy rubber bumpers. They are powered by a double-spoked unicycle wheel from Luke Shirk's amazing bike shop in Lancaster County PA and steered by the rear wheels using a lever on each side of the rider. With a combination of spin and reverse pedaling they can suddenly shift to backup mode in the wink of an eye. Steering is tricky at high speed, but playing bumper car in them is a kick. Gil thinks that commercializing them would be risky, so you can't buy one.
Logo Trikes is an Australian company making high-end tadpole-style trikes and tandems. They have a trailer, too.
Lone Star Tricycles is a Texas-based company with upright delta-style trikes. They have seven speeds and dual rear disc brakes. There is a basket behind the rider. There is an industrial model, and the Big Tex has Surly's impressively massive Pugsky 26" by 4" wheels. The URL is for a Web page that has the trikes for sale, after the one for Lone Star Tricycles disappeared in 2010.
Main Street Pedicabs has a number of models of three-wheel pedicabs, adult trikes and cargo trikes. One is a pedal-electric hybrid, with a 500 watt electric motor for hill climbing and fast acceleration. It weighs 400 pounds including 120 pounds of battery. They run a fleet of pedicabs in Denver.
Micah is a two wheels back trike with high-profile handlebars designed for special needs kids from 5 to 15. It has a handle extending out behind for parents to control the trike including a steering link, and adaptive seating arrangements. The frame is aluminum, with 16" wheels. It is available to dealers from Pacific Cycles of Taiwan. You can read about Pacific Cycles in the March 1, 2006 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News .
Mission Cycles and Components is a UK company with a wide range of trikes for special needs, including those with impaired balance. Their Mission Statement says their trikes are designed in the UK and manufactured in Taiwan. They have a trailer Trike that can be towed behind the parent bike, as well as child, adult, electric and folding trikes.
Mobo by ASA Products are three wheel delta trike "cruisers" with fat wheels and direct drive cranks on the front wheel. They have rear wheel steering and a freewheel mechanism but no chain and no gears. The Pro model has a 20" front wheel, and the Triton has a 16" front wheel, setting the fixed gearing in a very low range. Frame length is adjustable to fit riders up to 6'3" on the adult Shift model. Other models are described as "great for ages 5 and up."
Mupocar by Belik Creation of Texas has three and four wheel versions of their "muscle powered car." They are all powered by cranks directly attached to the front wheel and pedaled directly without gearing. Front wheels are listed as 20 or 28 inch, so that's the fixed gear. The rear wheels vary by model and do the steering.
Nihola of the Netherlands has a tadpole cargo carrier with some astonishingly large cargo boxes in the front.
Optima Cycles is a Dutch company with a line of recumbents, two of which are tadpole trikes. Their Rhino ST has a curved boom frame of aluminum with rear suspension, laid back seat position and short turning radius. The Rider model is similar, but has a stainless steel frame.
Organic Engines has a road trike, a tandem trike called the Troika, a delivery trike called the Sensible Utility Vehicle, and a pedicab. They also sell frame kits you can build up any way you want. They are located in Tallahassee, Florida.
Pacific Cycles is a Taiwanese company producing a wide variety of trikes and four wheelers. They make unique vehicles, including many designed for handicapped riders. Some of their vehicles are available through Alternative Vehicles and a Canadian distributor, Belize Bikes . If you are searching for their products, avoid those of another company that uses exactly the same name except they have dropped the s on Cycles.
Palmer Industries of Endicott, NY, has been in business since 1973. They have a line of trikes that include pedal, hand and electric power. Pedal-powered models have mostly 24 inch wheels and are designed for around town and utility use. The hand powered model has an optional foot pedal combination and optional variable speed electric power. Most models have large cargo baskets available for carrying groceries or others items. Palmer sells electric kits, too, and has their 12 volt motors available separately for experimenters. They stock parts for every product they have ever made.
Pashley is an old-line British company with a full line of bikes of all kinds, including their PDQ3 recumbent. They have other tricycles as well. Their trikes are sold in the US market as well as the UK.
Penninger Recumbents has three trikes called the Traveler, the Voyager and the T-31. Penninger is said to be division of HFR Precision Machining of Sugar Grove, Illinois. We can't find anything about their trikes on the HFR web page . But see the Versa Trike catalog for more about their models.
PF Mobility has trikes for one and two people with and without electric motors. They are upright recumbent designs. This is a Danish company, and as you would guess from the name, they mostly sell to people who have trouble getting around.
Performance Recumbent has tadpole trikes with 26" or 700C rear wheels and 20" front wheels. One model has the main frame tube in carbon, one model folds, some have rear suspension.
Powabyke is a UK company with an electric-powered delta trike with a front power hub. It has a low step-through frame design and upright riding position. It has full gears for pedaling as well. The URL is not working as of June, 2010.
Pterosail Trike Systems has bolt-on kits to add sails to recumbent tadpole trikes. Both solo and tandem recumbents can be fitted out with a mast and sails. The carbon fiber mast is 11 feet high, and the spar is aluminum. The sail sits out in front of the trike.
Quadrabyke is a child's four, three or two wheeler. The small wheels can be set up in any of the three configurations. As a trike, it's a tadpole.
Q-Int from the Netherlands makes tricycles for children and adults. Their Triker carving go-karts are delta trikes with the cranks out front driving the front wheel with a very short chain and freewheel. They steer by leaning. Wheels are small (12") keeping the trikes low. Other models have larger front wheels. Retail prices are in the $300 range.
Ricksycle in Ontario has a delta trike with big wheels for two people side-by-side. It dismantles to stow in small places, and can be extended for more passengers. They have child kits, and can do custom arrangements for disabled passengers.
Rifton Adaptive Tricycles make tricycles for kids with disabilities that are easily adjustable when the child grows.
Roman Road Cycles is a Welsh company making tricycles and tricycle conversions, both solos and tandems. Their designs have 2 wheels at the front and one wheel at the back. They also supply components, including hub gears, hub brakes and custom wheels.
Rowcumbent (Beanz Bikes) is a trike with two wheels in the rear that you power by conventional pedals and by rowing the handlebars. The company is in Southern California.
RunAbout Cycles has recumbent trikes with electric assist that they call hybrid electric cycles, and can add electric assist to your trike. They have lithium ion batteries and a solar charger if you can afford them that let you run your transportation off grid. The company's shop is in Fort Collins, Colorado. They have a demo video up on YouTube.
Scooterbug has seven-seater bikes where the riders face each other in a circle. They also distribute Mobilette in the US.
Sherer USA has a tadpole recumbent with a push lever pedaling system. Instead of pedals on a crank, you push forward sequentially on two levers with your feet, and the levers move the crank down below through a cable and chain system. It still has gears on the rear. Similar lever push systems have been around for a long time on wedgies, but this is the first one we have seen on a recumbent trike. There is a TV news video so you can see it operate. I am sceptical of the inventor's claims for higher speeds, since I rode a wedgie with a similar system and it wasn't as fast for me as pedaling in little circles. Your mileage may vary. The company is in Iowa. In June of 2010 the URL was not working.
Sidewinder Cycle has trikes with both front wheels driven and the single rear wheel pivoting to steer. They use dual inboard hydraulic disk brakes. There is an electric drive option too. The company is in Fillmore, California.
Soloviov (Velomobiles) is a Russian company with a unique three wheel drive trike, and another that has a large cargo box under the frame.
StreetStrider is an upright trike with two wheels in front that you propel by standing alternately on large pedal platforms with a fixed front bearing and the rear attached to regular cranks. The action is a lot like running. There is no saddle, so you are standing on the pedals. Some models have arm levers as well, and steer by leaning. The sturdiest is rated for a 450 pound load, and is featured on a sales video on YouTube that is worth a thousand words.
Sun Bicycles has three different styles of trikes:
EE Tad is a tadpole-style trike with steel frame, 24 speeds and 20 inch wheels.
EE-3 USX has two wheels in back, steel frame and 20 inch wheels
Traditional Trike has an upright position with two wheels in back. There are 26 inch, 20 inch and 12 inch models, all single speed.
Atlas Trike and Atlas Cargo are upright trikes with cargo areas between the two rear wheels.
Taga of the Netherlands makes a very nice looking three wheel tadpole design that works as a child carrier bicycle for one or two toddlers, or can be converted "in 20 seconds" to a stroller as well. It has 16 inch wheels, Shimano three speed hub and brakes for all three wheels (disks in the front). They offer a number of different options. The bike folds easily to go into a car trunk or for storage.
Tasso is an Italian maker of three-wheeled pedicabs for passengers, cargo and even a camper. They have lots of photos of their products in nice Italian places. In June, 2010 the link was not working.
Torker has one tricycle in their Adult Bikes category, revamped in 2011. It is an upright with two 20 inch rear wheels, single or three speed with coaster brake and front hand brake, wide saddle and optional rear fenders. Sold to dealers through Seattle Bike Supply.
Trailmate makes the Joyrider and Jr. Joyrider, with small front wheels, steel frame, plastic bucket seats, rear basket and an "S" shaped crank. They are easily-mounted "walk-in" units. They also have Freedom Ryder adult trike models with gears, 20", 24" or 26" wheels, standard cranks and standard handlebars. They have recumbent trikes with 20" mag wheels, a chain-driven front wheel or rear wheel and low center of gravity. They also have an Eco-Trike with a very large cargo box between the rear wheels rated for 650 pound loads. And they have a folding delta trike called the Tri-Fold with 20 inch wheels.
Transport Cycling has tricycle pedicabs. They also have a unique four wheeler with the driver in recumbent position. That should improve the forward view of the passengers. They also sell components and do custom work.
Transformation Trike is an amazing cargo and people mover trike that converts from a tandem to a triplet, or can use a big cargo bed replacing the two rear saddle positions. There is also an aluminum frame trailer that can haul 350 pounds.
Trek is a mainstream US bike brand that has two trikes in their "Pure" series of "bike trail" models. They have upright bars, baskets, chain guards, flat pedals and soft saddles. There is a one speed with coaster brake and a three speed. Both models have aluminum frames. Trek's products have a reputation for holding up well, and their dealer network provides good after-sales service. These are worth a look for retirees and other casual riders who want a simple trike to use on reasonably flat terrain.
Trykit is a UK company producing classic British delta trikes with full size road wheels. Frames are fillet brazed steel, with a wide range of tubing available. The components are up to date, with optional aero wheels and disk brakes. In addition to trikes they sell frames and components, including a kit to convert your road bike to a trike.
Tridynamic make tricycles for riders with disabilities that they say are designed to minimize tipovers.
Trio Bike of the UK has a large tadpole trike that takes two kids in the front or cargo. It converts to a two wheeled bike or to a kids stroller. There is another version that does not convert.
Tripendo had a trike that leans its whole structure into turns with both front wheels the way a two wheeler does. They claim extreme stability on fast turns. Electric assist option. Their links page had links to many other trike and velomobile manufacturers, but the site seems to have disappeared, so the link above is to a Google search.
Tripod Bikes is a Dutch company with a tadpole trike that steers by leaning. It has rear suspension and 20 inch wheels with disk brakes on all three wheels. It comes in three models.
Tri-Sled of Australia has a wide range of trikes including touring, racing, work trikes and pedicabs. They make a very low trike designed to have a fairing added for hpv use. In their accessories section they include a carrier that attaches to a standard tow-hitch ball, a servicing stand for the workshop and bags designed for their bikes. Their Interceptor Handcycle is for those with leg problems, permitting the rider to either kneel or put the legs out in front. The Handcycle is a delta design, while the others are tadpoles. The Tri-Sled Sorcerer is Australia�s first production velomobile.
True Bicycles is based in Michigan. They have trikes, including folders and step-throughs, with recumbent tadpoles and deltas in development. They have replacement parts, including solid axle-mounted Karasawa drum brakes, as well as electric kits. They also have special needs accessories, including heel-retention pedals.
Tuantaigeer has at least two Chinese made trikes that are of the upright seating and two wheels in the rear variety. I rode their very interesting prototype solar powered trike at Interbike in 2006. It has a surrey type top that is formed by the 60 watt solar panel. The panel doesn't have enough juice to power the trike, but it recharges a battery. They expect it to retail in the $1500 to $2000 range. The US rep is Hui Chin Yang, Accurrent Intl Inc. in Gilbert, AZ. [email protected] 602-334-9773.
Turf Trike is a unique pedal-powered golf cart. It has two wheels in front and an upright rider position. There is a removable carrier on the front for your golf bag with small wheels so you can roll your bag around. The chain is enclosed in a tartan cover. It has seven speeds and 24" x 4 1/4" turf tires. The front end folds to fit on a rear-mounted car bike rack. It was designed by Jason Deal and is made by Pacific Cycles for Cycle Cart, Inc.
Velomobilis of Lithuania has a tadpole trike with a very straight boom putting the pedals out front. 20 inch wheels in front, 26 in the back. Photos and comments on the Web site indicate they have plans for other Velomobiles, including four wheelers, but in mid-2007 the trike is their only current model.
Versa Trike of St. Charles, Illinois, is produced by a ten year old non-profit known as Creative Mobility. They have one model intended for use by those who have trouble cycling for physical reasons that is 44 inches tall with rear wheels closer together than most trikes. They also have accessories like crank shorteners, Pedal Width Enhancers that put your pedals about an inch further out, a pedal that holds your foot in with a bungee cord and a Rigid Foot Plate for adapting almost any foot to a pedal. They have more on the Creative Mobility site. It has a catalog of adaptive bikes that includes trikes by Catrike, Freedom Concepts, Greenspeed, Trice Trike, Invacare, Hase, Penninger, Rifton, Quickie and others. That includes a tandem trike by Freedom Concepts where the driver steers from the rear and the front position rider just pedals and rides.
Very Eco has unique custom trikes designed by Bill Blakie of Invercargill, New Zealand. His trike has one-handed steering via a single right or left lever, so it can be operated by a person who can use only one arm. This newsletter has a writeup on trying out his cycles in 2002 .
Why Walk Pedicab has a line of tricycle pedicabs. They range from simple pedaled machines with a two passenger seat behind the driver to electric assisted ones with full canopies. They have a cargo trike that can handle 1,000 pounds and a unique "Media Bike" that has a large screen behind the rider with two 3x4 foot scrolling poster ads in color with 12 volt backlighting and a stereo system. At $19,000 it may be the most expensive vehicle on this page, but Why Walk says it can be profitable if you can sell enough ads.
Windcheetah/AVD has two tadpole trikes. Their 2007 Hypersport Series II has a unique aero front fairing, carbon fiber seat suspended on carbon fibre leaf springs, and a large rear wheel. They have been known for fast recumbents for more than 20 years. The Web site has downloadable manuals with some construction details. Part of the development cost of the Hypersport Series II was funded by an Innovation Grant from the UK Department of Trade and Industry.
WizWheelz makes the TerraTrike, with two wheels forward and one wheel back. They have solo models in steel, aluminum and aluminum/carbon. For 2007 they also have a tandem with couplings to break down for transport.
Zigo has a unique trike combined with a stroller/jogger. It has two 20" wheels on the front that are the stroller wheels when you dismount that section. There is an 8-speed internal gear rear hub. There is a spare wheel under the stroller to put on as the front wheel of the bike when you separate them, and two 8" caster wheels on the front of the stroller to make it a four wheel stroller.
Michael Deegan's site
was the definitive recumbent tricycles page. When we found it we almost took the trikes off of ours. He had a photo of each trike, a very useful way of sorting through them. But we can't find it online any more.
Arm-Powered Vehicles
Before reading these, here is Murray Drew's site -- Manual Mobility -- for links to arm-powered vehicles and almost anything else you might want for muscle or electric powered mobility. Years after breaking his neck he is still working hard to get it all back.
Action has two arm-powered Excelerator trikes, the L'il Excelerator with 20" wheels and the Top End Excelerator with 26" wheels. No pedals, arm power only! Seven speeds, high-back seat, custom bumper rack for your car. Action Top End, 4501 63rd Circle North, Pinellas Park, FL 33781, phone (800) 532-8677 or (813) 522-8677.
Alternative Vehicles has a line of trikes and four wheelers mostly made by Pacific Cycles in Asia. Their hand-powered models are designed mostly for rehab and mobility.
Angle Tech has a trike powered by either arms, legs, or both.
Brike International has a Freedom Ryder hand-powered recumbent trike steered by leaning the body. Built for athletes and racing, it has a high tech look, particularly with the carbon fiber wheel option.
Greenspeed makes a nice line of tricycles including a 54-speed hand-powered trike. If you can afford custom work, they have a custom shop.
Handy is a hand-driven low-profile tadpole tricycle with high-profile handlebars. It has internal hub gearing on the front wheel and controls for shifting and braking built into the hand pedals. The Handy Upright version has a higher seating position. Both have 20" wheels. They are available to dealers from Pacific Cycles of Taiwan and are recommended for upper body exercise and people who can't pedal with their legs. You can read about Pacific Cycles in the March 1, 2006 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News . The article explains why the original Pacific Cycles has an S on the end and Pacific Cycle of the US does not.
Intrepid Equipment has an arm-powered delta road trike with three 700c wheels, 21 speeds and dual front disk and rim brakes. There is an optional coupler to split the frame for transporting it in a car. They offer test rides and service at their San Diego location.
Invacare has a racing arm-powered trike. It has a driven, pivoting front wheel, 27 speeds, 24 inch tires and optional carbon fiber wheels.
Mobilis Corporation has at least three arm-powered trikes including the Armstrong, the Cruiser and the Lightning Bolt. No pedals, arm power only! Handled by Rideable Bike Replicas, 2329 Eagle St., Alameda, CA 94501, phone (510) 521-7145.
The Irish Mail is for something completely different. It is the four wheel rowbike some people remember from earlier times. Some links:
A wood kit to build one from Rockler.
Mother Earth News has plans for building one as well.
Space Bike makes a very small four wheeled rowing bike for toddlers and kids 3 to 12 years old. It is steered with the feet. Bright colors, including the wheels. There is a Youtube video on it.
Tri-Sled in the trikes section above has a hand powered trike.
Tricycle Plans
Atomic Zombie sells plans for a number of tricycles, including adult deltas and tadpoles, novelty, hand-powered and stunt trikes.
Bicycle Lane Industries has plans for a cargo trike based on a grocery cart. The description makes the trike seem pretty lame, but the writeup will help you to avoid the problems they uncovered if you want to design a cargo trike.
Hell-bent Cycle Works has designs for Thunderbolt Mk II 26 tadpole-style recumbent trikes with an aluminum frame. They sell trike plans and components when ready, and have some examples of their plans on the Web . Be sure to check out the About page for background on how the company has developed and the What's New page for recent changes. The plans we have seen appear to be very well done, with photos, drawings and dimensional drawings along with discussion of frame materials and a lot of other info. We have not, however, built one, so we don't know how they work out.
Hoard's Bike Cart has plans on the Web for making a trike that has a garden cart with two wheels on the front. With photos of the two they have in use on a ranch. The builder says "You can easily pedal up to 200 pounds of anything that isn't kicking like crazy to its destination. They are great for bringing in the produce, moving sacks of grain, bales of hay, sick calves, manure, etc."
Larry Bowden has plans up for tricycles . They are free for personal use but he asks you to make a small donation to Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.
Vintage Projects has plans for building very old looking designs for a sidecar and a chariot-style trailer.
Velomobiles
There are a number of car-like fully enclosed tricycles available now, mostly in Germany and the Netherlands. Some are listed above.
AeroRider is a Dutch company with a bullet shaped vehicle on three wheels. There are a least two models. The larger one weighs 150 lbs, and has electric assist that can do 28mph/45kph over a 19 to 56 mile (30 to 90km) range. It has vents and fans for cooling. The smaller model can be run without the upper clear plastic fairing for warm days.
Cab-bike is a German company with a really cute velomobile design. The entire top is hinged to flip off to the side for easy entry. The design is also produced in Canada and available through Blue Velo in Toronto
Go One is a German company with a bullet-shaped fully-enclosed aerodynamic recumbent tadpole trike with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis that keeps the weight to 60 pounds. It is a fully-equipped human-powered vehicle with lights and turn signals. There is a 350 watt electric assist motor available. The US link is above, but there is a German site as well. Prices run $10,000 to $13,000.
Greenspeed makes a nice line of tricycles including a velocar called the Glyde.
See Tri-Sled in the trikes section above for another Australian velomobile.
Fietser.be is a Belgian company with their own WAW velomobile. They also act as a dealer for ICE Trikes and TerraTrike.
Leitra is a Danish company who built their first Velomobile in 1980. It is a three-wheeled design with a unique fairing with cutaway sides that permits arm signals (insisted on by Danish authorities when they approved its use in 1982).
Lightfoot Cycles of Conner, Montana, has a fully-enclosed velocar, as well as head-out models scheduled for mid-2012. Other bikes in their line can be fitted with all-weather protection.
Flevobike alleweder is a German velomobile with three wheels and a full fairing. The company has unfaired trikes as well.
Velomobiel is a Dutch company with several velomobile models. Some of their designs are now produced in Canada and available through Blue Velo in Toronto.
Fietsen has photos and reviews of trikes, bents and velomobiles.
Rentals
Thanks to Dan Beckwith, we are now aware of at least one shop in the US that rents trikes and fourwheelers, or perhaps used to. The Pepperell Bike Shop in Pepperell, Massachusetts, had various models on their Web page, but we can't find mention of rentals any more.
Another East Coast dealer who normally has many trikes in stock for test rides and perhaps for rentals is Mount Airy Bicycles in Mount Airy Maryland. Proprietor Larry Black has been an alternative bicycle addict for many years, and his medium-sized shop is crammed with very interesting machines, all available for test rides in the Maryland countryside.
Others
The Autocanoe is a unique amphibian, with a canoe body with three wheels, two of which function as paddlewheels when the canoe enters the water.
Dead Links
There is a high mortality rate in four and three wheel bicycle companies. Or perhaps just a high rate of Web site changes. We can't find these any more so if you need to contact one we suggest a Google search.
Quetzal Cycle is a Canadian manufacturer of recumbents with a trike model that looks utilitarian with five speeds and a large rear basket. Some of their models have an "overdrive" unit to increase the gear ratio, a feature they explain on their technology page with a formula for calculating the distance traveled per crank revolution. On their 2003 catalog page they have a bike rack that fits on the back of a minivan or suv putting the rear wheel close to the rear window and the front wheel up over the roof of the car. In a brochure we picked up at Interbike in 2002 they also have a trike adaptor that puts two wheels on the back of its standard recumbent models, but we did not find either the rack or trike adaptor listed for sale on their Web page in September of 2003. In late 2004 their page ceased to respond. Let us know if they come back.
Ultimate-Quadracycle has the CosyCycle line of trikes and four wheel bikes. Located in Canada, they are the North American rep for CosyCycles. (We have lost track of the former international rep.) Their four wheelers carry one to four riders. On two-seater four wheelers, each rider drives one of the rear wheels, and can select their gears independently. They have an interesting work trike called the CC-Work Buddy that can carry up to 600 pounds.
And this one has shifted their focus:
Quikke was originally a conversion kit to add two wheels in front to a two wheeler or alpha trike. The kit is no longer available from LoMac Products, who have sold out all remaining stock of parts. They are now producing for other brands.
Go-Kid Quadcoasters were not really bicycles, but they have four medium sized wheels spaced widely enough to look like a bike. Some are propelled by kicking out the back and some called Equads come with electric motors useful for handicapped users. They are located in Houston. The URL redirects to an advertising site now.
Fresher Links?
Generally you can find more and fresher links with a Google search for "four wheel bicycle" the same way most people find this page. Our first search for four wheel bicycle turned up 66,500 possible pages. With quotes before and after the phrase (the link above), it found only 295 pages. As of March, 2003, the number had fallen to 272. You can also search for variations like four wheel bike , and get many more pages. Using the number 4 instead of the word did not work as well for us. You might try another search engine, but we don't since Google works so well.
If you find a link on this page that does not work, you can use Google to search for the company name to find out if they have a new site. Then let us know where you found it!
Why? - A footnote
In 1995 I put up a page to vent my frustrations with a four wheeled bike called the Forerunner that I had bought in 1994. People emailed me looking for four wheeled bikes and tricycles, and others telling me they make them. (And one who asked to be taken off our page.) I have also been checking out the companies each year at the Interbike trade show, and the list has grown.
I still ride my Forerunner, and don't know anything at all about most of the companies listed above or their products, so can't recommend any of them or vouch for their integrity. In at least one case a customer has emailed us his account of a dispute with one of the companies. You should use normal business caution dealing with them, of course, so you are on your own!
In many cases the bikes are sold through local bike shops. Our most active local seller of non-traditional pedal powered vehicles is Mount Airy Bicycles in Mount Airy, Maryland. They have amazing things in stock, and I recommend them highly. I understand that Utah Trikes has over 500 tricycles in stock. There are lots of non-specialized local dealers who have fewer choices but some good bikes.
I do not accept anything from any manufacturer or retailer except test rides, so this page is not influenced by commercial considerations. It runs on the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute site , where I work full time as a volunteer, and I contribute enough work to BHSI to offset the minimal resources the page uses. There are no ads on this page, and no commercial angles here.
If you know of other four wheel bike manufacturers or adult tricycle makers I would be delighted to hear from you. Please send me an email .
Randy Swart
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i don't know
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What is the common alternative abbreviated name for a Cannon plug/connector used in professional audio systems?
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Audio Glossary | Definitions
Audio Glossary and Definitions
Audio Glossary & Definitions
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A
A-B Test: A test by which an observor subjectively compares the performance of two components of the same type; for example, a test between two different speakers. For the test to be scientifically valid, the inputs, levels, and listening conditions should be matched.
ABX Comparator: A device that randomly selects between two components being tested. The listener doesn't know which device is selected.
AC: Alternating Current
Acoustic Coupling: The interaction between two or more speakers stacked together in a PA system which may produce a sound different to (and often better than) the sound produced by the individual speakers.
Acoustic Feedback: A phenomenon where the sound from a loudspeaker is picked up by the microphone or other transducer, like a phono cartridge feeding it, and re-amplifys it through the same loudspeaker only to return to the same microphone to be re-amplified again, etc.. Each time the signal becomes larger until the system runs away and rings, or feeds back on itself producing the characteristic scream or squeal found in sound (mostly, PA) systems. These buildups often occur at particular frequencies called feedback frequencies.
Acoustics: The area of study which deals with the behaviour of sound. Also the effect a given environment has on sound.
Acoustic Suspension: A type of speaker enclosure that is completely sealed with no port or other device to let air inside the enclosure flow outside the enclosure.
Active Crossover: Uses electronics supplied with a power source and acting on the sound to shift sound reproduction tasks from one speaker driver to another.
AIFF: Short for Audio Interchange File Format, a common format for storing and transmitting sampled sound, developed by Apple Computer and the standard audio format for Macintosh computers. Files are 8-bit mono or stereo and generally end with a .AIF or .IEF extension. Normal AIFF does not support data compression so files tend to be large, but another format called AIIF-Compressed (AIFF-C or AIFC) does support compression.
Aliasing: - See "Digital Aliasing"
AM: Amplitude Modulation - A method by which information, usually speech, is mixed with a radio frequency carrier signal to modulate that carrier with the audio information. Used in medium wave, short wave broadcasts as well as in amateur radio, citizens band radio and non licensed communications services.
Ambience: The subjective quality of a space; the feel of the space achieved through a mixture of all elements and characteristics affecting the space.
Amp: Abbreviation for ampere, the unit of electrical current. Also an abbreviation for amplifier.
Ampere: Unit of electrical current.
Amplifier: A device which increases or boosts the level of an input signal by increasing its amplitude.
Amplifier, Power: An amplifier without tone controls, usually with a higher power output than a line amplifier or pre-amp. Commonly used to drive loudspeakers.
Amplification Classes: All sound is a sinosoidial waveform. It has alternating peaks and valleys. The center point of each wave is the zero, or switching point that separates the positive (top) from the negative (bottom) portion of each wave.
Class A: When a tube or transistor amplifier operates in Class A, the output tubes or transistors amplify the entire waveform without splitting it into positive and negative halves.
Class B: Class B amplifiers have their tube control-grids or transistor bases biased near plate- or collector-current cutoff, causing plate- or collector-current to flow only during approximately 180 degrees of each RF cycle. That causes the DC-source-power to RF-output-power efficiency to be much higher than with Class A amplifiers, but at the cost of severe output cycle waveform distortion. That waveform distortion is greatly reduced in practical designs by using relatively high-Q resonant output "tank" circuits to reconstruct full RF cycles.
Class AB: In Class AB, used in the overwhelming majority of amplifier designs, the signal is split into two halves, positive and negative, and each half is sent to a tube or transistor circuit for amplification. Both sides work in tandem, and the two halves are recombined at the output section to reconstruct the whole signal. This technique increases the amount of power that can be applied, but increases distortion. Class A amps usually provide lower, often imperceptable distortion, but at the expense of reduced power output.
Class C: Class C amplifiers are biased well beyond cutoff, so that plate- or collector-current flows less than 180 degrees of each RF cycle. That provides even higher power-efficiency than Class B operation, but with the penalty of even higher input-to-output nonlinearity, making use of relatively high-Q resonant output tank circuits to restore complete RF sine-wave cycles essential. High amplifying-nonlinearity makes them unsuitable to amplify AM, DSB, or SSB signals. However, most Class C amplifiers can be amplitude-modulated with acceptably low distortion by varying plate- or collector-voltage, because they generally are operated in the region of plate- or collector-saturation so that the RF output voltage is very closely dependent upon instantaneous DC plate- or collector-voltage. They also are commonly used in CW and frequency-shift-keyed radiotelegraph applications and in phase- and frequency-modulated transmitter applications where signal amplitudes remain constant.
Class D or High Current operation is essentially rapid switching, hence the term switching power amplifier. Here the output devices are rapidly switched on and off at least twice for each cycle. Theoretically, since the output devices are either completely on or completely off they do not dissipate any power. If a device is on there is a large amount of current flowing through it, but all the voltage is across the load, so the power dissipated by the device is zero; and when the device is off, the voltage is large, but the current is zero. Consequently, class D operation (often, but not necessarrily digital) is theoretically 100% efficient, but this requires zero on-impedance switches with infinitely fast switching times -- a product yet to be made; meanwhile designs do exist with efficiencies approaching 90%. This is a design that is increasimgly popular for use in bass systems, where maximum power is necessary, and slightly elevated levels of distortion are easily tolerated.
Class E: The class-E/F amplifier is a highly efficient switching power amplifier, typically used at such high frequencies that the switching time becomes comparable to the duty time. As said in the class-D amplifier, the transistor is connected via a serial LC circuit to the load, and connected via a large L (inductor) to the supply voltage. The supply voltage is connected to ground via a large capacitor to prevent any RF signals leaking into the supply. The class-E amplifier adds a C (capacitor) between the transistor and ground and uses a defined L1 to connect to the supply voltage.
The class-E amplifier was invented in 1972 by Nathan O. Sokal and Alan D. Sokal, and details were first published in 1975.
Class F: In push–pull amplifiers and in CMOS, the even harmonics of both transistors just cancel. Experiment shows that a square wave can be generated by those amplifiers. Theoretically square waves consist of odd harmonics only. In a class-D amplifier, the output filter blocks all harmonics; i.e., the harmonics see an open load. So even small currents in the harmonics suffice to generate a voltage square wave. The current is in phase with the voltage applied to the filter, but the voltage across the transistors is out of phase. Therefore, there is a minimal overlap between current through the transistors and voltage across the transistors. The sharper the edges, the lower the overlap.
Class G amplifiers (which use "rail switching" to decrease power consumption and increase efficiency) are more efficient than class-AB amplifiers. These amplifiers provide several power rails at different voltages and switch between them as the signal output approaches each level. Thus, the amplifier increases efficiency by reducing the wasted power at the output transistors. Class-G amplifiers are more efficient than class AB but less efficient when compared to class D, without the negative EMI effects of class D.
Class H amplifiers take the idea of class G one step further creating an infinitely variable supply rail. This is done by modulating the supply rails so that the rails are only a few volts larger than the output signal at any given time. The output stage operates at its maximum efficiency all the time. Switched-mode power supplies can be used to create the tracking rails. Significant efficiency gains can be achieved but with the drawback of more complicated supply design and reduced THD performance. In common designs, a voltage drop of about 10V is maintained over the output transistors in Class H circuits. The picture above shows positive supply voltage of the output stage and the voltage at the speaker output. The boost of the supply voltage is shown for a real music signal.
Amplitude: The 'level' (perceived as 'volume') of an electrical or acoustic signal. Shown as the value of the vertical axis on a typical graph of a sound wave.
Analog: Any quantity which varies continuously without distinct steps. For sound waves in air, this refers to the continuous variation in air pressure; for an audio signal, this refers to the continuous variation in current or voltage.
Analog-to-Digital Converter: Electronic equipment used to change or convert an analog (waveform style) signal into a digital signal (made up of 1s and 0s).
Analyzer (Audio - Hardware): Device that measures amplitude, bandwidth and distortion characteristics of an audio signal.
Analyzer (Audio - Software): Software program designed to run on a computer that measures amplitude, bandwidth and distortion characteristics of an audio signal.
Anechoic Chamber: A specially designed room in which there are no reverberations of sound waves.
Anechoic Frequency Response: The frequency response of a speaker in an anechoic chamber with no room interactions with the sound.
A&R: Abbreviation for 'Artists & Repertoire', and referring to the responsibility of an individual or company for management of both talent (Artists) and the material they write or perform (Repertoire).
Articulation: A term used to describe clear and well understood audio reproduction in speech.
Attenuate: To reduce the amplitude of an electrical signal usually by using a volume control, fader or 'pad'. Also to reduce sound levels acoustically through the use of acoustic absorbers, resonators or structural materials.
AU: Short for audio, a common format for sound files on UNIX machines. It is also the standard audio file format for the Java programming language. AU files generally end with a .au extension .
Audio: The audible frequency range of sound waves.
Audiophile: A person who is particularly interested in and appreciative of audio.
Audio Generator: A piece of test equipment that produces audio tones from DC to well above human hearing.
Audio Input: In an audio/video system, the audio input is a connection on an electronic device allowing electronic signals with audio information sent by another component to enter.
Audio Output: The connection point from which an audio signal is electronically transferred via a wire from one audio component to another; the origination point of an audio signal as it travels over a wire.
Audio Rack: A stack of audio processors electrically wired together mounted inside a specially made cabinet that houses the equipment.
Audio Rectification: Spurious demodulation of interfering radio-frequency voltages in an audio system.
Audio Scrubbing: See 'Scrubbing'.
AVI: Short for Audio Video Interleave, the file format for Microsoft's Video for Windows standard.
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B
Backline: Originally, the line or equipment, such as amplifiers, set up along the back of the stage. Stacks of amps/speakers were often used as much for the look they created as the sound they put out, dressing up the stage and giving it a more theatrical appearance. Loosely, backline is now taken to mean all the artist's stage equipment which is not part of the 'sound reinforcement'.
Baffle: Front panel of a speaker enclosure on which the drivers are placed.
Balance: (1) A term describing the level comparison between two audio channels such as right or left. (2) A term describing the mix of different frequencies to attain evenness between low, mid and high frequencies. (3) A term describing a way of feeding a signal with a separate positive, negative and grounded lines. (See below)
Balanced Line: A pair of ungrounded conductors ('hot' and 'cold') whose voltages are opposite in phase but equal in magnitude. At the destination end, the phase of the 'cold' is reversed thereby doubling the signal strength and cacelling any induced noise. Balanced lines therefore reduce interference from external sources like radio frequencies and light dimmers.
Balanced Modulator: A circuit that receives both an oscillated RF carrier frequency and audio signal at the input and produces only the sum and differences of the carrier plus and minus the audio frequencies, canceling out the carrier frequency.
With a balanced modulator, only the sum and the difference components ("lower sidebands and upper sidebands") of a modulated RF carrier signal appear at the output. The carrier signal has been cleverly balanced out ("cancelled") and does not appear at the output, resulting in a Double Sideband, suppressed carrier RF signal.
Banana Connector: A speaker wire termination consisting of a single, fat shaft which bulges on the sides similar to a banana and inserts in 5-way binding posts.
Band: A grouping of frequencies in the audible frequency spectrum.
Bandwidth: The frequency range across which an audio system can reproduce sound.
Band Pass Filter: A circuit that discriminates between frequencies and allows only the predetermined spectrum of frequencies to pass, eliminating those below and above the desired band.
Basket: A component of a speaker driver which holds the various portions of the driver together.
Bass: Lower register of pitch; also a stringed musical instrument designed to play low frequency sounds; also a voice lower in pitch than a baritone.
Bass Reflex: Type of speaker enclosure which uses a port to increase bass output for a given power input resulting in 2 to 3 dB (decibels) more sound pressure than a similar sealed enclosure (also known as an acoustic suspension enclosure).
Biamplification: The use of separate amplifiers to power woofers and tweeters.
Binding Post: A means of connecting speaker wire to an amplifier or speaker.
Bipolar Speaker: Type of loudspeaker that directs sound in two directions using speaker driver on two sides of the enclosure opposite one another operating in phase (meaning that they both push out at the same time and they both come in at the same time).
Bit: The smallest piece of digital data; bits are represented by a one or a zero.
Bit Rate: The number of bits transferred in one second by a digital device such as a CD player.
Bi-wire: Technique used in connecting speakers to amplification sources in which two wires are run from each amplifier terminal to the corresponding speaker terminal instead of one.
BNC: (Bayonet Fitting Connector) A professional quality cable termination which is used primarily in labs and professional studios as an interconnect.
Bookshelf Speaker: A speaker of a small size, usually under 18 to 24 inches in height, which is best suited to sitting on some sort of stand be it a bookshelf, table, speaker stand or other object.
Board: Alternative name for mixing console or mixing desk.
Boundary Effects: Reverberations and sound irregularities caused by sound waves bouncing off hard surfaces, namely walls, floors and ceilings.
Bridge (Bridging): Amplification term used to describe the process whereby two channels of amplification are combined to operate as a single mono channel.
Bright: Sound quality having a harsh or brittle high-end with too much focus on the upper frequencies.
Brown Noise: Broadband test noise where the amplitude has a linear -6dB per octave attenuation as frequency increases.
Buckshot: A non-technical slang term specifically used to describe a radio frequency signal that is distorted causing the RF bandwidth to exceed the original audio bandwidth contained in it, thus causing interference to adjacent radio frequencies. (See also "Splatter")
Bump In / Out: The installation and removal of production equipment and services at a theatre venue.
Buss/Bus: A signal-carrying conductor or electrical pathway designed to carry multiple signals. e.g. a mixing console auxiliary bus may carry signals derived from several channels on that console
Butterworth Crossover: Type of crossover that uses a low-pass filter design, which results in no amplitude anomalies in the frequencies passed on by the filter (the passband).
Canon/Cannon: Brand name of multipoint connector used for professional audio equipment - see XLR.
Capacitor Microphone: See Condenser microphone.
Cardioid: "Heart" shaped pattern exhibited by some microphones which reduces pick-up from the sides and back.
Carousel Changer: Type of optical disc player/transport (namely CD) that holds multiple discs on a rotating platter enabling the component to play numerous discs without the user needing to manually switch discs.
Cartridge (Phono Cartridge): Device used with record players that holds the stylus or needle and attaches to the tonearm of the record player converting signals from the record grooves into electrical energy that can be played on an audio system.
Cassette: Plastic container holding a magnetic tape, which contains audio or video signals that can be read and played back when the tape is pulled over a magnetic reader of the appropriate type.
Cassette Deck: Audio component that accepts standard audiotape cassettes from which it reads information or to which it records information.
CD: Compact Disc
CD Changer: Type of compact disc player that holds more than one disc internally and that can swap discs to play various discs without the need for the user to physically swap discs or add discs.
CD-R: (Compact Disc Recordable) Form of compact disc consumers can record on using special CD "burners" or CD recorders. Can be recorded on only once and then becomes "Read Only" and is commonly used for music playback and data where high comparability is required..
CD-RW: (Compact Disc Re-Writable) Form of compact disc consumers can record on using special CD "burners" or CD recorders. Can be written to several times and is commonly used for archiving data.
CD-ROM: Compact disc read only memory; CD that cannot be written to or recorded making it useful only for data retrieval.
Center Channel: Third front audio channel (in addition to main stereo left and right channels) found in surround sound audio systems with the primary task of reproducing movie dialogue (what the actors are saying) thus locking the voices to the screen for all listeners.
Center Channel Speaker: Speaker used to output information from the center channel in a surround sound audio format.
Channel: A single module of a professional audio console, lighting control console, power amplifier, lighting dimmer or multi-core control cable, designed to carry one signal only and keep it separate from signals in other channels.
Chops: Slang for musical technique.
Chord: A combination of two or more notes played together.
Circuit Breaker: An electrical switch that automatically breaks a circuit if the current through it is too high, then can be manually reset. Performs the same function as a fuse, without the need for replacement after activating.
Click Track: A regular sound, such as from a metronome, usually recorded on one track of a multitrack and used to indicate the required tempo for recording musicians.
Clipping: Audible distortion occurring when the peaks of an amplifier's output are flattened ('clipped'). When the input is too high, an amplifier has insufficient power to accurately reproduce the output waveform.
Coaxial Cable: Specific type of cable design with two conductors, one running through the center of the cable surrounded by some form of non-conductive insulator with a second braided conductor wrapped around the insulation material and serving double-duty as a shield against interference.
Co-axial Speaker: Type of speaker driver in which a high frequency driver (a tweeter in most cases) is placed inside a low or mid frequency driver in the place of the dust cap.
Compact Disc (CD): Thin, round, reflective disc that stores digital data in the form of microscopic pits and lands and that can be read by a laser.
Compander:
This is a device that compresses and expands audio signals, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes as individual processes in one box. The term is a composite of COMPressor/expANDER.
Component: An individual piece of equipment in an audio or audio/video system.
Compression (Audio): The process of reducing the dynamic range of a given analogue audio program by making the loud parts quieter and the quiet parts louder.
Compression (Data): The process of packing digital data, such as computer files, more efficiently for the purpose of storage or transmission. Commonly referred to as 'stuffing' or 'zipping' a file.
Compression (Audio/Video Files): A process of temporarily or permanently reducing audio data for more efficient storage or transmission. A temporary reduction in file size is called 'non-lossy' compression, and no information is lost. A permanent reduction in file size (such as with mp3 files) is called 'lossy' compression, and involves discarding (supposedly) unnecessary information which is irretrievably lost.
Compression Ratio: (See "Ratio")
Compressor: A type of dynamic range processor which reduces the gain of audio signals which are over an adjustable 'threshold' level, therefore reducing the dynamic range. Generally allows the operator control over threshold, ratio, attack and release times. Both analogue and digital types are available.
Concert Pitch: A standard for the tuning of musical instruments, internationally agreed in 1960, in which the note A above middle C has a frequency of 440 Hz. The tuning used with middle 'A' corresponding to a frequency of 440Hz.
Condenser Microphone: A mic that depends on an external power supply or battery to electrostatically charge its condenser plates. Also called a 'Capacitor' microphone.
Conductor: Materials along which electrons will flow, making them suitable for use as connecting links in electrical circuits.
Cone: A type of speaker driver resembling an ice cream cone, with its largest diameter at the front of the speaker enclosure becoming smaller deeper within the enclosure.
Conventional Current: The representation of current as flowing from positive to negative potential when describing the behaviour of electricity, despite the reality that the actual electrons constituting that flow move from negative to positive potentials!
Crossfade: A procedure in which one independent channel of information is raised as the other is lowered so that one smoothly replaces the other e.g. one audio track may 'crossfade' to another.
Crossover: An electronic circuit which splits an audio signal into different frequency bands for routing to different speakers optimised for that frequency.
Crosstalk: Audio distortion resulting from information in one audio channel leaking into the signal of another channel.
Cue: 1. Foldback system used for recording studios. 2. The signal given to a performer to indicate the start of their performance.
Current: The flow of electrons along a conductor.
Cycles per second: See Hertz
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D
DAC (Digital to Analog Converter): Electronic device that decodes digital data (ones and zeroes) into an analog waveform electrical signal that can be amplified and played by loudspeakers (or that can be used by a video display to form an image in the case of video DACs).
Damping: An audio system's ability to stop playing a signal after it has ended.
Damping Factor: The ability of an amplifier to tightly control the movement of a speaker driver and stop its movement as the signal ends (see Damping).
DAT: Digital Audio Tape. Tape which stores data digitally rather than in traditional analogue format. Current DATs use 16-bit word size and 44.1 or 48kHz sample rate giving CD quality. However, shelf life is currently an unknown quantity.
DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite): Digital format for music and video that beams high-powered signals across North America from satellites orbiting above the equator to 18-inch satellite dishes providing a wide range of programming in a high-quality digital format.
DC: Direct Current
Decay: The way a signal reduces in level over time immediately after the signal stops.
Decibel or dB: Equal to 0.1 bel (B). A logarithm of a ratio used to indicate mathematically how a measured quantity compares to a standard reference quantity. One use, of many, is to represent Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) as numbers from 0dB (the softest sound that may be heard) to 120dB and beyond (the level at which sound is perceived as pain).
Delay: Signal processor which stores a signal for a short time before releasing it to the output. Combining the delayed and original sound allows for effects such as 'echo'. Multiple delay processors may produce 'time modulation' effects such as phasing, flanging and chorus.
Demo: A recording made for demonstration purposes for a record company, agent, venue owner, or to explore the potential of the song.
Desk: Mixing console.
DI: Direct Input box. A device used to match the level and impedance of sources such as guitar pickups to that expected by the microphone input of mixing consoles.
Diaphragm: The moving part of a speaker driver that generates sound through its movements which in turn create movement of air around the speaker.
Diffraction: Break-up or distortion of a sound wave created when the sound wave hits a speaker cabinet, grille cover, or other similar component of the speaker that is creating the sound.
Diffuse: Sound quality described by being hard to localize and fully filling a listening area; spread out. A diffuse sound field is one that encompasses the listener filling the listening space without being very directional (having low directivity).
Digital: Represented by a numerical code. For sound, the conversion of an analogue waveform to a series of numbers representing the instantaneous amplitude for each sample taken, the storage of those numbers, and the eventual conversion back to analogue format for replay.
Digital Aliasing: Aliasing is the term used to describe what happens when we try to record and play back frequencies higher than one-half the sampling rate. The Nyquist Theorem tells us that we can successfully sample and play back frequency components up to one-half the sampling frequency.
Consider a digital audio system with a sample rate of 48 KHz, recording a steadily rising sine wave tone. At lower frequency, the tone is sampled with many points per cycle. As the tone rises in frequency, the cycles get shorter and fewer and fewer points are available to describe it. At a frequency of 24 KHz, only two sample points are available per cycle, and we are at the limit of what Nyquist says we can do.
Still, those two points are adequate, in a theoretical world, to recreate the tone after conversion back to analog and low-pass filtering. But, if the tone continues to rise, the number of samples per cycle is not adequate to describe the waveform, and the inadequate description is equivalent to one describing a lower frequency tone -- this is aliasing.
Digital Audio: Method of encoding analog audio signals into digital bits of information typically using pulse code modulation resulting in high-quality signals that suffer from very little distortion and noise compared to analog signals, are easy to record and edit without degradation, are easy to transmit and record, and can be modified or adjusted quickly and without signal degradation.
Digital Audio Editing: A method of manipulating digital audio information via a user interface or editing program such as "CakeWalk", "Goldwave:, "Adobe Audition", etc...
Digital Jitter: Jitter is a term that means that the data (the 1's and the 0's) is not perfectly time-aligned, but rather is transmitted either slightly earlier or later than it should be in the ideal case. However, this time flaw is not as great as to cause a digital error (data fallout). But to our analogue ears, this translates into the harsh distortion we call "that digital sound." (See graphic below as to how "Jitter" would appear on a scope)
Digital Surround: Sound Surround sound format in which all five channels (left front, front center, right front, right rear, left rear and an optional sixth sub-woofer channel) are discrete and full-range (the subwoofer channel is not full range), recorded in digital audio, and compressed to fit in a smaller space (see 5.1).
Digititus: (1) The effect that Jitter has on human hearing where a harsh distortion is detected. (2) Any digital equipment that suffers from poor time alignment of the digital data known as Jitter.
Dipolar Speaker: Speaker featuring speaker drivers on two opposite sides of a speaker enclosure and wired to operate out of phase (as one driver moves in the other moves out) creating a null to the sides of the speaker (very little sound emanating to the sides) and a broad, spread-out sound in general.
Direct Radiating Speaker: Type of speaker that creates and outputs sound from only one side of the enclosure with that side aimed at the listening position.
Discrete: Separate with no interaction between elements.
Dispersion: Describes the radiation pattern of sound waves from a sound source (the sound source being a speaker in terms of audio/video); definition of the amount of air all around a speaker excited by the sound waves it produces.
Distortion: Any difference, apart from level, between an original signal and one that has been processed. One cause may be the overloading of the input stage of an amplifier, but many other forms of distortion, such as harmonic distortion are common.
Distribution Amplifier: An amplifier used to boost a low-level signal travelling over a long distance.
Dolby 3-Channel: A pseudo form of surround sound somewhere between stereo two-speaker operation and a full surround sound set-up with surround sound speakers in the rear; Dolby 3-channel uses the front speakers only - the front left, front center, and front right speakers.
Dolby B Noise Reduction: Reduces high frequency hiss noise by 10 decibels.
Dolby C Noise Reduction: Reduces high frequency hiss noise by 20 decibels.
Dolby Digital: Discrete digital surround sound format based on Dolby's AC-3 compression scheme to be found on DVDs, some laserdiscs and digital television (see 5.1 and AC-3).
Dolby HX Pro: Feature used when recording to a tape that extends high frequency range of cassettes and increases high frequency headroom by adjusting tape bias.
Dolby Pro-Logic: Analog surround sound format using matrix surround technology to encode four channels of audio information (left, center, right and surround) onto two channels creating a surround sound sonic environment for properly encoded movies and other programming (see Matrix Surround Sound).
Dolby Reference Level: Volume level of an audio system with the volume at the 0 decibel setting resulting in 85 decibel volume with a test tone and 105 decibel peaks.
Driver: Individual moving element of a complete speaker system which is attached to the speaker enclosure and which vibrates, generally in a back and forth piston like motion, to produce sound waves when power is applied from an amplifier. (Also a term used to describe software data used to work in conjunction with computer hardware.)
Drumfill: Foldback speakers placed at sides of drummer providing monitors coverage for performer.
Dry: Unprocessed sound.
DSP: Digital Signal Processing - "Digital Signal Processing" is a modern form of processing that uses bit data to simulate characteristics found in analog circuits. Manipulation or alteration of analog signals (commonly audio or video signals) after conversion to a digital format.
DTS (Digital Theater Systems): Discrete, digital 5.1 surround sound format used for movies and music; competitor of Dolby Digital featuring similar but incompatible compression and coding technologies to place six channels of sound on a DVD or on both digital audio tracks of a laserdisc (see 5.1)
Dub: To make a copy of a recording on another storage medium.
Dust Cap: Circular piece inserted into a speaker diaphragm or speaker cone near the bottom, small part of the cone (the apex) covering the voice coil.
Dynamic Microphone: A microphone that converts sound into electrical energy by means of a moving coil located in a magnetic field.
Dynamic Headroom: The ability of an amplifier to put out more power than its average power output for a short time in order to faithfully reproduce sudden, loud sounds without distorting or clipping (see Headroom).
Dynamic Range: The difference between the loudest and softest parts of a musical performance, usually measured in decibels.
Dynamic Speaker: Common type of loudspeaker using traditional speaker drivers consisting of diaphragms, voice coils, stationary magnets, suspensions, spiders, and baskets in which a signal applied to the voice coil moves it and the attached speaker diaphragm in relation to the stationary magnet and basket.
Dynamics: When used in music, refers to the expression of a performance with varying degree of loudness and softness.
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E
Early Reflections: Sound waves bouncing or reflecting off a wall, ceiling, floor or object in a room and reaching the listener just after the direct sound waves emanating from the speakers themselves.
Earth: An electrical connection to the earth, which represents 0 volts or 'ground potential' by way of a metal or conductive rod.
Easter egg: A surprise usually coded into computer programs or web pages that is accessed by an undocumented keystroke combination or hidden link.
Echo: The combined effect of a sound and a delayed version of that same sound. A 'Slap-Back Echo' is the original sound plus a single repeat; "Multiple Echo" is the original sound plus several repeats with the same delay spacing.
Effect: A device which modifies sound creatively via processing.
Effects Rack: A cabinet containing outboard equipment. Designed to accommodate a number of standard width (19" or 48.3cm) rack-mountable devices. Pro-audio devices are always designed to have one of several standard heights in 'rack units' (RU), each RU being 1.75" or 4.44 cm.
Electrostatic Speaker: Type of speaker that uses positive and negative electric charges over two thin panels, one stationary and one moveable, to generate sound (two positive or two negative charges repel each other while a positive and negative attract each other enabling movement and thus sound production).
Enclosure: The cabinet or structure of a speaker into which the various speaker elements (the drivers, the crossover, the binding posts, etc.) are placed and attached.
EQ / Equalization: The increase or decrease in level of certain portions of the audio frequency spectrum imposed by a device or acoustic environment. Changing the frequency response of a given audio signal by adjusting the amplitude of the signal usually in an effort to achieve a flatter frequency response (although often misused to alter the audio signal to a more "pleasing" form which is a distortion of the intended signal - for instance, artificially adding bass for a more visceral impact).
eSSB (Audio): Extended Single Side Band. Any J3E SSB transmission mode that exceeds or extends the audio bandwidth of standard or traditional 2.9kHz J3E modes in order to support the fidelity required and desired for relative high fidelity, full range clean and articulate vocal audio.
Excursion: The distance a speaker driver travels to reproduce an audio frequency.
Expander: A type of dynamic range processor which reduces the gain of audio signals which are under an adjustable 'threshold' level, therefore increasing the dynamic range. Generally allows the operator control over threshold, ratio, attack, release and 'hold' times. Both analogue and digital types are available.
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F
Feedback: Sound produced by an instrument or microphone picking up and amplifying its own signal from a nearby loudspeaker. Also known as 'howlaround'.
Filter: A device that removes unwanted frequencies or noise from a signal.
Ferrofluid Cooling: Type of cooling material (ferromagnetic liquid) used primarily with tweeters to keep the driver from overheating by dissipating heat away from the voice coil.
FFT: Fast Fourier transform (FFT) is a discrete Fourier transform algorithm which reduces the number of computations needed for points from to , where lg is the base-2 logarithm. If the function to be transformed is not harmonically related to the sampling frequency, the response of an FFT looks like a sinc function (although the integrated power is still correct). Aliasing (leakage) can be reduced by apodization using a tapering function. However, aliasing reduction is at the expense of broadening the spectral response.
Fiber-Optic Cable: A cable that uses light beams to transmit information rather than electrical signals traveling over metal wires.
Flat / Flatness: Audio frequency amplitude is considered to be "Flat" if a faithful reproduction of the original input source is achieved at the output. If the audio amplitude in a given frequency range of an audio signal is the same as the source audio, then it is said to be "Flat".
Fletcher Munson Curve: Tones of the same SPL but with different frequencies are in general judged as having different loudness. SPL is thus not a good measure of loudness, if we inter compare tones of different frequency. Experiments have been performed to establish curves of equal loudness, taking the SPL at 1 KHz as a reference quantity. This relative curve of perceived loudness is referred to as the "Fletcher Munson Curve" named after the audio experimenters who developed it.
Floorstanding Speaker: A specific type of speaker enclosure that stands directly on the floor without needing to sit on something in order to raise its speaker drivers to an acceptable height in line with the listener.
Flutter: Pitch variations heard as a fast wavering or wobbling caused by a software medium (such as an audiotape or CD) moving at varied speeds.
Flying-Erase Head: Feature of high-quality VCRs that makes transitions between recorded material smooth and clean by erasing a fraction of a second of tape just prior to the start of recording.
FM (Frequency Modulation): Method of adding an audio signal to a carrier radio frequency (modulating the signal) so that the audio signal can be transmitted from place to place and later decoded from the radio frequency for reproduction.
FM Synthesis: Synthesiser technology which mimics different musical instruments according to built-in formulas. Generally considered to be inferior to Wave Table Synthesis.
FOH: Front-Of-House. Generally refers to the audience area, or that part of a venue not comprising the stage or backstage areas.
FOH Desk: Refers to audio or lighting control consoles at front-of-house, usually located towards rear of audience area.
FOH Engineer/s: Personnel responsible for operating audio and lighting systems, heard and seen by the audience as part of a performance.
Foldback (Live Sound): Also known as the monitor system, foldback comprises onstage speaker systems which enable the artist to hear his/her own performance, as well as other instruments and/or vocalists to varying degrees as controlled by the 'monitor engineer' or 'foldback engineer'.
Foldback (Studio): The system by which a performer in a studio may hear their performance through headphones. Also known as 'Cue'.
Frequency: The number of complete cycles that a sound wave goes through in each second. Unit used is Hertz, abbreviated to Hz, although some countries still use the older term 'cycles per second' (cps). Humans perceive frequency subjectively as pitch (eg: 440Hz = A).
Frequency Response: Range over which an audio component can effectively produce a useable and fairly uniform, undistorted output signal.
Full Power Bandwidth: The range of frequencies across which an amplifier can supply its full power rating to a speaker.
Full-Range Surround Sound Channels: A feature of 5.1 digital surround sound formats allowing discrete surround sound channels which are capable of playing across the frequency band audible to human hearing (20 Hz to 20,000 Hz).
Function Generator: A piece of test equipment that produces audio test tones from DC to well beyond human hearing.
Fuse: A safety device consisting of a low melting-point wire with a low melting pointwhich breaks an electrical circuit by heating up and melting ('fusing') if the current through it is too high.
G
Gaffer tape: Multi-purpose plasticised cloth tape often used to fasten leads on stage.
Gain: The amount by which an amplifier increases the power of a signal, indicated either in dB (e.g. Gain = +12dB), or as a multiplier (e.g. Gain = x4)
Gate: See 'Noise Gate'
Gig: Slang for job, engagement of musicians to play and perform.
GPO: General Purpose Outlet, or power point, capable of supplying normal mains power.
Graphic Equalizer: An audio equalizer that uses pre-defined center frequencies and Q's with variable amplitude.
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H
Harmonic: An additional frequency in an audio signal derived from the fundamental or original frequency as a multiple of that fundamental that is smaller in amplitude (power) than the fundamental.
HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital): Compact disc encoding/decoding scheme developed by Pacific Microsonics with the goal of improving on the sound of traditional CDs.
HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection): Specification used to encrypt and protect digital video and audio signals transmitted between two HDCP-enabled devices using DVI or HDMI connections.
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface): Digital video and audio connection system used to connect a variety of audio/video components, particularly high-definition video (HDTV). HDMI supports all HDTV formats along with support for up to eight channels of digital audio.
Headphone Jack: A connection on an audio or audio/video component which receives a headphone connection.
Headphones: Personal audio listening device which covers or in some way goes over or attaches to a listener's ears.
Headroom: An amplifier's ability to go beyond its rated average power for a short time in order to recreate loud or explosive audio signals that rise very quickly.
Heat Sink: A metal object, usually a row of thin metal fins, designed to dissipate heat away from electronic equipment.
Hertz: (Abbreviation: Hz) The unit of frequency. Replaces 'cycles per second' and means the same.
High-Pass Crossover: Type of crossover that attenuates or cuts off low frequency signals and sends on only the high frequency signals falling above the crossover point (crossover frequency).
High Pass Filter: A circuit that discriminates between high and low frequencies and allows only the high frequencies to pass.
Hook: A catchy part of a melody, riff or lyric which 'hooks' the listener's attention.
Horizontal Input: Usually referring to the horizontal (X) input of an oscilloscope that measures an audio, I.F. or R.F. signal source.
Howlaround: see Feedback
Hypercardioid: A narrower heart-shaped pick-up pattern than that of cardioid microphones.
HyperGlossary: A name made up by me to describe a glossary containing the usual text descriptions of terms, plus added hyperlinks to expanded definitions, examples, and images.
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I
I.M.D.: Intermodulation Distortion - Nonlinear distortion characterized by the appearance, in the output of a device, of frequencies that are linear combinations of the fundamental frequencies and all harmonics present in the input signals. Note: Harmonic components themselves are not usually considered to characterize intermodulation distortion.
Imaging: Term used to describe the quality of a sound field put out by an audio system giving a subjective measure as to how well a system can recreate depth, width and height from the recording.
Impedance: The measure of the total resistance to the current flow expressed in ohms, in an alternating current circuit. It is an important characteristic of electrical devices (particularly speakers and microphones). Most speakers are rated at 4 or 8 ohms. Microphones are usually classified as being either high impedance (10,000 ohms or greater) or low impedance (50 ohms to 600 ohms).
Integrated Amplifier: Audio component combining the elements of an amplifier with those of a preamplifier but not containing a tuner (making an integrated amplifier different from a receiver which does contain a tuner).
Interconnect: Wire used to connect various pieces of equipment (components) in an audio/video system carrying audio or video information via low-level electric signals (not very powerful) or via light pulses (digital information carried over fiber-optic interconnects).
Input Overload Distortion: Distortion caused by too great an input signal being sent to an amplifier or preamplifier. It is not affected by volume control settings and often occurs when mics are positioned too close to the sound source. This distortion is controllable through the use of an attenuator or pad.
Input Impedance: The measure of the total resistance to the current flow expressed in ohms, in an alternating current circuit at the input of a device. Most modern equipment has a low imput impedance from about 150 ohms to 600 ohms.
Input Sensitivity: The range of input voltages required to produce outputs from the minimum to the maximum output of an amplifier; may also refer to the input sensitivity for maximum output, which is the input in volts required for an amplifier to create its maximum power output.
Inverse Square Law: The law that states that in the absence of reflective surfaces, sound pressure (or light) falls off at a rate inverse to the square of the distance from its source. In other words, every time you double your distance from the sound source, the sound pressure level is reduced by a factor of 4, or 12 dB.
Insulator: Material preventing the flow of electrons, making it suitable for prevention of unwanted current flow in electrical circuits.
Integrated Amplifier: An amplifier containing two stages: a 'Pre-Amplifier' and a 'Power Amplifier'. Commonly used for domestic hi-fi applications.
Interface: A device which facilitates the linking of any two pieces of equipment or systems; or when used as a verb ('to interface'), the process of linking.
Isobaric: A type of speaker enclosure used for subwoofers and bass drivers which uses a small, sealed enclosure with two bass drivers facing each other (one inside the box facing out and the other outside the box facing in at its counterpart) and wired out of phase.
Jack: Female audio receptacle, or socket designed for male plug.
Jackfield: See Patchbay
JPEG: Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, and pronounced jay-peg. JPEG is a lossy compression technique for color images. Although it can reduce files sizes to about 5% of their normal size, some detail is lost in the compression.
Jumper: Used to connect multiple speaker binding posts on speakers capable of bi- or tri-amping.
Jumper Cable (Audio): Used to connect one audio device to another using shielded cables. Comes in the form of balanced or unbalanced configurations.
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K
Keypad: In a multi-zone audio system distributed in multiple locations around a home or building, a keypad allows a person to control the volume and other aspects of audio being sent to a specific zone in which the keypad is located.
kHz (Kilohertz): One thousand cycles per second.
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L
Late Reflections: Sound waves that bounce or reflect off room boundaries and objects reaching a listener a relatively long time after the direct signal from the sound source reaches the listener.
Leads: Signal-carrying cables used to connect various pieces of equipment.
LFE (Low Frequency Effects): Audio channel found in 5.1 digital surround sound audio schemes (the .1) that carries only low frequency information of 80 Hz and below.
Limiter: A compressor set up with a high ratio (in excess of 10:1) and used primarily to prevent a signal from exceeding a certain pre-set maximum level. (See also "Peak Limiting")
Line Conditioner: Electronic device that "cleans" the electricity coming from a wall outlet to be used by audio/video components and protects them from electric spikes and surges.
Line Level: A signal whose voltage is between approximately 0.310 volts and 10 volts across a load of 600 ohms or greater.
Linearity: Linearity is the behavior of a circuit, particularly an amplifier, in which the output signal strength varies in direct proportion to the input signal strength. In a linear device, the output-to-input signal amplitude ratio is always the same, no matter what the strength of the input signal (as long it is not too strong).
Load In / Out: The installation and removal of production equipment and services at music performance venues.
Loader/Lugger: Person providing labour for the above function whose responsibility is generally limited to lugging equipment between the production trucks and the stage or FOH positions. Their job generally does not include rigging or setting up the equipment, which is the responsibility of roadies.
Lossy Compression: A type of data compression which permanently discards data that humans supposedly "cannot hear" to create much smaller audio, video and image file sizes. When the file is decompressed by the recipient, this compression method replaces the data for the sections it removed with calculated values to restore the file. The decompressed file is similar but not identical to the original file.
Low-Pass Crossover: Type of crossover that only allows low frequencies to pass cutting off or attenuating frequencies above the crossover point (crossover frequency).
Low Pass Filter: A circuit that discriminates between high and low frequencies and allows only the low frequencies to pass.
Mac: Apple Macintosh computer.
Master Fader: A fader which controls the overall level of one or more outputs simultaneously.
Matrix Surround: Sound Method of encoding more than two channels of audio into a pair of analog audio channels.
Metronome: Adjustable mechanical or electronic device which audibly indicates tempo. Some electronic versions may indicate beats per minute (bpm).
MIDI: Acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a standard adopted by the electronic music industry for controlling devices, such as synthesizers and sound cards, that produce music. At minimum, a MIDI representation of a sound includes values for the note's pitch, length, and volume, but can also include additional characteristics, such as attack and decay time.
Mic: Abbreviation of the word microphone.
Microphone: A device that converts sound pressure variations into electrical signals.
MIDI files: A computer file format containing musical information and performance data.
Midrange: The middle part of the audio frequency spectrum above Bass and below Treble.
Minidisk: Recording and playback device using small disks similar to CDs to store audio using lossy data compression to reduce file size.
Mix: Blend of amplified or recorded sounds. In the recording studio, the process of combining and balancing the signals from two or more tracks of a multi-track recorder resulting in a final mix or 'master tape'.
Mixing console/desk: A signal-management device which receives, combines and balances signals, provides control of volume and tone, and allows routing of signals to selected destinations.
Modem: Short for Modulator -Demodulator, this device modulates data by converting it to audible tones that can be transmitted on a telephone wire, and demodulates received signals to get the data.
Modulation: A method by which information (typically audio) is superimposed on a signal that carries that information. Examples of modulation schemes would include "AM" (Amplitude Modulation), "FM" (Frequency Modulation) etc... used in broadcast, amateur radio and non licensed radio services.
Monitor Desk: A mixing console located at the side of the stage which controls the on-stage sound balance through separate foldback speakers for the performers. The monitor mix, or foldback mix differs markedly from the FOH mix.
Monitors (Studio): Speakers used in the control room of a recording studio. Generally of two types: Main Monitors for overall sound, and Reference Monitors used to check sound quality through less capable speakers, such as might be found in domestic environments.
Monitors (Live Sound): Foldback speakers and associated amplifiers used for stage musicians.
Mono: Consisting of only one channel.
Moving-Magnet Cartridge: Method of interaction between the stylus and cartridge of a phonograph that creates electrical signals by attaching a magnet to the stylus that in turn moves up and down in relation to a coil of wire in the cartridge.
MPEG: Short for Moving Picture Experts Group, and pronounced m-peg. The term also refers to the whole collection of digital compression standards and file formats developed by the group.
MP3, mp3: Is the file extension for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3) for the compression of audio signals. Layer 3 uses perceptual audio coding and psychoacoustic compression to remove all superfluous information (that, in the opinion of the developers, the human ear doesn't hear anyway). It also adds an algorithm that increases the frequency resolution 18 times higher than that of layer 2. The result is mp3 encoding shrinks the original sound data from a CD by a factor of 12 without sacrificing sound quality.
MPEG-1: Video compression format developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group using perceptual coding and predictive technologies to eliminate data from an audio/video signal and thus encode it into a smaller size.
MPEG-2: High-quality audio/video compression format developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group using perceptual coding and predictive technologies similar to MPEG-1 but including a higher bit-rate and more control over the compression and technology.
Multicore: Audio or lighting cable containing many bundled leads allowing signal transmission along separate channels. Also known as 'Snake'.
Multimedia: The use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, and sound in an integrated way.
Multiple Echo: See 'Echo'.
Multi-tracking: The process of recording a multi-part performance on separate tracks at different times
which allows the engineer to subsequently combine, balance and process those tracks during mixdown.
Mute: No sound or a cessation of all sound; a single button or control to cut off an audio signal and stop the production of sound.
N
Near Field: In close proximity to a speaker or speaker driver.
Negative Peak Limiting: A compressor set up with a high ratio (in excess of 10:1) and used primarily to prevent a signal from exceeding a certain pre-set maximum level. (See also "Limiting")
Neophyte: A beginner or novice.
Noise: Typically low-level electrical distortions and interference created in an electronic component from power supply hum, interactions between internal electrical components, etc. (See also White Noise, Pink Noise and Brown Noise)
Noise Floor: Level at which no useful signal is produced because the signal level is below the level of noise in the system; point at which the volume or power of noise is greater than the volume or power of an intended and desired signal effectively covering up and obscuring that signal thus making it useless (see Noise).
Noise Gate: A special type of expander with a very high ratio (usually about1:100), often used to eliminate low-level hiss, noise or leakage. Especially effective wherever there is a high level of ambient noise, such as around a drum kit.
Noise Reduction: Effort to reduce noise in a system, typically in sound reproduction equipment and sound storage media such as audiocassette tapes, through various mechanical and software based methods (see Noise).
Non-Linearity: Non-Linearity is the behavior of a circuit, particularly an amplifier, in which the output signal strength varies in indirect proportion to the input signal strength. In a nonlinear device, the output-to-input signal amplitude ratio is always different, and can vary with the strength of the input signal.. Usually an undesirable condition.
Non-Lossy Compression: A form of data compression which seeks out chunks of data which are identical, replacing them with markers called keys. In this way, the file is reduced in size, and when it is decompressed by the recipient, the keys are replaced with the large chunks of data that were originally there (this is called Run Length Encoding). Using non-lossy compression, the uncompressed file is identical to the original file.
Notch Filter (Audio): Filter used to eliminate a specific interfering or undesirable frequency by attenuating a very narrow audio passband from the desired signal.
Nyquist's Theorem: This states that a sound must be sampled at at least twice its highest analog frequency in order to extract all of the information from the bandwidth and accurately represent the original acoustic energy. In practice, sampling at slightly more than twice the frequency will make up for imprecisions in filters and other components used for the conversion.
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O
Octave: The relative mathematical relationship of a frequency that is two times or one half of the original reference frequency. For example; 500 Hz is said to be one octave below 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz is said to be one octave above 1000 Hz. This term is used in describing the relationship of musical notes. 440 Hz is reffered to as "Middle A". So 880 Hz would be an A note that is one octive higher than middle A. It is also used to describe the bandwidth (Q Factor) of audio amplitude beyond a given center frequency where the amplitude drops below the -3dB point as compared to the center frequency reference amplitude.
Ohm: The basic unit of the measurement of resistance. Symbol used is (Omega)
Ohm's Law: The law that defines the relationship between current (I), resistance (R) and voltage (V) in an electrical circuit as: Voltage equals Amperage times Resistance (V=IR).
Omnidirectional: Capable of picking-up sound equally from all directions (for microphones) or radiating sound equally in all directions (for speakers).
On-Axis: Directly in front of a speaker; position at a right angle (90-degree angle) to the front of a speaker enclosure on which the speaker drivers are located (the baffle).
Optical Cable: An interconnect cable used to transfer digital data between digital components using bursts of light carried over glass or plastic fibers (see Fiber-Optic Cable).
Outboard Equipment: Audio equipment which is not physically incorporated into the mixing console. If 'rack-mountable', it is generally located in an 'effects rack' and can include processors such as reverbs, delays, external equalisers, compressors, gates and enhancers.
Overdub: To record new tracks on a multitrack recording system in synchronisation with previously recorded tracks.
Oversampling: Raises the sampling rate of digital data providing a smoother signal curve, but does not provide enhanced detail or resolution of the output.
P
PA: Public Address system. A sound reinforcement system enabling live performances to be heard by the audience.
Pad: An electrical circuit used to attenuate or reduce the amplitude of an audio signal by a fixed amount, e.g a -15dB pad reduces the signal by a fixed 15 decibels.
Pan Pot: Short for panoramic potentiometer, this is a knob controlling a voltage divider that can send a signal to a combination of two busses, such as left and right. Always found on mixing consoles to set up (pan) a signal within the stereo field, it is also called a 'balance' control on domestic stereo amplifiers.
Passive Crossover: Crossover that does not require electricity and does not use active circuitry to accomplish its task.
Passive Radiator: Speaker driver that is not powered and is used in conjunction with a woofer generating movement by being vibrated by the back-pressure of the powered woofer.
Parametric Equalizer: An audio equlaizer that uses variable frequency, Q and amplitude control.
Patch Bay: A panel of jacks (female receptacles) hard-wired to all inputs, outputs and side-chains of outboard equipment, and all outputs and insert points of the mixing console. Often used in recording studios to enable rapid connection of any combination of equipment by the use of 'patch cords', or 'patch leads'.
Patch Cable: Low level cable used to transfer information in an electronic form between components in an audio/video system (see Interconnect).
PC: Personal computers. This term is generally used for IBM-compatible, Intel-based computers running DOS or Windows. Also refers to a "Printed Circuit" or a "PCB" - Printed Circuit Board.
PCM (Pulse Code Modulation): Frequently used format for creating digital signals from analog signals and then recreating the analog signals with a digital-to-analog converter (see Pulse Code Modulation).
Peak Limiting: A compressor set up with a high ratio (in excess of 10:1) and used primarily to prevent a signal from exceeding a certain pre-set maximum level. (See also "Limiting")
Peak Output: Maximum output (sound pressure level) in decibels a speaker can produce without distorting.
Peak Power: A measure of amplifier power based on the amplitude rise above ground plane or 0 volts.
Peak-to-Peak Power: A measure of amplifier power based on the total amplitude between peak positive value and peak negative value. Generally this value is twice the peak value for a symmetrical waveform.
Phono Pin Plug: (See "RCA Connector")
Phantom Power: Operating voltage (usually 48 Volts DC) supplied to a condenser mic by a mixer or external power source along normal mic leads.
Phase: The relationship of an audio signal or sound wave to a specific time reference.
Pick: ("See Plectrum")
Pink Noise: Broadband test noise where the amplitude has a linear -3dB per octave attenuation as frequency increases.
Pitch: The subjective sensation produced by various frequencies. The higher the frequency, the higher the perceived pitch; however, frequency is not linearly related to pitch. See also 'Concert Pitch'.
Plectrum: Triangular object generally made out of plastic used to strike the strings of a guitar.
Polarity: A condition with two states (+ve or -ve) and is usually defined in one of three ways: 1. Acoustical to electrical (microphone): Positive pressure at diaphragm produces positive voltage at pin 2 of XLR or at the tip of a 1/4-inch phone plug. 2. Electrical to acoustic: Positive voltage into the "plus" terminal of a speaker causes the speaker's diaphragm to move forward to produce positive pressure. 3. Electrical to electrical: Positive voltage into pin 2 of an XLR jack produces positive voltage at the output (pin 2 of an XLR plug, the tip of a 1/4-inch phone jack, or the red (plus) connector of a binding post (banana terminal).
Port: Tube of a specified length and diameter (length and diameter dependent on specific application) with one end open to the outside of a speaker enclosure through a round hole and the other open to the inside of the speaker enclosure.
Ported Enclosure: Type of speaker enclosure which uses a port to allow air to travel from the inside of the box to the outside of the box taking full advantage of a speaker driver's output and increasing sound pressure (sound output or volume) by 2 to 3 dB compared to a similar speaker with a sealed enclosure (see Bass Reflex).
Potentiometer (Pot): A variable resistor (rotary or linear) used to control volume, tone, or other functions of an electronic device.
Power: In electricity, power (P) is the product of the voltage (V) and the current (I). i.e. P=VI. The unit of power is the Watt.
Power Amplifier: An amplifier without tone controls, and with a higher power output than a line amplifier or pre-amp. Commonly used to drive loudspeakers.
Power Rating: Maximum amount of power in watts an amplifier can put out or maximum amount of power in watts a speaker can be driven with.
Power Supply: Component of all electronic devices used to transform the electrical power supplied through a wall outlet into power the electric component can use.
Pre-amplifier/pre-amp: An electronic device used to match an input signal (such as that from a microphone or guitar pickup) to the input of a power amplifier. Often built in to mixing console channels as an initial stage, and generally has tone controls (EQ) to modify the signal.
Pre-Emphasis: A specific boost of frequencies usually emphasizing upper-midrange to high frequencies (although any frequencies could be boosted or cut) to establish more clarity in an audio signal. Commonly used in AM and FM broadcast audio processing chains.
Pre-Processing: The reference of processing before it enters the next stage.
Post-Processing: The reference of processing after it leaves the previous stage.
Production Manager: Person responsible for co-ordination of audio, lighting and staging requirements, and crew, for any performance. Other responsibilities may include the scheduling of performances, physical placement of equipment and management of relevant health and safety matters.
Propagation (Sound): Under normal conditions an audio wavefront moves through air at 1130 feet per second.
Proximity Effect: An increase in the bass response of some mics as the distance between the mic and its sound source is decreased.
Psycho acoustic: The science of how audio is perceived.
Pulse Code Modulation: Common form of transferring analog information into digital signals by representing analog waveforms with a stream of digital bits forming words that relate the amplitude of a signal at a certain point (the sample).
Punter: Slang for general or common audience.
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Q
Q: Quality or Quality Factor - Referring to the bandwidth of one band of a parametric equaliser, Q is calculated by dividing the centre frequency in Hz by the width of the boost or cut zone +3dB or -3dB above or below 0dB. For example, a gentle boost centred at 1000Hz which extends from 750Hz to 1250Hz measured 3dB above flat has a Q of 1000/500 = 2. By comparison, a deep notch centred at 1000Hz which extends from 995Hz to 1005Hz measured -3dB above flat has a Q of 1000/10 = 100.
Q Factor: (See "Q")
Quality: (See "Timbre")
QuickTime: A video and animation system developed by Apple Computer and built into the Macintosh operating system. It is used by most Mac applications that include video or animation. PCs can also run files in QuickTime format, but they require a special QuickTime driver. QuickTime supports most encoding formats, including Cinepak, JPEG, and MPEG. QuickTime is competing with a number of other standards, including AVI and ActiveMovie.
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R
Rack Ears: Hardware that is fastened to a pirce of rack equipment so that it may be mounted in a standard 19" EIA Effects Rack.
Rack-mountable: Describes outboard equipment designed to be mounted in a standard 19" EIA 'Effects Rack'.
Ratio: One of the parameters which can be varied on dynamic range processors such as compressors and expanders. It represents the compression or expansion ratio between input and output levels. A compressor with a 2:1 ratio would reduce the output gain to half of the input value above the threshold. An expander with a 1:80 ratio would reduce the output gain to 1/80th of the input value below the threshold.
RCA Connector: (Also reffered to as a "Phono-Pin-Plug") Type of standard, low-level signal interconnect termination or connector featuring a single, cylindrical metal rod and an outer, round metal belt.
RealAudio: The de facto standard for streaming audio data over the World Wide Web.
Recording: Capture and storage of sound for subsequent reproduction.
Reference monitors: See Monitors (Studio)
Repertoire: Compositions and lyrics; musical works.
Reverb: Abbreviation for reverberation, a complex blend of multiple interacting reflections within an enclosed space which combines with the direct sound from a source and defines the character of the sound in a room or hall. It is also used for a signal processor which can generate an approximation of natural reverb. (Caution: do not confuse with 'Echo' - a different effect altogether.)
Reflex (Bass Reflex): Type of speaker enclosure which uses a port to allow air to travel from the inside of the box to the outside of the box taking full advantage of a speaker driver's output and increasing sound pressure (sound output or volume) by 2 to 3 dB compared to a similar speaker with a sealed enclosure (see "Bass Reflex").
Resistance: A block to the flow of something; creating a difficulty of flow or hampering flow particularly the flow of an audio signal as a current in terms of audio/video (see "Impedance").
Resonant Frequency: Frequency at which a speaker vibrates in unison with the audio signal creating vibrations in the enclosure and driver with very little input.
Reverberation: Reflection of sound waves against room boundaries and objects within the room persisting after the original sound has ceased.
RF (Radio Frequency): Wide frequency range of electromagnetic signals from around 10 kHz (10,000 Hz) to 300 GHz (300,000,000,000 Hz.
RF Modulation: Method of placing an audio signal with a relatively low 20 to 20,000 Hz frequency on top of a much higher frequency radio frequency (in the area of 100,000,000 Hz) by varying the frequency of the radio signal according to the audio signal so that the audio signal can be sent over long distances and distributed through broadcast antennas (see FM).
RFI: Radio Frequency Interference - An undesirable form of audio rectification that occurs in an audio circuit when radio frequency energy is present demodulated and mixed into the audio signal.
Rhythm section: Section of the band which is responsible for laying down the beat, usually consisting of the drummer and bass player.
Riff: A short repeated musical phrase or figure.
Rigger: Person licensed to supervise the fixing and securing of heavy loads, such as lighting or sound systems which may need to be suspended or 'flown'.
Ripper: A software program that "grabs" digital audio from a compact disc and transfers it to a computer's hard drive. The integrity of the data is preserved because the signal does not pass through the computer's sound card and does not need to be converted to an analog format. The digital-to-digital transfer creates a WAV file that can then be converted into an MP3 file.
RMS: Root Mean Square: A method of calculating the average power generated by a sinusoidal waveform. Used for comparing amplifier power, it is a more realistic measure than 'peak' power or 'peak-to-peak' power.
Roll-Off: Decrease in signal or sound pressure in decibels as a speaker or speaker driver attempts to reproduce frequencies outside of its primary frequency range (a midrange driver may roll-off at 500 Hz and its output decreases from that point); attenuation of frequencies outside a range specified in a crossover network (see Slope).
Room EQ; Room Tuning: The process of compensating for acoustic deficiencies in both venues and PA systems using graphic equalisers in FOH and foldback signal paths.
Room Interaction: Description of how the room or space affects the quality of sound produced through an audio system or live audio performance.
RT60: Means 'Reverb Time - 60dB' and indicates, in seconds, the time taken for a continuous sound, which suddenly stops, to decay by 60dB. Used as a measure of the reverb decay in a room or hall. A bedroom may have an RT60 of 0.5 sec; a large hall may have an RT60 of 3.0 sec or more.
RU: Stands for 'Rack Unit': standard front panel height (1.75" or 4.44cm) used for pro-audio equipment to enable mounting in an equipment cabinet - see Effects Rack.
Run-Length Encoding: See Non-Lossy Compression.
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S
Satellite Speaker: A small- to medium-size speaker usually 12 to 24 inches in height designed to be placed on stands or other objects and operated with a subwoofer (see Bookshelf Speaker).
Saturation (Tape): The distortion caused by magnetic recording media being unable to store as much high frequency information as low frequency information.
Scrubbing: The process of moving within an audio file or tape to audibly locate a particular section. The term originally comes from the days of reel-to-reel players, when rocking a reel would give the impression of scrubbing tape across the head. Many audio scrub tools today allow the user to drag a cursor across the wave form to audition different sections of the audio file.
Sealed Enclosure: Type of speaker enclosure in which the speaker driver is mounted into a sealed box with no air exchange from the air inside the box to air outside the box (see Acoustic Suspension).
Sensitivity: Measure of the sound pressure level generated at a distance of one meter from a speaker when the speaker is fed a 2.83 volt signal (1 watt at 8 ohms); efficiency of a speaker creating a certain sound pressure level from a given input with high figures representing a more efficient speaker.
Servo: Specially designed electronic circuit loop which measures speaker distortion and works with the speaker's amplifier to correct the signal in an effort to decrease distortion (see Accelerometer Servo).
Shielding (Cable): A wire mesh surrounding the conductor(s) inside a cable to prevent outside interference from getting in and to prevent the signal contained in the cable from escaping to other equipment. Some cable types employ "Double Shielding" to further reduce the crossover of signals in or out of the cable.
Shielding (Circuit or Chassis): A metal wall or case designed to keep outside signal(s) from entering or internal signal(s) from escaping a circuit that generates propigating signals.
Sibilance: The distortion of sibilants by recording and reinforcement systems incapable of handling the high frequencies present in such sounds. See also "Saturation".
Sibilants: High frequency sounds in speech, such as "S", "F" & "T".
Sidefill: Foldback speakers placed at sides of stage providing general coverage for performers when monitor wedges are insufficient. See also'drumfill'.
Signal processors: Electronic devices which alter sound either to achieve a particular effect or to solve a problem with that sound (e.g. delays, compressors, reverbs, noise gates, equalisers).
Sine Wave: Type of pure waveform having an equal distance from its peak to the zero or center line and from its trough to the center line and in which the positive hump and negative hump of the wave are exactly equal in length, shape and height but flipped in a mirror image about the center line.
Slap-Back Echo: (See "Echo")
Slew Rate: Fastest rate at which an amplifier can change the amplitude of its output signal measured in volts per microsecond with a higher figure being better (meaning that the amplifier can change more voltage in a given period of time, one microsecond).
Slope: How quickly a crossover or filter attenuates signals (decreases their power) outside its passband (those frequencies intended to pass through without attenuation); expressed in decibels per octave.
S/N Ratio (Signal-to-Noise Ratio): Maximum output of an electronic device or recording medium compared to its noise floor or level of background noise.
Snake: (See "Multicore")
Sonority: (See "Timbre")
Sound Check; Soundcheck: The process of establishing the appropriate balance between the various instruments and vocals for both the FOH and monitor system prior to performing. Usually carried out by the engineer having the band play through several songs at the venue after the 'Room EQ' but before the gig.
Sound engineer: Person responsible for sound production.
Sound reinforcement: The use of amplification to project and reinforce sound for an audience.
Sound Wave: Continuous audio frequency signal taking the form of a wavy line similar to waves on the water with frequency determining the length of the waves and amplitude or volume determining the height of the waves.
Soundstage: The perceived width, depth and height of recorded sound played back over an audio system; the setting similar to a theater stage from which sounds seem to emanate when reproduced through an audio system (see Imaging).
Speakers: Devices that convert electrical signals into variations in sound pressure.
Specifications: A set of measured results and expectations of the performance and limitations of a given piece of equipment, usually found in the owners manual or electronic document by the manufacturer.
Spectrum: A band or range of frequencies; the audible spectrum runs from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz).
Spectrum Analyzer: Electronic device that measures a particular spectrum or frequency band and displays information about that particular spectrum or band.
Spider: Component of a speaker driver that holds the voice coil and rear of the diaphragm in position near the magnet and also acts as a spring or bungee to return a moving diaphragm to its stationary position.
SPL Meter (Sound Pressure Level): Device that measures the sound pressure level in a given location; commonly used in audio to properly set surround sound systems to the Dolby reference level and adjust other parameters of a sound system (see Sound Pressure Level).
Splatter: A non-technical slang term specifically used to describe a radio frequency signal that is distorted causing the RF bandwidth to exceed the original audio bandwidth contained in it, thus causing interference to adjacent radio frequencies. (See also "Buckshot")
Stack: A group or cluster of loudspeakers placed in close proximity to one another so they function more as a single unit due to acoustic coupling and other factors. Examples: PA stack; Marshall Stack.
Stage Box: A junction box at the stage end of a multicore equipped with female XLR connectors used for microphone signals destined for a mixing console at the other end. May also contain several male XLR connectors for signals sent back up the multicore from the console.
Standing Wave: Low frequency anomaly or distortion created when a certain frequency is reproduced whose size has some special relation to the room or object it is produced in (wavelength the same size as the room dimensions) resulting in the room or object resonating with the sound and increasing the strength of the sound (the sound wave does not diminish and may instead increase as it interacts with its surroundings).
Star Quad (Audio Cable): Special audio cable that uses 4 conductors and shielding to reduce or eliminate R.F.I., hum and cable signal loss inherent in standard cable types where long cable runs are used and strong R.F. fields are present. Typical wiring of Star Quad cable is using 2 conductors for positive, two conductors for negative and the shielding for ground in a professional balanced audio configuration.
Steering: Ability of a surround sound processor to move sound around a given acoustical space from speaker to speaker.
Stereo: Two channels of audio information (usually oriented Left and Right) recorded and played back in such a way as to recreate a sound stage giving depth and breadth to audio reproduction.
Streaming: A technique for transferring data such that it can be processed as a steady and continuous stream. Streaming technologies are often used on the Internet because most users do not have fast enough access to download large multimedia files quickly, so the client browser or plug-in can start displaying the data before the entire file has been transmitted.
Stylus: The small metal rod or shaft, also known as the needle, that reads the grooves in a record and transfers the information to the phono cartridge where an electric signal is formed to transmit the sound information (see Cartridge).
Subwoofer: Special form of speaker used to reproduce only the lower portion of the audible frequency spectrum usually from 80 Hz down to or below 20 Hz.
Surge Protection: Protection against lightning strikes and other similar sudden increases in power, which may damage electrical equipment.
Surround (Speaker Driver Surround): Flexible rubber, plastic, foam or other material that attaches a speaker driver's diaphragm (the moving cone or dome - the drive unit) to the basket (the structure holding all the parts of the speaker driver in place) and allows the diaphragm to vibrate in and out.
Surround Channel: Specific path of audio information, the channel, provided in a surround sound audio system to drive speakers situated on the sides or rear of a room primarily providing ambience and atmosphere.
Surround Channel Speaker: Speaker used to reproduce surround channel information primarily to create ambience and sonic realism.
Suspension: The flexible element of a speaker driver that attaches the moving diaphragm to the basket and holds the diaphragm in proper relation to the rest of the speaker driver components and helping to enable the diaphragm to move and produce sound (see Surround).
Sweet Spot: A term referring to the optimum listening position in a room where the listener is correctly positioned relative to the speakers where phasing (reflection time) of the audio signal and optimum frequency response is achieved. Usually located in the middle of the room.
T
Tablature or TAB: Notation commonly used by guitarists which indicates fingerboard position by numbers, symbols and diagrams.
Tactile Sound: Sound energy converted from sound waves that vibrate the air to physical vibrations that you can feel.
Temperament / Temper: The relationship between two pitches, called an interval, is the ratio of their absolute frequencies. Two different intervals are perceived to be the same when the pairs of pitches involved share the same frequency ratio. The easiest intervals to tune are those that are just, which have a simple whole-number ratio. The term temperament refers to a tuning system which tempers the just perfect fifth (which has the ratio 3:2) in order to satisfy some other mathematical property; to temper a fifth, in this case, is to slightly narrow the interval by flattening its upper pitch slightly.
Techno-Nerd: Acronym for "Technology Nerd". Someone who is passionate about one or more areas of technology. -- If you are reading this, then you most propapby are one!
Test Tone: A constant pure sine wave tone or tones played over an audio system to allow critical measurement and adjustment of an audio system both when individual components are being developed and when a complete system is being installed.
THD (Total Harmonic Distortion): Distortion derived from the creation of harmonics (multiples of a base frequency signal) in an audio system adding additional frequency peaks to the output.
THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise): Combination of total harmonic distortion (THD) with noise to achieve a complete figure representing distortions present in an electronic component with lower levels below one percent being preferable (see THD and Noise).
Three Phase: A five-pin power supply system consisting of 3 legs/phases of active power with one earth and one neutral.
Three-Way Speaker: Speaker system with three or more individual drivers covering three frequency sections or bands.
Timbre: The combination of harmonic frequencies in voices or instruments which give them their characteristic quality. Synonyms: 'Quality', 'Sonority', 'Tone Colour'.
Toe-In: Angling a speaker in toward the primary listening position to achieve better imaging and sound quality.
Tone: A steady, audible frequency or steady sound. A test tone is a pure tone or a single, pure frequency sound wave. Also used generically to describe the overall sound or feel of an audio signal.
Tone Color: (See "Timbre")
Tracking: Ability of a CD player, phonograph, DVD player or other device that reads data in a continuous track around a disc to follow that information track and take information from it.
Transducer: A device designed to convert one form of energy into another. An example of a transducer that converts acoustic sound energy to electrical energy is a microphone; examples of a transducer that convert electrical energy to acoustic sound energy are speakers and headphones.
Transformer (Audio): A device that "transforms" the impedance and level from one value to another while breaking the ground-to-ground connection through mutual induction. Used to eliminate or reduce signal hum and R.F.I. (common mode rejection), while providing a means to transform from one impedance and signal level to another.
Transient: Sudden, sharp signal increase often referring to a sudden increase in sound volume or power.
Transistor: Three-terminal semiconductor device that is commonly used in electronics and has the ability to amplify signals.
Transmission Line: Type of speaker enclosure in which the back-force of a bass driver (the acoustic energy generated from the backside of the driver) is routed through a fairly long, winding channel or "hall" before being ported to the outside of the cabinet. Also referred to a line or cable that feeds radio frequency signals from the source to an antenna.
Transparency: A subjective term used in audio to indicate how easily and how much of the sound of the live event comes through a recording when played through an audio system.
Transport: Part of an audio or audio/video playback system which reads the data from a storage medium (typically CD, DVD or laserdisc) but does not decode that data from its digital form into an analog form suitable for audio reproduction (or potentially video reproduction where applicable).
Treble: The upper part of the audio frequency spectrum that contains high frequencies.
Tremolo: 1. A fluctuation of amplitude applied to a sound of constant frequency. Often incorrectly used, as in 'tremolo arm' on a guitar which actually produces vibrato. 2. For stringed instruments such as a mandolin, fast up and down strokes of equal strength of the plectrum or index finger on the strings.
Tremolo arm: A lever which alters string tension on an electric guitar, used to produce a tremolo or vibrato-like effect.
Truss: Section of steel or aluminium box, or triangularly-braced metal work used for suspending lighting or audio equipment.
Tuning: Adjustment of pitch of musical instruments to correct values.
Tuner: Electronic device used to tune acoustic or electronic instruments to standard pitch.
Tweeter: High frequency speaker driver used to reproduce frequencies typically above 2,000 to 3,000 Hz all the way up to 20,000 Hz.
Two-Way Speaker: Speaker system with two or more individual drivers covering two frequency sections or bands.
U
Un-Balanced Line: Two-conductor cable - (center for plus) and (shield for minus).
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V
Variable Audio Output: Low level audio output (usually in the form of a RCA connection) which varies in strength with the volume or level of the source component.
VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier): An amplifier whose output is controlled by varying its voltage rather than by direct resistance (as with a potentiometer).
VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator): An oscillator whose frequency output is controlled by varying its voltage rather than with a potentiometer.
VCF (Voltage Controlled Filter): An audio filter whose effective frequency band is controlled by varying its voltage rather than with a potentiometer.
Vertical Input: Usually referring to the vertical (Y) input of an oscilloscope that measures an audio, I.F. or R.F. signal source.
Vibrato: Expressive effect which producers a fluctuation of pitch. A rapid, slight variation in pitch in singing or playing some musical instruments, producing a stronger or richer tone. It is often used as an expressive device.
Voice Coil: Tightly wrapped coil of wire attached to a speaker driver's diaphragm and situated in close proximity to a stationary magnet; electromagnet that generates a magnetic field when current passes through it thus being repelled or attracted by a speaker driver's magnet and creating motion.
Volume: Loudness of sound; a subjective sensation dependent on the amplitude of a sound wave or electrical signal, but not linearly related to it.
Voodoo Audio: A slang term regarding the philosophy and approach to audio processing where added even harmonics are desired to add depth and resonance to low frequencies. In addition to low frequency processing, Voodoo Audio techniques also include careful selection of high quality tubes, OpAmps, resistors, transformers, and other components to facilitate the coloring of audio in a pleasing manner. This may also include correcting a flaw in digital equipment known as "Digital Jitter" that causes a phenomenon known as "Digititus". (See Digital Jitter and Digititus)
W
W/ch (Watts per Channel): Measurement of power output for each channel in an amplifier.
Watt: Measurement of power derived by multiplying current by voltage; measurement used to quantify the amount of power output by an amplifier.
WAV: The format for sound files developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM, and built into Windows 95 which made it the de facto standard for sound on PCs. WAV sound files end with a.wav extension and can be played by nearly all Windows applications that support sound.
Waveform: A graphical representation of a signal as a plot of amplitude versus time, i.e. the shape of a wave.
Wavelength: Distance between two points in the same position on a wave in two consecutive cycles (two cycles directly following one after the other).
Wave Table Synthesis: A technique for generating sounds from digital signals. Wave table synthesis stores digital samples of sound from various instruments, which can then be combined, edited, and enhanced to reproduce sound defined by a digital input signal. Wave table synthesis reproduces the sound of musical instruments better than Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis.
Wedge: Foldback speaker placed on the floor at the feet of stage vocalists to deliver the monitor mix for performers.
White Noise: Broadband test noise where the amplitude has no attenuation as frequency increases.
Woofer: Speaker driver that handles the low frequency signals of a sound wave.
Wow and Flutter: Variations in the speed of playback of a recorded signal resulting in pitch variations and distortions.
X
XLR: Multipoint plug used for professional audio equipment
X/Y: A reference made to the "X" (Horizontal) and "Y" (Vertical) input of an oscilloscope or similar grid, of looking at two signals or references of comparison.
X and Y Axis: In a graph or chart showing the realtionship of one acoustical phenomenon or measurement relative to another, it is common to plot the ralionship on a chart with intersecting vertical and horizontal axis (X and Y) that graphicly shows the interaction between two or more elements, such as frequency and power in a given situation.
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Y
Y-Connector: Connection that splits a single cable into two so that it may begin from one source with one connection and terminate in two connections on two components (or it may go the other way where two outputs are joined to the same input but this may not work if both outputs are sending information at the same time).
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Z
Zero Bit Detection: A circuit in a D/A converter that monitors the digital audio bit stream. upon encountering all bits low, or zero bits, the output of the D/A is disconnected from the preamp. This improves the signal-to-noise ratio specification.
Zero Crossing: An analog waveform consists of two alternating voltage polarities (positive to negative to positive...etc.). The point where the polarity changes from positive to negative, or vice versa, is called the zero crossing. When looping a wave or editing two waveforms together, this is the ideal location for the splice as the levels of the two waves are both at zero. This eliminates the possibility of clicks or pops created by mis-matched levels, and makes for a smooth sonic transition.
Zero Output: The absence of output signal or output power
Zip Cord: Inexpensive, thin speaker wire normally 16 or 18 gauge.
Zone: In audio terms, a zone is an area in a home, office or other structure to which audio and/or video signals are distributed.
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XLR
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Nollywood refers informally to the huge cinema industry of which nation?
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Glossary at AmericanMusical.com
Z
1U, 2U
The height of a rack-mounted device measured in "rack spaces." 1U is one rack space in height. 2U is twice as tall, at a height of two rack spaces.
24-Bit
The height of a rack-mounted device measured in "rack spaces." 1U is one rack space in height. 2U is twice as tall, at a height of two rack spaces.
Active Sensing
A system used to verify that a MIDI connection is working, which involves the sending device sending frequent short messages to the receiving device to reassure it that all is well. If these active sensing messages stop for any reason, the receiving device will recognize a fault condition and switch off all notes. Not all MIDI devices support active sensing.
Acoustics
The characteristics given space that affects the listeners perception of sound in that space.
ADAT Lightpipe
Digital interface that allows 8 individual tracks to pass through an optical (toslink) cable. Lightpipe is used with ADAT machines and is now incorporated in many soundcards and multiple out AD/DA converters.
ADC "AD/DA Converter"
For "Analog-to-Digital Converter," a device that receives analog audio and converts it into digital data, such as analog audio coming into a V-Studio, sampler or digital mixer.
Additive Synthesis
A system for generating waveforms or sounds by combining basic waveforms or sampled sounds prior to further processing with filters and envelope shapers.
ADSR
Abbreviation for "Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release," the four settings of a traditional envelope.
AES/EBU
For "Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcast Union," a format for sending and receiving digital audio data; typically uses an XLR connection.
AFL
After Fade Listen; a system used within mixing consoles to allow specific signals to be monitored at the level set by their fader of level control knob. Aux sends are generally monitored AFL rather than PFL
AIFF
For "Apple Audio Interchange File Format." A commonly used type of disk file that contains audio, developed by Apple. Also called ".aif" files.
Aftertouch
A realtime control produced by pushing a key down further than the point at which the key's note sounds. Channel aftertouch affects all currently sounding notes; polyphonic aftertouch affects only the pressed note.
Algorithm
A computer program designed to perform a specific task. In the context of effects units, algorithms usually describe a software building block designed to create a specific effect or combination of effects.
Aliasing
When an analogue signal is sampled for conversion into a digital data stream, the sampling frequency must be at least twice that of the highest frequency component of the input signal. If this rule is disobeyed, the sampling process becomes ambiguous, as there are insufficient points to define each cycle of the waveform, resulting in enharmonic frequencies being added to the audible signal.
Ambience
The resonating of the real or imaginary space in which a sound occurs.
Amp "Ampere"
The conversion, using an ADC, of analog audio to digital data.
Analogue Synthesis
A system for synthesizing sounds by means of analogue circuitry, usually by filtering simple repeating waveforms.
Anti-Aliasing Filter
Filter used to limit the frequency range of an analogue signal prior to A/D conversion so that the maximum frequency does not exceed half the sampling rate.
Arpeggiator
Device (or software), that allows a MIDI instrument to sequence around any notes currently being played. Most arpeggiators also allow the sound to be sequenced over several octaves, so that holding down a simple chord can result in an impressive repeating sequence of notes.
Attack
A parameter that sets the speed at which an envelope or dynamics processor starts. With an envelope, Attack sets the speed at which the enveloped setting travels from 0 to its nominal value. In a dynamics processor, it sets the speed at which the processor starts working.
Attenuate
To make lower in level
Audio
Signals in the human audio range: nominally 20Hz to 20 KHz
Auto-Locator
Feature of a tape machine or other recording device that enables specific locations to be stored, then at some later time, these locations within the recording may be recalled. For example, you may store the start of a verse as a locate point so that you can get the tape machine to wind back the start of the verse after you've recorded an overdub.
Automation
The memorization and playback of changes you make to mixer settings.
Automix, Auto-mix
Automix is the automated mixing system in a V-Studio or VM mixer.
Auto Punch
A feature on V-Studios that automatically starts and stops recording for you when you're punching at locations you've set beforehand.
AUX
Short for "Auxiliary"; a designation for extra busses typically used for sending signal to effects, headphone amps and other destinations.
AUX Return
An extra input; typically used for receiving a signal from the output of an internal or external effect processor.
AUX Send
An extra bus that can be used for sending signal anywhere; typically used for sending signal into an effect.
Axis
In set-theory, a line or point used as a divider in a symmetric operation. Axes can exist in time, pitch, or other dimensions. e.g. a melodic inversion resulting from a reflection transformation around an axis of pitch. e.g. an upward line: c,e,f,f# can be reflected downward with an axis on c as c,a-flat,g,g-flat. If the axis were c# the inversion would be d, b-flat,a, a-flat.
Azimuth
Alignment coordinate of a tape head which references the head gap to the true vertical relative to the tape path.
Back Up
To make a copy of data and to store the copy on an external medium -- such as a CD-R or CD-RW disk -- for safekeeping. This copy is called a "backup." Backing up is extremely important to safeguard against unexpected events. To play or work on a song or project that's been backed up, it must be "recovered."
Balance
This word has several meanings in recording. It may refer to the relative levels of the left and right channels of a stereo recording, or it may be used to describe the relative levels of the various instruments and voices within a mix.
Balanced
A type of audio connection that uses the three leads in a cable, connector and jack as part of a phase-cancellation scheme to boost signal and reduce noise.
Band
In EQ, a range of frequencies.
Band Pass Filter
A type of filter that allows only the band of frequencies surrounding the cutoff frequency to pass through unaffected.
Bandwidth
In EQ, the width of a band; the number of frequencies that are boosted or cut above and below a selected center frequency.
Bank
In MIDI instruments, a group of patches. Each bank can contains up to 128 patches, numbered from 0-127 or 1-128. In favorite lists, a group of patches.
Bank Select
A type of MIDI message that typically corresponds to a specific bank of patches. When an instrument receives a Bank Select message, the corresponding patch bank is selected. Typically, a Bank Select message is followed by a Program Change message that selects a patch within the selected bank. A Bank Select message may contain two components, an MSB ("Most Significant Byte") and/or an LSB ("Least Significant Byte") value.
Bass
The lower frequency range of a sound, usually from about 200 Hz down.
Beats
1) A constant unit of time that forms a background clock in music.
2) 'Difference tones' whose frequency difference is below 20 Hz, resulting in separate pulses rather than a 'tone'. These are often used in tuning instruments.
Bend Range
The maximum pitch change that can be applied by moving a pitch bend control.
Beta Software
Software which is not fully tested and may include bugs.
Bias
High frequency signal used in analogue recording to improve the accuracy of the recorded signal and to drive the erase head. Bias is generated by a bias oscillator.
Binary
Counting system based on only two states - 1s and 0s.
Bios
Part of a computer operating system held on ROM rather than on disk. This handles basic routines such as accessing the disk drive.
Bit
Binary digit, which may either be 1 or 0
Bit Depth
Digital recording can capture audio using number strings of varying lengths -- a longer string allows more detail in the description of level changes in the signal. The size of a string is referred to as its "bit depth." Most often, digital devices record and play audio using bit depths of 16 or 24 bits. Audio CDs use 16 bit.
Blog
Blog is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Blues-Progression
A twelve bar sequence of seventh-chord changes in jazz based on I, IV, and V chords (there may be three or more chords). Two common progressions are I, I, I, I, V, V, I, I, IV, V, I, I and I, I, I, I, IV, IV, I, I, V, IV, I, I (all the chords add the seventh). However, other variants are possible.
Boost/Cut Control
A single control which allows the range of frequencies passing through a filter to be either amplified or attenuated. The center position is usually the 'flat' or 'no effect' position.
Bouncing
Bouncing is the copying of tracks onto other tracks. Typically, this is done to combine a greater number of tracks into a fewer tracks, though there are other reasons to bounce. Some people call bouncing "ping-ponging."
BPM
A midi controller that converts breath pressure to MIDI information.
Buffer
Circuit designed to isolate the output of a source device from loading effects due to the input impedance of the destination device.
Buffer Memory
Temporary RAM memory used in some computer operations, sometimes to prevent a break in the data stream when the computer is interrupted to perform another task.
Bulk Dump
The transmission of a chunk of SysEx data from one MIDI device to another. The sending device doesn't need to understand the data -- it merely needs to be able to receive, store and re-transmit it.
Bumping
Taking two or more audio recording tracks, and mixing them together to make a separate track. Usually used to make room for more tracks.
Burn
"Burn" is music industry slang for writing data onto a CD.
Bus(or Buss)
A pathway down which one or more signals can travel to a common destination.
Bypass
A function that re-routes a signal to avoid a circuit or part of a circuit.
Byte
A piece of digital data comprising eight bits.
C4
Middle C in most MIDI devices.
CC number (Control Change Number)
A numbered MIDI message that's permanently assigned to a particular parameter. A MIDI Control Change number is followed by a value that sets the parameter in the MIDI device that receives it.
CD-R
A recordable type of Compact Disc that can only be recorded once - it cannot be erased and reused.
CD-R Burner
A device capable of recording data onto blank CD-R discs.
CD-RW drive
A CD-RW drive -- short for "CD-ReWritable" -- is a device that can burn audio onto CD-R ("CD-Recordable") or CD-RW ("CD-ReWritable") discs. You can write unerasable, permanent data onto a CD-R one time. A CD-RW disk can be reused: You can erase a CD-RW and write new data onto the disk.
COSM
An abbreviation for Roland's "Composite Object Sound Modeling" technology that shapes audio by applying the sonic characteristics of popular or classic microphones, guitars, guitar amplifiers and studio reference speakers.
CV
Control Voltage used to control the pitch of an oscillator or filter frequency in an analogue synthesizer. Most analogue synthesizers follow a one volt per octave convention, though there are exceptions. To use a pre-MIDI analogue synthesizer under MIDI control, a MIDI to CV converter is required.
Cannon Connector
Another name for an XLR connector.
"Cans"
Some industry professionals refer to headphones as "cans"
Capacitance
Property of an electrical component able to store electrostatic charge.
Capacitor
Electrical component exhibiting capacitance. Capacitor microphones are often abbreviated to capacitors.
Capacitor Microphone
Microphone that operates on the principle of measuring the change in electrical charge across a capacitor where one of the electrodes is a thin conductive membrane that flexes in response to sound pressure.
Cardoid
Meaning heart shaped, describes the polar response of a unidirectional microphone.
Channel
1) A single strip of controls in a mixing console relating to either a single input or a pair of main/monitor inputs.
2) In the context of MIDI, Channel refers to one of 16 possible data channels over which MIDI data may be sent. The organization of data by channels means that up to 16 different MIDI instruments or parts may be addressed using a single cable.
Channel Message
A MIDI message which is used across one channel as opposed to the whole piece. For example there may be six instruments in a piece of music (piano, guitar, drums, bass, sax and violin) a channel message may be volume which would control piano only. By sending a volume message the piano, volume can be increased while all the other instruments remain at the same level. Most channel messages are very easy to drive from icons in software programs.
Channel Strip
A row of controls on a mixer allocated to the shaping of a single audio signal.
Chase
Term describing the process whereby a slave device attempts to synchronize itself with a master device. In the context of a MIDI sequence, chase may also involve chasing events - looking back to earlier positions in the song to see if there are any program changes or other events that need to be acted upon.
Chip
Three or more different musial notes played at the same time.
Chorus
An effect in which multiple copies of a signal are played together slightly out of time to create a shimmering effect.
Chromatic
A scale of pitches rising in semitone steps.
Click Track
Metronome pulse which assists musicians in playing in time.
Clipping
The unpleasant thumping or clicking noise made when a digital signal exceeds the capacity of an audio device.
Clock
A timing reference that provides the basis for synchronization of different elements in a single device, or between multiple devices.
Clone
Exact duplicate, often refers to digital copies of digital tapes.
Coarse Tune
The adjustment of pitch in semitone steps.
Common Mode Rejection
A measure of how well a balanced circuit rejects a signal that is common to both inputs.
Compander
Encode/decode device that compresses a signal while encoding it, then expands it when decoding it.
Computer
A device for the storing and processing of digital data.
Compression ratio
The amount of gain reduction applied to a signal exceeding a compressor's threshold level setting.
Compressor
A dynamics processor that reduces the level of any signal exceeding a specified threshold volume.
Condenser Microphone
A type of high-quality mic that requires power.
Conductor
Material that provides a low resistance path for electrical current.
Console
Alternative term for mixer.
Contact Enhancer
Compound designed to increase the electrical conductivity of electrical contacts such as plugs, sockets and edge connectors.
Continuous Controller
Type of MIDI message used to translate continuous change, such as from a pedal, wheel or breath control device.
Copy Protection
Method used by software manufacturers to prevent unauthorized copying.
Crossfade
Fading out one channel or source while simultaneously fading another in, so that there is no silence between the two pieces of material.
Cue Bus
A bus -- sometimes a stereo pair of busses -- dedicated to the providing of signal to performers so they can hear what they're doing.
Cut
The ability to copy or move sections of a recording to new locations.
Cutoff
The frequency at which a filter starts to work.
CV
Control voltage used in analogue synthesizers, to control oscillator or filter frequency.
Cycle
In a sound wave, the repeating movement from the greatest amount of air pressure to the least; the pitch of sound waves is measures in cycles; each cycle equals one "Hertz."
DAC
For "Digital-to-Analog Converter," a device that converts digital data to analog audio, such as the audio leaving a digital mixer on its way to an analog device.
DAT
Abbreviation for "Digital Audio Tape"; used in reference to this type of tape as well as the recorders that use it.
Daisy Chain
Term used to describe serial electrical connection between devices or modules.
Damper Pedal
Pedal that, when pressed, causes sustaining notes to continue to play until the pedal is released.
Damping
In the context of reverberation, damping refers to the rate at which the reverberant energy is absorbed by the various surfaces in the environment.
Data
Information stored and used by a computer.
Data Compression
A system used to reduce the amount of data needed to represent an audio signal, usually by discarding audio information that is being masked by more prominent sounds.
Daughterboard
A circuit board that clips to a sound board or PCI slot and turns it into a GM or GS sound source. A GM daughterboard gives you 128 CD quality sounds and a GS daughterboard gives you over 300 sounds, everything from pianos to guitars to drums to a helicopter.
dB
Abbreviation for "decibel," a unit of measurement for the loudness of audio.
dBm
Variation on dB referenced to 0dB = 1mW into 600Ohms.
dBv
Variation on dB referenced to 0dB = 0.775 volts.
dBV
Variation on dB referenced to 0dB = 1 volt.
dB/Octave
A means of measuring the slope of a filter. The more dBs per octave, the sharper the filter slope.
dbx
A commercial encode/decode tape noise reduction system that compresses the signal during recording and expands it by an identical amount on playback.
D-Beam
A realtime controller found on many Roland instruments. You can manipulate or trigger sounds by moving your hand above the D-Beam.
DC
Direct Current
DCC
Stationary head digital recorder format developed by Philips. Uses a data compression system to reduce the amount of data that needs to be stored.
DCO
Digital Delay Line
Decay
In a traditional envelope, the time it takes for the enveloped setting to reach its sustain level after the Attack envelope stage.
De-esser
A device that detects and reduces sibilance in vocal signals.
Defrag, Defragment
The process by which the empty space on a hard drive or in a device's RAM is made continuous -- instead of being broken into small, scattered pieces -- to help ensure smooth operation.
Delay
An effect in which a copy of a signal is played back later than the original.
Deoxidizing Compound
Substance formulated to remove oxides from electrical contacts.
Detent
A notch that you can feel as you move a fader up or down; signifies the point at which no level boost or cut is applied by the fader.
DI
Short for Direct Inject, where a signal is plugged directly into an audio chain without the aid of a microphone.
Digi-Score
A visual interface that displays a music score from any MIDI file. This virtual score constantly displays the exact location in the music file in several notation sizes
Digital Audio
Sound represented as binary computer data.
Digital Music File
Music that is digitally recorded as a computer file. Common types of digital music files are .mid files -- the smallest and only really interactive type, also called a "Standard MIDI Files" -- .wav files -- very large, medium-resolution files, and MP3 files -- a highly compressed, high resolution file suitable for recording and playback
Digital-To-Analog
The conversion, using a DAC, of digital data to analog audio.
Digital Reverb
Digital processor for simulating reverberation.
Dim
A switch that allows you to quickly reduce your monitoring volume.
DIN Connector
Consumer multi-pin signal connection format, also used for MIDI cabling. Various pin configurations are available.
Direct Box
A mic-level box that converts a phone connector to an XLR connector.
Direct Coupling
A means of connecting two electrical circuits so that both AC and DC signals may be passed between them.
Direct Output
An output that routes signal from a mixer input channel, usually post fader, to an external location. Direct outputs are used most often to send signal to a recorder track inputs during recording.
Disc
Used to describe vinyl discs, CDs and MiniDiscs.
Disk
Abbreviation of Diskette, but now used to describe computer floppy, hard and removable disks.
Distortion
Fuzz or roughness added to a sound.
Dither
A process that deliberately adds a tiny amount of noise to a signal in order to mask unwanted sounds introduced when the signal's original bit depth is reduced. Dithering is recommended when transferring audio to a device that uses a lower bit depth.
DMA
Direct Memory Access: Part of a computer operating system that allows peripheral devices to communicate directly with the computer memory without going via the central processor or CPU.
Dolby
An encode/decode tape noise reduction system that amplifies low level, high frequency signals during recording, then reverses this process during playback. There are several different Dolby systems in use: types B, C and S for domestic and semi-professional machines, and types A and SR for professional machines. Recordings made using one of these systems must also be replayed via the same system.
Dongle
A Device for software security. When plugged into a computer allows the computer to run a program. If the device is not present, the software will not function. Prevents piracy.
Doubling
The artificial simulation of a second unison performance by using a delay with a short delay time.
Driver
Piece of software that handles communications between the main program and a hardware peripheral, such as a soundcard, printer or scanner.
Drum Pad
Synthetic playing surface which produces electronic trigger signals in response to being hit with drum sticks.
Dry
A signal to which an effect has not been added.
DSP
For "digital signal processing," the means by which digital audio is mixed, filtered, equalized, or by which effects are added.
Dubbing
Adding further material to an existing recording. Also known as overdubbing.
Ducking
A system for controlling the level of one audio signal with another. For example, background music can be made to 'duck' whenever there's a voice over.
Dump
To transfer digital data from one device to another. A Sysex dump is a means of transmitting information about a particular instrument or module over MIDI, and may be used to store sound patches, parameter settings and so on.
Dynamic Microphone
A type of microphone that works on the electric generator principle, where a diaphragm moves a coil of wire within a magnetic field.
Dynamic Processing
Usually refers to Noise Gates and Compressors.
Dynamic Range
The range in dB between the highest signal that can be handled by a piece of equipment and the level at which small signals disappear into the noise floor.
Dynamics
Volume changes that occur in audio.
ELCO
A multi-pin connector that is used with ADATs and other multitrack audio devices.
EMI Electro Magnetic Interference
A buzz or hum usually caused by a strong magnetic field. Most often this results from an audio cable being routed too near an AC cable.
EQ
The process of altering the levels of frequencies that comprise a signal. Also called "equalization."
Echo
A re-usable template containing mixer routings and other settings. In some V-Studios, walks you through the creation of a setup using displayed questions.
Echo
A delay-based effect in which copies of a signal are heard trailing off to silence; similar to shouting from a mountaintop and hearing your voice repeat.
Effects
Any of a variety of audio processes that can be applied to a signal to modify it, including reverb, delay, flanging, phasing.
Effect Loop
Any of a variety of audio processes that can be applied to a signal to modify it, including reverb, delay, flanging, phasing.
Effect Processor
A built-in or external device that produces effects.
Effect Return
An input that receives signal from the output of an internal or external effect.
Efficiency
In loudspeakers, the ratio of output power to electrical power input.
Emulated Headphone Jack
A speaker simulated signal direct to your recorder, mixer or headphones without having to place a microphone in front of your guitar amp or cabinet.
Encode
The process by which sampled audio is prepared for VariPhrase manipulation.
Envelope
A device that changes a basic setting by the desired amount at specified time intervals. Envelopes are commonly used to alter basic waveform pitch settings, as well as basic TVF and TVA settings.
Equalizer
A device that boost or cuts the volume of specific frequencies in a signal.
Equal Temperament
Standard Western tuning that divides each octave into twelve mathematically equal parts.
Expander
A device that reduces the level of a signal when it falls below a specified threshold to exaggerate its dynamic range.
Expansion Board
An optional circuit board that can be installed in a device to add additional sounds or effect processing.
F Button
A multi-use button whose function is defined by software.
F Spacing
Refers to the wider spacing of the pole pieces in some Dimarzio pickups to match up to Fender guitars, or those guitars equipped with Floyd Rose tremolo systems.
FX
A change in level over time increasing upward from silence.
Fade Out
A change in level over time falling gradually to silence.
Fader
A slider-type device used for the precise manipulation of levels. In some devices, can also be used for the setting of parameter values.
Feedback
The delaying of a delay so that multiple images of the original signal are heard; also, the loud squeal that's heard when a channel is receiving its own output.
Filter
A device that removes specified frequencies from a signal.
Filter Envelope
A device that changes the Time Variant Filter's settings over a period of time.
Finalize
The last stage of CD-R/RW writing in which the disk's table of contents (TOC) is written onto the disk.
Fine Tune
The adjustment of pitch in the smallest of increments, typically 100ths of a semitone, or "cents."
Flanger
An effect that generates a swirling sound by adding a slightly delayed copy of the signal in which the copy's delay time fluctuates.
Flex Bus
A powerful all-purpose bus available on Roland digital mixers.
Flip
On an in-line mixer, the act of allocating a channel's tools to the control of an input signal or to the control of a multitrack tape return.
Flipping
When working with two signals 180 degrees out of phase, delaying one of the signals so that its phase lines up with the other.
Flying Fader
A motorized fader that automatically moves to its current setting.
FOH
Front Of House: Refers to the main speakers and the mix station in a sound system.
Formant
Harmonic content of a sound that determine the sound's character, especially important in human vocal sounds, where formants are produced by mouth shape and vocal cord length.
Fragmentation
The breaking up of a large space -- a hard drive or onboard RAM memory -- into smaller, disconnected chunks of space that prevent data from being stored in one continuous area. Fragmentation can cause operational problems.
Frame
In SMPTE and MTC time codes, seconds are divided into frames as determined by the current frame rate.
Frequency
Refers to the number of times per second that a sound wave's cycle repeats, with a greater frequency resulting in a higher perceived pitch; also used as shorthand for describing sound waves in audio by their pitch.
GM, GM2
Abbreviation for "General MIDI" and "General MIDI 2," respectively.
GPI
GPI is short for "General Purpose Interface," a control jack found on some video editing devices.
GS
Roland's extension of General MIDI. GS adds features such as chorus, reverb and panning for more realistic sound, and expands beyond the original 128 sounds of General MIDI to 16,000-plus sounds. This open-ended convention has been licensed by Apple for QuickTime 3.0, 4.0 & 5.0, by Microsoft for their GS synthesizer, and by Nintendo for their sound applications.
Gain
A device that turns audio off or down when it falls below a specified threshold.
General MIDI
General MIDI -- or "GM" -- is a music industry standard ratified in 1991. It established a set of 128 synth, orchestral and percussion sounds so that GM files and Standard MIDI Files play back on any GM-compatible instrument with predictable results.
General MIDI 2
General MIDI 2 -- or "GM2" -- is an update to the General MIDI standard. It was ratified in 1991. GM2 was adopted by Roland and Yamaha to extend the set of GM sounds, expressive musical parameters and other features in order to provide for more consistent playback of GM2-compliant files on different instruments.
Generation Loss
In analog recording, the signal degradation that occurs with each generation of audio recording.
Graphic Equalizer
An equalizer with pre-determined editable frequencies, arranged from left to right to visually depict the EQ shape of a signal.
Ground
A common zero voltage reference in a system of connected audio devices; when devices have different zero voltage references, ground hum may occur.
Grouping
A process by which multiple channels are joined together under a single level control.
Hz
Abbreviation for "high impedance."
Hard Drive
A device that uses magnetism to store data on a rigid platter mounted inside its case.
Hash Mark
A horizontal line along the path of a fader to help identify its up/down position.
Headroom
The number of dBs above the point at which a clipping warning appears before clipping actually occurs.
Hertz (Hz)
A unit of measurement equal to a sound wave's single cycle.
High Impedance
High-impedance devices include electric guitars and basses, and some semi-pro microphones.
High Pass Filter
A filter that allows all frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency to pass through unaffected.
Hold Pedal
Pedal that, when pressed, causes sustaining notes to continue to play until the pedal is released.
House
Refers to the venue where a performance is taking place and the equipment and crew provided by the venue. Example: House engineers mix sound on house systems.
Hum
An undesirable low-frequency tone present in a signal as a result of grounding problems or proximity to a power source, typically a 60Hz noise in USA.
IDE
Short for "Integrated Device and Electronics." A set of data transmission standards employed by high-speed disk drives.
I/O
Abbreviation for "in/out," as in "inputs and outputs".
i-Format
Music data file format used on MT, KR, HP-G, AT- and V-MT-series products. Files created on any of these instruments are cross-compatible. The Visual MT (V-MT1) can convert any i-format song into the Standard MIDI File (SMF) format.
Impendance
The amount of force with which voltage leaves a connector and the amount of resistance to that force in the jack receiving it -- they should be equal.
In-Line
A synonym for "insert effect". Also, a mixer whose input and multitrack tape return controls are contained in each of its channel strips.
Input
A jack that receives audio.
Input Level
The level of signal coming into an input jack or input channel.
Insert
A point in a signal flow at which an insert, or in-line, effect can be employed.
Insert Effect
An effect routing that interrupts a channel's signal flow, diverting its signal into the effect and then out of the effect back into the channel. An insert effect completely replaces the original signal with an effected version. Commonly used with dynamics processing and modeling effects.
Interactive Song Files
Since MIDI files contain individual note information, users can interact with their contents, most frequently by changing the files' tempo, key, or number of tracks.
Jack
An audio connector. Most often refers to 1/4" phone female connectors, but can refer to other connectors as well.
kHz
For "kiloHertz," a thousand Hertz.
Key Follow
A feature in which the amount of change applied to a sound is based on the played note's distance above or below Middle C.
Knee
In compressors, the curve representing how fast the compressor reacts when a given signal passes the threshold point.
LCD
For "Liquid Crystal Diode," a plasma-based display used in most digital mixers.
LED
For "Light Emitting Diode," a small, sometimes colored, light bulb.
LFO ("Low Frequency Oscillator")
An inaudible low-frequency waveform that alters a basic setting -- a waveform's pitch, a tone's filter or panning settings -- in a cyclic manner according to the shape of the LFO's waveform. An LFO is typically used as a means of adding vibrato, tremolo or auto-panning.
LSB
For "Least Significant Byte." The LSB value is the second half of a full MIDI Bank Select message (the first half is the MSB value). Control Change Number 32 is the LSB Bank Select Control Change number.
Leakage
The "bleeding" or leaking of the sound of one source into the microphone of another source. For example, Cymbal noise coming through the microphone on a snare drum.
Level
A general term for volume or amplitude.
Limiter
A compressor set to a ratio of 10:1 or greater. This has the effect of preventing all but the fastest signals from exceeding the threshold volume, thus forcing them into the desired level range.
Line level
The high-level signal produced at the outputs of audio equipment such as synths, samplers, beatboxes, turntable preamps, CD players, mixers, recorders and playback devices.
Locator
A bookmark for a time location. Locators are fast and easy to recall, and are ideal for navigating a song or project.
Loop
As a verb, the act of playing the same section over and over. As a noun, a chunk of audio that's played over and over. Also an effect routing that adds an effect to a signal by sending a copy of the signal to an effect, and mixing the effect's output with the original signal.
Loop Effect
An effect routing that adds an effect to a signal by sending a copy of the signal to an effect, and mixing the effect's output with the original signal. Commonly used for reverbs and delay-based effects. Also called a "send-and-return effect."
Loudness
Another term for volume.
Low Impedance
Low-impedance devices include pro-quality mics, as well as synths, samplers, beat boxes, effect processors and so on.
Low Pass Filter
A filter that allows all frequencies lower than the cutoff frequency to pass through unaffected.
MIDI
For "Musical Instrument Digital Interface," the wiring and message protocol that allows musical instruments and other devices to communicate.
MIDI Connector
A five-pin DIN connector found at either end of a MIDI cable.
MIDI File
A computer music file created by a MIDI instrument or MIDI sequencer. These files have a ".mid," (pronounced "dot mid") suffix.
MIDI Message
An instruction transmitted from one MIDI device to another. Each MIDI message contains at least two numbers: one that identifies the type of message being sent, and one that represents a value for the selected type of message.
MIDI Clock
A form of MIDI-based synchronization that transmits a rhythmic pulse from one MIDI instrument to another to keep the devices synchronized.
MIDI Control Change Message
A type of MIDI message assigned to a particular parameter. When you send a value for a MIDI Control Change number, it sets the corresponding parameter in the MIDI device that receives it.
MIDI Control Message
A hardware device that transmits MIDI messages, and whose purpose is the control of a second MIDI device.
MMC
For "MIDI Machine Control," the MIDI-based protocol that allows the controls of one MMC-compliant device to affect the transport mechanism of another.
MSB
For "Most Significant Byte." The MSB value is one half of a full MIDI Bank Select message (the second half is the LSB value). Control Change Number 00 is the MSB Bank Select.
MTC
For "MIDI Time Code," a form of SMPTE used for the timing synchronization of two or more MIDI devices.
Marco
A shortcut that performs a multi-step operation as a single action.
Mains
Refers to the main left and right speakers in a sound system. Also called FOH.
Marker
A bookmark for a specific time location used by V-Studios and CD-R/RW recorders.
Master
The final version of a recording project, from which copies are made for distribution.
Master Device
One device controls the timing of synchronized devices. That device is the master. Any device controlled by the master is a slave device.
Mastering
The final step in the process of preparing a mix for publication and/or mass-duplication.
Mastering Tracks
The pair of V-Tracks onto which the final mix is recorded. Mastering tracks can be burned onto an audio CD.
Mastering Tool Kit
A suite of professional-quality effects that prepares audio for transfer to an audio CD.
Memory Card
A credit-card-sized card that can store patch or other kinds of data.
Meter
A device that shows the level of a signal.
Meter Bridge
A separate piece of mixer hardware that provides an additional array of meters.
Mic
A common nickname for "microphone."
Mic Level
The low-level signal produced by microphones and electric instruments such as electric guitar or bass.
Mic Pre
A microphone preamplifier. An amplifier that brings the very low output signal of a microphone up to line level so that it is more easily recorded or processed.
Microphone
A device that converts sound waves into audio signals.
Mix
As a noun, a signal that contains one or more other signals -- typically a mix is a pair of stereo signals that contains numerous mono and stereo signals, along with effects, combined together. As a verb, the act of creating such a combined signal, or of using a mixer in general.
Mixdown
A common synonym for the noun "mix".
Mixer
A device in which audio signals can be manipulated, enhanced and directed to other destinations, singly or together; also, someone who operates a mixer.
Modeling
A process by which the characteristics of one signal are applied to another. Roland's advanced COSM modeling creates realistic emulations of popular and classic microphones, guitars, guitar amplifiers and studio reference speakers.
Mod Wheel, Modulation Wheel
A wheel located to the left of a keyboard that allows you to change parameter values in realtime.
Monitor
As a noun, a speaker, or set of speakers, for the purpose of listening to a mix; as a verb, to listen.
Mono
A single signal.
Mono Mode
An operating mode in which a synth or sampler sounds only a single note at a time no matter how many notes are played. When a new note is played, the previous note is stopped.
Multi-Partial Patch
In the XV-5080, a patch comprised of up to 88 partials
Multitimbral
A device that can play more than one patch at a time, typically through the use of a performance or multitimbre.
Music Tutor interactive
A feature on some Roland instruments that adds a helpful, "human" personality to an easy-to-use 5-track sequencer (expandable to 16 tracks), a GS sound section and a floppy disk drive. The Music Tutor acts as a powerful, practical learning assistant, and is helpful for learning a tune or studying a keyboard method.
Mute
As a noun, a switch that allows you to silence a channel's signal. As a verb, to silence an audio signal.
Noise Gate
A device that automatically shuts off or turns down a circuit when the level ( in dB ) falls below a certain point ( threshold ). Commonly used on drum microphone channels to eliminate bleed from cymbals and other drums and to eliminate the ring found in improperly tuned drums.
Normalize
The process by which the gain of digital audio is increased to its maximum allowable volume.
Notation program
A notation program allows one to play music into a computer via a MIDI keyboard and have the notes instantly appear on the screen, immediately available for printing. More advanced programs feature additional editing, note-entry and printing options.
Notching
A form of EQ in which a selected frequency and a specified number of frequencies above and below it -- called a "band" -- are affected.
Now line
The dark vertical line at the center of a playlist that represents your current position in the playlist. Also called a "timeline."
Nut
The slotted part of a guitar located at the top of the neck that holds the stings above the fretboard and maintains spaces between the strings. Usually made of plastic, bone and more recently graphite.
Optical Connector
A connector that transmits digital data as light using fiber-optic technology.
Oscillator
In a synth, internal hardware that generates sound.
Out of Phase
A situation in which the soundwave cycles in one signal reach their greatest amount of air pressure as the cycles in a similar signal reach their least; the two signals will cancel each other out.
Outboard
External, as in an "external device."
Output
A jack that sends out a signal from a device.
Overdub
Replacing a part or adding another part to a mutitrack recording.
Overload
What occurs when a signal is so loud that it exceeds the capabilities of the device through which it's passing.
PCM
For "Pulse Code Modulation," the method used for recording and storing samples in many synths.
PS/2
PS/2 is a wiring standard for computer peripheral devices developed by IBM.
Pad
A device that lowers the level of a signal. Also an oversize button you can strike to play a sound.
Panning
The left/right positioning of a signal within a stereo image.
Parameter
A setting whose value can be changed.
Parametric
A type of EQ that can be adjusted to boost or cut any frequency within its overall range; may also have a user-definable bandwidth.
Part
A type of EQ that can be adjusted to boost or cut any frequency within its overall range; may also have a user-definable bandwidth.
Partial
In the XV Series, a collection of up to four samples mapped to an area on the keyboard. Each partial contains several components that play and shape its samples. These are the SMT (Sample Mix Table), TVF (time variant filter), TVA (time variant amplifier), envelope and LFO. In pre-JV/XP-Series synths, the basic building block of a patch. A partial contains several components that play and shape a waveform.
Patch
In a synth, a set of tones -- or partials in pre-JV/XP-Series synths -- along with parameters that determine their behavior. In recording, a temporary connection made between two audio devices, or within one. In the XV 5080, a multi-partial patch can contains up to 88 partials.
Pattern
A short musical passage recorded as MIDI data.
Pattern
A short musical passage recorded as MIDI data.
Peak
A sudden high-volume burst of signal.
Performance
An object that contains 16 parts, each of which plays a patch. Performances allow you to use multiple patches together as splits or layers, and when working with a multitrack sequencer in some synths. In some synths, performances also incorporate an arpeggiator and rhythm patterns.
Phantom Power
The power required for the operation of a condenser microphone when it's not supplied by internal batteries or a separate power supply.
Phasing
The synchronization -- or lack thereof -- of the sound waves in two similar signals. Also an effect in which a swirling sound is added to a signal by creating a very slightly delayed copy of the signal and in which the copy's delay time fluctuates, similar to flanging.
Phase Cancellation
The complete cancellation of audio that occurs when two signals are 180 degrees out of phase.
Phone Connector
A 1/4" connector used for the transmission of mic or line-level audio.
Phono Connector
A small audio connector used for the connection of line-level signals and S/PDIF-format digital audio connections.
Phrase
In a V-Studio, a set of pointers that instructs the V-Studio when and how to play a take.
Pickup
Part of a guitar that captures the vibrations of the strings and converts those vibrations to electrical signals.
Pitch Bend Paddle, Pitch Bend Wheel
A device located to the left of a keyboard with which you can raise or lower the pitch of played notes by a pre-programmed amount in realtime.
Playlist
A device located to the left of a keyboard with which you can raise or lower the pitch of played notes by a pre-programmed amount in realtime.
Polarity
Refers to whether or not the hot and ground leads in two audio cables are connected to their destinations in the same manner.
Poly Mode
An operating mode in which a synth or sampler can play multiple notes at once, as in a chord.
Polyphony
The number of waveforms or oscillators a synth can simultaneously play.
Portamento
An operating mode in which one note glides to the next.
Post
The designation for accessing audio just after it leaves a particular channel component. For example, "post-fader" grabs audio just after it leaves a channel's main level control before it gets to its panning control.
Pre
The designation for the accessing of audio before a particular module; for example, "pre-EQ" grabs audio before it gets to a channel strip's EQ.
Preproduction
Getting a project organized before going into the studio. This may include having the arrangements finalized, knowing what microphones are needed, planning for what overdubs are needed, number of tracks and scheduling. Good preproduction can save a lot of time and money when working in a professional studio.
Program Change
A type of MIDI message that corresponds to a specific patch. When an instrument receives a Program Change message, the corresponding patch is selected for use.
Project
In a VS-2480, all of the audio and settings for a recorded work, stored as a project disk file on the VS-2480's hard drive.
Proximity Effect
A low frequency boost, which occurs when a unidirectional microphone is placed very close to the sound source.
Pumping
The undesirable sound of a compressor or expander switching on and off.
Punching
The process of re-recording sections of a previously recorded track. The act of starting a punch is called "punching in." Ending a punch is called "punching out."
Q
A synonym for "bandwidth."
Quantizing
A sequencer operation that corrects the timing of recorded MIDI data. Quantizing moves notes -- and other MIDI data if desired -- to the nearest gridline on a user-selected rhythm grid.
RAM
For "Random Access Memory," the type of volatile memory used in a device for the storage of user data. If the device has battery-backed RAM, its contents are preserved at power-off. Otherwise, RAM memory is cleared when the device is turned off.
R-BUS
A Roland digital communication standard that allows the exchange of digital information between connected devices. The R-BUS standard includes R-BUS jacks and cables. Each connection can simultaneously carry eight channels of digital audio data in and out of a device, and can also carry synchronization and MIDI data.
RCA Connector
Another name for a phono connector.
RF
For "Radio Frequency," interference from local radio stations that's sometimes picked up and passed along audio cables.
RMDB-II
An early name for Roland's R-BUS standard.
ROM
For "Read-Only Memory," the type of memory in a device that can permanently store sounds and other data. The contents of ROM memory cannot be changed by a user.
RPS
For "Realtime Phrase Sequence," a feature that allows you to trigger a pattern by playing a single key. With RPS, each key can play its own pattern.
RSS
For "Roland Sound Space," and effect that produces a three-dimensional audio image in which sound seems to be coming from the front, side, above or below the listener.
Ratio
The amount of gain change to be applied to a signal that exceeds or falls below the threshold settings of a compressor or expander, respectively.
Realtime
A realtime process is one that occurs while you're recording or playing back without requiring you to stop either action since it takes place in "real time."
Recover
To reload a song or project you've backed up. When you recover backup data, the data returns to its original, playable, editable form.
Redo
You can reverse an undo by performing a "redo"
Region
On the VS-2480, a region is a section of time within a project, defined by the placement of IN and OUT edit points -- it's the portion of the project that falls between these two edit points.
Release
With an envelope, Release sets the speed at which the envelope returns to its zero setting. In a dynamics processor, it sets the speed at which the processor stops working.
Removable Disk Drive
A hard drive device whose disk platter resides on a cartridge that can be removed from the device and replaced with another cartridge.
Resonance
A gain control that raises the level of the cutoff frequency. This control can be manipulated manually using performance techniques such as velocity, or automatically using enveloping or LFOs.
Return
A bus or input jack that receives signal, typically from effect outputs.
Reverb
An effect in which the ambience of a physical space is simulated -- a signal is copied many times, and the copies are heard one after another at decreasing levels, so closely together that they are not perceived as individual events.
Rhythm Set
A type of sound that plays a different patch on each key.
Rhythm Pattern
A musical passage that uses drum and percussion sounds.
Rhythm Track
In some personal studios, an extra track that plays pre-recorded rhythm patterns.
Ribbon Controller
A strip across which you can drag your finger back and forth to manipulate a sound in realtime.
Riding
The process of continually adjusting a signal's level.
Roll Off
The process of continually adjusting a signal's level.
Routing
The connection of a component's output to the input of another component. For example, you can route input jacks to input channels, input channels to tracks, Aux busses to effects or to output jacks, and so on.
SCMS
For "Serial Copy Management System," the system used for write-protecting digital audio so that no unauthorized digital copies of the audio can be made.
SCSI
Short for "Small Computer System Interface." SCSI is a set of cabling and data standards for the passing of data between storage devices.
SCSI BUS
The data stream running through cabling connecting a series of SCSI devices.
SMF
Short for "Standard MIDI File"
SMF Library
Short for "Standard MIDI File"
SMPTE
For "Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers"; synchronization technology used for coordinating the timing of audio and video equipment.
S/PDIF
For "Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format," a standard for the sending and receiving of digital audio data; typically uses phono connectors.
SPP
Short for "Song Position Pointer"
Safety Copy
A copy of a master, kept in case of damage to or loss of an original.
Sample
A recording of audio in a synth or sampler. In digital recording, one of thousands of recordings of audio captured each second.
Sample Frequency
Another term for "sample rate"
Sample Rate
The number of times per second a digital device captures an image of a signal. CDs use a 44.1kHz sample rate -- 44,100 samples per second.
Sampler
An instrument that digitally records audio. Playback of the recording can be triggered using a keyboard, pads or other mechanisms.
Scene
Mixer settings saved in the internal memory of a V-Studio or digital mixer. A scene can be quickly recalled, re-establishing all of its settings instantly.
Scratch Vocal
A rough vocal track recorded live along with the initial rhythm instruments to help the basic tracks keep in the "groove" of the song. Final vocals can be re-recorded later during overdubs.
Send
A bus or output jack that transmits signal.
Send-and-Return Effect
An effect routing that adds an effect to a signal by sending a copy of the signal to an effect, and mixing the effect's output with the original signal. Commonly used for reverbs and delay-based effects. Also called a "loop effect."
Sequencer
A MIDI recorder that captures MIDI data and can play it back in realtime.
Shelving
A type of EQ in which all frequencies above or below a selected frequency are affected; low shelving affects all frequencies below the selected frequency; high shelving all those above it.
Shielding
The electric or magnetic materials used in a cable that protect its signal from unwanted noise.
Shock Mount
A kind of microphone mount where the microphone is isolated from noise from the floor and stand. Also, most handheld microphones have an internal shock mount to reduce handling noise.
Signal
A general term for audio as it travels through audio cables and equipment.
Signal Flow
The journey a signal takes from one place to another.
Sibilance
The hissing or "lisping" sound heard on words with S and C in them. Caused by bad mic technique or improper equalization. Also called Essing.
Slapback
Type of reverb whose beginning is slightly delayed to simulate the reflection of sound off of a physical wall; also called- "pre-delay"
Slate
A spoken label recorded at the beginning of a take, such as "Remix, Take 1".
Slave Device
One device controls the timing of synchronized devices. That device is the master. Any device controlled by the master is a slave device.
SmartMedia
A credit-card-sized memory card that can store patch and/or other kinds of data
Snapshot
A captured group of mixer settings that reflect the state of the mixer at a particular moment within a song or project -- the mixer can recall the snapshot and re-instate its settings at the proper moment during the playback of the song or project.
Soft Button, Soft Knob
A multi-use button or knob on a digital mixer whose function is defined by software.
Solo
When monitoring, the isolation of one signal by silencing all other signals.
Song
In some V-Studios, all of the audio and settings for a recorded work, saved as a song disk file on the V-Studio's storage device.
Song Position Pointer (SPP)
A type of MIDI message that communicates song/sequence/project location information by transmitting the number of 16th notes since the beginning of the song/sequence/project.
Sound Card
A common PC component with a D-to-A (digital to analog) converter and a set, or "wavetable," of sounds. Also a credit-card-sized storage device that holds synth and sampler patches and waveform data.
Sound Module
A MIDI device whose sole purpose is to generate sounds. A sound module typically contains patches, and may contains its own effects as well.
Split
A mixer with a separate section for controlling multitrack tape returns.
Standard MIDI File (SMF)
A file that contains a MIDI recording of music in the Standard MIDI File format. Such as file can be played by any SMF-compatible sequencer or playback device. The most common SMF types are Type 0 files with multiple tracks combined into a single multi-channel track, and Type 1 files comprised of separate individual tracks.
Split
A mixer with a separate section for controlling multitrack tape returns.
Stereo
A two-dimensional image created by two signals, each of which is assigned to one of a pair of speakers arranged left and right of each other.
Stretch Tuning
Traditional acoustic piano tuning that slightly sharpens the highest keys and slightly flattens the lowest keys for psychoacoustic purposes.
Strip
Short for "channel strip"
Style
A musical passage that can contain all of the elements of a musical arrangement and can be played as a single object.
Subframe
A subdivision of a SMPTE or MTC frame equaling 1/98th of a frame.
Sustain Pedal
Pedal that, when pressed, causes sustaining notes to continue to play until the pedal is released.
Sustain
In a traditional envelope, the level at which an enveloped setting remains after the Attack and Decay stages until the key is released.
Sweep
In a traditional envelope, the level at which an enveloped setting remains after the Attack and Decay stages until the key is released.
Sweep
In EQ, to quickly listen to all of the frequencies in a signal one after another.
Synchronization
Or "sync"; the coordination of timing between audio and/or video devices.
Synth, Synchronization
An instrument that synthesizes new sounds from raw audio materials such as waveforms. A synth may also generate its own completely original sounds using oscillators.
SysEx, System Exclusive
A type of MIDI message that contains instructions that can be understood only by a specific MIDI device identified by manufacturer, model and SysEx ID number.
TOC
For "Table of Contents," the directory on an audio CD that allows its player to find each selection on the CD.
TRS
Short for "Tip/Ring/Sleeve." A type of 1/4" audio cable connector that uses three wires for carrying audio signals and for grounding. The wires are attached to the connector's tip, ring and a second ring called a "sleeve."
TS
Tip/ Sleeve. Standard mono 1/4" connector
TVA ("Time Variant Amplifier")
The component within a tone or partial that controls the level of its audio, and sets its stereo position, or "panning."
TVF ("Time Variant Filter")
The component within a tone or partial that controls the frequency content of its audio.
Take
In a V-Studio, a take is an audio file recorded on your hard drive. In general studio usage, "take" refers to an attempt to record a performance, successful or otherwise.
Tempo
Synonym for speed or rate
Terminator
A separate device or internal drive mechanism that electrically terminates a SCSI chain of devices. Each SCSI chain must have a terminator at both ends. V-Studios and Roland sample-based devices provide termination for one end of a SCSI chain.
Tick
The smallest division of a quarter note
Tone
The basic building block of a patch. A tone contains several components that play and shape a waveform. These are the WG (wave generator), TVF (time variant filter), TVA (time variant amplifier), envelope and LFO. One or more tones are the foundation of every patch
Track
In a V-Studio, a set of V-Tracks, one of which can be active at a time. In editing on pre-VS-2480 V-Studios, a section of time within a song, defined by the placement of IN and OUT edit points -- it's the portion of the song that falls between these two edit points. In a sequencer, one stream of MIDI data on one or more MIDI channels.
Timeline
The dark vertical line at the center of a playlist that represents your current position in the playlist. Also called a "now line"
Threshold
A designated level that triggers an action in a compressor, gate or expander
Track
A stream of recorded audio data
Track Minutes
A method of expressing the available recording time by measuring the maximum length of a single monaural track of recorded data
Transient
A very brief high-level signal
Treble
The higher frequencies in a signal
Tremolo
A rhythmic fluctuation in level
Truss Road
A rod that is inside the neck of a guitar. The truss rod counters the tension of the strings, prevents the neck from excessive bowing, and is used to adjust string height
USB MIDI Interface
An interface for connecting a MIDI device to a computer using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector. The industry-standard USB cable is convenient for users who frequently change between Mac and PC platforms
Unbalanced
A type of connection that utilizes only two of the leads -- the high and ground -- of a cable, connector and jack
Undo
A V-Studio's Undo feature allows you to reverse your most recent recording and editing actions. This is called "undoing" the action.
V Knob
A multi-use knob whose function is defined by software
Valves
British name for vacuum tubes
VariPhrase
Roland sampling technology that allows you to manipulate sampled audio in realtime. VariPhrase allows you to change the pitch, tempo, formant content and groove of encoded sampled audio
Virtual Track, V-Track
A Virtual Track -- or "V-Track" -- is a set of one or more recorded phrases arranged in the order in which they're to be played back. Each V-Studio track contains a set of V-Tracks, any one of which can be played back or recorded on at any given time
Velocity
A realtime controller based on the force with which a MIDI device's keys or (pads, etc.) are struck
Velocity Sensitivity
The amount by which changes in velocity affect a tone or patch
Vibrato
A rhythmic fluctuation in pitch
Virtual Orchestra
A GS/General MIDI module effectively creates a multi-part ensemble for orchestral or combo accompaniments, with up to 16 distinct orchestral sounds or timbres.
Vocoder
Signal processor that uses a filter to add the frequency characteristics of a sound to the original signal. Can be used to make robot-like sounds as well as making instruments sound like they are "talking".
Volume
A general term for a signal's loudness
WAV
A commonly used type of hard disk file that contains audio, developed by Microsoft. Also called ".wav" or "WAVE" files. There are many professionally recorded drum and other instrumental loops available as .wav files for use in song construction
WG ("Wave Generator")
The component within a tone that selects the desired waveform and sets its basic behavior
Waveform
In a synth or sampler, the raw material from which a patch is constructed. A waveform is one or more samples of an instrument or other type of sound. Each tone or partial in a patch plays a waveform, as selected by the tone's or partial's wave generator. In a V-Studio, an audio signal displayed in a grid. The horizontal axis shows elapsed time, and the vertical axis shows volume, or "amplitude."
Wet
A signal to which an effect has been applied
Word Clock
A type of timing information carried within a digital audio signal that keeps multiple digital recording devices precisely synchronized when exchanging digital audio.
Woofer
A speaker that reproduces low or low-midrange frequences. As opposed to a horn or "Tweeter" that reproduces high frequencies
XLR Connector
A high-quality three-pin audio connector; also called a "cannon connector"; also used for AES-EBU-format digital audio connections
Y-Cable
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Rumtopf is a traditional Danish/German dish comprising rum and?
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The Languedoc Pages - December 2012 by English Language Media Sarl - issuu
2 Pages What’s On
Pages 8-9
95c | ISSUE 17 | DECEMBER 2012
publishers of
The cowboys who protect our regional heritage PAGE 7
Protestors pledge to halt rural golf plans
Attend a funeral without the travel Two Languedoc crematoria are pioneering an internet-based system that allows mourners to take part in memorial services without being physically present - and may be useful to expatriates. The new service, developed by the Paris-based firm Afterweb Venture, was first adopted in France by the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris – France’s largest cemetery and the second largest in Europe. The crematoria of Canet-enRoussillon (Pyrénées-Orientales) and Trèbes (Aude) are following, offering a service that allows clients to follow a funeral service from their home, on their own computer or iPad. Eric Fauveau of Afterweb Venture said: “Our service is aimed at people who cannot attend a funeral in person; perhaps due to mobility issues, illness, or simply because they are too far away and just cannot travel for the required period of time.” The procedure is simple: a remote-controlled camera is installed at the crematorium in question and films the funeral service which can then be viewed for up to 30 days online via a private website. Turn to page 4
by LOUISE HURREN
moNtpellIer’s cocktail king Page 3
RURAL residents are campaigning hard against plans to build new golf courses in the heart of the Languedoc-Roussillon countryside. Two projects in the Pyrénées-Orientales and the Aude look to have been scuppered by locals who claim they do not want to see their country landscape changed, while a third – also in the Aude – has been hit by a series of legal complications that have continued for five years. In the Pyrénées-Orientales department, the préfecture has moved to block plans for a golf course at Villeneuve-de-la-Raho, south of Perpignan. The project has not been approved because of water shortages and environmental concerns. A Facebook page (“Non au golf à Villeneuve de la Raho”) was created by an association called Agir pour Villeneuve, rallying those opposed to the project. Latest develop-
ments in the case are posted on the page. The page was set up by Villeneuve resident Thomas Emeriau, who said: “Our concerns are based on the fact that we live in an area where water is already in limited supply. “We are also keen to protect the area of some 500 hectares which was earmarked not just for a golf course but also for housing with it. “We mounted a petition and attracted around 500 signatures, and organised a demonstration in front of the préfecture of the PyrénéesOrientales.” Promoter Belin Promotion and the mairie of Villeneuve have until mid-December to appeal against the préfecture’s decision. Turn to page 2
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December 2012
New tram route unveiled
Languedoc Pages is published by: English Language Media Sarl, Le Vedra, 38 rue Grimaldi, 98000 Monaco. Directrice de la publication: Sarah Smith. Printed at Nice-Matin: 214 Route de Grenoble, 06290 Nice Cedex 3.
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Contents News What’s On Feature Leisure Time
1-7 8-11 12-13, 24 14
Food and Pets 15 Directory 16-17 Home and Gardening 18-19 Property and Finance 20-23
Useful Numbers EMERGENCY NUMBERS 18: Emergencies: Calls the fire brigade (Sapeurs Pompiers), but they deal with medical emergencies and are usually the first port of call in rural areas. 112: Emergency calls from your mobile: Be ready with your name and where you are calling from and do not hang up until told to do so. 17: Police (gendarmes) 119: Child abuse. 1616: Sea and lake rescue. 01 40 05 48 48: Anti-poison centre (Paris) 08 10 33 30 + your department number (eg 24 for the Dordogne): Gas & electricity emergencies UTILITIES FRANCE TELECOM Website in English: www.francetelecom.com To report a fault online: www.1013.fr (click on the UK flag). English-speaking helpline: 09 69 36 39 00 (from France); + 33 1 55 78 60 56 (outside France). ORANGE: English-speaking helpline: 09 69 36 39 00. SFR: 1023 (+ 33 6 10 00 10 23 from outside France). FREE: 1044. Bouygues: 1034. EDF: 24 hour breakdown line: 08 10 33 30 87; Helpline in English: 05 62 16 49 08; From outside France: + 33 5 62 16 49 08; Email: [email protected] GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS CAISSE D’ALLOCATIONS FAMILIALES CAF: www.caf.fr; Tel: 08 10 25 14 10. L’ASSURANCE MALADIE (AMELI, formerly known as CPAM – the health service): www.ameli.fr; Tel: 36 46 (Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm) English spoken. URSSAF: English-language website: www.anglais. urssaf.fr - Aude - 20 rue Saint Michel, BP 605, 11876 CARCASSONNE CEDEX 9, Tel: 04 68 11 24 00 | Gard - 6 rue du Cirque Romain, 30923 NIMES CEDEX 9, Tel: 04 66 36 48 00 | Hérault - Quartier de la Mosson, 35 rue La Haye, 34937 MONTPELLIER CEDEX 9, Tel: 08 20 00 34 35 | Lozère - Quartier des Carmes, BP 104, 48003 MENDE, Tel: 04 66 47 23 48 | Pyrénées-Orientales - 26 rue Petite la Monnaie, BP 59926, 66021 PERPIGNAN CEDEX 9, Tel: 04 68 35 75 00 PREFECTURE: Aude - 52 rue Jean Bringer, BP 836, 11012 CARCASSONNE CEDEX Tel: 04 68 10 27 01 | Gard - 10 avenue Feuchères, 30045 NIMES CEDEX 9 Tel: 04 66 36 40 40 | Hérault 34 place des Martyrs de la Résistance, 34062 MONTPELLIER CEDEX 2 Tel: 04 67 61 61 61 | Lozère - 2 rue de La
Rovère, 48000 MENDE Tel: 04 66 49 60 00 | Pyrénées-Orientales - 24 quai Sadi Carnot, 66951 PERPIGNAN CEDEX Tel: 04 68 51 66 66 OTHER HELP IN ENGLISH Counselling in France: for a qualified therapist near you or counselling over the telephone; www.counsellinginfrance.com SOS Help: similar to the Samaritans, listeners who are professionally trained; Tel 01 46 21 46 46; www.soshelpline.org No Panic France: for help with anxiety disorders; Tel: 02 51 28 80 25; www.nopanic.org.uk Alcoholics Anonymous: Aude Regular meetings are held (in French) in Carcassonne | Gard - Regular meetings are held (in French) in Nîmes, Alès and Cèze | Hérault - Regular meetings are held (in French) in Sète Agde Beziers, Bédarieux and Lodève. Montpellier: English-speaking group (closed) meets Thursdays at 18:45-20:15, doors open at 18:30. Ganges: English-speaking meeting (Willing to Grow Group), with meetings (closed) Tuesdays 18:30-20:00 in the Foyer des Jeunes, near the Schools on rue E. Gounelle, 34190 Ganges. | Pyrénées-Orientales Céret, Le Barcares-Village, Thuir, Vernet les Bains and Perpignan Cancer Support France: for advice and someone to talk to: www.cancersupportfrance.info National Office: email: [email protected]; Tel: 05 45 89 30 05. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association Forces (SSAFA): In France: 05 53 01 64 54. Email: france@ ssafa. org.uk AVF: help with French life; www.avf.asso.fr OTHER INFO Yellow Pages: www.pagesjaunes.fr Speaking clock: 3699. Weather: 08 92 68 02 + dept. number. Last incoming call on your phone: 3131, then ‘5’ if you wish to connect. BRITISH CONSULATE British Consulate Marseilles: 24 avenue du Prado, 13006 Marseilles. Open: 09:0012:00 and 14:00-17:00 Tel: 04 91 15 72 10 (after hours emergency call this number for answer phone emergency service) PUBLIC HOLIDAYS THIS MONTH December 25: Christmas Day
Languedoc Clubs and Associations Alliance Franco-Anglaise du Languedoc Roussillon Association aimed at assisting English speaking newcomers to integrate through conversation classes and social events. Contact Neil Todd: 04 67 37 99 52 www.afal.name Association Echanges Association offering cultural exchanges in French or English and bringing together various nationalities for meetings every two months. Social events for people in the area plus English lessons. The main activity for English speakers is a "pot luck" meal together for informal discussion and games and so on. Contact Emma Tikunova: 04 68 60 38 99 or 06 01 79 97 27 [email protected]
Appassionata Choir The Chorale Appassionata welcomes new members. We rehearse in the Salle Polyvalente at Bassan,from 19.45 to 22.00 every Tuesday. Membership is international amd we sing everything classical to jazz. Contact Rhona Goujon 04 67 36 05 83 ESKA English Speaking Kids Association A new non-profit association called ESKA - English Speaking Kids Association which has been set up in the region to bring together English-speaking children of various ages to enjoy different kinds of activities in English. All children of all nationalities are welcome to join in the activities accompanied by their parents or guardians. Meetings take place in LunelViel. 04 67 82 36 62
The fifth line is due to enter service in 2017 and means that an estimated 60% of the city population will live near tram After a year of studies, debate and 12 meetings open to the public, Montpellier Agglomération has officially announced the route for the city’s fifth tram line. The 20.5km route will link the communes of Lavérune, Saint-Jean-deVédas, Montpellier, Montferrier, Clapiers and Prades-le-Lez. Additionally, it will provide a link with the existing line 4 in the town centre, between Place Albert 1er and the
boulevard de l’Observatoire. Featuring 27 stops, line 5 is expected to be used by some 59,000 travellers on a daily basis, according to the Agglomération. The cost of the new line is e330million, of which e220million will be paid by the Agglomération. The remainder will be funded by the French government (e37millon), Languedoc-Roussillon’s regional council (e50million) and the Hérault depart-
ment (e23million). With the addition of the fifth line an estimated 60% of the population of the greater Montpellier area will be able to use the tramway. Studies regarding various options for the Montferrier to Prades-le-Lez section have been delayed, but work is still scheduled to start before the end of next year, and it is expected that the new tram line will start taking passengers in 2017.
Thomas Emeriau, secretary of the protest group Agir pour Villeneuve
Meanwhile, a luxury golf tourism project in Villardonnel (Aude) has yet to see the day, further to a series of legal proceedings which have dragged on since 2007, when company Landbridge Capital was granted the concession to develop the Domaine de Laroyale golf and spa resort. Situated over 300 hectares of land in the Cabardès area, near Carcassonne, the site earmarked for the Domaine de Laroyale has views across the Pyrenees. Plans for this luxury golf resort include around 600 holiday homes, a four-star hotel with gourmet restaurant, bar, health spa and conference centre, and an 18-hole golf course. However, it has been alleged that favouritism influenced the decision to grant Landbridge Capital the concession, and that procedures for calls for tender were not followed correctly. Most recently, courts in Montpellier have overthrown the previous decision of no case being found, and a new enquiry has been ordered. Contacted by Languedoc Pages, a former Landbridge Capital representative who declined to be named confirmed that the project had “met with some difficulty” and was, in his opinion, unlikely to go ahead.
Opposition to golf course plans From page 1 The préfecture said in a statement: “This project presents a number of difficulties, due on the one hand to environmental issues and on the other hand, to the conservation of our department’s water resources. It is difficult for the department to authorise the building of leisure facilities that consume large amounts of water.” Préfet René Bidal added: “For the sake of our future, it is key to establish priorities between the different uses of water within a department whose population continues to grow and where we must consider the potential impact of a lack of natural resources. “Given the current climate in France, in which we are being asked to limit the use of natural resources such as water, and this, under threat of European sanctions, I would remind everyone that the PyrénéesOrientales is not exempt from making this effort which is asked of everyone across the Rhône-Alpes basin area, on which our department depends.” Plans for yet another golf development in the Aude are being scuppered by locals loathe to see their country landscape blotted by a 240-hectare project that would
include an 18-hole golf course and some 300 holiday homes. Located in the Montagne Noire area, the villagers of Fontiers-Cabardès (population 420) are up in arms – a protest group called Les Crocodiles du Cabardès has been formed. Local authorities turned down a first set of plans in late 2011, and revised proposals submitted this summer seem likely to meet the same fate because of concerns about the impact on the local environment, and water issues.
Languedoc Pages
December 2012
New owner for your local paper As of the end of this month, the Languedoc Pages will have a new publisher. English Language Media, which launched the Pages 18 months ago, has sold the title to the Solo Group of the UK. The firm plans a redesign and relaunch in spring 2013. Sarah Smith, director of ELM, said: “We are sad to part company with the paper, having seen it grow from launch to 24 pages, and we thank advertisers and readers for their support but we are also looking forward to seeing the new publishers’ plans put into action and the paper grow further.” We have written to all our subscribers – but if you subscribe and have not received a notice from us please contact our office on 0800 91 77 56 (free from a French landline.) ELM continues to be the publisher of The Connexion, France’s English-language newspaper. It also publishes more than 15 helpguides on the different practical issues of life in France. Topics include income tax, education, healthcare and inheritance law. For more details see www.connexionfrance.com
Insurance help for 2011 flood FLOODING in the Hérault in November 2011 has finally been recognised as a natural disaster by the French government - opening up the possibility for homeowners to claim back the damages from their insurer.
Hollande orders two local wines
April launch for cheap TGV A NEW low-cost TGV service from Montpellier to Paris will launch next April under the name Ouigo. The budget route aims to take out some of the frills of high-speed train travel, with tougher limits on luggage. The train will arrive at Marne la Vallée, a Paris suburb from which a connecting RER train is needed to reach the centre. There will be 20% more seats on board and no first class or buffet car. Tickets will start at e25 one way.
Montpellier’s low-cost taxi service Easy Take has folded. The concept, founded in Avignon and extended to Montpellier and Nîmes last year, offered a flat-fee service starting from e8 for a journey of up to 7km. However, Easy Take was roundly condemned by taxi drivers operating in the south of France, who felt that the service, based on a fee rather than a meter, was unfair competition. Contacted by Languedoc Pages, taxi driver and president of the Fédération des Exploitants Taxi de l’Hérault (FETH) André Garcia said: “They were stealing our clientele. Every profession has its rules and regulations which have to be
“
André Garcia Hérault taxi federation
A MAN aged 26 has been seriously injured in a head-on crash with a lorry. The crash took place between Villedaigne and Lézignan-Corbières in the Aude, when the Renault Megan in which he was front passenger crossed rapidly to the other side of the road. The lorry was travelling at 70kph at the moment of impact. Three other people in the car were injured and were taken to hospital. Police have opened an investigation and will be examining a possible technical failure.
School bus driver drink tests passed POLICE at Grazailles have been carrying out surprise breath tests on school bus drivers. Sixteen drivers were tested and all were negative. The buses were all also found to have obligatory seat belts. Easy Take tried to take on the existing Montpellier taxi monopoly with lower fares
They were stealing our clientele. Every profession has its rules and regulations which have to be respected
Head-on collision injures four
respected, and we simply want those rules to apply to everyone who carries out the same job. “As taxi drivers, we have to have a vehicle with a meter, driven by someone who holds a three-month training course diploma. These rules help ensure the quality of the service we provide, which is of course a benefit to the customer.” Easy Take was operated in Montpellier by David & Co, a company headed up by David Dos Santos.
He said: “Maybe we started out too big, with 20 vehicles and 24 staff. We based our operation on a market study which turned out to be inaccurate. “We’ve had to lay off all the staff working for us, which is heart-breaking, in the current climate. The drivers supported us right to the very end. Everyone has been paid.” Mr Dos Santos has been quoted in local press saying that he intends to launch a new project with another partner in the near future.
Two years’ prison for beauty thief A BEAUTY products and car thief has been sentenced to two years in prison. John Gibard, a repeat offender, pleaded guilty at a court in Carcassonne. He was arrested after his stolen car crashed. Police found a haul of stolen beauty products at his home from three robberies of cosmetic shops.
Montpellier cocktail king is best bar none
Sète-born Julien Escot is this year's winner of the Havana Club Grand Prix International, a bartending contest that draws entries from around the world. Thirty-seven-year-old Julien is the owner of Montpellier cocktail bar Papa Doblé. He grew up in Balaruc and spent 15 years perfecting his bartending skills working in luxury hotels and bars around the world, in Courchevel, Sydney, Toronto and SaintBarth, before opening Papa Doblé in July 2009. Founded in 1996, the Havana Club International Cocktail Grand Prix is held every two years in Havana, Cuba, the cocktail capital of the world. This year's event saw 40 finalists from 48 countries battle for the prize. After pre-qualifying in the French national competition in Paris, Julien joined other finalists in Havana for the final stage of the event where they were judged on their knowledge, mixing techniques, the quality of their drinks and their overall image. He said: “Competing in Havana was stressful, but I knew I was amongst the 10
Photo: Patrick Aufauvre
TWO Languedoc wines have been added to the wine list at the Elysée palace and could soon be served at official functions with President Hollande. Some 120 boxes of SaintBauzille de la Sylve white (2011) and red (2009) were shipped to Paris last month from the Domaine CalageResseguier. It is the first Languedoc wine to make it into the presidential collection. The white is a Rosemarinus, made of Roussanne, Grenache and Viognier varieties; the red a Fergauremax, which is 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache.
Low-cost taxi firm fails in bid to stop monopoly
News 3
Julien Escot beat cocktail-makers from all over the world to win the Havana Grand Prix finalists who had a good chance of winning. “We had to prepare a number of cocktails, using Havana rum as the base. I made a variation on the classic Daïquiri, which I called a West Indies, and an original creation of my own, called the Caribbean Julep.” Languedoc cocktail fans can taste these and other ultra-stylish drinks at the Papa Doblé bar (included in the 2011 Drinks International World's 50 Best Bars ranking) on Rue du Petit-Scel, in the heart of Montpellier’s historic Ecusson district.
Worried about the Euro debt crisis? Talk to Siddalls about how to structure your finances in these difficult times Simon Eveleigh, Regional Manager Tel: 04 42 12 42 75 Email: [email protected]
www.siddalls.fr French finance in plain English Siddalls France SASU, Parc Innolin, 3 Rue du Golf, 33700 Mérignac - RCS BX 498 800 465. C.I.F. No E001669 auprès de ANACOFI-CIF association agréée par l’Autorité des Marchés Financiers et Courtier d’Assurances, Catégorie B - ORIAS 07 027 475. Garantie Financière et Assurance de Responsabilité Civile Professionnelle conformes aux articles L 541-3 du Code Monétaire et Financier et L 512-6 et 512-7 du Code des Assurances.
4 News
Languedoc Pages
THE first average speed camera in Languedoc-Roussillon, measuring a car’s speed over a longer stretch than a typical radar, has been installed on the D15 between Beaucaire and Fourques in the Gard. It was picked because it is an accident hotspot and the speed limit is 90kph. The road is used by almost 7,000 vehicles a day.
LOCALS in Saint-Félix-deMontceau in the Hérault have begun a campaign to raise funds to protect the ruins of the local abbey from erosion. An association has been set up to oversee the restoration work on the crumbling build-
ing and a funding target of e600,000 has been set which will enable the group to rebuild the abbey’s roof.
Remote-controlled camera sits at the back of the room
Web wakes could help expatriate mourners
A9 toll booth fraud uncovered
Protest over power cuts HOMEOWNERS demonstrated outside the regional headquarters of electricity distribution body ERDF to protest against sudden disconnections for late payers. The association Droit à l’Energie says eight million people in France struggle to pay their energy bills and authorities should be more sympathetic before taking away a family’s access to electricity this winter.
From page 1 Mourners not wishing to be “in shot” can sit in designated spaces where they will not be visible. While revolutionary for Languedoc, this service is already available in the United States and Canada, where distance can pose problems for scattered families. Its relevance for expat Brits in France is evident. Yves Guizard of Canet crematorium said: “We had been wanting to offer a service like this, and we had tried setting up a camera, without success. In our job, you can’t make mistakes. The challenges presented by legislation regarding what can be filmed and broadcast and IT issues meant that we gave up, until we met Afterweb Venture.” In Canet and Trèbes (which are operated by the same company), families pay e75 to have a funeral service filmed and put online, and for another e30 they can purchase a DVD. The cost is levied by the Paris service provider and the crematorium in question does not take a commission.
Hérault thermal spa to be biggest in France Work has started on the new thermal bath complex at Balaruc-les-Bains (Hérault), which when completed in 2014 will be the largest and most modern site of its kind in France. The two existing sites are being remodelled at a cost of e69million; two years hence, an estimated 4,200 people will be able to be treated on a daily The complex at Balaruc-les-Bains is due for 2014 basis. The existing thermal bath complex built in several treatment centre currently welcomes around 44,000 vis- sections that can be opened according to visitor numbers and which will itors per season and employs 400 staff mean that staff can be employed all over a nine-month period. year-round instead of just nine When the works are finished, months out of 12. Balaruc will boast a state-of-the-art
Public get taste for Languedoc white Photo: Thermes de Balaruc-les-Bains
The boss of a road haulage company has been found guilty of cheating on motorway tolls 144 times. A court heard evidence of a truck drivers’ network that cheats on tolls by swapping tickets or buying and selling stolen bank cards. The 43-year-old entrepreneur was given a three-month suspended sentence after admitting 144 cases of fraud on motorways between Marseille and the Spanish border on the A9 and A61 motorways. He needed to save on “very high tolls”, he claimed, to pay social security contributions and keep his business afloat.
Photo: Eric Fauveau
Appeal launched to help save abbey
Photo: Zewan/Wikimedia
Average speed cameras arrive
December 2012
THE Languedoc is seeing an increase in demand from UK buyers for its “fashionable” white wines – despite until now being better known for its reds. On a recent study tour to the region, organised by industry body the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Languedoc, leading UK buyers hailed local whites as consumer-friendly and commercially attractive propositions for their lists. Oddbins says it is seeing growing demand from UK drinkers for the region’s whites, with Picpoul de Pinet proving one of the most fashionable at the moment. Bar and restaurant operator ETM Group told trade journal Harpers it sold out of 18 bottles of Picpoul de Pinet in 24 hours when it started offering it by the glass. Georges Ortola, owner of Château Notre Dame du Quatourze said Languedoc whites offer “the best quality in France” and cost considerably less than comparable wines from Bordeaux or Burgundy. Christine Molines, export manager at the CIVL, said producers had invested in temperature controls in their wineries, making it “easier to produce crisp, fresh whites” that are attractive to UK drinkers. Twenty years ago, 95% of production in the Languedoc was red wines – a figure that has now fallen to 80%.
Visitors marvel at New film takes a Frêche look tree of pyjamas
Did you know?
TWO years after his death on October 24, 2010, former Languedoc-Roussillon president Georges Frêche has been commemorated with a new television documentary film. Le Président was made in 2010 by French director Yves Jeuland and follows Georges Frêche in the run-up to the regional elections in the same year, when he triumphed. Frêche and his team of advisors were filmed for a six-month period in a variety of locations. A high-profile, controversial political figure, Frêche died of a heart attack aged 72. He served as president of the regional council of LanguedocRoussillon from 2004 until his death; prior to this he had been mayor of the Languedoc’s capital city Montpellier for 27 years. Georges Frêche leaned to the far left all his life, although for most of his political career he was officially a member of the French Socialist Party. Having
Le President followed Georges Frêche over six months in 2010 in the run-up to regional election
studied Roman Law at university, he was very taken with that epoch and as mayor undertook a series of massive civil construction projects designed to transplant a faux neo-classical heart into Montpellier - a city which is remarkable in France for having no Roman past at all. A huge, forceful character, he was prone to making rash statements, several of which saw him condemned for being racist. He complained for example about there being too many players in the French football team with North African backgrounds. He did however have a vision of Montpellier as a modern Arcadia, a paradise fit for the people. In a period of around 30 years, Georges Frêche steered Montpellier from being a sleepy backwater to being the fastest growing city in France, voted as being the one most French people would love to live in. The film Le Président is available to view via www.allocine.fr
The tree was set up in the grounds of the Domaine d’O Money may not grow on trees, but Montpellier residents were surprised to see a pyjama tree blooming in the grounds of the town’s Domaine d’O arts centre recently. The tree was part of a project master-minded by Jean Lambert-Wild, artist and director of the Centre Dramatique de Caen in northern France. Invited to Montpellier to
present a week-long series of events that included a conference, a show, performances and an exhibition, Jean LambertWild was given carte blanche. The pyjama tree was, according to the artist, part of his strategy “to encourage the art of conversation.” Domaine d'O visitors dressed in their nightwear were allowed free admission during the week’s performances.
Photo: X.DR
at the life of a local legend
Languedoc Pages
December 2012
by LOUISE HURREN
Locals turn out to cheer racers in the 2008 Tour de France as it passed through Estagel in the Pyrénées-Orientales. Below: Gerry Patterson Photo: maindruphoto.com
Next year will see the 100th edition of the Tour de France, and to the delight of Languedoc cycling fans, the race will be coming through the region in early July. The city of Montpellier will welcome the peloton on Thursday July 4 when the riders will cycle from Aix-en-Provence, setting off the next day from Montpellier en route to Albi. The 2013 Tour will start on Saturday June 29 in Corsica, where the first three stages will be hosted, before coming to mainland France and finishing in Paris on the Champs Elysées on Sunday July 21. It will be the first Tour to be completed uniquely on French soil for 10 years. Canadian Gerry Patterson lives in Nîmes and runs Cycling Languedoc, a company offering tours and guided rides. He said: “Next year’s Tour de France will be very exciting, with a couple of epic mountain stages (one right on Languedoc’s doorstep), but the best part for me is that it will be running by my town in eastern Languedoc. “As an avid cyclist I make it a priority to start planning my Tour de France calendar months in advance. I always marvel at the awesome number of people who line the roads of the country for hours on end, just to catch a glimpse of their favourite riders. “Watching the Tour live really is a unique experience that anyone with even a fleeting interest in cycling should try at least once. “As someone who runs cycle tours in Languedoc, it’s obvious to me the impact the Tour has on business when it rolls through the
“
Watching the Tour live really is a unique experience. It’s obvious the impact the Tour has on business when it rolls through the region Gerry Patterson Cyclinglanguedoc.com
region – I get last-minute requests for guided rides and I know that the cycling-friendly B&Bs get booked out way in advance of the Tour coming through.” Securing Montpellier’s role as both an arrival and departure stage is a feather in the cap for the city’s tourist office. Hélène Mandroux, mayor of Montpellier, said: “I’m delighted that Montpellier has been chosen as a ville étape (stage) for the 100th Tour de France. As well as being an occasion for Montpellier residents to celebrate, this event is an excellent tool for promoting tourism in the Montpellier area, and undoubtedly it will bring many visitors to our city, both from France and overseas, as it did in 2011. “The media coverage that will be given to Montpellier is also valuable as it gives the city visibility even further afield. The fact that Montpellier will be the end of the sixth stage and the start of the seventh means that business will most certainly be boosted, above and beyond what could be expected by the Tour simply passing through, and we are currently examining the possibility of hosting part of the Tour de France village in front of the town hall.” A spokesperson for Montpellier tourist board added: “By hosting the 2013 Tour de France, Montpellier and the surrounding area will be put in the spotlight. “The arrival of the peloton on July 4 and its departure the next day means that Montpellier will be mentioned in the media on many occasions. International TV coverage will ensure that the city is seen from afar by hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide and, as in previous years, TV crews will no doubt film tourist-style reports from cities hosting the
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No Line Rental Needed Tour, to add colour to their day-to-day coverage of the race.” As one might expect, the Tour de France has a positive effect on tourist numbers. Montpellier was a stage town on July 15, 2011, and according to information supplied by the city’s tourist office, their official website registered a 71% increase in visitors for that month, compared to July 2010, with the site’s What’s On page visited by twice as many people as in the same period the previous year (of a total of 58,000 page views, 16,000 were specifically for the Tour de France). The nationality and number of overseas visitors passing through the Montpellier tourist office suggests that the Tour does indeed have pulling power. In 2011, Dutch visitor numbers were up by 72% during the month that the Tour came to town, with increased numbers of queries from Spanish, Belgian, German, Italian, English and Australian visitors also noted.
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Hope for tourism boost as region takes starring role in 2013 Tour
6 National News Trial brings new hope for Parkinson’s cure RESEARCHERS may have made a breakthrough in treating Parkinson’s disease with a gene therapy that is injected directly into the brain of sufferers. Fifteen patients (12 in France and three in the UK) received injections of a modified virus that stimulated production of dopamine, a natural substance that is known to help control movement. French team leader Professor Stéphane Palfi, a neurosurgeon at Henri-Mondor Hospital in Créteil and a researcher at CEA/ Inserm, Paris, said that early results showed that the treatment was “well tolerated” and produced “encouraging results, especially at higher doses”.
VAT rise will make life more costly in 2014 MOST everyday products and services are expected to cost a little more as of 2014 after the government unveiled plans to raise VAT. Under the plans, the basic rate of VAT will rise from 19.6% to 20%, expected to bring in about e3.3billion in extra tax a year. Tax on goods and services at the intermediary rate of 7% will rise to 10% (generating e3.8 billion), including restaurant meals and hotel or campsite stays, transport, home help, cinema, museum visits, home renovation work and non-reimbursable medicines. The lowest 5.5% rate, on essentials like food and energy, will be slightly dropped, to 5% - a measure meant to help less well-off families, who spend the largest proportion of their incomes on these.
Psychiatrist faces jail for releasing killer A PSYCHIATRIST has been accused by a Marseille court of being responsible for the death of an 83-year-old man after releasing a schizophrenic patient from a secure hospital. The doctor, Danièle Canarelli, faces up to five years in prison and a e75,000 fine if found guilty of manslaughter. She had allowed her long-term patient, Joël Gaillard, to leave the Edouard-
Languedoc Pages
Metro bans ‘inclusive’ poster for its politics AN anti-Islamophobia poster campaign has been banned from Paris’s public transport system because of its political and religious connotations. The publicity arm of the bus and Metro authority RATP banned three posters (one of which is shown right) by the Collectif Contre l’islamophobie en France (CCIF). The CCIF has made public a letter explaining RATP’s conclusion that the appearance of symbols like the veil, payots (side curls worn by Orthodox Jews) and crucifixes alongside the phrase “We (too) are the nation” plus the French flag was politically charged. One of the posters of the “We (too) are the nation” campaign is a reworking of the Tennis Court Oath (pictured inset right) painting by Jacques-Louis David (depicting a key meeting in the run-up to the French Revolution), redesigned to give a more diverse range of religious and ethnic identities to the figures involved. Toulouse hospital in Marseille on interim release - although his family said he risked further violence if allowed to return home. Days later, in March 2004, he attacked 83-year-old Germain Trabuc in Gap (Hautes-Alpes) with an axe, killing him.
No CFE property tax for auto-entrepreneurs AUTO-ENTREPRENEURS have been given a reprieve from paying the business tax cotisation foncière des entreprises (CFE) for 2012. The tax, which replaced taxe professionnelle is based on the value of your premises (in auto-entrepreneurs’ case this is often their home) and could be unrealistically high for many of these small businesses. Now more time has been given to analyse how they should be taxed.
Teenager’s ‘Come Back Sarkozy’ ode is hit A TEENAGER’s song pleading for Nicolas Sarkozy to return to politics in France has passed one million views on YouTube in a month. Josh Stanley, 16, from Monaco, has recorded a song begging Sarkozy to return and save France from François Hollande. The song also refers to “taxes that are sinking us” and Peugeot and Renault which have “broken”. Josh who was born in Monaco to a British father and German mother, has made previous songs from his bedroom, including one called The Good Life about his life, and won “Idées jeunes 2012” - a competition held by the Monegasque education authorities for people aged 15-25.
Young computer genius tagged for phone virus
Photo: Photopqr/Le Courrier Picard/Frédéric Douchet
December 2012
A 20-YEAR-OLD from Amiens, Picardy, who created a virus that infected at least 17,000 smartphones is to be electronically tagged for six months. Dylan Caron, who dropped out of school at 15, said he did it to prove he is “as good as people with diplomas”. He made software which is free to download to Android phones but which, unknown to users, sent premium rate texts from their phone. He then recuperated small payments from the texts. He is said to have made about e4,000, which he used to buy IT equipment and computer games. His victims are thought to have lost around €500,000. Passing judgment, the judge remarked that “for a first try at committing a crime it was a masterstroke”.
Operations postponed as surgeons strike
MANY operating theatres have been shut due to a surgeons’ strike over perceived threats to their freedom and pay. Several medical unions took part, including hospital surgeons’ union Bloc, although the three largest doctors’ unions, which recently came to an agreement over fees with the health minister, were not involved. The campaigners are opposed to the recent agreement placing new limits on doctors’ rights to charge fees higher than the basic state tariffs (called dépassements d’honoraires) – for example Bloc thinks surgeons should be able to charge more than was agreed.
Algerian remembrance date set for March 19 FRANCE has set March 19 as a day of remembrance for the victims of the Algerian war. The move ends years of disagreement over what to do about the 1954-62 war, with March 19 marking what some see as France’s defeat with the signing of the Evian accord to end the fighting. Right-wing senators voted against the move, saying the date would stir up old hatreds. Thousands of North African-born French citizens known as ‘pieds noirs’ were repatriated to France after March 19. It is thought that 80,000 Harkis, Muslim soldiers who had fought for France, were killed after the war ended.
Authorities investigate ‘big cat’ sightings AUTHORITIES are investigating a rash of big cat sightings in the south of France. A spokesman for the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-
Provence said: “We are studying all hypotheses, including that of a big cat and that of a black panther.” The national office for hunting and wild animals has set up a trap near a village where the beast was spotted, but hunters have been ordered not to shoot it. Several sightings have been reported over a few months: the cat has been spotted drinking from a swimming pool, crossing a road and sleeping in a bush. Footprints of 10cm diameter have been discovered in the hills near the village of Oraison.
Long-term ill prescribed sport for treatment SPORT on prescription is being trialled in Strasbourg, where doctors are prescribing diabetics, the chronically ill and obese and those with heart problems a new diet of swimming, rowing, Nordic walking or cycling. The project, a pilot for France, is being run with the city, the Alsace health agency, the local Assurance Maladie, the prefecture and education authority. Fifty volunteer doctors will prescribe exercise for their patients under the “Sport-santé sur Ordonnance” scheme. The prescription will allow patients to visit special trainers and get a coupon for a free enrolment for an activity.
Mixed reaction for Hollande press briefing PRESIDENT Hollande’s first twoand-a-half hour speech and press conference since his election six months ago reinforced his image of a statesman but failed to address key voter concerns, critics say. During the recent conference, which was billed as an opportunity to educate the public on issues, Hollande defended his policies, including VAT rises and budget caps, in front of 400 journalists at the Elysée Palace.
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News 7
December 2012
Cowboys fight to protect heritage Voluntary work and a focus on tourism are some of the steps being taken to ensure that the Camargue way of life continues, a rancher tells SAMANTHA DAVID RANCHER Jean-Elie Agnel spends increasing amounts of time sitting in business meetings wearing a suit instead of riding round the pastures looking after his cattle. “Life in the Camargue is changing,â€? he says. “You have to keep the books straight, take care of publicity, all that kind of thing. “It’s a complicated life. Property and land in the Camargue is really expensive and it’s quite a closed world. “There’s more and more competition which pushes prices down and new regulations make life difficult. Getting insurance is expensive and difficult and the insurance companies insist on expensive security measures.â€? The Camargue, the small delta area at the mouth of the RhĂ´ne, has always been remote, and life there has always been hard. The marshy water and the isolation in the winter, the stultifying heat and the enormous mosquitoes in the summer, the shortage of grazing, the wind which sweeps across the marshes - it’s not a welcoming geographical environment. But among the fishing communities, the rice-growers and the salt-makers, there have always been cattle herders - the French cowboys, manadiers in their broad brimmed hats, astride their sturdy white horses. “The passion isn’t really horses,â€? says Mr Agnel. “It’s bulls. That’s what it’s all about. We venerate them, we really love them. It’s not the Spanish tradition of la mise Ă morte - we don’t kill them or hurt them, but we love to play with them.â€? Born in Le Cailar, a little village in the heart of the Camargue, he and his brother were brought up in this tradition. Their parents were amateurs, fans of everything to do with white horses and black bulls, and the two boys dreamed all their lives of having a manade of their own. They bought a ranch two years ago in the Petite Camargue (Gard 30), and run it together with Jean-Elie’s wife Maria. Very few manadiers can make a living from raising bullocks for the Course Camarguaise, and the Agnel brothers are no exception. Alongside their cattle breeding, they have 100 if you count all the calves, they also produce beef and work in tourism. “We have five gites on site, and a large meeting room which we can use for weddings, receptions, birthdays and other events. We can provide catering and entertainments like gypsy music and dancing. We also offer hacking and rides in horse drawn carts,â€? he says, “and days on the ranch.â€? He feels that tourism gives manadiers a chance to share their unique culture, pass it on and keep it alive. But he also admits that without it, many manades would find it hard to make ends meet. “Almost all of us have to do something along-
Jean-Elie Agnel leads his gardians through the streets. Many work in separate businesses to fund ranches which have turned to tourism side raising bullocks: growing cereal, producing honey or charcuterie.â€? The Course Camarguaise is the most complex and formalised of the games played locally with bullocks and draws large crowds of aficionados who get to know all the bullocks and the men who try to hook the coloured tassels off their horns. “All manadiers dream of breeding a bullock that’s intelligent enough to understand the game, lively enough to enjoy it, and has the personality to please the crowd,â€? says Jean-Elie. “A bullock which is strong and fast and good-looking too. A bull like that becomes famous and everyone wants to see him. That’s how you make your name.â€? There are also other, less formalised, games involving riding skills - snatching a proffered orange off a plate at a full gallop for example, or swapping from one horse to another at a full gallop. Plus the traditional way of herding bulls to an arena involving a group of riders galloping just ahead of a herd of bullocks. The fun is undeniable, but it is also dangerous. Every year there are injuries, and deaths are not rare. In July 2011, a 25-year-old man was killed by a bullock in Vergèze (Gard 30) when, like so many other young men, he decided to cross the barriers and run with the bulls. He was tossed into the air by a bull, fell badly and died later that day in hospital. In May this year a bullock managed to get behind a crowd barrier in Quissac (Gard 30) and injured seven people including two girls (both aged eight) and a boy aged 10. In Lunel (HĂŠrault 34) last July, six adults were wounded, one woman very seriously after a bullock panicked and ended up on the wrong side of the barriers. This is why insurance companies are
demanding higher premiums and more safety measures, but the dangers inherent in playing with bullocks do not deter the gardians - the (mostly) unpaid cowboys who work the ranches as a labour of love. The majority of them have jobs which are nothing to do with horses or bulls. They need to, because maintaining and equipping horses is expensive. But once they have finished the
The
Sunny Airport
day job, then it is on with the chaps, the cowboy boots and the broad brimmed hats. “Without them, running a manade would be very difficult,� admits Jean-Elie. “The majority of them aren’t paid. They do it for the love of it. They own their own horses, usually two or three of them, and they come and help just for the passion of it. It’s a passion. I can’t explain it. It just is this passion, this life.�
8
New
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STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH Manade: Camargue cattle ranch Manadier/manadière: Camargue cattle rancher Gardian: Camargue cowboy or cowgirl, mounted on a white horse, usually wearing a Stetson, chaps, a brightly-coloured shirt and a leather waistcoat. Amateur: Person who loves the Camargue traditions surrounding bulls and horses. Abrivado: A pack of mounted gardians riding in a close-packed v-shape, leading bullocks to an arena at a full gallop. Bandido: The mounted
Grabbing an orange at full gallop
gardians lead the bulls back to their pasture after the Course Camarguaise. Course Camarguaise: A game played in an arena during which men (rasateurs) try to snatch a series of tassels off the horns of bullocks using only a small hook. Ferrade: Branding young horses and cattle before turning them loose in the Camargue. Trident: Long wooden pole with blunt metal points on the tip, used by gardians to herd cattle.
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30 BUS
www.beziers.aeroport.fr Services at the Airport : Shuttle bus to BÊziers and Agde/Cap d’Agde running on each departing and arriving flight. Parking : 30 minutes free, 1 day of parking offered per week paid. Free Wifi Zone.
FREE ZONE
MN GRA E MIN. FRETUIT E
8 What’s On
Photo: © Communication Ville d’Agde : L. Uroz
Hérault
Cap d’Agde OUT AND ABOUT December 31 – It is an annual tradition at the naturist resort in Cap d’Agde to go for a dip in the sea on New Year’s Eve. Each year, hundreds of bathers flock to the beach for a daring (some might say foolhardy) last dip of the year. The temperature is often below zero, but these brave souls will plunge into the icy waters nonetheless. Meet at Le Horizon bar at 12.30.
FESTIVAL December 9 Olive Festival – A great gourmet day out against the picturesque backdrop of the Gard village of Corconne. The spotlight will be on olive growers and their olive and oil production, attended by a large number of exhibitors. There is a regional and craft market and the best regional produce: wines, pork products, honey and jams - also sculptures, pottery, books, live music and children’s events. Call 04 66 77 32 57.
Photo: © lunamarina - Fotolia.com
December 1-9 Salon des Antiquaires – Antiques fair in Nîmes with all elements of furniture and art from the 16th to 19th centuries, including some beautiful Provençal furniture, art deco, silver and jewellery, pottery and china. Open daily 10.00-19.00. Entry e7.
Photo: © ot-montpellier.fr
Photo: © ot-montpellier.fr
December
December 23 Traditional spectacle of fireworks and lasers projected against the impressive cathedral in Mende. Starts 17.30.
Lozère Mende FAMILY
Perpignan CIRCUS
Photo: © Art Photo Picture - Fotolia.com
December 6-8 Ten Chi – A spectacular display of Japanese dance with beautiful choreography. Théâtre de Nîmes, 20.00. Call 04 66 36 65 00. It is also on December 9 at 15.00. www.theatredenimes.com
Pyrénées-Orientales
Argelès-sur-Mer
FAMILY
From December 5 Crèche traditionnelle de Noël – An impressive Nativity scene at Argelès-sur-Mer with beautiful figurines made from glass, porcelain, wax and wood. Open daily at the mairie, free.
December 12-16 Slava’s Snowshow – A winter wonderland at the Théâtre de l’Archipel in Perpignan featuring Russian clown and mime artist Slava Polunin and a host of characters. Impressive stunts and circus acts for all the family to enjoy. www.theatredelarchipel.org
Aude
Gard
From December 6 – The medieval city of Carcassonne offers a magical setting for visitors this Christmas, with lights everywhere and lots of street events, concerts and surprises. A big wheel and other funfair attractions will keep children amused, as will the big open-air ice rink.
December 7 Corrida du Boeuf Gelé – Saint Ambroix in the Gard hosts this annual running event for all ages and abilities. Whether it is just a few metres or the full 7.5km circuit, running, jogging or walking, all are welcome to take part on the day. Call the tourist office on 04 66 24 33 36 or see www.ot-saintambroix.fr
Carcassonne OUT AND ABOUT
Saint-Ambroix SPORT
Christmas markets
December 1 – Aubais, Boisset-et-Gaujac, Canet, Canet en Roussillon, Creissan, Fournès, Garons, Jonquières-Saint-Vincent, Lagrasse, Lespignan, Lézan, Mauguio, Néffiès, Saint-Christol, Vers-Pont-du-Gard, Villedubert
9 – Alet-les-Bains, Alénya, Bagard, Bages, Bizanet, Capestang, Conques-sur-Orbiel, Durban-Corbières, Gallician, JonquièresSaint-Vincent, Lunel-Viel, Mons, Saillagouse, Saint-Chinian, Vendargues, Villelongue-de-laSalanque, Villeneuve-la-Rivière
2 – Adissan, Aiguèze, Aubais, Bezouce, Boisset-et-Gaujac, Camplong, Canet en Roussillon, Capendu, Fontcouverte, Gallician, Jonquières-Saint-Vincent, Lagrasse, Lespignan, Lunas, Nages-et-Solorgues, Néffiès, Palaja, Rochefort-du-Gard, Sabran, Saint-Jean-deMaruéjols-et-Avéjan, Saint-Marcel sur Aude, Taurinya, Tourbes, Tuchan, Villedubert, Villeneuve-Minervois, Villesequelande, Vézénobres
15 – Aigues-Vives, Alzonne, Boucoiran-etNozières, Jonquières-Saint-Vincent, Lattes, Sigean, Ventenac-en-Minervois
8 – Alénya, Jonquières-Saint-Vincent, Mons, Méjannes-le-Clap, Saillagouse, Saint-Couatd'Aude, Sérignan
16 – Alzonne, Barjac, Brugairolles, Gallician, Jonquières-Saint-Vincent, Lattes, Pomérols, Saint-Gervasy, Sainte Anastasie 22 – Aniane, Jonquières-Saint-Vincent, Sainte-Cécile-d'Andorge, Tautavel 23 – Aniane, Gallician, Jonquières-SaintVincent, Tautavel
Photo: © Mikael Damkier - Fotolia.com
December 2012
Get Involved!
noticeboard BritsNîmes celebrates 10 years of helping expats BritsNîmes is a group which organises various social and cultural activities. The aim is to help members to get to know the area and make new friends within the expat and local communities. The group grew rapidly over a short space of time, and now has around 300 members. The association has members from a wide range of nationalites (Dutch, Danish, German and Australian for example) and, of course British, American and French, from students to retired people. Some of the French members have worked abroad and want to continue the link to the English culture. For new arrivals to the region, BritsNîmes is a great starting point. People can join when they arrive in the area, meeting people who may
have already experienced certain difficulties or situations. There is a simple rule for joining: if you speak and understand English well enough then you can join in with the fun. People can go to a few events before joining. Robin Boxall founded the group 10 years ago. It has six or seven regular meetings during the months of September to June. They take place in Uzès, Nîmes and other parts of the Gard department. Regular events include activities such as walking, handicrafts, coffee mornings; restaurant and pub nights. The group also organises a Christmas lunch. The annual cost for a single member is e16.50 and for a family e23. You can find out more at www.britsnimes.com or call 06 84 98 48 97.
Promote your club or community event - email [email protected]
Languedoc Pages
What’s On in the capital
Photo: dalbera/Flickr
Two wine rendezvous this month
Walk with dinosaurs FAMILY
December 19-23 – After touring more than 200 cities worldwide and being seen by seven million spectators, the extraordinary Walking With Dinosaurs spectacle is back in Paris at Bercy. Worldrenowned designers have worked with scientists to create 20 life-sized dinosaurs including the terrible Tyrannosaurus Rex. This is a stunning family show with great special effects. Opening times vary according to day. Entry from e30 to e60. See www.bercy.fr
FOOD AND DRINK
MUSIC
December 3 – French singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sébastien Tellier plays one night at the Casino de Paris (which is a concert venue, not a casino) from 19.30. Tickets range from e55 to e199 from the usual outlets. 16 rue Clichy, 9e. Photo: Sweetsofa/Flickr
Festive fun in the city of light
OUTDOORS
Show has all things nautical EXHIBITION
Star Wars toy display EXHIBITION nation year after year. This year Dior will take pride of place at Printemps while Galeries Lafayette is joined by Louis Vuitton to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its giant dome. Hundreds of streets will have special illuminations – but for the best photo head to the foot of the Champs-Elysées and take a snap of the beautiful avenue bathed in light with the Arc de Triomphe at the top. Christmas markets abound – two of the biggest are at the ChampsElysées and La Défense, selling
Christmas treats, vin chaud, decorations, gifts and warm food. At La Défense, you will find no less than 350 chalets offering a multitude of gifts, handcrafted objects, gourmet food and plenty of decorative ideas. Santa will be there every day for a photo with the children. Open daily 10.00-18.00. Then head over to the square at the front of the Hôtel de Ville and get your skates on. Rentals cost e5 – and the 1,300m2 open-air rink is open daily until 22.00 from December 18 until March.
Paris stage for Cirque du Soleil Photo: Bytemarks/Flickr
December 8-16 – Porte de Versailles transforms into a nautical dream for this major boat show that draws more than 250,000 visitors annually with exhibits, demonstrations and events. The show, called Nautic, aims to appeal to as wide an audience as possible with something for every age and every taste. Some 30 different sectors will be represented including sailing and watersports activities, major races and events, river tourism and sailing equipment. Almost 800 boats will be on show including 200 brand new designs. Open daily 10.00-19.00. Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles. Entry e15. For full details, see www.salonnautiqueparis.com
All month – December is a great time to visit Paris, as the city is bathed in sparkling Christmas lights, elaborate window displays, markets and outdoor ice skating rinks. Starting with the window displays, the place to head to is Boulevard Haussmann where Printemps and the Galeries Lafayette do battle each year for the most spectacular show. Top designers and stylists are invited to participate in the creation of the set design and the figures, which outdo each other in magic and imagi-
Photo: bibi95/Flickr
Sébastien Tellier
Photo: simononly/Flickr
December 8-9 – Twenty of the finest organic winemakers in France will be showing off their work for the third year running at Vignerons en Seine. It takes place on the Melody Blues barge, moored next to the Pont de Tolbiac near Bercy Village. Entry is e6 including a souvenir glass. Open 10.0019.00. www.verrebouteille.net Meanwhile, from December 14-16, the Maxim’s barge at the Pont de Suffren, near the Eiffel Tower, puts on its annual Salon des Grands Vignobles showcasing fine wines and foie gras. Booking is essential. See grandsvignobles.blogspot.com
FAMILY
Until December 2 – The Cirque du Soleil’s latest touring show, Alegria, spends a week in Paris this winter. The show’s themes are many: power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies and old age and youth. Kings’ fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up the cast along with clowns. Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy, 20.00 plus some matinée performances. Tickets from e36 to e78. www.cirquedusoleil.com
Until March – The Star Wars Toys exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs on the Rue de Rivoli retraces 35 years of the history of the toys and products derived from George Lucas’s popular space series. Everything from games and toys to comics and other unusual products is on display – 400 items in total. Open Tuesday-Sunday 11.00-18.00, late night on Thursday. Entry e9.50. www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr
Top French horse show SPORT
December 1-9 – The Salon du Cheval is the annual rendezvous for horse fans and features prestigious international equestrian competitions, including the Gucci Paris Masters. It is the biggest horse show in France, with more than 400 exhibitors. Parc des Expositions, Paris Nord Villepinte, on the RER B towards Charles de Gaulle airport. Daily from 10.00. Tickets from e14 to e18. www.salon-cheval.com
12 Practical
Languedoc Pages
From the very start, buying a home in France is a different process to that of the UK. It is highly regulated to offer security for buyer and seller, writes OLIVER ROWLAND BUYING a home in France is a two-stage process, with the first legally-binding step usually being a compromis de vente. When an offer has been accepted (usually verbally) both parties will typically arrange to meet with a notaire to sign this important presale contract. The compromis is similar in most respects to the final acte de vente (sale contract) signed about three months afterwards. The main difference is that the compromis has a sevenday “cooling off ” period, when the buyer can pull out without explanation. (In the case of commercial properties this is not always
automatically the case). If the buyer pulls out after this, the deposit, paid at the signing stage, is lost, compensating the seller. Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov set the bar high for this in 2010, when he lost his e39 million deposit after pulling out of buying a Côte d’Azur villa for e390 million. It is theoretically possible for individuals to complete the compromis stage between themselves without a notaire (by using a model contract), but “it’s the best way to get things wrong,” said an English-speaking notaire from Rennes, Olivier Jammet.
Photo: © Jörg Hackemann - fotolia.com
Sign first, ask questions later when buying a French home
In any case, the acte de vente must involve a notaire and using one from the start will cost you no more, he said. Typically the content of the compromis goes into the final act, so it is not to be taken lightly. It is also legal for the compromis stage to be organised by the estate agent selling the home, though if this is proposed you are not obliged to accept. Typically the parties will meet at the seller’s notaires. A notaire is a state official and is meant to be impartial, however buyers also have the right to involve a notaire of their own choice, if they wish to have the extra reassurance of a lawyer who is unambiguously on “their” side and can double check the compromis to make sure it contains nothing prejudicial to them and contains all the clauses that may benefit them. Where two notaires are involved there are arrangements to share fees and it is at no extra cost to the buyer.
What is the compromis? It is a multi-page contract naming the location and nature of the property and the identities of buyer and seller and noting that they agree respectively to buy from and sell to each other. It includes all the conditions of the sale including any clauses suspensives, which cancel the sale if not fulfilled, and it names a date by which the signature of the acte de vente must take place (though this can be altered later if necessary, on agreement between the parties). This date is the one when the parties could legally take action to force completion. The contract should take into account all relevant factors, like the marital situation of the parties (and type of marriage contract), how the purchase will be financed, if the home is currently rented to tenants etc. (Note that there is also a version called the promesse de vente, used in the Paris area, which involves some legal differences, notably that
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Practical 13
December 2012 understood all important elements of the compromis, though he or she does not have to go through it line by line. Where he or she is English-speaking – as many French notaires are – the notaire may provide English explanations. If so, it will be noted in the acte de vente that this was done. Otherwise a sworn translator may attend to translate the notaire’s words. The notaire must summarise the content of the document and answer all of the buyer’s questions. The buyer will have received a draft copy of the proposed compromis before the meeting so as to consider questions or changes. Mr Jammet said that, as these are long documents, it is rarely practical for all of it to be translated, though the buyer could have this done at their own expense if they wished. However he added that the notaire should make themselves available to answer questions “before, during and after” the meeting.
Withdrawal by the buyer Only the buyer has a legal right to withdraw and this runs for seven days starting from the day after he or she has these are long documents, received a signed copy of the compromis. If it is rarely practical for all of it attending the office to The diagnostics The seller must sign this will be the day to be translated, however the inform the buyer after the meeting. If the of the condition of process is done by post, notaire should be available to the home by prothe buyer will sign and viding legallysend back a copy, then answer questions required diagnoswait for it to be returned tics. These are certo them, at which point tificates drawn up the retraction period after checks by a professional diagnostiqueur. runs from the day it is presented at their home This is to help the buyer in their decision on (eg. by international recommended post). whether to go through with the sale and in The seven days are calendar days and expire assessing if the home is worth the asking price. at midnight on the last day, but if the last one These include: falls on a Sunday or bank holiday then the n Natural and technological risks – is the limit is prolonged for an extra day. property in a zone at risk of earthquakes or The decision to retract is by recommended flooding etc? post with reception slip and the buyer is in time if they send it back on the seventh day. n Energy performance – this includes the Mr Jammet said there is sometimes a clause award of a letter from A (good) to G (bad) in the compromis saying the buyer will cover indicating the property's energy-efficiency. the notaire’s fees of around e200 in this case. n Floor space in square metres (called the However where this is not included the notaire Loi Carrez diagnostic) – usually only for flats. accepts not to receive payment if the sale does n Infestation by termites – required in not go ahead. risk zones.
“
where the buyer pulls out after the cooling-off period they only lose their deposit, whereas with the compromis the seller could also take legal action to force the buyer to complete). What if the buyer is abroad and cannot attend to sign? There are several options for the compromis stage. Mr Jammet said: “For the compromis it is easy to organise a proxy signature, for example
by a clerk of the notaire; or the compromis can be sent by post to Britain and returned by post.” However he added that given the importance of the matter it is always best for all parties to be present in person if possible. For the acte, however, both parties usually attend, although it is possible, but complicated to make other arrangements at this stage. What if the buyer speaks little French? The notaire must make sure the buyer has
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The dépôt de garantie A deposit will be agreed between the parties and mentioned in the draft compromis, which should be handed over by cheque on the day of signing it. This is usually 10% in Paris but often 5% in other parts of France, though legallyspeaking none is obligatory (unless the notaire negotiated the sale of the home). The buyer should make sure their bank account contains sufficient funds as the notaire is entitled to bank it immediately. If they withdraw, it should be refunded within 21 days. Photo: pandore - fotolia.com
Clauses suspensives A variety of clauses may be inserted, meaning that the contract ends if they are not fulfilled. A common one is the requirement that the buyer should have a formal offer of a loan from a bank by a certain date. Mr Jammet said it would also be possible to insert one saying “on condition I sell my home in the UK”, however he said this would only apply if a buyer had already been found (but later dropped out), not if the home was merely on the market. As
n Lead – concerns properties built before 1949. Notably examines if there is any lead paint in a degraded state (eg. with flakes coming off). n Gas/electricity – checking the safety of installations: for homes 15 years old or more. n Asbestos – check on its presence and condition in homes built before July 1, 1997. For the more technical ones the seller may wish to seek expert advice as to the seriousness and potential cost of rectifying any problems. Notaires will also be aware of any local problems, Mr Jammet said. “For example in Brittany there are often problems with fungus – there is no obligatory check, so we will recommend the buyer has one done. In Paris the risk is quarrying – holes under the building... so we would run checks.”
14 Leisure Time
What’s in a word?
Easy
Down
2. Magasin specialising in stationery (9) 8. Teatime equivalent of cafetière (7) 9. Toile de tissu for jeans manufacture, whose name derives from the capital of the Gard department (5) 10. Crainte or inquiétude (4) 11. Formerly part of a franc, now of a euro (7) 13. Purchases in a bazar, hypermarché etc (6) 15. Heraldic and precious metal – or cash (6) 18. Lemon _______ or verveine, whose leaves are often used for a refreshing tisane (7) 20. Sweet food made by les abeilles (4) 23. Stew of beef braised in wine, garlic, vegetables and herbes de Provence (5) 24. Soft fruits rouges produced by a plant of the rose family (7) 25. Eleventh month of the Republican Calendar (9)
1. Mediterranean port and resort known as the Venice of Languedoc (4) 2. In its masculine form it is used for heating, in its feminine for frying (5) 3. Classic Godard film, _______ le Fou, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo (7) 4. In music, un intervalle de trois degrés (6) 5. Paris-born sculptor best known for works such as Le Penseur and L’homme qui marche (5) 6. Synonym for neigeux (7) 7. Léon ________, a founder of the Third Republic, who escaped from the siege of Paris in a balloon and briefly became prime minister (8) 12. Alcoholic drink from the Basse-Normandie region (8) 14. River which rises in the Cévennes and flows into the Mediterranean near Agde (7) 16. Arthur _______, restless young poet whom Victor Hugo once described as ‘an infant Shakespeare’ (7) 17. “Une femme sans ______ est une femme sans avenir”; Coco Chanel (6) 19. Young mind attending an établissement scolaire (5) 21. Action d’un oiseau qui s’envole (5) 22. Describes someone with big bones (4)
The France quiz
by Paul Masters
bougie banned from manufacturing in a number of cities and towns throughout Europe. Bougie became synonymous with candle and eventually replaced the Latin word in France, it also took on a second meaning in modern French. Les bougies can also be found under the bonnet of your car - they are your spark plugs. (Belgian Jean J. Lenoir is credited with their invention). The rise of the oil industry, and the subsequent use of paraffin-wax candles led to the disappearance of beeswax, and thankfully tallow, during the last century. However, the invention of the internal combustion engine has given a new lease of life to the town's name. So as you decorate your home over Christmas you can spare a thought for the north African town that lent its name to your bougie wonderland.
Intermediate
1 ROGUE trader Jérôme Kerviel lost his appeal against a prison sentence. How much of Société Générale's money did he lose (and now has to pay back)? 2 How many Bond girls have been French (including Bond-girl and villain Sophie Marceau, pictured above)? 3 WHICH artist is responsible for the biggest-selling album in France? 4 WHO wrote the Hunchback of NotreDame (French title Notre-Dame de Paris)?
5 THE first Frenchman in space (also the first Western European) Jean-Loup Chrétien escaped the atmosphere in which year? 6 "WE say time is a great teacher, unfortunately it kills all its students." Which French classical composer coined this gem? 7 THE Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the USA - who raised the funds for the pedestal on which she stands? (Clue: He named journalism's most famous prizes). 8 How many former French presidents are still alive?
Difficult
CROSSWORD ANSWERS. Across 2 papeterie; 8 théière; 9 denim; 10 peur; 11 centime; 13 achats; 15 argent; 18 verbena; 20 miel; 23 daube; 24 fraises; 25 Thermidor Down 1 Sète; 2 poêle; 3 Pierrot; 4 tierce; 5 Rodin; 6 enneigé; 7 Gambetta; 12 Calvados; 14 Hérault; 16 Rimbaud; 17 parfum; 19 élève; 21 essor; 22 ossu FRANCE QUIZ ANSWERS: 1. e4.9billion; 2. Nine; 3. Celine Dion (D'eux 1995). Victor Hugo; 5. 1982; 6. Berlioz; 7. Joseph Pulitzer 8.Three (Chirac, Sarkozy and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing)
Sudoku
Across
Photo: Andrey Lunin/Wikimedia
BATHED in sunshine on the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea lies a city which has the distinction of bearing three names. The official name on Algerian maps is Béjaia, but many of the inhabitants speak the Berber language, and use the name Bgayet. For Europeans, however, the city is known as Bougie. The city's current fortunes are based on an oil pipeline running from Hassi Messaoud, deep in the Sahara desert, but the name of Bougie was widespread centuries before the petrochemical industry began. Long before oil, gas and electricity were used to power our homes, Bougie exported beeswax to Europe. Much of it was exported to Genoa, where it was used in the manufacture of fine candles for the wealthy and the Church. The poor had to make do with tallow candles, made from the fat of cows or sheep, and which had the distinct disadvantage of giving off a really awful smell. So awful in fact, that the chandlers or candlemakers were
by John Foley
Oysters: the real raw deal
Marinated oysters with Sauterne wine sauce ingredients
1 kg rock oysters, opened and kept chilled 150 ml Sauterne wine 4 large egg whites 25 ml white wine vinegar a pinch of salt For the wine sauce: 250 ml light fish stock 150 ml Sauterne wine 150 ml double cream salt and pepper For the garnish: 1 tbsp butter 1 small plum tomato, quartered 1 button mushroom, quartered sprigs of chervil large handful of tarragon sprig tops
Photo: Rivière/Photocuisine
Method
To prepare oysters: n Rinse and brush them n Put a tea towel over your left hand (if you are righthanded), and hold an oyster in it with the pointed end towards you and the flatter side on top. n Insert the knife three-
quarters along the right-hand side (starting from the point) then cut towards yourself with a side-to-side motion to cut the muscle that holds the shell halves together, then twist it to open the shell. For the best flavour do not eat oysters straight away: tip out the water inside – la première eau – and leave the oysters to one side for about a quarter to half an hour before eating them. Most oysters in France are huîtres creuses – rounded oysters – as opposed to the other variety (plates – flat). The Atlantic coast in the Marennes/Oléron area is especially famous for them. They come in different size calibres, from 5 (the smallest) to 0, with descriptions indicating how full and fleshy they are (spéciales are the meatiest), or whether they were finished off in special maturing beds – de claires. Oysters should be kept in the bottom of the fridge, for no more than a week.
Serves: 4 Preparation: 15-20 minutes Cooking: 25-30 minutes
English-speakers may be unsure about the Christmas delicacy of oysters but, as France is Europe’s top producer, it is time to lose the inhibitions and get cracking the traditional way to eat oysters during Christmas and New Year in France is raw. You need minimal equipment to prepare them, though it is worth investing in an oyster knife to avoid struggling or slipping while opening them. These have a rounded handle for a firm grip and a small, firm, triangular blade. Otherwise, use any small, sharp, knife, holding it so as to work just with the tip. You need a tray to put the oysters on and simple accompaniments such as lemon juice or wine vinegar with chopped shallots, plus crusty bread and butter – then you are ready to go.
CUT OUT & KEEP!
Combine the oysters and 150 ml of the Sauterne wine in a bowl, cover and chill until ready to serve. Prepare the sauce by reducing the fish stock by half in a saucepan before adding 150 ml of Sauterne wine. Reduce again by half, then add the double cream. Bring to the boil and reduce over a moderate heat until you have a thick coating consistency. Adjust the seasoning to taste and keep warm to one side. Fill a large saucepan with boiling
water and stir through the white wine vinegar. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl until they form stiff peaks. Form large quenelles of egg white and poach them, turning occasionally until firm yet springy to the touch. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the plum tomato and mushroom
quarters briefly, seasoning as you do. Arrange the oysters in the centre of serving plates and carefully pour the sauce around them. Sit a quenelle of poached egg white on top and top with a quartered plum tomato and piece of mushroom. Arrange the tarragon tops around the sauce at intervals before garnishing the top of the poached egg white with a sprig of chervil. Serve immediately.
Good will to all men, and their friends Pets prefer a quiet time during the festive season which brings extra dangers around the house says SAMANTHA DAVID Everyone loves Christmas but it is a time of year which poses special dangers to pets. Obviously animals should never be given as presents. Even if the household is ready and willing to take on a pet, wrapping an animal up in a box is cruel. Introducing an animal (especially a baby one) into a household full of flashing decorations, noisy crackers, party-poppers, tipsy visitors and over-excited children is not a good start. If you have decided to give a pet (and a responsible adult has agreed to spend the necessary number of years looking after it) just provide a photograph of them on Christmas Day, and collect it from its former home in the New Year when life has calmed down and there is time for house-training etc. For furry friends already resident
Pet Care in your house, try to see Christmas through their eyes. They still need regular food, clean water and (for dogs) walks. So if you are staying out late, or overnight, or all day long, plan ahead. If necessary search online for garde d'animaux and find a professional cat feeder/dog walker for around 10-15 euros per visit. (If you don't know them, ask for a photocopy of their carte d'identité before handing over the house keys.) Even during the season of goodwill, pets still need a quiet retreat in which to sleep, so try and provide
This column is sponsored by
quiet spaces for them. It is a rare animal which seriously wants to dress up as a fairy or pretend to be a reindeer, so try to protect them from over-excited toddlers. Teach children to leave sleeping animals alone. There are specific Christmas dangers too. Poinsettia, holly, ivy and mistletoe are all toxic, so keep them out of reach. Wire Christmas trees securely in place so that they will not fall over if your young cat climbs into them, or your dog wags overenthusiastically. Do not use glass ornaments which can fall off, smash and cut pets' feet. Ensure that tinsel is out of reach and that electric wires are taped down or run underneath carpets to stop animals chewing through them or tripping over them. Keep antifreeze locked away and clean up any spills immediately. Cats love
Photo: © B.Stefanov - fotolia.com
the taste of anti-freeze but even the smallest amount will kill them. If your cat walks through a small puddle of anti-freeze on the drive or in the garage and later licks its paws, it will very probably die. Christmas foods are full of ingredients which are toxic to animals. The major danger is chocolate (the darker the more dangerYou are more ous) which is poisonous to likely to enjoy these costumes both cats and dogs. So never leave boxes of chocolates where than your pets your dog can find them and never, ever allow anyone to give your animals chocolate. Unless you have a pet toothbrush (yes, they do exist) do not allow anyone to feed pets anything containing sugar. Remember that turkey bones can cause choking, and that onions, garlic and grapes are all toxic to animals. If you want to spoil your pets, it is best to buy proper pet treats rather than feed them titbits or scraps.
Tel. 06 58 01 82 76 Web. www.seulementnaturel.eu Email. [email protected]
16 Directory
Languedoc Pages
December 2012
Advertise here all year from just e75HT Call free on 0800 91 77 56 or email [email protected]
LANGUEDOC DIRECTORY
English-speaking firms near you For your security, we check that the French businesses in this section are officially registered with the authorities
Find registered tradespeople quickly and easily By advertising in our directory you get the chance to run advertorials (the articles you see on these pages). We are currently offering these at a two for one price, so two x 1/4 page advertorials, maximum 400 words plus photo, costs just e200HT. A minimum two month break between publishing applies and the second advertorial is a repeat of the first. If you wish to change the second there is a e25 fee together with a e15 fee if you want us to provide a photo.
B&W Colour
Villasophie Your architect in Languedoc Roussillon Design permits and plans for new builds and renovations
04 68 20 04 31 [email protected] www.villasophie.eu
Le Palais des Chats Exclusive hotel for cats 35 minutes from Perpignan Collection/delivery available Carol and Stuart Metcalfe
04 68 96 40 80 Email: [email protected] Website: lepalaisdeschats.com Boutique cat and dog hotel
Home from Home 3km from Beziers.
English: John 04 67 36 63 38 French: Ian 06 81 16 39 30 [email protected] www.4pawsbeziers.com
Project Management
Registered Insured New Builds, Renovation Building Permits Authorisation Insurance claims Negotiation & Support l
Yellow
Sam Stokes - 06 14 38 10 29 [email protected]
INTERNATIONAL RENOVATION LANGUEDOC 11190 MONTAZELS
Artisan Builder - All Renovation Works Pool Installation/Security - Aude Tel: 06 37 64 40 58 Email: [email protected] Siret 48515658200028
hussellbuilding.com
All types of roofs renewed / repaired Velux roof windows - Guttering
Roofing, Scaffolding Heavy Structural Building
Siret No: 50066265500017
04 68 98 03 24
Covering the Gard
04 66 72 75 84 [email protected]
Dept 66 / 11
Renovation to Decoration Extensions, Kitchens, Bathrooms, tiling, stonework, Patios, terraces. Free estimates
[email protected]
Tel: Mike 04 68 24 45 05 / 06 33 28 48 72 Email: [email protected] Siret: 50400085200013
Paul Hockings
SATISFYING CUSTOMER NEEDS in Joinery and Building works since 1980. MIni Digger available.
Tel +33 (0) 4 68 77 05 96 Email: [email protected] Siret: 51271440300015
COMPUTER SUPPORT AND HELPDESK http://www.montolieu-it-service.eu Tel: 06 79 99 75 20 Email: [email protected] Covering AUDE and all Departments within 100 km of CARCASSONNE. Siret :489 920 124 00018
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TOTAL RENOVATION AND CARPENTRY, DECKING, TERRACES AND MUCH MORE
Tel. 06 72 42 07 04 DEPT 66
Siret: 494 683 931 00021
General Builder Established 2011 in the Aude Can manufacture shutters, doors, stairs windows and kitchens Tel: +33 (0) 4 68 78 72 51 Mobile +33 (0) 6 19 95 87 50 10 Email: [email protected]
Carpenter/Joiner
All interior, Exterior woodwork References, Portfolio available Area 34 only
Contact Details Michael Murray 0467775894/0671526193 [email protected]
Languedoc Pages
December 2012
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Plumber and electrician make successful team If you are looking for quality heating, plumbing and electrician services, the joint forces of Justin Harrison and David Hodgskin could be just what you need JUSTIN Harrison is a central heating engineer and plumber and has been trading in France for eight years, in partnership with his bilingual wife Nathalie. Serving customers in and around Carcassonne, they provide a range of services, from fixing a dripping tap to installing a full central heating system. Before moving to France from the UK, Justin trained with British Gas and then became a self-employed CORGI registered engineer. As the business expanded, Justin found Justin (pictured) installs solar hot water he was being asked more and more if he cylinders, which can reduce fuel bills could recommend an electrician, so when
Women’s International Club Mediterranée meets in Florensac 2nd Thursday each month. All nationalities welcome
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he got to know local qualified electrician David Hodgskin, they embarked on what has proved to be a very successful collaboration. “Since they have joined forces business has been better than ever,” said Nathalie. The team now offer a full heating, plumbing and electrician service, and because David is also an RHS qualified landscaper - including masonry, decking and tiling work - they also take on basic renovation projects. The pair have over 20 years experience in their respective fields. And with advances in technology, both Justin and Dave have
DICK FOWLER CONSTRUCTION Pool design and build Also other house renovation and construction works [email protected] Phone: 06 70 91 12 17 Ad No. 18691
expanded their businesses, offering many eco-friendly electrical and heating options. “I install energy efficient underfloor heating and feel that the benefits are substantial,” said David. “Not only is it comfortable and easy to use, it is safe and economical to run compared to traditional systems. “It can cost as little as 20 cents per day and will offer you an ambience heat. It also has a great design as the heating system is unseen.” “The advancement in heating technology is exciting too,” added Justin. “I can install solar hot water and condensing boilers that reduce carbon dioxide emissions, helping the environment and reducing fuel bills. “Condensing boilers are highly efficient and have much lower fuel and running
costs than conventional models. “The possibility of getting a tax credit or reduction makes this option even more appealing; if you install two different types of eligible installation at the same time, you could benefit from a 40% rebate.” For more information on the services that Justin, Nathalie and David offer, you can visit their websites or contact them directly.
Colombiers Property Services
Professional Property & Pool Management in Herault. Handyman Services also available. 10yrs experience - Siret reg.
Tel: 04 67 89 36 98 Mob: 06 73 96 84 87 [email protected]
Drain Clear
Interior & Exterior Drain Clearance Camera inspection & high pressure jetting Covering (66) www.msbpropertyservices.com Mob: 06 43 22 86 15 - Tel: 04 68 51 80 46 [email protected]
Tel: 05 55 65 12 19
Justin and Nathalie Harrison 06 65 06 05 74 [email protected] www.justinharrison.net David Hodgskin 06 33 38 87 38 [email protected]
For all things Property in Dept 66!
Property Sales Management & Holiday Rentals All year round maintenance service Visit the website:
www.lesjoursheureux66.com
and contact me: Ruby Laura Goold 06 38 73 15 62
Siret: 479 317 620 00025
CERTIFIED TRANSLATIONS All legal translations by FrenchEnglish speaking sworn translator
Justin Harrison, Central heating Engineer/Plumber and David Hodgskin, Electrician Full renovations / repairs in Aude
[email protected] 06 65 06 05 74 www.justinharrison.net [email protected] 06 33 38 87 38 Ad No. 17780
Your Helping Hand to the French Health System
Property-legal-birth cert., driving licences traductions assermentées Valid everywhere with 25 years of experience Regions : All FRANCE Karen RENEL-KING Tel: 06 18 03 18 38 Email: [email protected] www.certifiedfrenchtranslation.com Fast and affordable Siret: 38058374000028
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One to One Language Course. Tuition with Accomodation www.cours-a-cucugnan.com Tel: 06 78 15 19 29 Siret: 521701474 - Ad No. 17685
+33 (0) 4 94 40 31 45 www.exclusivehealthcare.com
The Spectrum IFA Group Regulated, qualified and experienced advisers providing independent financial advice. Investments, retirement, inheritance planning, Insurance, mortgages.
Mail: [email protected] for your nearest adviser. With care, you prosper. Ad No. 16706
Sarah Wafflard Sworn Translator Interpreter
Language services at reasonable rates for individual & business clients Email: [email protected] Tel: +33 (0) 9 61 22 37 41 www.frenchpa.co.uk Siret No: 501 541 031 00016
Looking for a property? Let us search for you And save money Contact Susannah on
Tel: 04 67 24 31 42 Mob: 06 52 75 24 45
Email: [email protected] www.househunterslanguedoc.com
Exclusive Healthcare
Alexander Technique
Straight-forward, honest advice on the best house, car, life & health insurance policies for you Over 15 years experience in French insurance markets English, Dutch & German spoken. Philippe Schreinemachers www.insurance.fr Tel: 05 62 29 20 00 Email: [email protected] RCS Auch B479 400 657 - Regions: All France
on Septic Tank installation
For all drainage problems call James Southern
Tel: 04 68 32 06 17 Email: [email protected]
FAB Property Management
Efficient, Reliable Changeover and Maintenance Service Visit our website www.franceandbeyond.co.uk Contact Adele / Iain Tel: 06 43 54 46 91 email: [email protected]
Metalwork & Welding - Gates Balconies Handrails - Fences Staircases - Pergolas
Wendy McKnight - 06 38 88 27 79
www.smithysferronerie.com 04 68 94 28 64 or 06 73 95 92 57 [email protected]
UK certified
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Siret No: 497 605 550 00019
ANGIE NETTOYAGE
Domestic and Commercial Cleaning You'll be swept away by our service! Call Angie
06 34 64 22 70 or 04 34 10 29 06 email: [email protected]
For all your UK Tv and Radio solutions
Skydigi - based in Languedoc 04 68 87 18 30 www.skydigi.fr Ad No. 19225
Sky, Freesat & French TV Supplied & Fully Installed
Office: 05 63 59 85 16 www.skyinfrance.co.uk Please see our main advert in the Connexion
AUDE & HERAULT
Need someone to help with property maintenance problems, home improvements, renovations, Exteriors, Gardens & Pools. Contact Anthony Main 0033 (0)468 783 696 email: [email protected] www.midibuilder.com Siret 4846 8735 500012
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Tel: 04 68 27 10 51 www.digitvsolutions.com Siret: 503480675 00019
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CLASSIFIEDS Trees and shrubs expertly pruned by professional horticulturalist. Free quotations. Languedoc Roussillon area. Tel: 06 09 52 71 10 Email: [email protected]
18 DIY
2012 Helpguide to Death in France
PROFESSIONAL
The Connexion has published a newly-revised 12-page guide to the formalities surrounding a death in France. Having the procedures to hand can help alleviate some of the stress at this traumatic time. The guide explains, in straightforward language, what forms and certificates are needed, how to find a funeral director and what to look for on their quote, cremation and burial in France, repatriation of a body to the UK, inheritance and bank accounts. The guide also includes a page of actual reader questions and answers.
Published October 1, 2012
5
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BUILDERS Photo: © Julius Kramer - Fotolia.com
ONLY
INFORMATION YOU CAN TRUST ABOUT FRANCE
December 2012
Hedgehogs are a friend in the battle against slugs
Nature can rest, not you December is a light month in the garden. It is time to pick any remaining brassicas, including brussels sprouts in the vegetable plot, they do not keep well if you just leave them, and choose a mild day to lift your parsnips too. If you have a sheltered, sunny spot in the vegetable garden with rich, well-drained soil, you could try planting some early broad beans this month. If all goes well, you will have your first harvest as early as May. Either plant directly into the earth or germinate in the greenhouse first. You will have to watch out for frost, and keep cloches, polytunnels or fleece to hand in case temperatures plunge. Take cuttings of currant and gooseberry bushes by simply cutting off a good-looking length about 30 cm long and pushing it halfway into the ground. Check any pots that you are planning to leave outside all winter, move them into the shelter of the house and swathe them in bubble wrap against the frost. Use more bubble wrap in the greenhouse if you have one. Think about encouraging wildlife in your garden. Bird feeders and drinkers need to be placed out of feline reach and regularly replenished. (Especially on cold days when the water will freeze solid.) This will encourage birds into the garden, and apart from being lovely to watch, they can help keep pests down. Birds eat all sorts of insects and garden pests like slugs. If you really want to make a bird sanctuary, this is also a good time to position nesting boxes but again, think about scheming cats. You can either buy the boxes in DIY shops or make your own. (They make an ideal project to do with children.) To feed your birds, let some plants form seed heads, and sow some areas of the garden with indigenous plants. Hanging up a dried sunflower head will also keep birds happy through the winter. An undisturbed woodpile can provide shelter for insecteating toads or even a hedgehog. Both will happily eat lots of garden pests. If you have any piles of leaves in the garden, remember that they might also be sheltering a hedgehog. Choose a dry day to go through the garden looking for decorative thistle heads, pine cones and nicely-shaped twigs which can be spray-painted gold and red. If you do not have a holly bush, perhaps a walk through the local woods might be a good idea? Do not forget that ivy adds a good green splash to Christmas decorations. Finally do not forget to check all your gardening equipment (including electrical items), seed stocks and books. Clean the lawn mover and run an oily cloth over the blades to prevent rust. Also check over hand tools and store them clean and oiled. Go through your gardening diary and note what you might need for next season's garden projects.
Languedoc Pages
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Must Christmas always surprise? Photo: © st-fotograf - Fotolia.com
The antiques trade is finding a new life online through sites that spot bargains on your behalf
Santa should surprise children, not homeowners GIVEN we know exactly when Christmas is going to show up, and how frequently, it is surprising how reluctant people are to make a few tiny, permanent, adjustments in their home to accommodate the annual festival. Outdoors, rather than attempting to use temporary fastenings, it is better to position proper metal loops and hooks discreetly and leave them in place all year. Indoors, careful rearranging of furniture can allow you to drill holes for decorations that can be covered over for the rest of the year. Choose a dry day to install fastenings and hooks for outdoor decorations; a hook on the front door for a wreath, wiring for Christmas lights, a base for an outside Christmas tree, for example. If you have to run power through an external door, instead of attempting to jam the cable under the door, drill a small hole through the frame, remove the plug, run the wire through the hole and then put the plug back on. (Use mastic to block any draughts.) Getting the Christmas tree to stand up can be a challenge. Even if it is cut, planting it in a bucket of tightly-packed, moist, compost or earth will stop the needles falling off. Otherwise, take a large solid board and mount two or three large shelf brackets on it. (Mismatched old ones are fine.) Then screw or wire the tree to the brackets. If your household includes children or other pets, wiring the tree in place will help it withstand climbing, claws and giddy playtime collisions. Drill discreet holes and fill them with rawl plugs at skirting board level, or behind pictures and furniture where they will not be noticed when things go back into position. Then use screw-in hoops which can either be left in place all year or unscrewed in the New Year. This works best if the tree is in a corner. Do not forget to buy a selection of plug boards, adapters and cable covers to keep pets and children safe. If you have animals which might chew cables, spray them with répulsif from pet shops. Homemade Christmas presents have a new fashionable cachet this year and anyone with DIY skills, especially carpentry, can shine. It is easy enough to make little boxes; lacquer them if your skills are up to it and the box is made of hardwood, or paint and decorate them with collage if you need to hide filler and plywood. Think carefully about what might go in the box (photos, jewellery, fishing hooks, tea bags, CDs, letters, etc) before deciding on the size. Keep children busy making pomanders to hang up near a fireplace, kitchen stove or radiator. To make one, run a piece of ribbon around an orange so it divides it into four parts. Use dressmaking pins to keep the ribbon in place, and leave the long ends to hang it up by. Then fill in the four exposed quarters of orange peel with cloves. Large wool needles are useful for making the holes for each clove. These pomanders smell marvellous and make good presents.
Banaborose.com specialises in children's furniture and restoration to order by Oliver Rowland IF YOU are looking to give your home an authentic, personalised French touch an online brocante (antiques and secondhand goods) site could be the solution. Whether you are after classic “Lotus” design cups or bowls, a Henkel “apple motif ” pitcher, a cast-iron bed or perhaps a rocking-chair, a growing selection of sites offer to take the effort out of bargain hunting. Instead of going to marchés aux puces (fleamarkets) or vide-greniers (car-boot sales) yourself, these firms do it for you and put a choice selection online. Most of them also tidy them up and make sure they are in good working order. www.banaborose.com is especially known for children’s furniture and specialises in restoring pieces for customers. Its items are not necessarily cheap but are full of character. For example, e360 for a distinctive olive-green 1950s bedroom cabinet/chest of drawers or e170 for a 1950s desk and chair set in red formica and stainless steel. Founder Lisa Guillot said she has been in business for three years. “Online selling of brocante took off about four
It's as if they can visit 10 brocante sales at once and they don't need to rush around
Online brocante founder Stéphanie Rottée
years ago. It’s linked to the fashion for vintage. "My clients like the fact that for a price not much more than those in the big furniture chains they can order very good quality, robust wooden furniture in the colours they want. "They know they’ll have something individual that they’re not going to see all over the place. People might email saying ‘I’m after a chest of drawers in red and black’ – and I send photos of furniture I’ve got in but not done up yet and I decorate it to order. I also work to match what they have at home. “I find families often want to mix old and new – they might have a cot and changing table by a well-known baby products brand – then have a retro chest of drawers.” The styles of Another site, www.madamelabroc.com, the 50s and specialises in items from the 1950s to 70s are the 1970s. Founder Stéphanie Rottée said: speciality of the site www. “Coming to my site means my customers madamelabroc. don’t have to get up at 7.00 to go and look at car boot sales in the rain – not com everyone likes that kind of thing or has the time. I bring together lots and lots of objects, so it’s as if they can visit 10 brocante sales at once and they don’t need to rush around." “I also have delivery solutions so they don’t need to have a car to transport their
stuff. There’s a transporter who does the whole of France and also abroad including the UK, and a little one for the Paris region.” Her items range from a pair of big “Lotus” breakfast cups at e10 to an old bathroom cabinet in off-white wood, with a decorative glass front (e110) or vintage-material cushions for e15 each. www.lapetitebrocanteuse.com aims especially at value for money, said owner Emmanuelle Cleyn. For this reason her largest items can only be delivered in Paris and the surrounding area (for e20) as she is still looking for a good-value national transporter. They can also be collected. However postal delivery is possible for boxes up to 1.2m, she said. “My items are mostly from the 1930s to today,” she said. “I am very careful that the prices are competitive. I created my site as an alternative to Ikea and based my prices on them.” A cast-iron child’s bed - or a seat if one side is lowered - priced e120, would just fit the postal box size. Lovers of kitsch might especially like to check out http://viedpuce.canalblog.com/ where you can pick up old Eiffel Tower glass salt shakers for e30 or snow globe desk calendars from e6. Other brocante sites include: beigefluo.blogspot.com lesdedees.blogspot.com www.sofasurfer.fr www.edmond.tm.fr retourdechine.canalblog.com www.abracadabroc.com tohubohu-vintage.blogspot.com
20 Property
Houses for sale across France
Buying or selling a property? We can help.
Our website www.connexionfrance.com carries details of more than 14,000 homes for sale across France. We also feature properties for sale in this dedicated section of the paper each month. To find out more about any particular property, go to www.connexionfrance.com and enter the ref: code shown under the property.
advertising as well as a print advert in three editions of The Languedoc Pages. Our 6+6 package is best value at 330TTC and provides the same, but for six months via each channel.
New Consumption and Emission Chart - e.g. Energy rating C & F refers to C for Consumption and F for Emissions
Contact us on 0800 91 77 56 (freephone in France) or email [email protected]
More details on all these properties - and how to contact the seller directly - can be found in the property for sale section of
For sellers, the adverts are also displayed across a range of popular English-speaking websites and are seen by thousands of potential buyers EVERY day. Our 3+3 package costs just 200TTC and gives you three months online
www.connexionfrance.com
Simply enter the code under each home to find out more Properties in LANGUEDOC
80,000
Energy rating = D & B
Energy rating = C&A
The adverts above cost from just 200TTC for three months of web advertising and three months of print advertising.
Let our distribution get you a sale. Contact our sales team on 0800 91 77 56 (freephone in France) or email [email protected]
Languedoc Pages
December 2012
Finance
annette morris has lived in Languedoc for over four years. She works as a freelance internet marketing consultant and website developer, helping businesses optimise their online presence. Annette co-runs www.LaFranglaise.com and the Languedoc group of the Survive France network. Last year she started Languedoc Jelly, designed to promote the co-working concept to expats and English-speakers in France. In this regular column she shares her tips for the business community and would welcome readers’ questions and feedback.
Answered by
Take time now to get ready for year ahead
Residency not just a question of days Photo: © pressmaster - Fotolia.com
Four vital questions determine residency in France We own a property in France and avoid being resident by making make sure that we only spend about five months a year here. We also spend four months in the UK (in our other property) and for the rest of the year, we travel around other parts of Europe. We have been told we should be completing French income tax returns but we do not understand why as we not living in France for at least half of the year.
Planning is the key – getting ideas straightened out is easier when you have plenty time than when up against it
During the month of December many companies will take a break of some kind. Enquiries generally slow down as social events and the holiday spirit take over – but this is also a great time to take stock and analyse your business year In salaried positions it is customary to have an end of year review with your boss. If you are self-employed will you give yourself the same consideration? It is not easy to be brutally honest with one’s self, so how would you go about appraising your own performance? Do not be so hard on yourself that it might put a negative light on the whole business year, but list the items that you feel you overlooked, forgot or did not have time to achieve. Then list the things that you have accomplished, gained or developed over the past 12 months. Even doing a self appraisal, it is good to end on a positive note. Do you feel you merit a bonus? Could you benefit from additional training? In the quieter times it is good to sit back and enjoy the down time, but not everyone can afford to sit back too long. Take this opportunity to focus on your business plan for the year ahead. Look back at 2012 and what worked best for you; which initiatives proved most helpful, the people or organisations that were the most supportive or most beneficial.
Taking the time to analyse these aspects will prove invaluable for 2013 and help you decide how you approach your next working calendar. Be honest about your business needs for the year ahead, it may be a new premises, to
ness. Work at least three months in advance. Do you need fliers, business cards or new signage? If you have been using the web to promote your business do you have a strategy? Social media marketing can be an excellent vehicle but requires a solid, measurable and consistent plan. In addition, it is crucial for you to have a clear understanding of how and why social media can be useful for reaching your business goals.
“
Taking the time to analyse these aspects will prove invaluable for 2013 and how you approach your next working calendar
use a co-working space, a faster computer, some new software, a training course or more travel. (When forecasting your costs it can be healthy to assume a 10% increase just in case!) Then review your income pattern over the past year. Calculate which months are occupied with sales or delivery and those that will be available for marketing, research or admin. Time passes quickly when you are busy and last-minute promotions can be risky so think about key dates and plan some “events” that could be beneficial to your busi-
Social media marketing is not just using Facebook or setting up a Twitter account. n Research which social media channels are most appropriate to your audience.
New social media channels are opening all the time, and some will suit your needs better than others. n Take time to listen to existing messages, from competitors and consumers alike. n Choose your tools – to improve your efficiency it is worth setting up scheduling and monitoring accounts like Tweetdeck, Buffer or Google Alerts n Time your activity – promotions at different days and times may affect how positively your efforts are received. n Content is King – select your sources carefully and compile a list of useful topics to fall back on in case you are busy or short of inspiration. n Be flexible and prepared – how will you respond to a complaint, obscene remark or a compliment? Remain consistent and be clear in your own social media voice. Online marketing is changing. Seeking advice or investing in training may mean a considerable saving in the long run.
Useful Websites Coworkingeurope.net Polen-mende.com Station-working.com Lafabriquecoworking.net
Mio-offices.com Languedocjelly.org Coworkingmanifesto.com www.youseemii.fr
To contact Annette Morris, call 07 86 14 16 39 or email [email protected]
When anyone has interests in various countries, it is often found they satisfy the internal criteria for residence of more than one country. Understandably, this can be confusing. In France, you only have to satisfy one of the following four conditions and you will be resident in France: n France is your “home”: If you have property in France and another country, but the latter is not available for your personal use (for example, it is rented to tenants), then France is your home. n France is your “centre of economic interest”: Generally, this means where your income is paid from. In addition to pension, salaries, etc., this can include bank interest and other investment income. n France is your place of “habitual abode”: The law makes no reference to the number of days you spend here and people are caught out, believing that if they do not spend at least 183 days in France, they can decide they are not resident. This is not so and your place of “habitual abode” is, simply, where you spend most time. n Nationality: If your residency has not been established by the above points, then it will be your nationality that determines your residence, however, this is very rare. As a French resident, you must complete an annual income tax return and declare all worldwide income and gains (even if the income is ultimately taxable in another country). In addition, depending upon the value of your assets, you may also need to complete a wealth tax return. There are Double Taxation Treaties (DTTs) existing between France and all the EU states (plus many other countries). This is very important for anyone with interests in more than one country as a DTT sets out the rules that apply in determining which country has the right to tax your income and assets, to avoid double taxation. Inheritance taxes should also not be overlooked. French residents are domiciled in France for inheritance purposes and your worldwide estate becomes taxable here, where the tax rates depend on your relationship to your beneficiaries. In summary, French residency is a fact and not a choice. Therefore, it is important to seek professional advice on your own situation, as it is our experience that “one size does not fit all”. With good advice, actions can be taken to mitigate your personal taxes, as well as the potential French inheritance tax bills for your heirs.
22 Property
Properties AROUND FRANCE
375,000
Jeremy Cook, chief economist at foreign exchange company, World First, talks about the Euro and other currencies.
Crasville, Manche, Normandy Three bedroom house and three bedroom guest wing with separate access includes garden and outbuildings. REF: 700944
Sponsored by Energy rating = C
Photo: © crimson - Fotolia.com
Vimoutiers, Orne, Normandy Four bedroom house and two bedroom cottage currently run as a very successful B&B and Gîte business.
Answered by
www.worldfirst.com +44 20 7801 1050 Recession on Continent is likely to extend into the mid-part of 2013
384,950
Inheritance rules cause problems Photo: © gcpics - Fotolia.com
REF: IFPC22612
Currency Notes
Energy rating = e & f
395,000 Bohal, Morbihan, Brittany Two detached restored stone houses and outbuildings set on 6 acres of land with private fishing lake. Ref: 83003135486
Energy rating = f & d
Making a simple declaration can ease problems
432,500 Near Saint-Pois, Manche, Normandy Three bedroom house and one bedroom gîte set on 4.5 hectares of land. REF: BNO-637
Energy rating = E & c
449,000 Near Beynac, Dordogne Four bedroom house set on 7 hectares of land consists of lounge/dining room, kitchen, shower room, separate WC, terrace, conservatory and outbuilding. Ref: FPBC3260C
Energy rating = e & b
465,000 Le Bugue, Dordogne Four bedroom farmhouse and one bedroom guest house includes well maintained garden and swimming pool. Ref: FPBC1510L
Energy rating = D & D
473,000 Juilley, Manche, Normandy Four bedroom house and two bedroom cottage set on 9443m2 of land.
Ref: 14075D
Energy rating = C & B
499,000 Near Lalinde, Dordogne A restored three bedroom stone Manoir and four bedroom guest house set on one hectare of land with barn, garage, swimming pool and pool house. Ref: FPBS2338M
Energy rating = E & C
535,600 Etrépagny, Eure, Normandy Four bedroom Old Mill house consists of living room, kitchen, two bathrooms, shower room, wine cellar, garden, small storage building and small house. REF: 83003151870
Energy rating = e & c
670,000 Falaise, Calvados, Normandy Five bedroom house comprises drawing room, dining room, kitchen, three bathrooms, showroom, two en suites, large dressing room, two basements and double garage. REF: IFPC22227
Energy rating = D & D
Making early plans may give stability Recent suggestions that the Eurozone looks like it is finally beginning to climb out of its debt hole are greatly overstated. With Greece, Spain, Italy and all the rest still nowhere near the point of return, the fact is that a recession on the Continent is likely to extend into the mid-part of 2013. Unfortunately debt and GDP levels are only going one way: the wrong way, and this has clear implications for anyone who is looking to transfer money in or out of France as the euro continues to struggle as a consequence. To the south, Spain has continued to dither on requesting funds, and this in itself has caused problems. From a political point of view the Spanish prime minister has very little to gain from applying for an ECB bailout, but his reticence leaves him open to the accusation he has wilfully harmed the Spanish economy’s prospects, thus causing further market pressures, while the cost to the taxpayer and the size of the bailout increases. In Madrid’s corridors of power, the hope must therefore be that Spain eventually gets a bailout, after being told There is no clear to have one following total European political gridlock – path ahead as to i.e. a scenario that can be how much euros blamed on everyone else. The market reaction to a junking will be worth of the Spanish sovereign Jeremy Cook bonds will only lead to more bailout chatter but, at the time of writing, nothing has been agreed and the pressure continues to mount on the Eurozone countries and the single currency itself. Such problems in struggling Eurozone countries like Spain and Greece have caused the euro value to fluctuate fairly dramatically this year, and 2013 is not looking like it is going to be stable either. This will obviously present problems for anyone who needs to make international currency transfers and some careful forward planning is advisable. For French expats, it has been a challenging period and unfortunately there is no clear path ahead as to how much euros will be worth in the long term. There are ways of fixing exchange rates in advance to take volatility out of the equation and with the continuing economic uncertainty in the Eurozone, this is the kind of step those looking for financial confidence might want to pursue sooner rather than later.
“
For more information about making international money transfers with World First visit the website www.worldfirst.com or call +44 20 7801 1050
INHERITANCE is an issue that troubles clients as the French have a “reserve heir” system where offspring, generally, cannot be disinherited. One child can claim one half of his deceased parents’ estates, two children one third each and three or more can get their hands on 75% divided equally. The balance – the disposable quota – is generally free to be left to whoever you want. This can cause trouble: principally over what the surviving spouse can have (who is a reserve heir only in the absence of others, but still has rights, especially regarding the home), whether an ungrateful child can be disinherited and, in second marriages, where there are children from earlier relationships and the present one. Do these rules affect British citizens who have holiday homes in France or those who live here permanently? The answer to the last question is: Yes, quite a lot actually. Your French real estate, – land and anything built on it – must devolve according to French law even if you have never set foot in France. Your personal estate will also do so if you are “permanently or habitually” resident here. Your executors will have to deal with your affairs through two different legal systems. UK affairs will devolve according to UK law and French ones, or some of them, to French law. That is why the EU brought in new rules – which the UK, Ireland and Denmark have not signed up to – which mean those who have their final habitual residence in a signatory country can nominate which legal system will govern their estate’s devolution. An English person living in France can say the laws of England and Wales are to determine who is to inherit from him rather than the reserve heir rules briefly outlined above. How and when can it be done? Firstly, make a simple declaration (a professio juris) in your will saying you want your estate administered according to the laws of England and Wales (or wherever). This can be done immediately. However, the new rules do not come into force until August 17, 2015, and you must survive until after that date. Be aware that local inheritance tax laws still apply. In France, as in the UK, surviving spouses inheriting from their spouse pay no inheritance tax. But if you leave your estate to your children, each can have only e100,000 before tax starts at 5% increasing to 40%. Non-family are taxed at 60% with no reliefs. Step-children are taxed similarly unless you have adopted them. In France a Frenchman can adopt a “child” of any age, but UK nationals can only do so up to the age of 18, in line with the UK adoption age. France has two kinds of adoption: adoption simple, where it is done for inheritance tax and the “child” remains the offspring of the natural parents. In Adoption pleinière on the other hand the child and natural parents cease to have any legal relationship. Under adoption simple the child can inherit, and on a reduced tax basis, from four parents. It is possible for a reserve heir to renounce their entitlement by signing a document to that effect in the presence of two notaries before or after the death of the parent.
24 People
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Fruit
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What thickening agent found in gummy confectionery etc., defined as a food and produced from animal by-products, has the E Number 441?
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Lunch Responsibly ~ Use a Condiment! | sudden lunch! ~ suzy bowler
sudden lunch! ~ suzy bowler
Lunch Responsibly ~ Use a Condiment!
I have started doing a lovely thing – one day a week I sort out literally hundreds of books that have been donated to Cornwall Hospice Care, dividing them into ones that can be sold on Amazon and therefore get a good price, those that are in good condition but readily available so can be sent out to the 30 or so Cornwall Hospice shops in the Duchy and those, sadly, that are in one helluva state so go to be pulped.
If you are a reader you can imagine my excitement each time I open a new box or bag of books and through the day I set aside several of the Amazon rejects to buy myself. The other day, among the books, was a little sign ...
Good advice, in fact I have been known to carry a few readily portable condiments about with me in case I chance upon a bland meal.
A condiment is defined as “a seasoning or other edible substance used to improve the taste of food.” Salt and pepper qualify, of course, and flavoured salts can be wonderful (make your own such as bacon salt and others ) and freshly ground black pepper gives a boost to most things.
Here is a list of other condiments together with some ideas of how to use them, do bear in mind that several of these are very powerful tasting and act accordingly.
Apple Sauce – famously good with pork dishes but here are lots of other ideas – I have also made apple ice cream with it using my genius recipe (see end of post for info about this).
Balsamic Glaze – this is a wonderful tasting and attractive looking drizzle to add to all sorts of meals. I used to make my own balsamic glaze by boiling down balsamic vinegar and then adding a little honey but it makes the place stink and it’s so much easier to buy a bottle these days. It goes particularly well with mushrooms, roasted root veg, caramelised onion dishes, certain pizzas, beef (and kangaroo, apparently), cheese and I always drizzle some on hummus. Oh, and strawberries, of course!
Black Garlic – if you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that this is my favourite “new” ingredient ever and I have written about it here and all over the blog! I’ve even made surprisingly delicious ice cream with it (same genius recipe, see blow!)
Black garlic goes well with lots of things and exceptionally well with blue cheese, mushrooms, beef and other umami-ish tastes.
Capers (which are horrid, aren’t they?) – if you like them then sprinkle over smoked salmon, stir into mayonnaise (another condiment) together with some lemon zest and juice to serve with fish dishes in general and oily or smoked fish in particular. Coarsely chop and add to potato salad. Add a few chopped capers to breadcrumbs for coating fried fish, add to fish pâtés and salads or sprinkle a few on pizza (particularly if it include anchovies, they get on very well together).
Chutney and Pickles in general – add to toasted cheese sandwiches, mix into cream cheese, enhance a salad dressing or mayonnaise, perk up a sauce with a spoonful of chutney (eg. apple chutney in apple sauce or in pork gravy), brush onto grilled meats as a glaze, and Two in Particular ...
1. Patak’s Chilli Pickle – I know this is a bit specific but it's so deliciously useful and I find the “sludge”; the oil and spices including mustard seeds, more useful than the whole pieces of chilli so when I open a new jar I purée the lot!
It goes into a good deal of my cooking and I have sometimes been unfairly complimented (compliments which I gracefully accepted) on the complexity of a dish, which complexity I owe entirely to Pataks.
Add to cheese on toast, mayonnaise, seafood salads, chicken dishes, mashed potatoes and potato cakes, etc., but always abstemiously! Stir into plain yogurt as a sauce or dip. A little of the thick coconut milk from the top of a can together with a soupçon of chilli pickle sludge and a squeeze of lemon or lime makes a super sauce for scallops and other shellfish. Or simply stir though cooked rice.
2. Mango Chutney – stir into chicken curry a few minutes before serving to upgrade the flavour. Purée with roasted red pepper to make an excellent sauce, brush on grilled chicken to glaze just before serving, drizzle the runnier bit of chutney onto appropriate soups ( eg curried lentil ), stir into yogurt as a dip or accoutrement.
Cranberry Sauce – this is a good side to turkey and chicken, obviously, and duck, goose and sometimes pork, less obviously. It is also a natural accompaniment to Brie and is good with goat cheese too. Add to brie and bacon sandwiches, serve with fried or baked Brie etc. Use to glaze chicken, sausages, pork chops etc. Stir a little into braised red cabbage. Warm a little to drizzle onto pumpkin or butternut squash soup.
Horseradish – season up mashed potato, add to fish cakes, add a tad to Yorkshire pudding batter to serve with roast beef and/or a little is good in beef gravy. It’s a great addition to smoked mackerel pate and other smoked or oily fish dishes, Add to dumplings to go with beef dishes, stir into a cream sauce to serve with steak or Bloody Mary, of course. You will notice I have used such words as “a little” or “a tad”; be cautious, you can always add more. Stir together with sour cream as an accompaniment to fish.
Hot Sauce – this is, of course, a biggie in the Caribbean where it is so popular that it is placed on restaurant table alongside the salt and pepper and OFF (which can be confusing to those unfamiliar with the last product – it is mosquito repellent!).
Add a drip or two of hot sauce judiciously anywhere you fancy to spice up mayonnaise, cream cheese, cheese on toast, pasta sauce, soups, chillies and stews, tomato ketchup and lots more.
Mayonnaise – mayo makes a good alternative to butter or other spread in sandwiches, use instead of milk or cream when mashing potatoes, mix with vinaigrette to make a creamy dressing, use in fishcakes,
Mustard – stir ready made mustard (maybe Dijon for this) into a cream sauce for steak, add a little mustard to beef gravy, use to season dumplings to go with beef dishes. Beef loves mustard but so does pork and rabbit and cheese and ham.
Mix together about equal parts of (wholegrain, if possible) mustard and mayonnaise and then add a little honey to taste for a fabulous accompaniment to ham or spread for ham sandwiches. Stir into the cream before pouring over potatoes when making a gratin, adding little hot English mustard makes for a very good cheese sauce,Add a little mustard powder to flour or breadcrumbs when coating appropriate things to fry.
Oils – interesting ones such as extra virgin olive, sesame, avocado, walnut, truffle, etc. or those flavoured with lemon, chilli or basil, for instance.
Drizzle a tasty oil on top of an appropriate soup eg. basil oil on tomato soup or pumpkin seed oil on pumpkin soup (what a surprise), or salad such as, pizza edges are nice brushed with a little roasted garlic oil before baking, truffle oil is great on mushroom or mashed into potatoes and so on and so forth. Good extra virgin olive oil is good all over the place!
( See here for some excellent flavoured oils which can be used to liven up all sorts of dishes.
Red Onion Marmalade –this is something else that is easy to make at home but easier still to buy. Not only is it a delicious cheese enhancing chutney-like thing it is also great in quite a variety of dishes, stir a little into the pan juices together with a knob of butter to sauce steak or pork, serve with meat pâtés, sausages, cheese, charcuterie and so on.
Sweet Chilli Sauce – I use this a lot to add a certain je ne sais quoi to my meals. It goes very well indeed with Asian dishes ad shellfish but with lots of other things too. Often a tomato dish will require a little sweetness and sweet chilli sauce adds this and a little spice perfectly. If your chilli con carne is lacking add this. Stir into mayonnaise or salad dressings. Add to fishcakes, fish salads and fish dishes in general. (A delicious meal can be made by cooking a piece of fish in butter, setting aside the fish, adding another knob of butter, a dash of sweet chilli sauce and a squeeze of fresh lime to make a sauce).
Tomato Ketchup – you probably already know a lot of ways to use this, some people like to put it on everything! Sauce Marie Rose for Prawn Cocktail can be made simply by mixing 1 tbsp ketchup into 100ml mayonnaise and seasoning with a little cayenne or hot sauce and/or Worcestershire sauce (and, not normally considered a condiment, but a splash of brandy is good in this too!). Tomato ketchup can also be used to add a little sweetness to tomato soup, pasta sauces, chill or Bolognese type sauces. I actually make a very cheaty sauce for pizza using 50:50 ish tomato ketchup and tomato paste and no-on has complained so far!
Vinegars – of all descriptions; balsamic (for cheese, salad greens, mushrooms, beef etc.), cider (pork, chicken, apples), fruit (add a little to fruit salads), sherry (delicious drizzled onto asparagus and other green veggies), red wine (beef, pork, cheese), white wine (chicken, seafood, rabbit), rice (Asian dishes, cucumber), malt (for fish and chips) but not distilled, I don’t think. Match your vinegar to your meal to drizzle, add to pan juices, dress salads, make marinades, highlight dishes and so on, a drip here and a drop there can do wonders.
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i don't know
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"What common substance is technically defined as ""...an organic natural composite material of cellulose fibers/fibres, strong in tension, embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression..."""
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Paper Glossary | Clifford Paper, Inc.
Contact
Paper Glossary
A
A4 (size)
A common ISO A-size of about 8 ¼ by 11 ¾ inches or 210 x 297mm. For all
sizes see International Paper and Board Sizes.
Abaca
A fiber also known as manila hemp or manila fiber, prepared from the outer
sheath of the stems of manila.
ABCD Scheme
An initiative in the UK designed to classify the type and amount of
Recycled Fiber in a paper product. The scheme grades four types of waste
used in paper manufacturing, as follows:
A – Woodfree, approved own mill waste (waste that has not left the mill.
i.e. mill broke).
B – Woodfree unprinted waste (waste that has left the mill but not reached
the consumer, typically from the printer or converter).
C – Woodfree printed waste (post consumer waste, collected from homes,
offices etc).
D – Printed mechanical waste (post consumer waste, typically newspapers).
To be classified as recycled, the grade has to contain no less than 50% of
the total fiber from any combination of the above sources, with the
percentages given for each..
A material that resists adhesion. Abhesive coatings are applied to
surfaces to prevent sticking, etc.
Abrasion Resistance
The extent to which paper can withstand continuous scuffing or rubbing.
Abrasive Papers
Papers covered on one or both sides with abrasive powder, e.g. emery,
sandpaper etc.
The actual weight of water vapor contained in a unit weight of air,
expressed in grams per cubic meter in metric system and pounds per cubic
feet in English system.
A characteristic of one-component liquids which have a constant ratio of
shear stress over shear rate (constant viscosity)
Absolute White
In theory a material that perfectly reflects all light energy at every
visible wavelength; in practice a solid white with known spectral data
that is used as the “reference white” for all measurements of absolute
reflectance. (When calibrating a spectrophotometer, often a white ceramic
plaque is measured and used as the absolute white reference).
Absorbable Organic Halogen (AOX)
A measure of the amount of chlorine that is chemically bound to the
soluble organic matter in the effluent.
Absorbency
The extent to which a paper will take up and hold a liquid.
Absorbent Core
The principal fluid-holding component of disposable hygiene products.
Absorbent cores usually contain a combination of absorbent cellulose
fibers (fluff pulps) and super-absorbent polymers composed of
polyacrylates. Advanced cores can contain very specialized absorbent
cellulose fibers, synthetic fibers and super-absorbent polymers as well as
fluff pulps.
Papers having the specific characteristic of absorbing liquids such as
water and ink. These papers are soft, loosely felted, un-sized and bulky
e.g. blotting paper.
Papers having the specific characteristic of absorbing liquids such as
water and ink. These papers are soft, loosely felted, unsized and bulky
e.g. blotting paper.
Exposing paper at elevated temperature usually at 110C in an oven or on a
hot plate. The purpose of accelerated aging is to simulate the effect of
aging in the laboratory.
Accepted portion of pulp after cleaning and or screening operation.
Accordion Fold
A term for two or more parallel folds that result in the sheet opening
like a fan. Accordion folds are used on products such as brochures and
maps.
A highly purified (high alpha cellulose) pulp made especially to be
dissolved in acetic acid, acetic anhydride and sulfuric acid to make
acetate rayon and acetate fiber.
Achromatic
Material that is white, gray and black and have no color or hue.
Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF)
Organic matter that is not solubilized after 1 hour of refluxing in an
acid detergent of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in 1N (Normal) sulfuric
acid. ADF includes cellulose and lignin.
Acid Free Paper
A type of paper, which does not contain any acidic substance that may
affect acid sensitive material. Acid free paper is anti rust and is used
for metal wrapping.
The treatment of cellulosic, starch, or hemicellulosic materials using
acid solutions (usually mineral acids) to break down the polysaccharides
to simple sugars..
The transfer of acid from an acidic material to a less acidic or
neutral-pH material. Occurs when neutral materials are exposed to
atmospheric pollutants or when two paper materials come in contact. Acid
can also migrate from adhesives, boards, endpapers, protective tissues,
paper covers, acidic art supplies, and memorabilia.
Acid Proof Paper
A paper that is not affected by acid physically or chemically. This paper
is used with substance containing acid.
Acid Sizing
Internal sizing carried out in acidic pH range (0-7). Rosin and alum
sizing is acid sizing.
A highly absorbent powdered or granular carbon used for purification by
adsorption.
The biomass produced by rapid oxygenation of effluent.
Active Alkali (AA)
Caustic (NaOH) and Sodium sulfide (Na2S) expressed as Na2O in alkaline
pulping liquor.
Clay, fillers, dyes, sizing and other chemicals added to pulp to give the
paper greater smoothness, color, fibered appearance or other desirable
attributes.
Base paper for coating with an adhesive, the type depending upon end use.
Aerated Lagoon
A biological wastewater treatment method in which air (oxygen) fed into an
aeration basin reduces the effluent load.
Against the Grain
Cutting, folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain or machine
direction of the paper.
Irreversible alteration, generally deterioration, of the properties of
paper in course of time. Aging also causes reduction in brightness and
yellowing effect.
Equipment used to keep content of a tank or chest in motion and well
mixed.
A coater, which uses the pressurized air to atomize the coating mixture
and spray it on the paper.
Air Dry (AD)
Refers to the weight of dry pulp/paper in equilibrium with the atmosphere.
Though the amount of moisture in dry pulp/paper will depend on the
atmospheric condition of humidity and temperature but as a convention 10%
moisture is assumed in air dry pulp/paper.
Air Drying
Using hot air to dry pulp or paper sheets.
Air Filter Paper
A type of paper used for filtration of air to remove suspended particles.
(car air filter, vacuum bag etc.)
Air Knife Coater
A device that applies an excess coating to the paper and then removes the
surplus by impinging a flat jet of air upon the fluid coating, leaving a
smooth, metered film on the paper.
Air Mail Paper
It is lightweight, high opacity, good quality writing/printing type paper
used for letters, flyers and other printed matter to be transported by
airlines.
Commonly referred to as “porosity.” The ease with which pressurized air
can flow through a paper’s thickness. Typically measure by the Gurley or
the Sheffield porosity tests, which measure the volumetric flow of air
through the paper thickness.
The contamination of air around the plant due to the emission of gases,
vapors and particulate material in the atmosphere.
Album Paper
Paper used in photographic albums. It has a soft surface which will not
wrinkle or cockle when photographs are pasted or glued on it, and when wet
with such adhesive, it will not ‘bleed’.
Albumin Paper
A coated paper used in photography; the coating is made of albumen (egg
whites) and ammonium chloride.
Micro organic plant life that forms in paper mill water supplies.
Alkali Lignin
Lignin obtained by acidification of an alkaline extract of wood.
Alkali Proof Paper
A paper, either white or colored, which does not discolor when in contact
with alkaline materials, such as soap. Careful selection of fibers and
coloring matters is necessary, but no particular strength requirements
need be met. Many book papers are sufficiently alkali-proof and glassine
and waxed papers are also satisfactory.
Alkali Resistance
Freedom of paper from a tendency to become stained or discolored or to
undergo a color change when brought in contact with alkaline products such
as soap and adhesives.
Alkaline extraction, i.e. E stage, is used in lignin removal before or
between bleaching stages; the stage is often enhanced with an oxidizing
agent, oxygen (Eo stage), hydrogen peroxide (Ep stage) or both (Eop
stage).
Paper having pH values greater than 7 and made by using an alkaline sizing
process.
Paper manufactured under alkaline conditions, using additives, basic
fillers like calcium carbonate and neutral size. The anti-aging properties
in alkaline paper make it a logical choice for documents where permanence
is essential.
Pulping by alkaline solutions of sodium hydroxide, with or without sodium
sulfide. Without sodium sulfide it is called soda process and with sodium
sulfide it is known as Kraft or sulfate process.
Alkenyl Succinic Anhydride (ASA)
ASA is a sizing agent designed to increase resistance to water penetration
in the case of paper formed under neutral or alkaline conditions. ASA is
especially used in cases where full cure is desired before the size press
and where it is important to maintain a high frictional coefficient in the
paper product. ASA can improve paper machine runnability and preserve
paper’s dimensional stability by limiting penetration of size-press
solution into the sheet.
The portion of the pulp or other cellulosic material that will not
dissolve in 17.5% NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide) solution at 20oC.
Alpha Pulp
A specially processed, high alpha cellulose content, chemical pulp. It is
also called dissolving pulp.
Common name for non-wood or tree free fibers.
Alum
The paper maker alum is hydrated Aluminum Sulfate {Al2(SO4)3}. Used to
adjust the pH of the mill water or as a sizing chemical in combination
with rosin size.
The combination of thin Aluminum foil with a paper backing used as a
positive moisture barrier. Normal combination is kraft backing with
Aluminum foil laminated to the kraft by means of asphalt, adhesive, or
polyethylene. The Aluminum foil can also be coated with polyethylene.
Ammunition Paper
The type of papers used in the manufacture of ammunition such as cartridge
paper, which forms the tube section of shotgun shell and basewad paper,
which is used in the base of the shell.
Anaerobic Reactor System
An effluent treatment system that uses microbes in the absence of oxygen
to break down effluent constituents into methane, carbon dioxide and
hydrogen sulfide.
Cards of paper with matching envelopes generally used for social
stationery, announcements, weddings, greetings, etc.
Annual Vegetable Fiber or Agricultural Residue Fiber
A source of fiber for pulp and papermaking, including, for example, wheat
or rice straw or other fibrous by-products of agriculture.
Anthra Quinone (AQ)
A quinoid compound added to white liquor (alkaline cooking liquor) to
improve pulp yield and to increase the rate of delignification.
Anti Rust Paper
Paper containing added substances which give it the property of protecting
the surfaces of ferrous metals against rusting.
Anti-foam or Defoamer
Chemical additives used at wet end to reduce or eliminate tendencies of
the machine white water to foam.
Antique Finish
A term describing the surface, usually on book and cover papers, that have
a natural rough finish.
Printing paper having good bulk and opacity with rough or matt surface.
Anti-Tarnish Paper
A term originally applied to tissues used for wrapping silverware, but now
used for all papers so prepared that they will not rust or discolor razor
blades, needles, silverware, etc. Various fibers are used and weights of
paper made; the chief requirements are freedom from acidity and reducible
sulfur compounds. Copper salts or other inhibitors are sometimes used for
silver tissues.
Weight (mass) per unit volume of a sheet of paper obtained by dividing the
basis weight by the Caliper (thickness).
Apparent Viscosity
A characteristic of multi-component liquids that have a variable ratio of
shear stress over shear rate (variable viscosity depending on conditions).
Applicator
Means of applying the aqueous coating, sizing or coloring to the paper
web.
The stock flow system from Fan pump to headbox slice.
Aqueous Coating
A water-based coating applied after printing, either while the paper is
still on press (“in line”), or after it’s off press. An aqueous coating
usually gives a gloss, dull, or matte finish and helps prevent the
underlying ink from rubbing off. Unlike a UV coating or a varnish, an
aqueous coating will accept ink-jet printing, making it a natural choice
for jobs that require printing addresses for mass mailings.
Archival Paper
A paper that is made to last for long time and used for long lasting
records.
High quality and rather heavy two-side coated printing paper with smooth
surface. The reproduction of fine screen single- and multicolor pictures
(“art on paper”) requires a paper that has an even, well closed surface
and a uniform ink absorption.
Artificial Parchment
Wood free paper that is produced by fine and extended grinding of certain
chemical pulps and/or the admixture of special additives. As a result of
the “smeary” grinding, the fiber structure closes homogeneously. It is
used e.g. for wrapping meat and sausages or as corrugating medium for
biscuit packaging
A fire retardant and heat insulating paper made chiefly from asbestos
fiber on a cylinder machine. Generally not over 0.06 of an inch thick.
Aseptic Packaging
Extends the shelf life of non-refrigerated beverages and foods. Laminates
and extruded coatings applied by the customer ensure an appropriate liquid
barrier. Aseptic grade board is clay-coated on one side and is suitable
for gravure, offset, and flexographic printing.
Ash Content
The residue left after complete combustion of paper at high temperature.
It is generally expressed as percent of original test sample and
represents filler content in the paper.
Asphalt Laminated Paper
Two sheets of natural kraft paper laminated in a single ply by means of
asphalt. This is used as a moisture barrier; also to resist action of weak
acids and alkalis .
Term applicable to any one of several available systems for open mouth and
valve bag packaging where bags are automatically applied to filler spout,
filled, weighed, closed (if open mouth), palletized, and shrink wrapped.
Azure
The light blue color used in the nomenclature of “laid” and “wove” papers.
Azurelaid Paper
A laid paper usually bluish green in colour having a good writing surface.
B
The back side layer in a multi-ply paperboard. Normally back liner is made
out of inferior grade pulp compared to top liner.
Back Liner
The back side layer in a multi-ply paperboard. Normally back liner is made
out of inferior grade pulp compared to top liner.
Back Water
The back of a bound book; also called the spine.
Backing Roll
Rubber covered roll against which the metering device such as rod or blade
can press.
Printing the reverse or back side of a sheet that has already been printed
on one side.
A device which obstructs the flow of fluid, whether to aid mixing or
restrict the flow rate.
An air pollution control device that captures particulate in filter bags.
Bag Paper
Any paper made to be used in the manufacturing of bags.
Bagasse
Sugarcane residue left after extracting the juice.
Baggy Roll
Mill roll defect usually associated with a variation in caliper and/or
basis weight across the width. Rolls are normally checked for baggy areas
by striking with a baton and listening for variations in audible pitch.
Bale
A large rectangular shaped compressed package of waste paper, rag, pulp
etc. Bale dimensions and weight varies widely depending on the baling
material and handling capabilities.
Compressing and wrapping a material with wire, twine, string to form a
unit which is more readily handled, stored and transported.
Bamboo
A plant of grass family grown in Asian countries and used for papermaking
fibers.
Used for printing currency. De-facto highest grade of paper. Very high
folding endurance, permanency, tensile strength, suitable for 4-colour
printing, with watermark and other falsification safeguards such as
embedded metal strip. Often contains cotton fibers.
Bark
The outer protective layer of a tree outside the cambium comprising the
inner bark and the outer bark. The inner bark is a layer of living bark
that separates the outer bark from the cambium and in a living tree is
generally soft and moist. The outer bark is a layer of dead bark that
forms the exterior surface of the tree stem. The outer bark is frequently
dry and corky
Equipment used to remove bark from wood.
Barking or de-barking
Removing bark from wood.
Barograph Paper
Red thin paper coated on one side with a white wax, so that the needle of
the barograph make a red line on a white ground, sold in rolls and coils
and to suit the type of barograph.
Barograph Paper
Red thin paper coated on one side with a white wax, so that the needle of
the barograph leaves a red line on a white ground, sold in rolls and coils
and to suit the type of barograph.
Baryta Paper
A paper coated with barium sulfate to give a smooth, low-gloss surface;
used chiefly as a base for photographic emulsions.
Base Paper
Refers to paper that will be subsequently be treated, coated or laminated
in other ways.
Dye that have a positive charge due to amine groups and have a strong
affinity for the surfaces of high-yield fibers. Basic dyes are economical,
have high color strength but very poor light-fastness.
Basis Weight
In English system of units, basis weight is the weight in pounds of a ream
(500 sheets) of paper cut to a basic size. (Basic size differs from
category to category of the paper. Basic size for Bond and Ledger is
20″x26″, book, offset and text paper have basic size of 25″x38″). In
metric system of units, basis weight is the weight in grams of a single
sheet of area one square meter. Basis weight is also called as substance
and grammage in metric system of units.
Bast Fibers
Fibers derived from the bark of some annual plants such as flax, gampi,
hemp, jute, kozo and mitsumata etc. Main characteristic of these fibers is
long length.
The non-standard sheet size of a given grade.
Batch Cooking
A chemical pulping process in which a discrete quantity of fibrous raw
material is individually process.
Equipment used for beating, refining and mixing pulps.
Beater Dye
Dye added to the beater to color the pulp.
Beater Loading
Addition of a filler to the pulp in the beater.
Beating or Refining
The mechanical treatment of the fibers in water to increase surface area,
flexibility and promote bonding when dried.
Beedi Wrap Paper
Used for wrapping beedi (east Indian style cigarette) and decorative
purposes in different colours.
Washer, which uses rotating wire for dewatering and washing of pulp.
Bending Resistance/Flexural Stiffness
Corrugated board’s ability to resist bending, along with its edge crush
resistance, relates to the top-to-bottom compression strength and general
performance of corrugated containers.
Thin white opaque heavily loaded, used for printing bibles. Not suitable
for pen and ink, because of its absorbency.
Binder
Chemicals which facilitate fiber bonding.
Binder (Coating)
A natural or synthetic compound used to adhere coating to the paper
surface.
When effluent containing biodegradable organic matter is released into a
receiving water, the biodegradation of the organic matter consumes
dissolved oxygen from the water. The BOD of an effluent is an estimate of
the amount of oxygen that will be consumed in 5 days following its release
into a receiving water; assuming a temperature of 20°C.
Biocide
A biological control chemical such as fungicide or a bactericide used in
papermaking.
Capable of destruction by biological action.
Biological Waste Water Treatment
A method of cleaning up waste water using living micro-organisms such as
bacteria
Any plant-derived organic matter. Biomass available for energy on a
sustainable basis includes herbaceous and woody energy crops, agricultural
food and feed crops, agricultural crop wastes and residues, wood wastes
and residues, aquatic plants, and other waste materials including some
municipal wastes. Biomass is a very heterogeneous and chemically complex
renewable resource..
Biomass Boiler or Hogged Fuel Boiler
Biomass boilers burn bark, saw mill dust, primary clarifier sediment and
other solid waste, and other wood-related scrap not usable in product
production. Also called “hogged fuel” boilers, biomass boilers make steam
and heat for mill use.
Bio-sludge
Sludge formed (in the aeration basin) during biological waste water
treatment or other biological treatment process.
Bitokoshi
Bitoko/Bitokoshi is a grade of printing and writing paper unique to Japan.
It is a very lightly coated paper, occupying a niche market between LWC
and coated woodfree papers. The furnish includes both chemical and
mechanical pulp in variable proportions, thus the Japan Paper Association
(JPA) recognizes both woodfree bitokoshi and mechanical bitokoshi
depending on the proportion of mechanical pulp in the furnish.
Black Liquor
The liquor that exits the digester with the cooked chips at the end of the
Kraft cook is called “black” liquor.
Blackening
Defect associated with calendered paper occurring as unintended local
areas of apparently darker or grayer color due, for example, to the paper
being too damp when passed through the calender.
Blade Coater
A device that first applies a surplus coating to paper and then remove
extra color after evenly leveling by means of a flexible steel blade.
Blade Wrapping Paper
Translucent paper used for individual wrapping of razor blades.
Blank
A name applied to thick cardboards, coated or uncoated, pasted or
unpasted, and made in standard thicknesses with either white or colored
liners. They should have maximum smoothness of surface and stiffness. They
range from 0.012 to 0.078 of an inch with corresponding ream weights of
120 to 775 pounds (22 x 28-500). Their use is for calendar backs, signs,
and window displays.
A flat sheet of corrugated or solid fiberboard that has been cut, slotted
and scored so that, when folded along the score lines and joined, it will
take the form of a box.
Bleach Plant
Section of a pulp mill where pulp is bleached
Bleaching
A chemical process used to whiten and purify the pulp. Bleaching also adds
to the sheet’s strength and durability.
Bleaching Sequences
Series of subsequent bleaching stages, typically described by abbreviation
such as CEHH (Chlorination, Extraction Hypochlorite, Hypochlorite .
Bleed
The feathered edge of inks caused by absorption into un-sized paper.
Bleed (corrugation)
The penetration of laminating agents, such as asphalt, through the kraft
plies making up the combination.
Bleed Through
When printing on one side of a sheet of paper shows through to the other
side.
Blending of different pulps in a chest to achieve quality of the final
product.
A matrix of small holes drilled into the soft press roll which aid the
water removal capability of that roll.
Blind Embossing
A printing technique in which a bas-relief design is pushed forward
without foil or ink.
Defect on a paper surface often shaped like a human blister. It is due to
de-lamination of a limited portion of paper without breaking either
surface.
Resistance of paper to developing blister during printing and print
drying.
Bloodproof Paper or Butcher Paper
A high strength paper having maximum resistance to animal blood. It is
used for wrapping fresh meat. It is normally sized with wax emulsion or
other anti-absorption chemicals.
An un-sized paper used generally to absorb excess ink from freshly written
manuscripts, letters and signatures.
It is the discharging of the pressure and contents of the digester in to
blow tank.
The system used to recover heat from the flash steam generated while
digester is blown in to blow tank.
Blow Tank
The tank in which cooked chips and spent liquor is blown from digester at
the end of the cooking cycle.
Blueprint Paper
Base paper for blue printing. See Diazo Base Paper.
Board
Thick and stiff paper, often consisting of several plies, widely used for
packaging or box making purposes. Its grammage normally is higher than 150
g/m2 or thickness is more than 9 point (thousandth of an inch).
Bogus Paper
Bogus refer to a product that is made from recycled fiber or an inferior
pulp to imitate higher quality grades. There are bogus back liner, bogus
bristol, bogus kraft, bogus wrapping etc. Gray bogus is used for packaging
material, void fill, wipes, bedding, and a variety of other industrial and
agricultural purposes. It is biodegradable.
Bond Paper
The name “bond” was originally given to a paper, which was used for
printing bonds and stock certificates. It is now used in referring to
paper used for letterheads and many printing purposes. Important
characteristics are finish, strength, freedom from fuzz, and rigidity.
Bonding Strength
The internal strength of a paper; the ability of the fibers within a paper
to hold to one another. Bonding strength measures the ability of the paper
to hold together on the printing press or other converting processing
machines. Good bonding strength prevents fibers from coming loose
(“picking”). Bonding strength of fiber is improved by beating/refining
and/or adding bonding agent.
Moisture free or zero moisture.
Book Paper
A general term used to define a class or group of papers having in common
A paperboard used in the manufacture of light non-corrugated container.
Box
A rigid container having closed faces and completely enclosing its
contents.
A class of board frequently lined on one or both sides, with good folding
properties and used for making box and cartons.
Braille Printing Paper
Used for embossing dot patterns used by blinds in touch reading. It is
bulky. The sheet must be smooth so the dots will be pronounced. The
caliper should be uniform, so all dots are of same height.
Bread Wrapping Paper
Used for wrapping sliced bread. It is thin, waxed paper normally made
opaque for printing by loading with titanium dioxide.
Breaking Length
The length beyond which a strip of paper of uniform width would break
under its own weight if suspended from one end. Usually expressed in
meters.
Rupture of paper on the paper machine during paper making. It the paper on
couch roll, it is termed couch break. If the paper breaks in paper
section, it is termed as press break. If the paper breaks in dryer
section, it is dryer breaks and so on.
Breast Roll
A medium size metal or plastic/fiberglass/granite covered roll located at
the headbox side of the paper machine to support the wire.
Brightness
The reflectance or brilliance of the paper when measured under a specially
calibrated blue light. Not necessarily related to color or whiteness.
Brightness is expressed in %.
CIE Brightness: An internationally-recognized standard of paper
brightness developed in Europe by the Centre Internationale d’Eclairage
(CIE).
A fine quality cardboard made by pasting several sheets together, the
middle sheets usually of inferior grade.
Brittleness
Property of paper causing it to break while bending.
Broke
Paper that is unusable because of damage or non-conformity to the
specifications. It is put back in to the pulping system.
Broke Pit
A pit below the machine in to which broke is disposed from the machine
floor.
Broke Pulper
A broke pulper is used to break down the broke into a stock that can be
pumped and treated. This term can cover a wide range of machines and is
often used to refer to both stand alone broke pulpers and under the
machine (or UTM) pulpers which receive paper directly from the machine
including any trim. A stand alone broke pulper is used to process finished
reels that have been rejected or for broke that for any reason has been
baled or collected away from the UTM pulpers
Brown Pulp
A mechanical pulp made from wood, which is steamed before grinding. The
color-bearing, non-cellulosic components of the wood remain with the pulp.
The pulp is generally used for wrapping and bag paper.
Brown Stock
A Coating method in which the freshly applied coating color is regulated
and smoothed by means of brushes, some stationary and some oscillating,
before drying.
The neutralizing of acids in paper by adding an alkaline substance
(usually calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate) into the paper pulp.
The buffer acts as a protection from the acid in the paper or from
pollution in the environment.
Reverse of density, expressed as cubic centimeter per gram.
Burnout
The loss of color during drying.
Burnt Paper
Paper, which has been discolored and is brittle, but otherwise intact.
Burnt Paper
Paper, which has been discolored and is brittle, but otherwise intact.
Burst
An irregular separation or rupture through the paper or package.
Air Shear burst: Burst caused by air trapped in the winding roll
producing rupture of the web along the machine direction.
Caliper shear burst. Cross Machine tension burst that generally
occurs between an area or relatively high and low caliper extending for
some distance in the machine direction; due to non uniform nip velocities
between hard and soft sections of the roll.
Core burst: Inter-layer slippage just above the core, often over the
key way, which terminates an Air Shear Burst. Core bursts are most often
seen on core-supported unwinds and winders.
Burst Factor
The ratio of the bursting strength (expressed in g/cm2 ) and the substance
of paper/paperboard (expressed in g/m2) determined by standard methods of
test.
The ratio of the bursting strength (expressed in kilo Pascal ) and the
substance of paper/paperboard (expressed in g/m2) determined by standard
methods of test.
The ratio of the bursting strength (expressed in lb/inch2 ) and the
substance of paper/paperboard (expressed in lb/ream) determined by
standard methods of test.
The resistance of paper to rapture as measured by the hydrostatic pressure
required to burst it when a uniformly distributed and increasing pressure
is applied to one of its side.
Business Form Paper
Used for business forms and data processing such as computer printouts.
Butter Wrapping Paper
Paper, which is used for wrapping butter, margarine etc.
C
Coated on one side of the paper.
C2S
Coated on both sides of the paper.
Cable paper
A strong paper suitable for cutting into narrow strips and winding on wire
as insulation. High tensile strength is essential.
Calcium Carbonate
CaCO3, a naturally occurring substance found in a variety of sources,
including chalk, limestone, marble, oyster shells, and scale from boiled
hard water. Used as a filler in the alkaline paper manufacturing process,
calcium carbonate improves several important paper characteristics, like
smoothness, brightness, opacity, and affinity for ink; it also reduces
paper acidity. It is a key ingredient in today’s paper coatings.
Calender
A stack of highly polished metal cylinders at the end of a paper machines
that smoothes and shines the paper surface as sheets pass through.
Calender Blackening
Coverage of calendered paper web with glazed translucent spots due to
excessive calender roll heat, calender pressure, poor and/or excessive and
uneven moisture.
Weak lines or fractures in paper that break easily under tension, caused
by wrinkles going through the calender stack of the paper machine.
Calender Spots
Paper defect usually indicated as a transparent spot in the sheet; caused
by foreign material adhering to a calender roll and being impressed into
the sheet with each revolution.
Caliper
The thickness of paper usually expressed in thousandths of an inch in
English system of units and in millimeter in Metric system of units.
Camber
Larger diameter in the centre of a papermaking rolls (press & calender
etc), compared to the ends, to compensates the deflection of roll due to
its own weight.
It is a measure of pulp freeness. The unit of measurement is ml CSF.
Candy Twisting Tissue
A light-weight paper, generally waxed for wrapping candy kisses, taffy,
etc.
The production rate a plant or machine is operating with respect to design
capacity. Also in some cases it indicates the efficiency (%) at which a
plant or machine is operating.
Carbohydrate
Organic compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and having
approximately the formula (CH2O) n; includes cellulosics, starches, and
sugars.
The financial instrument, utilized by individuals or companies,
representing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon paper
A low basis weight paper (8 to 15 g/m2) with very low air permeability,
free of pin holes and with a waxy coating that is used to produce carbon
copies on typewriters or other office equipment.
Carbonless Paper
A paper that uses a chemical reaction between two different contacting
coatings to transfer image when pressure is applied.
Cardboard
A thin, stiff paperboard made of pressed paper pulp or sheets of paper
pasted together. Used for playing cards, greeting cards, etc.
Cardboard
A thin, stiff paperboard made of pressed p
Carton
A folding box made from boxboard, used for consumer quantities of product.
A carton is not recognized as a shipping container
Carton board
A rigid wood fibre based packaging material. Carton-board is normally of
at least 180 g/m2 substance and 250 microns thickness.
Cartridge paper
Tough, slightly rough surfaced paper used for a variety of purposes such
as envelopes; the name comes from the original use for the paper which
formed the tube section of a shotgun shell.
Cast Coated Paper
A coated paper with high gloss and absorptivity in which the coating has
been allowed to harden or set while in contact with a mirror like polished
chrome surface.
A device that applies a wet coating color to a paper web before it
contacts a heated drum having a highly polished surface, which cast the
coating in to an image of the smooth, mirror-like drum surface.
Catalog Paper
A light weight, highly opaque and good strength paper typically used for
mail order catalog and telephone directory..
Causticizing
It is the process in which Green Liquor is converted in to White Liquor.
Technically speaking it is the process of converting sodium carbonate in
to sodium hydroxide.
It is a high molecular weight, stereoregular, and linear polymer of
repeating beta-D-glucopyranose units. Simply speaking it is the chief
structural element and major constituents of the cell wall of trees and
plants.
An elongated, tapering, thick walled cellular unit, which is the main
structural component of woody plants. Fibers in the plants are cemented
together by lignin. In British English Fiber is spelled as Fibre. Thermal
conductivity of cellilose fiber varies from 0.034 to 0.05W/m K, making it
a good insulator.
Improper drying of ink. Ink vehicle has been absorbed too rapidly into the
paper leaving a dry, weak pigment layer which dusts easily.
Chart Paper
A paper with the characteristics of bond or ledger papers. It must have
good printing and erasing properties and low expansion and contraction
with changing humidities. Used for making charts and graphs.
Check or Cheque Paper (MICR)
A strong, durable paper made for the printing of bank checks or cheques.
By careful formulations the paper is designed to react against a wide
range of ink eradicators. It gives a characteristic coloured stain of
“flare up” on contact with acid, alkali, bleach and organic solvents like
acetone, benzene, ethanol.
An organic compound that forms more than one coordinate bond with metals
in solution; organic compound participating in chelation; e.g. EDTA and
DTPA.
A chemical complexing (forming or joining together) of metallic cations
(such as iron) with certain organic compounds, such as EDTA (ethylene
diamine tetracetic acid); a reaction between a metallic ion and an organic
compound that removes the metallic ion from solution.
Chemical Ghosting
A light duplication of a printed image on the other side of the same
sheet, created by chemical reaction by the ink during the drying stages;
also referred to as “gas ghosting.”.
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
The amount of oxygen consumed in complete chemical oxidation of matter
present in waste water; indicates the content of slowly degradable organic
matter present. COD is easier to measure compared to BOD (Biological
Oxygen Demand).
Pulp obtained from the chemical cooking or digestion of wood or other
plant material.
It is the process in which cooking chemicals are recovered.
Chemo-Thermo-Mechanical Pulp (CTMP)
Mechanical pulp produced by treating wood chips with chemicals (usually
sodium sulfite) and steam before mechanical defibration.
Chest
Vessel equipped with an agitating device for storing, collecting, mixing,
blending and/or chemical treatment of pulp suspension. Chest can be
horizontal and or vertical. Tower are special type of chest generally used
in bleached plant to provide retention time and to provide down/upward
flow out of pulp.
An executive put in charge of a corporation’s environmental programs.
China Clay
Natural mineral, consisting essentially of hydrated silicate of alumina,
used as a filler or as a component in a coating color. (Also see clay)
Chip
Wood chips produced by a chipper; used to produce pulp, fiberboard and
particle board, and also as fuel.
Chipboard
A paperboard, thicker than cardboard, used for backing sheets on padded
writing paper, partitions within boxes, shoeboxes, etc.
Chipper
The machine that converts wood logs in to chips.
Chlorine Number
A test method to determine the bleach requirement of a pulp. It indicates
the number of grams of chlorine consumed by 100 g of pulp under specified
conditions.
A term used to describe both papers and boards used for subsequent brush
coating. The various qualities are determined both by the actual grade of
base material used and the quality of the coating, which may be gummed.
Coating may be applied to one or both sides, depending on end use.
Cigarette Paper
This light weight, unsized paper (grammage 18 to 24g/m2), converted to
improve glowing. It normally has approx. 30% calcium carbonate as filler
to control the burning rate and match it with tobacco burning rate. Very
long fiber such as jute, cotton etc is used to achieve high strength and
porosity.
Basin where sludge is removed from treated effluent by settling.
Clay
A natural substance used as both a filler and coating ingredient to
improve a paper’s smoothness, brightness, opacity and/ or affinity for
ink.
A grade of paperboard that has been clay coated on one or both sides to
obtain whiteness and smoothness. It is characterized by brightness,
resistance to fading, and excellence of printing surface. Colored coatings
may also be used and the body stock for coating may be any variety of
paperboard.
A conical or partly cylindrical device with no moving parts, designed to
remove grit from thin-stock furnish by the centrifugal action of rotating
liquid.
Papermaking system wherein white water is mainly re-circulated and not
discharged as effluent.
Thick element composed of several entangled fibers. Its presence is
harmful to the production process and needs to be eliminated.
Coarse Paper (also Industrial Paper)
Various grades of papers used for industrial application (abrasive, filter
etc.) rather than cultural purposes (writing, printing etc.)
Coat Weight
The amount of coating applied to base paper, expressed as pounds of
air-dried coating on the surface of a 25X38 in ream or grams per meter
square.
Term that applies to paper which has a special coating applied to its
surface. Material such as clay, casein, bentonite, talc, applied by means
of roller or brush applicators; or plastics applied by means of roll or
extrusion coaters.
White liner that is coated to produce superior printability.
Coating
Process by which paper or board is coated with an agent to improve its
brightness and/or printing properties.
Mixture used to coat paper and board: contains pigment, binder, special
additives and water.
Section of Coating Plant where coating colour is prepared and mixed
Cobb Test
Measures paper’s water absorption rate and is expressed as the amount of
water pick-up per unit surface area of paper by Tappi method T441. The
test duration must be specified to properly know the absorption rate.
United Nations (UN) and Code of Federal Regulations require the 30-minute
pick-up must be 155 grams per square meter or less for containerboard used
in hazardous material transport.
Produced by air drying paper with controlled tension. This uneven surface
is available in bond papers.
Cockle Finish Paper
A finish that simulates characteristics of hand made paper with a wavy,
rippled, puckered finish. The effect is obtained by air drying the paper
under minimum tension.
When the surface of the paper has wave like appearance.
Coffee Filter Paper
Used for coffee filtering. Paper should have no impurities or fillers. It
is a wet strength paper and able to withstand boiling water. Synthetic
resins are used for to provide wet strength.
Cogeneration
It is the process to generate electricity from high pressure steam and
using low and/or medium pressure steam in the mill process.
Cold Blow
Pressure ejection of cooked pulp from batch or continuous digesters after
the pulp has been cooled to below 100oC. The cooling step reduces damage
to the fibers.
Natural or bleached kraft paper to which a dye or pigment has been added.
Colored Pigments
These are water insoluble colored materials. They belong in the category
of fillers and loading material but are colored and used in small
quantity. Pigments have no affinity to fiber and must be used in
conjunction with alum or a cationic retention aid in order to retain them.
Color-fast papers
Colored papers that will not run when wet or fade under bright light.
Combined Deinking
Deinking process combining flotation and washing.
Commodity Paper
A classification for low-quality bond and offset papers.
Compression Strength (CD or MD)
Can be referred to as ring crush or “STFI (stiffy)”. The amount of force
needed to crush paper resting on its edge. Compression testers hold and
support the paper specimen so as to emulate its position and orientation
in the walls of a corrugated container. Due to the corrugated board making
process, paper must support compressive loads orthogonal to their grain (a
CD orientation). The test is unidirectional so the paper orientation
during testing must be known.
Condenser Tissue
A very thin paper of uniform thickness, good formation, and especially
free from conducting particles. Used as a dielectric between the foils of
condensers.
Cone bearing and evergreen trees. Also known as soft wood trees. e.g.
pine, spruce etc.
The percentage of bone dry solids by weight in pulp or stock.
Consistency Regulator
A device or instrument used to regulate the consistency of the pulp
on-line. Regulator works only in reducing the consistency i.e. add water,
but can’t remove water or thicken.
Construction Paper
Sheathing paper, roofing, floor covering, automotive, sound proofing,
industrial, pipe covering, refrigerator, and similar felts.
Containerboard
The paperboard components (linerboard, corrugating material and chipboard)
used to manufacture corrugated and solid fiberboard. The raw materials
used to make containerboard may be virgin cellulose fiber, recycled fiber
or a combination of both.
Continuous Pulping
Production of pulp in continuous digester as compared to a batch digester.
Contraries
Unsuitable material found in wastepaper which must be removed from the
pulp before making it into paper, e.g. paperclips, string, plastics.
Contrast
The degree of difference between light and dark areas in an image. Extreme
lights and darks give an image high contrast. An image with a narrow tonal
range has lower contrast.
The operation of treating, modifying, or otherwise manipulating the
finished paper and paperboard so that it can be made into end-user
products.
Reacting fibrous raw material with chemical under pressure and temperature
to soften and or remove lignin to separate fibers.
Cooking Liquor
Liquor made up of selected chemicals and used for cooking pulp. e.g.
cooking liquor in kraft pulping mainly consist of NaOH and Na2S.
Cooling Cylinders or Cooling Drums
Water cooled cylindrical metal vessel over which dry paper web after
dryers is passed to cool the paper before calendering..
Copier Paper or Laser Paper
Lightweight grades of good quality and dimensionally stable papers used
for copying correspondence and documents. For detailed characteristics of
copier/Laser paper, please visit Paper Needs of Xerographic Machines (A
Summary) by Chuck Green
It is the measure of degree of fiber degradation. It is weight of copper
in grams reduced to cuprous state by 100 grams of pulp.
Cord
Pulpwood volume measurement indicating a pile measuring 4 ft x 4 ft x 8
ft, equaling 128 ft³ (3.62 in³). Also see cunit
Core
Fibrous tube used to wound paper for shipment.
Core Plug
Metal, wood, particleboard, or other material plugs which are driven into
the ends of the paper core of finished roll to prevent crushing of the
core.
An electrostatic treatment that reduces the surface tension of a substrate
(e.g., a polycoated substrate) to ensure adhesion of ink and glue.
The Corona treatment involves high voltage, high frequency electricity
discharged from an electrode when it pours through the polycoated board
increases the surface energy of the board to better receive inks or glue.
Correspondence Papers
Writing papers in attractive finishes, weights or colors.
Corrugated Board
Usually a nine-point board after if has passed through a corrugating
machine. When this corrugated board is pasted to another flat sheet of
board, it becomes single-faced corrugated board; if pasted on both sides,
it becomes double-faced corrugated board or corrugated (shipping)
containerboard.
Containers made with corrugating medium and linerboard.
Corrugated Medium or Fluting Media or Media
The wavy center of the wall of a corrugated container, which cushions the
product from shock during shipment (see flute). Media can contain up to
100% post-consumer recycled fiber content without reducing its ability to
protect the product.
Machine that presses medium into flutes, applies glue to the medium and
affixes sheets of linerboard to form corrugated board .
Cotton Fiber
Cotton is a natural fiber and is one of the strongest and most durable
fibers known to man. Papers manufactured of cotton fiber will last longer
and hold up better under repeated handling and variant environmental
conditions than paper made from wood pulp. Generally, given reasonable
care, one can expect one year of usable life for every 1% of cotton
contained in the sheet. Typically cotton fiber papers are made of either
all cotton fiber (100% cotton) or a blend of cotton and wood pulp.
Cotton Linter
The cotton fibers that adhere to the cottonseed used to produce pulp for
cotton fiber papers.
Cotton Paper or Rag Paper
Paper made with a minimum of 25% cotton fiber. Cotton paper is also called
rag paper.
Couch Pit or Hog Pit
This is the pit below the couch roll. It collects water draining from this
section, wet wire trim and any wet broke generated due to the paper break
at the wire part. Couch pit has agitator (s).
Couch Roll
Couch roll serves the following functions 1) Main drive for the wire, 2)
Transfer the wet sheet from wire part to press part and 3) Removes water
(if suction type couch roll). Couch roll can be solid or suction type.
Cover Paper
Any wide variety of fairly heavy plain or embellished papers, which are
converted into, covers for books, catalogs, brochures, pamphlets, etc.
Good folding qualities, printability, and durability characterize it.
Crack
1. A defect in coated paper, caused by the separation of the coating layer
on the formation of fissures in the surface of the coating due to printing
or other converting process.
2. Crack at fold: Fissures in the crease when any paper is folded
along a fold line. May be due to separation of coating or separation of
fibers. More prevalent when the paper has been over-dried. In boards it
may occur along score-folds even though the scoring has been done to
minimize cracking at the fold. The term is also applied when coatings
crack without fiber failure during a folding operation.
Creamwove Paper
Medium brightness paper now mainly used for computer stationery purposes
or school children note books.
Crease
1. Deformation remaining from a fold over.
2. Cross direction wrinkles (Washboard): Fold over of a web in the
cross machine direction, giving a crease running in the machine direction.
3. Blade crease: A crease essentially in the machine direction
devoid of coating in the creased area.
4. Calender Crease: Usually a sharp crease caused by passage through
the Calender of a crease or of a fold generated at the Calender; often cut
through when it is preferable to call it a Calender out.
5. Smoothed crease: A flattened-out crease running mainly in the
machine direction. Can occur at the wet press section, dryer (dryer
wrinkles), size press, winder or sheeter.
Crepe Paper
A light weight paper, normally colored, with crinkly finish used for party
decoration..
The operation of crinkling a sheet of paper to increase its stretch and
softness.
Sheet forming section in a tissue machine, with the pulp suspension
jet-out of the headbox flowing between a felt and a wire both moving at
the same speed.
A defect in linerboards caused by the separation of the liner ply and/or
the formation of fissures (cracks) in the surface of the liner during
creasing.
A direction perpendicular to the direction of web travels through the
paper machine.
A condition of a dried ink film, which repels another ink printed on top
of it.
A term used in the measurement of pulpwood, i.e. 100 cubic feet of solid
wood, bark excluded. One cunit corresponds to 2.83 cubic meter of wood.
Also see Cord
Tendency of paper by itself to bend or partly wrap around the axis of one
of its directions. For more details on Curl, please read Curl Basics by
Chuck Green.
A customark is a watermark made with a rubber printing plate treated with
a tranparentizing solution that leaves a mark in the paper. This process
produces a wire appearance in which the mark is lighter than the
surrounding paper. It can be produced in smaller quantities and at a lower
price than a genuine watermark, which requires a dandy roll.
Cut Sheet
Paper cut in sheets (letter, legal, A, B or any other standard size) to be
used in printer, photocopier, fax machines etc.
Cutter
A machine in the Finishing House of a paper mill, used for converting
paper from reel to specific sheet sizes.
Cutter Dust
Small loose paper particles which chip out of the edges of a sheet of
papers as it is cut by the chopping blade and/or disc knives on a sheet
cutter.
A refining or beating action that splits the fibers in to two or more
pieces.
Cylinder Mould or Cylinder Machine
It is a type of papermaking machine. Wire-covered cylinders are rotated
through a vat of pulp, and paper is formed as the water drains from the
cylinder. Cylinder machines are used primarily to manufacture paperboard.
Multi-cylinder machines produce multi-layered paperboard (one layer for
each cylinder).
Paper with a finish that resembles linen.
Damp Streaks
Streaks caused by uneven pressing of drying during paper manufacturing.
Dampening
The process of keeping the non-image areas of lithographic plates to be
ink repellent by applying aqueous Fountain solution to the plate from the
Dampening system.
A hollow wire covered roll that rides on the paper machine wire and
compacts the newly formed wet web to improve the formation and if required
to impart watermark or laid finish the paper.
Debossing
Pressing letters or illustrations into a sheet of paper using a metal or
plastic die to create a depressed (debossed) image.
Decalcomania Paper
A type of transfer paper that allows the transfer a printed image to
another object such as glass. Also called a decal.
Deciduous Trees
Broad leafed or hardwood trees which lose their leaves in fall such as
birch, maple etc.
A drum type filter used for pulp thickening.
Deckle
The width of the wet sheet as it comes off the wire of a paper machine.
Also defied as the wood frame resting on or hinged to the edges of the
mould that defines the edges of the sheet in handmade papermaking or strap
or board on the wet end of a paper machine that determines the width of
the paper web.
The untrimmed, feathery edges of paper formed where the pulp flows against
the deckle.
A device that removes entrained and dissolved air from dilute stock
furnish by applying vacuum as the stock is sprayed into an open chamber,
usually at the outlet of cleaners.
Decurler
A device on a web press or sheeter used to remove paper curl.
Defibration
Separation of wood fibers by mechanical and/or chemical means.
Deflaker
Deflaker mechanically treat the fiber flakes and bundles of fibers in the
stock in order that they are broken down into individual fibers in a
suspension if possible. This is done for a number of reasons and in a
number of positions within the system. It can be installed to reduce
remaining flakes after a pulper, in the broke system to reduce flakes
going back to the machine from the broke pulpers and can also be used in
the final stages of a screening system in a recycled fiber line to treat
the concentrated rejects and the flakes contained within it.
Degree of Polymerization (DP)
As applied to cellulose, refers to the average number of glucose unit in
each cellulose molecule of a pulp sample. Usually determined by the CED
viscosity test.
Paper pulp produced by deinking of recovered paper
Deinking
The process of removing inks, coatings, sizing, adhesives and/ or
impurities from waste paper before recycling the fibers into a new sheet.
Deinking Cell
A vessel or chest used to treat recycled paper with chemical to remove
ink.
The separation of the layers of a multiplex paper/paperboard.
Delignification
The removal of lignin, the material that binds wood fibers together,
during the chemical pulping process.
Deliquescent
Material that has the ability to absorb enough moisture from the
surrounding atmosphere to revert it to a liquid form. Examples of
deliquescent include calcium chloride and ammonium nitrate.
Densitometer
A sensitive photoelectric instrument that measures the density of
photographic images or of colors. Used in quality control to accurately
determine the consistency of color throughout the run.
Deresination
Reducing the resin (pitch) content of wood prior to cooking either by
storage or using bleaching chemicals to reduce the resin content in pulp.
Diazo Base Paper
The process involves coating of paper with Diazo solutions and a coupler.
This is exposed to ultra violet rays coming through the image. The final
print is developed by making the coating alkaline. In some cases it is
developed by ammonia vapor.
The reaction vessel in which wood chips or other plant materials are
cooked with chemical to separate fiber by dissolving lignin.
Digital Printing
1. Printing by imaging systems that are fed imaging information as digital
data from pre-press systems.
2. Computer –to-plate Systems, which use printing plates, or other
images carriers that do not require intermediate films.
3. Computer-to-print (Plateless): Systems that produce reproductions
directly on the substrate without the need for intermediate films or
plates
A. Electronic printers: Electrophotographic printers, for black or
single color, used for short-run variable information and on-demand book
publishing.
B. Color copiers: Usually Electrophotographic printers, for spot or
four color process printing, used for making one or several copies of spot
or four color process subjects.
C. Electronic printing systems: Electrophotographic, magnetographic,
monographic, field effect, ink jet or thermal transfers printing. For
One-color, four color process or up to six-color printing. Used for some
degree of variable information, on-demand. Examples of use are direct
mail, temporary product labels for trade shows, billboard posters and the
like.
The ability of paper or paperboard to maintain size. It is the resistance
of paper to dimensional change with change in moisture content or relative
humidity. Dimensional stability is essential for keeping forms in
registration during printing and keeping sheets from jamming or wrinkling
on press or in laser printers.
Dioxin
A group of 75 chlorinated compounds. Dioxins are formed in a complex
process, where chlorine combines with other additives during bleaching..
Direct Cooking
Batch cooking in which digester contents are heated by blowing steam
directly into the digester.
Dye molecules that are sufficiently large and planar that they tend to
remain on a fiber surface without need of a fixative. Direct dyes have
moderate lightfastness but duller shades
Directionality
Dependency of a given paper property on the orientation of the fiber in
paper e.g. CD or MD.
Directory Paper
A light weight grade of catalog or printing paper with good strength, high
opacity and good printability. It is made from a mixture of bleached
chemical, semi-chemical, CMP and recycled fiber and used for printing
telephone directory.
Dirt in paper consists of any imbedded foreign matter or specks, which
contrast in color to the remainder of the sheet.
Dirt Count
The average amount of dirt specks in a specific size of paper area. Both
virgin sheets and recycled sheets have “dirt,” although recycled paper
usually has a slightly higher dirt count than virgin paper. However, it
rarely affects recycled paper’s quality and use.
Dispersants
Substances such as phosphates or acrylates that cause finely divided
particles to come apart and remain separate from each other in suspension.
Dispersion
Following the deinking process of waste papers, residual ink particles are
dispersed into tiny bits that are usually invisible to the eye. Bleaching
the fibers helps to remove the last of the inks and improve paper
brightness.
An event of pulp washing in which washing liquid displaces free liquor
from a pulp bed in order to improve the washing; enables washing with
reduced amount of water.
A high purity special grade pulp made for processing in to cellulose
derivatives including rayon and acetate.
Doctor Blade
Thin metal plate or scraper in contact with a roll along its entire length
to keep it clean. Blades are also used for creping.
Document Paper
Document paper is paper with a high ageing resistance. It is woodfree but
may also contain rags or be fully made from rags and is used for documents
that have to be preserved for a longer period.
Document Paper
Document paper is paper with a high ageing resistance. It is woodfree but
may also contain rags or be fully made from rags and is used for documents
that have to be preserved for a longer period.
Double Coating
Coating of paper or paperboard twice on one or both sides.
Down Cycling
Every time cellulose fibers are recycled they deteriorate slightly and
become contaminated, so the new product is of lower quality than the
original product which went to form the waste; the progressive
deterioration of fibers means that there is a limit to the number of times
they can be recycled, thus the term down cycling is used as a more
accurate description of recycling.
Removal of water from wet web during formation of paper sheet.
Draw
Difference in speed between two adjacent section of the paper machine.
Drawing Paper
Dull finished paper that is of good quality and stable enough to withstand
erasing.
The solids which settle down in the clarifiers in the Causticizing
process.
The reel drum (also called a “pope reel”) is motor driven under sufficient
load to ensure adequate tension on the sheet coming from the calendars.
The web wraps around the reel drum and feeds into the nip formed between
the drum and the collecting reel.
Drum Washer
One type of pulp washers; uses pressure gradient and filtration for
dewatering and displacement.
Coating method in which a binder is applied to the paper surface followed
by dry coating pigment.
That part of the paper machine where the paper is dried, surface sized,
calendered and reeled.
The dry line is the location on a Fourdrinier paper machine forming
section where the appearance of the wet web of paper changes abruptly.
Before the dry line the furnish has a glossy, wet appearance. After the
dry line the wet web appears dull. The optical change is related to the
effect of fibers poking through the air-water interface. On a
well-adjusted paper machine the dry line ought to be straight. Increased
refining and lower freeness of the pulp tend to move the dry line in the
direction of the couch. Chemicals that promote drainage tend to move the
dry line in the direction of the slice.
Dry Offset
Uses a rotary letterpress plate on an offset press. Because the image is
relief, the method requires no dampening. Image is transferred to a rubber
blanket, then to paper.
A continuous cotton and or synthetic belt and used in the dryer section of
a paper machine to press and maintain positive contact of the web against
the surface of the dryer cylinder.
Dryer Screen
A type of dryer felt made of synthetic material, with very high open area
to provide easy escape to vapors formed due to water evaporation. Dryer
screens are used in the later part of dryer section where paper is >60%
dry to avoid any screen impression.
Drying
This is the final stage of water removal from wet web of the paper formed
on wire. After pressing the moisture content of the web is apprx. 40-45%.
The remaining water (up to 95% dryness) is removed by evaporation . This
is done by moving the web around a series of steam heated iron drums in
the dry end of the paper machine.
Duplex Bag
Paperboard made with two plies or layers. Normally two layers are formed
and joined together at wire part.
Duplex Paper
Paper made with two plies or layers. Normally two layers are formed and
joined together at wire part.
Dust
Loose flecks of fiber, filler and/or coating on the paper that sometimes
sticks to the printing blanket and prevents ink from reaching the paper
surface.
A chemical compound having the ability to absorb visible light over a
certain range of wavelengths so that the diffusely reflected light appears
colored. Dye can be basic, acidic or direct.
E
The amount of force needed to crush on-edge of combined board is a primary
factor in predicting the compression strength of the completed box. When
using certain specifications in the carrier classifications, minimum edge
crush values must be certified.
Edge Cutter
Device comprising two jets of water which are adjustable across the wire
and which divide the wet web on the wire lengthwise so that the edges may
be removed, generally at the couch. In this way they control the width of
the web going forward from the wire part and give it comparatively clean
edges.
Caustic (NaOH) and one half of Sodium sulfide (05*Na2S) expressed as Na2O
in alkaline pulping liquor.
Waste backwater and rejects from which fiber is recovered prior to
discharge from the mill.
Resistivity characterizes how a sheet of paper accepts and holds a charge.
Since the electrostatic processes uses an electrical charge to form the
print image, the electrical properties of the sheet are important to the
overall imaging process.
Strong, pin-hole free paper, sometimes impregnated with synthetic resins
and made from unbleached Kraft pulp. Electrical insulating paper must
neither contain fillers nor conductive contaminants (metals, coal, etc.)
nor salts or acids. Lava stone bars are used on rotor and stator to avoid
any metal contamination. Cable papers, that are wound around line wires in
a spiral-like fashion, are electrical insulating papers with a
particularly high strength in machine direction. Electrical grade papers
include cable papers, electrolytic papers and capacitor paper.
Electro photography
A printing process that uses principles of electricity and electrically
charged particles to create images – e.g., photocopiers and laser
printers.
Photocopiers, ink jet, laser printers and other similar printing methods
that create images using electrostatic charges rather than a printing
plate.
Used to clean up flue and process gases. Removes 99.5-99.8% of dust
particles emitted from recovery boilers, lime kilns and bark-fired
boilers.
ECF papers are made exclusively with pulp that uses chlorine dioxide
rather than elemental chlorine gas as a bleaching agent. This virtually
eliminates the discharge of detectable dioxins in the effluent of pulp
manufacturing facilities.
A property of paper that allows it to stretch.
Embossing
Pressing a shape into a sheet of paper with a metal or plastic die,
creating a raised (embossed) image.
Emulsion Coating
Coating of paper with an emulsion containing plastic or resin.
Enamel
A general term referring to coated paper that has a higher basis weight
than coated publication (magazine) paper but a lower basis weight and
caliper than coated cover paper.
End-leaf Paper
Strong, fine quality papers, either plain or coated and sometimes colored
or marbled used at both ends of a book. Also called sheets.
Engine Sizing
Old term used for beater sizing when sizing chemicals used to be added in
Engine or Beater.
A smooth-finished, machine made and calendered book paper. It is soft,
dull and pliable. Normally used for letterpress printed magazines.
Engraving
A printing process using intaglio, or recessed, plates. Made from steel or
copper, engraved plates cost more than plates used in most other printing
processes, such as lithography. Ink sits in the recessed wells of the
plate while the printing press exerts force on the paper, pushing it into
the wells and onto the ink. The pressure creates raised letters and images
on the front of the page and indentations on the back. The raised
lettering effect of engraving can be simulated using a less costly process
called thermography.
Entrained air consists of bubbles that are small enough (say less than 1
mm) to move along with the fibers.
Envelop Paper
The paper made specifically for die cutting and folding of envelopes on
high-speed envelop machine.
A formalized mission statement establishing companywide green objectives
for both employees and customers.
Environmentally Preferable Paper (EPP)
EPP should have at least two of the following three characteristics:
1. 30% or more Post Consumer Recycled Content
2. TCF Bleaching
3. Forest Stewardship Council certified Forest Management for virgin
fiber sources.
A protein that has the ability to direct or catalyze a chemical reaction.
Enzyme Bleaching
Bleaching technique in which cooked and oxygen-delignified chemical pulp
is treated with enzymes prior to final bleaching. Allows pulp to be
bleached without chlorine chemicals.
The moisture content of a paper that has reached a balance with the
atmosphere surrounding it, i.e. in a condition in which it will neither
give up nor absorb moisture
Equivalent Black Area
Of a dirt speck is defined as the area of a round black spot on a white
background of the TAPPI Dirt Estimation Chart which makes the same visual
impression on its background as does the dirt speck on the particular
background in which it is embedded.
Esparto
A grass from North Africa which makes a soft, ink receptive sheet.
Ethers Pulp
Generally these are high purity, high viscosity pulps that are swollen in
sodium hydroxide initially, followed by reaction with organic epoxides or
chlorides like ethylene oxide or methyl chloride to form an organic
polymer called cellulose ethers (methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose,
carboxymethyl cellulose, etc.). Cellulose ethers are used for thickening
of fluids such as toothpaste, ketchup, shampoos, diet drinks and hundreds
of other applications.
Method of cooking pulp to low lignin content, thereby reducing the need
for bleaching chemicals.
Very strong virgin Kraft papers which stretches (approximately 6%) more in
MD and tears less easily than regular Kraft paper.
External Fibrillation
A refining action that results in partial detachment of fibrils from outer
layer of a fiber.
Any number of different compounds in biomass that are not an integral part
of the cellular structure. The compounds can be extracted from wood by
means of polar and non-polar solvents including hot or cold water, ether ,
benzene, methanol, or other solvents that do not degrade the biomass
structure. The types of extractives found in biomass samples are entirely
dependent upon the sample itself
Extruded Coating
Coating applied to paper or board using an extruder.
Extrusion Coated Board
Board that has been covered with a continuous layer of a thermoplastic
material, typically polyethylene or polypropylene, by the extrusion
coating process i.e. where a thermoplastic material is melted and forced
through a narrow slot onto a moving web of board.
F
Paper machine wet press that uses a special multiple weave fabric belt
sandwiched between the regular felt and the rubber covered roll,
increasing the capacity to receive and remove water from the nip between
the rolls.
A type of heat exchanger used for concentrating a solution consisting of a
non-volatile solute and a volatile solvent; solution flows downward on the
heat exchange surface by gravity; the heat exchange surface is typically a
bundle of plates, lamellas or tubes; commonly used in pulp mills and
chemical recovery process.
A high flow rate, low head pump used to pump diluted stock to paper
machine headbox.
Continuous multiple ply form manufactured from a single wide web which is
folded longitudinally.
A dimensional change in paper associated with its passage through a
printing unit. In web offset printing it is the increase in web width
after each blanket impression.
It is first coated with photo conductive zinc oxide on which images are
exposed. Hence electrical conductivity / resistivity is to be controlled
to ensure that the image is not conducted through the paper to the other
side
The tendency of liquid ink to spread along the paper fibers so that the
image produced does not have sharp, clean edges.
Felt
A woven cloth used to carry the web of paper between press and dryer rolls
on the paper machine.
Surface characteristics of paper formed at the wet end of a paper machine,
using woven wool or synthetic felts with distinctive patterns to create a
similar texture in the finish sheets.
Felt Mark
Imprint left on the paper by one or more of the felts used in making the
paper. The mark may be wanted or unwanted and special effects can be
introduced in this way.
The side of the paper which does not touch the wire on the paper machine.
The “top side” or felt side is preferred for printing because it retains
more fillers.
Ratio of fiber width to fiber thickness.
Fiber Coarseness
Weight per unit length of fiber.
Fiber Cut
A fiber cut is a short, straight cut located on the edge of the web,
caused by a fiber imbedded in the web of paper.
Fiber Debris
Pieces of material which has been separated from the main body of the
fiber..
Fibers that have agglomerated as a result of poor formation.
Fiber or Fibre
The slender, thread-like cellulose structures that forms the main part of
tree trunk and from separated and suitably treated, cohere to form a sheet
of paper.
Refers to the alignment of the fibers in the sheet.
Fiberboard
Board made from defibrated wood chips, used as a building board.
Fibrillae or Fibrils
String-like elements that are loosened from the paper fibers during the
beating process. They aid in the bonding processes when paper is being
manufactured.
A structural change occurring in the walls of chemical pulp fibers during
beating.
Any inorganic substance added to the pulp during manufacturing of paper.
Filter Paper
Unsized paper made from chemical pulp, in some cases also with an
admixture of rags, sometimes with a wet strength finish. Filtration rate
and selectivity, which are both dependent on the number and the size of
the pores, can be controlled by specific grinding of the pulps and
creping.
The effluent from the washing or filtering process.
Fine Papers
Uncoated writing and printing grade paper including offset, bond,
duplicating and photocopying.
Small particles fiber defined arbitrarily by classification.
Finish
The surface characteristic of a sheet created by either on-machine or
off-machine papermaking processes. Popular text and cover finishes include
smooth, vellum, felt, laid, and linen.
Finishing
The trimming, winding, rewinding and packing of paper rolls or trimming,
cutting, counting and packing of paper sheets from parent roll.
Finishing Broke
Discarded paper resulting from any finishing operation.
First Pass Retention
First-pass retention gives a practical indication of the efficiency by
which fine materials are retained in a web of paper as it is being formed.
First-pass retention values can be calculated from just two consistency
measurements, the headbox consistency, and the white water consistency.
There is a very wide diversity of first-pass retention on different paper
machines, from less than 50% to almost 100%. The key rules that
papermakers follow are that (a) first-pass retention should have a steady
value, and (b) that value should be high enough to avoid operational
problems or an excessively two-sided sheet. Some operational problems that
can be caused by low values of first-pass retention are increased
frequency of deposit problems, filling of wet-press felts, poor drainage,
and unsteady drainage rates and sheet moistures.
Fish Eye
A paper defect appearing as glazed, translucent spot caused by slime,
fiber bundles, and/or improperly prepared chemical additives in the stock.
Flag
A strip of paper protruding from a roll or skid of paper. May be used to
mark a splice in a roll of paper or used to mark off reams in a skid.
Flame Resistant
Treatment applied to kraft paper to make it resistant to catching on fire
(not fire proof—will char but not burst into flame).
Flashing
Spontaneous boiling and cooling of a liquid caused by the reduction of
pressure below the vapor pressure of the liquid. Flashing occurs in blow
tank during blowing.
Flat Crush of Corrugated Board
A laboratory test (Tappi T808 or T825) of a single wall combined board
specimen to measure its resistance to crushing forces from conversion and
handling. Test can also be an indicator of flute formation and the
presence of crushed or leaning flutes.
Flexography
A form of rotary letterpress using flexible rubber or photopolymer plates.
Flexural Rigidity
The measurement of a combined board resistance to flexing. Combined with
ECT box perimeter and flute type, it is key to predicting box compression
resistance or static load resistance (Tappi T566).
Flocked Paper
Paper with a velvet-like, smooth unglazed surface.
Flotation Cell
Main equipment of Flotation Deinking, Large number of tiny air bubbles are
injected into the cleaned pulp, the free ink particles attach themselves
to these bubbles and float to the surface where it is skimmed off and
removed.
Using flotation method for removing ink from paper during the de-inking
process.
Non contacting dryer used in pulp drying or coating applications, drying
is achieved by passing sheet between two dryer hoods where hot dry air is
impinged onto the sheet and the moisture is evaporated and removed by an
air system.*
A chemical, mechanical or combination of chemical/mechanical pulp, usually
bleached, used as an absorbent medium in disposable diapers, bed pads and
hygienic personal products. Also known as “fluffing” or “comminution” pulp
Fluorescent Dye
A coloring agent added to pulp to increase the brightness of the paper. It
may give a slight blue or green cast to the sheet.
Fluorescent Inks
Printing inks that emit and reflect light. Generally, they are brighter
and more opaque than traditional inks, but they are not color fast, so
they will fade in bright light over time. Their metallic content will also
affect dot gain and trapping.
Fluorescent Paper
Paper coated or surface treated with fluorescent dye to make it glow in
dark. Used for labels, posters and decorative application.
Fluorescent Whitening Agent
Also referred to as an “optical brightener.” A chemical compound when
expose to a light containing an ultraviolet component will absorb and
re-emit light in the blue spectrum or in other words fluoresce. FWA’s will
enhance brightness and blueness quality of white paper.
Flute
One of the wave shapes pressed into corrugated medium. Flutes are
categorized by the size of the wave. A, B, C, E and F are common flute
types, along with a variety of much larger flutes and smaller flutes.
Flute (A,B,C,E,F&G)
These letters define the type of corrugated material in terms of the
number of corrugations per unit length and the height of the corrugations
– specifically these are:
Measures the edgewise compression strength of corrugating medium using a
fluted test specimen per Tappi T824.
Fluting
Waves or corrugation in heat-set web offset prints that runs in the press
direction.
Trim scrap from printing operation.
Foamboard
C1S paperboard designed for lamination to a foam backing for
point-of-purchase displays, posters, and signs.
Foil of Hydrafoil
The flat strip used to support wire. Only the leading edge of the wire
touches the foil. Foil helps in removing water by creating gentle suction
and also doctor the water removed in previous section.
Folding
Doubling up a sheet of paper so that one part lies on top of another.
Folding stresses the paper fibers. To create a smooth, straight fold,
heavy papers like cover stocks and Bristol need to be scored before
they’re folded.
Single or multi-layer paperboard made from primary and/or secondary
fibers, sometimes with a coated front, used to make consumer packaging
(cartons).
Folding Strength or Folding Endurance
Folding strength is most important in currency paper. Multiple fold
strength is also important for paper used in books, maps, and pamphlets.
It’s far less important in one-fold greeting cards or envelopes, where
fold cracking is the vital consideration. Folding endurance or strength is
measured and reported in numbers.
Forest Stewardship Council-certified
Certification from an international non-profit which verifies responsible
forest practices.
A lightweight commodity paper designed primarily for printed business
forms. It is usually made from chemical wood and/or mechanical pulps.
Important product qualities include good perforating, folding, punching,
and manifolding properties. The most common end use for this grade is
carbon-interleaved multi-part computer printout paper, which is marginally
punched, cross-perforated, and fanfolded.
The dispersion of fibers in a sheet of paper. The more uniform and tightly
bound the fibers, the better the sheet will print and look. Close
Formation – Uniform distribution of fibers. Cloudy formation: A spotty,
non-uniform dispersion of fibers, the opposite of close formation.
Forming Board
Forming Board is the leading forming unit under the fabric closest to the
slice. The stock jet velocity, the impingement angle and the position of
the impingement onto the forming board will determine the water removal
and the activity produced at this point. Modern Forming Boards are stepped
to create activity at high speeds – this greatly enhances the formation.
Fountain Roller
The roller on a printing machine which initiates the supply of moisture to
the damping system.
A printing method that uses dots of magenta (red), cyan (blue), yellow,
and black to simulate the continuous tones and variety of colors in a
color image. Reproducing a four-color image begins with separating the
image into four different halftones by using color filters of the opposite
(or negative) color. For instance, a red filter is used to capture the
cyan halftone, a blue filter is used to capture the yellow halftone, and a
green filter is used to capture the magenta halftone. Because a printing
press can’t change the tone intensity of ink, four-color process relies on
a trick of the eye to mimic light and dark areas.
Each halftone separation is printed with its process color (cyan,
magenta, yellow, and black). When we look at the final result, our eyes
blend the dots to recreate the continuous tones and variety of colors we
see in a color photograph, painting, or drawing.
Fourdrinier
Named after its inventor, the Fourdrinier papermaking machine is
structured on a continuously moving wire belt on to which a watery slurry
of pulp is spread. As the wire moves, the water is drained off and pressed
out, and the paper is then dried.
Free Stock
Unrefined stock. Stock that, when drained under gravity, parts easily with
the water of suspension
A term used to define how quickly water is drained from the pulp. The
opposite of freeness is slowness. Freeness or slowness is the function of
beating or refining. Freeness and slowness reported in ml CSF and degree
SR respectively are also the measurement of degree of refining or beating.
Freesheet
Paper containing less than 10% mechanical wood pulp, which is true of
virtually all fine printing papers. Sometimes referred to as wood-free.
French Fold
A sheet printed on one side and folded first vertically and then
horizontally to produce a four-page folder.
Fruit Wrapping Paper
A lightweight tissue used for wrapping fruit for shipment. Sometimes
treated chemically to retard decay of the fruit with which it is in
contact.
Pulp that has been bleached to the highest brightness attainable (> 60
ISO).
A blend of fibers, pigments, dyes, fillers and other materials that are
fed to the wet end of the paper machine.
Fuzz
Fibrous projections on the surface of a sheet of paper, caused by
excessive suction, insufficient beating or lack of surface sizing. Lint
appears in much the same manner but is not attached to the surface.
G
A highly absorbent pulp board, which is chemically treated for use in
making gaskets.
Two or more parallel folds on a sheet of paper with the end flaps folding
inward.
Variation in ink gloss, density or color that are not part of the original
design, but appear as a repeat or ghost image associated with another area
of the copy.
A translucent paper made from highly beaten chemical pulp and subsequently
supercalendered.
Paper with high gloss or polish, applied to the surface either during the
process of manufacture or after the paper is produced, by various methods
such as friction glazing, calendering, plating or drying on a Yankee
drier.
The property that’s responsible for a paper’s shiny or lustrous
appearance; also the measure of a sheet’s surface reflectivity. Gloss is
often associated with quality: higher quality coated papers exhibit higher
gloss.
Blotchiness or non-uniformity in the paper’s gloss (unprinted or printed).
Typically only visible at certain viewing angles. Usually attributable to
poor formation and heavy calendering.
Grade
Papers are differentiated from each other by their grade. Different grades
are distinguished from each other on the basis of their content,
appearance, manufacturing history, and/or their end use.
Grain
The direction in which most fibers lie in a sheet of paper. As the pulp
slurry moves forward on the papermaking machine’s formation wires, the
fibers tend to align themselves in the direction of movement. Binding
books parallel to the grain allows for a smoother fold then working across
the grain. Grain direction of sheet fed papers is usually indicated by
underlining the number, e.g., 23″ X -35″. On a web press, the grain
direction should run along the length of the paper web.
Grain Long
Grain running lengthwise along a sheet of paper.
Grain Short
Grain running widthwise along a sheet of paper.
Grammage
Weight in grams of one square meter of paper or board (g/m2); also basis
weight.
A paper containing a small percentage of deeply dyed fibers to give a
characteristic mottled effect.
A printing process that uses intaglio, or recessed, image carriers. The
image carrier, which is flat or cylindrical, moves through an ink pool. A
blade scrapes excess ink off the plane of the plate, leaving ink in the
recessed wells. A second cylinder presses the paper onto the plates, where
it picks up ink from the wells. The high speed of gravure presses and the
durability of the metal intaglio plates make gravure an economical
printing method suitable for large print runs (more than two million
copies).
Paper for gravure printing that has very low print roughness and good
wettability of gravure inks.
A homogeneous board made usually of mixed waste papers with or without
screenings and mechanical pulp on a continuous board machine, in thickness
less then 1 mm.
A protective wrapping paper made from chemical wood pulps, which are
highly hydrated in order that the resulting paper may be resistant to oil
and grease.
Gases that provide an insulating effect in the earth’s atmosphere,
potentially leading to global climate change. These gases include carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and water vapor.
Green Fatigue
The eco-exhaustion experienced by those bombarded with green products,
services and news from advertisers, the media and companies.
Green Liquor
The liquor that results when the inorganic smelt from the recovery furnace
is dissolved in water is called “green” liquor.
Green Paper
Immature paper which has not been conditioned or had the opportunity to
mature naturally.
A term used to describe the perception by many consumers that they are
being misled on environmental practices of a company, or the benefits of a
company’s product or service.
Greenfield Mill
Mill or production facility built on undeveloped site.
Grinder
A machine in which logs are defibrated against a revolving grindstone.
Groundwood Papers
A general term applied to a variety of papers made with substantial
proportions of mechanical wood pulp together with bleached or unbleached
chemical wood pulps (generally sulfite), or a combination of these, and
used mainly for printing and converting purposes.
Groundwood Pulps
A mechanically prepared (by grinding wood logs against a rough surfaced
roll rotating at very high speed) coarse wood pulp used in newsprint and
other low cost book grades where it contributes bulk, opacity, and
compressibility. Groundwood pulp is economical since all the wood is used;
however, it contains impurities that can cause discoloration and weakening
of the paper.
A natural polymer that is used as a dry-strength additive, often as a
cationic derivative.
A machine used to trim stacks of paper, which works the same way the
original French guillotine worked. A cutting blade moves between two
upright guides and slices the paper uniformly as it moves downward.
Gummed Paper
The main ingredient in gypsum board is gypsum (calcium sulfate – Ca2SO4),
a mineral.. Board is lined with sheet of paper on both sides. This is used
for making panel boards for interior partitions, false ceiling etc.
Gurley Porosity
A method to measure the air permeability of paper by TAPPI method T536.
See “Air permeability.”
The main ingredient in gypsum board is gypsum (calcium sulfate – Ca2SO4),
a mineral.. Board is lined with sheet of paper on both sides. This is used
for making panel boards for interior partitions, false ceiling etc.
H
This fold is perfect for newsletters. An 11″ x 17″ sheet folded this way
has only one open side and fits into a #10 envelope. The newsletter looks
good and is easy to handle.
Half Fold
The half fold is commonly used for brochures and greeting cards. For cover
weight paper, a score is usually required to produce a smooth folded edge.
Half Tone
Picture with gradations of tone, formed by dots of varying sizes in one
color.
A sheet of paper, made individually by hand, using a mould and deckle.
Hanging Paper
The raw stock used in making wall paper. The converter usually coats it
with a ground coat of clay, and then prints it with any decorative design
desired.
Undercooked pulp with respect to target conditions.
Hard Pulp
Chemical pulp with a high lignin content.
Hard Sized Paper
Paper treated with high degree of internal sizing.
Hardwood
Wood from trees of angiosperms class, usually with broad leaves. Trees
grown in tropical climates are generally hardwood. Hardwood grows faster
than softwood but have shorter fibers compared to softwood.
Head Box or Flow Box or Breast Box
The part of the paper machine whose primary function is to deliver a
uniform dispersion of fibers in water at the proper speed through the
slice opening to the paper machine wire.
Heart Wood
The dark colored , center of a tree trunk, consisting of dormant wood.
Heat Seal Paper
Paper that has an adhesive coating applied to it that requires heat to
activate the adhesion properties.
An offset printing process done on a web of paper supplied in a roll. The
term heat set originates from the inks used in the process. They contain
high amounts of solvent flashed off in ovens to dry at very high speeds.
Web presses perfect or print both sides of the sheet simultaneously.
Heat Transfer Paper
The paper used in Thermal transfer printing (Sublimation printing).
Heat Transfer Paper
The paper used in Thermal transfer printing (Sublimation printing).
Hemicellulose
A constituent of woods that is, like cellulose, a polysaccharide, but less
complex and easily hydrolysable.
Non-woody species of vegetation, usually of low lignin content such as
grasses.
An irregularity in the ink coverage of a printed page. Hickeys are caused
by paper or pressroom dust, dirt, or pick out on the printing blanket, all
of which prevent the ink from adhering to the paper surface.
Hi-Fi (High Finish) Paper
Smooth finish applied to paper to improve the printing surface.
Hold Out
Resistance of paper surfaces to the absorption of ink. High Hold Out
offers higher resistance to ink absorption. Regular Hold Out allows
greater ink absorption.
The total carbohydrate fraction of wood — cellulose plus hemicellulose.
Hologravure
Printining process by which great continuous 3D depth is achieved using
textures and patterns.
A hood covering the paper machine drying section and designed for moist
air removal.
Mechanical pulp produced by grinding logs that have been pre-treated with
steam.
A type of glue or adhesive applied while hot/warm.
Hydration
The prolonged beating or refining of cellulose pulp in water to reduce it
to a semi-gelatinous mass.
A method in which pulp is bleached in an alkaline environment with
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), sometimes using oxygen reinforcement. The method
considerably reduces the need for chlorine-containing chemicals in the
final bleaching of chemical pulps.
Hydrophilic
Having strong affinity for water.
Hydrophobic
The absorption of liquid by a fiber without a corresponding increase in
volume.
Process of treating a sheet of paper with a chemical or wax so that the
treatment penetrates into the paper.
Impression Cylinder
The cylinder or flat bed of a printing press that holds paper while an
inked image from the blanket is pressed upon it.
Impression Watermark
Semi-genuine watermark made in the paper machine press section using
engraved rolls while the web is still wet.
Index Paper
A stiff, inexpensive paper with a smooth finish. The high bulk but low
weight of this paper makes it a popular choice for business reply cards.
Industrial Papers
A very general term, which is used to indicate papers manufactured for
industrial uses as opposed to cultural purposes. Thus, building papers,
insulating papers, wrapping papers, packaging papers, etc. would be
considered industrial papers.
Electric or gas infra red dryers used to initially achieve immobilization
of the fluid coating and commence the drying process.
Ink
Printing inks are made up of pigment, pigment carrier and additives
formulated to reduce smudging, picking and other printing problems
associated with ink. The choice of ink depends on the type of paper and
printing process.
A paper’s capacity to accept or absorb ink.
Ink Coverage
The portion of the total surface area of the paper which is covered by
ink. The portion of the coverage usually is expressed in terms of percent
of ink coverage.
The way the ink pigment sits on the surface of the paper. Strong ink
holdout results in a sharp, bright image.
Ink Jet Printing
Printing process of an image or text by small ink particles projected onto
the paper surface.
The body or cohesiveness of ink. The measure of tack as the force required
to split an ink film.
Insect Resistant
Paper treated with insecticide compounds to make it resistant to insect
attack.
The liner bonded to the medium at the single facer. Called inside liner
because it is the inside facing of a corrugated box. Also called the
single face liner.
A type of board composed of some fibrous material, such as wood or other
vegetable fiber, sized throughout, and felted or pressed together in such
a way as to contain a large quantity of entrapped or “dead” air. It is
made either by cementing together several thin layers or forming a
non-laminated layer of the required thickness. It is used in plain or
decorative finishes for interior walls and ceilings in thickness of 0.5
and 1 inch (in some cases up to 3 inches) and also as a water-repellent
finish for house sheathing. Desirable properties are low thermal
conductivity, moisture resistance, fire resistance, permanency, vermin and
insect resistance, and structural strength. No single material combines
all these properties but all should be permanent and should be treated to
resist moisture absorption.
A type of board composed of some fibrous material, such as wood or other
vegetable fiber, sized throughout, and felted or pressed together in such
a way as to contain a large quantity of entrapped or “dead” air. It is
made either by cementing together several thin layers or forming a
non-laminated layer of the required thickness. It is used in plain or
decorative finishes for interior walls and ceilings in thicknesses of 0.5
and 1 inch (in some cases up to 3 inches) and also as a water-repellent
finish for house sheathing. Desirable properties are low thermal
conductivity, moisture resistance, fire resistance, permanency, vermin and
insect resistance, and structural strength. No single material combines
all these properties but all should be permanent and should be treated to
resist moisture absorption.
A method of printing in which an image or letter is cut into the surface
of wood or metal, creating tiny wells. Printing ink sits in these wells,
and the paper is pressed onto the plate and into the wells, picking up the
ink.
1. Gravure is considered an intaglio printing process.
2. In papermaking, watermarking from countersunk depressions in the dandy
roll to provide a whiter or denser design instead of increased
transparency.
A mill which starts with logs or wood chips and first produces wood pulp
which it then processes to make paper or board.
Intermittent Board Machine
A machine for producing sheets of thick board by winding the web formed on
a Fourdrinier wire or cylinder mould (s) around a making roll to form a
sheet consisting of several layers. When the thickness is sufficient the
layers are cut, so forming a sheet which is removed from the machine for
drying and any further processing.
Internal Bonding Strength
Determines how strongly the coating is fused to the body stock. Caused by
long periods of hydration, paper with high internal bonding strength
resists picking during the printing process
Internal Fibrillation
Loosening of internal bond within a fiber.
Internal Sizing
Occurs when sizing materials are added to the water suspension of pulp
fibers in the papermaking process. Also known as Beater, or Engine sizing.
International Paper and Board Sizes
Also known as ISO sizes are widely used in metric countries. ISO standards
are based on a rectangle whose sides have a ratio of one to the square
root of 2 (1.414). No matter how many times a sheet of these proportions
is halved, each will retain the same constant proportions. There are three
ISO series A, B, and C.
The A Series: The A series is for general printed matter including
stationary and publications.
The brightness of paper and board measured at a wavelength of 457
nanometers under standard conditions.
High-quality board made in white or colors with a bright, clear
appearance, particularly used for visiting cards and similar high-class
printed work. Original Ivory Board was and still is made in Holland,
although the grade is made in many countries.
J
An imitation of the Japanese vellum paper in which the fibers are very
long and have a very irregular formation, giving the surface a
characteristic mottled effect. Used for greeting cards, novelties and
artistic printing of various types. The real Japanese paper is made from
very long native fibers, such as paper mulberry, mitsumata, etc.
Jet to Wire Speed Ratio
Papermakers adjust the jet-to-wire speed ratio to fine-tune the paper
structure. The “jet” is the narrow stream of dilute stock that comes out
of the headbox slice opening. The “wire” is the continuous belt of forming
fabric. Often it is possible to improve the uniformity of paper by running
jet-to-wire speed ratio as one. “Rushing the sheet” means that the jet
speed is higher than the wire speed. “Dragging the sheet” means that the
wire speed is higher than the jet speed. Especially in the case of
dragging, increasing values of jet-to-wire speed ratio tend to align
fibers in the machine direction. For square sheet (paper which has same
strength properties in CD and MD), jet to wire ratio should be kept as
close to one as possible.
Job Lot
Out of specification, defective or discontinued types of paper made in
small quantities for special orders and sometimes sold at lower than
regular prices.
Jog
To shake a stack of papers, either on a machine or by hand, so that the
edges line up. Finisher jog the paper to remove any improperly cut sheet.
Printers jog the paper to get rid of any dust or particles and to ensure
proper feeding into the press.
Jumbo Roll
A roll of paper, direct from the paper machine, wound on a machine winder
spool as distinct from rolls that have been slit and rewound on cores.
Jute Paper
Any paper made from jute fiber or burlap waste. The fiber is long and the
paper has high strength and good folding properties. The name is becoming
misleading because of its application to fiber furnishes which contain
little or no jute.
White clay used as an additive and filler in paper and coating made up
chiefly of minerals of the kaolinite type.
Kappa Number
A term used to define the degree of delignification. Modified permanganate
test value of pulp which has been corrected to 50 percent consumption of
the chemical. Kappa number has the advantage of a linear relationship with
lignin content over a wide range. Kappa Number x 0.15% = % lignin in pulp
Kenaf
An annual agricultural plant, native of India, which has along fiber in
the bark that, is suitable for papermaking.
Kiss Impression
The lightest impression (anilox and plate to substrate) possible to
properly reproduce the image on paper.
Knotter
Vibratory screens used for separating knots, uncooked chips and shives
from the pulp at the blow tank.
Knotter Pulp
Pulp made from the rejects from chemical pulp screening.
Kozo
The most common fiber used in Japanese papermaking, it comes from the
mulberry tree. It is a long, tough fiber that produces strong absorbent
sheets.
A paper made of sulfate pulp and used in the manufacture of paper bags. It
normally has a greater bulk and a rougher surface than the usual kraft
wrapping paper.
A paper of high strength made from sulfate pulp. Kraft papers vary from
unbleached Kraft used for wrapping purposes to fully bleached Kraft used
for strong Bond and Ledger papers.
Kraft Pulp
Chemical wood pulp produced by digesting wood by the sulfate process
(q.v.). Originally a strong, unbleached coniferous pulp for packaging
papers, kraft pulp has now spread into the realms of bleached pulps from
both coniferous and deciduous woods for printing papers
Kraft Waterproof Paper
A highly moisture resistant paper made of sulfate pulp and treated with
moisture repellent material such as paraffin wax or asphalt and used for
wrapping purposes.
Paperboard of grammages of 120g and more, generally made from bleached or
unbleached sulfate pulp and used as an outer ply in corrugated board.
L
A separate slip or sheet of paper affixed to a surface for identification
or description. For fiberboard boxes, includes: Full Label, Mailing or
shipping Label, Spot Label and UPC (Universal Product Code) Label.
Label Paper
Mostly one-side coated papers which must be printable in 4-colour offset
and gravure printing. These papers are usually suitable for varnishing,
bronzing and punching and sometimes also feature wet strength and alkali
resistance (See “Wet strength and alkali resistant paper”) in order to
en-sure the removal of the labels e.g. in the bottle rinsing machines of
breweries
A finished produced with a dandy roll having closely spaced wires.
Laid Lines
A continuous watermark consisting of very close parallel lines, generally
associated with spaced lines (chain lines) at right angles to these.
Laid Paper
Paper that has a laid finish. Commonly used for letterheads and
personalized stationary.
Two or more plies of linerboard adhered to one another for increased
structural stability.
A paper built up to a desired thickness or a given desired surface by
joining together two or more webs or sheets. The papers thus joined may be
alike or different; a totally different material, such as foil, may be
laminated with paper.
A machine that adheres multiple plies of paper or fiberboard. May be used
to adhere full labels to a facing, or, for enhanced structural properties,
multiple facings, corrugating mediums or sheets of combined board.
Laser Printing
Xerographic printing where a modulated laser ray is projected on to a
photoconductive cylinder or belt by a rotating mirror. The laser serves to
product the electrostatic latent image, which is developed with toners.
Layboy
A device at the end of cutter for jogging sheets in to a square pile.
Leachate
Water that has as a component of dissolved matter accumulated as a result
of passing through material. e.g. rain water passing through waste dump.
Ledger Paper
A strong paper usually made for accounting and records. It is similar to
Bond paper in its erasure and pen writing characteristics.
LEED-certified
Abbreviation for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”, a green
building rating system that encourages global adoption of sustainable
green buildings and development practices.
Letter Fold
This common fold, used for mailings and brochures, is much like a letter
folded
by hand for inserting in an envelope. The letter fold produces a
self-contained unit,
easily handled by automated envelope inserters.
Letter Press
A process of printing in which raised images are coated with ink and
pressed directly onto a paper or paperboard surface
Lick Coating
A light form of mineral coating, achieved by supplying the surface sizing
press of the paper making machine with coating material instead of normal
surface sizing solution.
Analysis of a product from production stage to disposal.
Light Weight Coated (LWC)
Coating applied at 7-10 g/m2 on one or both sides of the paper
Light Weight Coating (LWC)
Coating applied at 7-10 g/m2 on one or both sides of the paper.
Light Weight Paper
Papers having a grammage (basis weight) normally less than 40 g/m2.
Lightfastness
The speed at which a pigment or colored paper fades in sunlight. or
How permanent a color is or how unaffected by light it is.
Lignin
A complex constituent of the wood that cement the cellulose fibers
together. Lignin is brown in color. Lignin is largely responsible for the
strength and rigidity of plants, but its presence in paper is believed to
contribute to chemical degradation. To a large extent, lignin can be
removed during manufacturing.
Refers to plant materials made up primarily of lignin, cellulose, and
hemicellulose.
Paper that has the same appearance and characteristics on both sides.
Lime Sludge or Sludge
Sludge of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) formed during preparation of white
liquor in the chemical recovery process.
Linear Paper
A watermarked sheet with lines to guide the user.
Linen Finish
A finished paper that has an overall embossed pattern on the surface
resembling the look and feel of linen cloth, and one manufactured with
engraved embossing rolls.
Paper with a finish that resembles linen cloth.
Liner
A creased fiberboard sheet inserted as a sleeve in a container and
covering all side walls. Used to provide extra stacking strength or
cushioning. Also used as a short hand for “linerboard” or facing.”
Linerboard
The inner and outer layers of paper that form the wall of a corrugated
board.
The number of lines in an inch, as found on the screens that create
halftones and four-color process images (for example, “printed 175-line
screen”). The more lines per inch, the more detailed the printed image
will be. With the demand for computer-generated imagery, the term “dots
per inch” (which refers to the resolution of the output), is replacing the
term “lines per inch.”
Loosely bonded fibers at the paper surface that attached to the plate or
blanket of the printing machine.
Litho
A generic term for any printing process in which the image area and the
non-image area exist on the same plate and are separated by a chemical
repulsion. Usually oil based offset printing.
Litmus Paper
An absorbent paper saturated with, litmus, a water-soluble dye extracted
from certain lichens. The resulting piece of paper becomes a pH indicator,
used to test materials for acidity. Blue litmus paper turns red under
acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic conditions,
the color change occurring over the pH range 4.5-8.3 (at 25°C).
Loading
The appearance of the paper when held up to transmitted light. It
discloses whether the formation is even and uniform or lumpy and ‘wild’.
For book publishing papers, a regular, even look through is desirable,
indicating a well made, uniform sheet
M
The weight of one thousand sheets of paper, any size; or double the ream
weight.
A measure of the surface area of paper/paperboard which is obtained from a
ton of paper.
Usually the last large chest or tank that contains thick-stock pulp before
it is made into paper.
Machine Clothing or Paper Machine Clothing
Fabrics of various types employed on the paper machine to carry the web
and perform other functions. It includes the machine wire, dandy roll
cover, press felts and dryer felts etc., which may be composed of natural
or synthetic materials.
Crepe paper produced on the paper machine, and not as a secondary option.
Machine Direction
The direction of the web through the paper machine.
Machine Finish
Finished produced on the paper as it leaves either the machine or the
calender stack. For increased printability, or smoothness when used as a
liner, etc.
Machine glazed. Paper with a glossy finish on one side produced on the
paper machine by a Yankee cylinder.
Machine Speed
The rate at which paper machine runs, expressed as m/min or ft/min.
Machine Width
Width of the paper web in the paper machine.
Manifold Paper
A light weight bond paper used for making carbon or manifold copies or for
airmail correspondence.
A semi-bleached chemical sulfate paper. Not as strong as Kraft, but have
better printing qualities.
Also known as making order. A quantity of paper manufactured to custom
specifications, such as a special weight, color, or size not available as
a standard stocking item.
Paper used for making maps must be subject to minimum change in dimensions
with moisture to avoid poor register of colors. Wet strength properties
are often demanded.
Addition of strongly stained fibers to the stock to give the paper a
marbled appearance.
Pulp which is made to be used elsewhere for the production of paper.
Usually dried to reduce freight costs but may be “wet lap” ( 50% water).
Matrix Paper
A bulky, absorbent paper used for making molds for casting printing
plates. It must have high compressibility and strength when wet, and
become rigid and hard when molded and dried. It is sometimes made by
allowing a thin web to wind up on the cylinder of a wet-machine and
cutting it off when of the proper thickness.
Matte Finish
A dull, clay-coated paper without gloss or luster.
Maximum Trimmed Width
The greatest width of usable paper that is possible to make on a given
paper making machine, i.e. the full width less the necessary trim to give
clean edges. There is 3-10% width shrinkage (depending on freeness of
stock) in dryers. It is not possible to specify sizes which, in aggregate,
exceed this width.
This paper contains mechanical pulp, thermomechanical pulp (TMP) or
chemithermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP) and also chemical pulp. The shares of
chemical and mechanical pulp vary depending on the application. Highly
mechanical papers such as newsprint tend to yellow more rapidly if exposed
to light and oxygen than woodfree papers so that they are mainly used for
short-lived products. In printing papers the mechanical pulp improves
opacity.
Pulp produced by mechanically grinding logs or wood chips. It is used
mainly for newsprint and as an ingredient of base stock for lower grade
printing papers.
A composite panel made from wood fibers and resin and formed under
pressure and heat. MDF has a smooth surface and good machinability, and is
used for furniture, cabinetry and millwork.
Metalization Base Paper
Paper used for very high vacuum deposition. Metals are vaporized at low
temperature but very high vacuum and deposited on paper. Base paper is
light weight, no conductive particles and no pin holes.
Metamerism
The tendency of color to appear different under different light sources
such as fluorescent or natural sunlight.
MF
Machine finished. Smooth paper calendered on the paper machine.
MG
Machine glazed. Paper with a glossy finish on one side produced on the
paper machine by a Yankee cylinder.
MG Machine
A paper machine incorporating a Yankee or a MG drying cylinder in the
drying section to produce MG paper.
Micro Crystalline Cellulose Pulp
Like Ethers Pulps, these pulps are used in thickening and pharmaceutical
applications, particularly in construction of tablets and other
non-capsular pills.
The physical site where paper is manufactured; also refers to a company
that manufactures paper.
Paper generated at the paper mill prior to completion of the manufacturing
process. Wet mill broke originates at the wet end of the papermaking
machine, while dry mill broke comes from the dry end of the papermaking
machine.
A thick, dense, homogeneous board, for book production, made generally
from wastepaper, on a special board making machine one sheet at a time.
Used in binding case bound books, ledgers etc. as binders’ boards.
Mineral Filler
Materials such as chalk and china clay that are added to paper in order to
change its density or improve its surface and optical properties.
Mixed Office Waste
Wastepaper generated from offices, such as letters, memos, invoices, etc.
which are collected and sorted for paper qualities. This is the major
source of post consumer fiber.
Moisture Content
The amount of moisture or water in a sheet of paper, expressed in percent.
6 to 7% is desirable.
Moisture Resistant
Paper Treated with asphalt, wax, plastic, etc. to control penetration of
moisture.
Pulp, which is used for producing pulp-based or fibrous products by
pressing; example products: egg packages, trays and boxes for fruits and
vegetables.
A random non-uniformity in the visual density, color or gloss of a printed
area; also known as orange peel, back-trap mottle, wet-trap mottle,
pigment flocculation, striations, etc.
A This term is given to a wide range of actual handmade and “handmade”
papers. “Handmade” meaning that is has the rough look of actual handmade
paper but it is in fact mass produced by machine. Many mulberry papers are
made from Kozo and other similar fibers. Some in fact do contain mulberry
bark and/or fibers.
It is easy to recognize Mulberry papers as they generally have distinct
fibers running through the papers. There are some mulberry papers that
have finer fibers that are not as noticeable but a large majority have the
easy to recognize large fibers. It is very pretty stuff and can be used in
all sorts of crafts applications.
Mullen
Measurement of the force required, in pounds per square inch, to rupture a
sheet of kraft paper. Also known as bursting strength.
Multiply Board Machine
A machine in which a number of plies of paper can be combined together in
the wet state to produce thick paperboard..
Multiply Paper Making Process
A paper/board making process in which different layers of fibers are
deposited one over the other to form the sheet. The multiply process is
used to make the optimum use of various type of fibers available. It is
also used to make heavy basis weight papers.
Multi-stage Cooking
Chemical pulping process in which the alkalinity of the cooking liquor is
varied by charging the alkali in several stages.
N
The lignin as it exists in the lignocellulosic complex before separation.
Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF)
Organic matter that is not solubilized after one hour of refluxing in a
neutral detergent consisting of sodium lauryl sulfate and EDTA at pH 7.
NDF includes hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin.
Newsprint
A paper manufactured mostly from mechanical pulps specifically for the
printing of newspaper. Pulp and Paper Product Council provides the
following definition for newsprint. “A general term used to describe paper
between 40 g/m2 and 57 g/m2 generally used in the publication of
newspapers. The furnish is largely mechanical wood pulp with some chemical
wood pulp.”
Newsprint is that quality of paper used chiefly for the publication of
newspapers and which has a basis weight of 40 – 57 grams. Other properties
correspond to the EU harmonized definition, with a brightness up to and
including 71 ISO.
40 – 57 grams per square metre;
white or slightly coloured;
under 100.0 microns (0.00394 inches);
less than or equal to 65 ISO;
not exceeding 8.0% by weight;
unsized or lightly sized;
greater than or equal to 2.61 PPS :m (S10)
Newsprint – Rest of the world
Uncoated paper of a kind used for the printing of newspapers, of which not
less than 65% by weight of the total fibre content consists of wood fibres
obtained by a mechanical or chemi-mechanical process, unsized or very
lightly sized, having a surface roughness Parker Print Surf (1 MPa) on
each side exceeding 2.5 micrometres (microns), weighing not less than
40g/m2 and not more than 65g/m2.
Nip
Point where two rolls on the paper machine come in contact.
Nitration Pulps
High purity pulps that are reacted with nitric acid to form a class of
chemical derivatives called cellulose nitrates. Cellulose nitrates are
used in applications ranging from solvents to smokeless (gunpowder)
propellants.
Papermaking fibers derived from plants other than trees such as cotton,
hemp, bagasse, jute, bamboo or straws.
Nonwoven
Fabric-like material made from long fibers, bonded together by chemical,
mechanical, heat or solvent treatment.
O
A paper such as wallpaper to which fine sawdust is added to its stock.
Odd Lot
Off standard paper. Also the term used for side rolls or sheet left after
cutting standard size/order.
Coating of paper on a separate coating machine.
Off-machine Creping
A method whereby paper is creped in a separate operation rather than by
the paper machine’s Yankee cylinder.
Offset Paper
Also known as book paper. General description of any paper primarily
suited for offset printing. Can be coated or uncoated. Characterized by
strength, dimensional stability, lack of curl and freedom from foreign
surface material. Finish can be vellum or smooth.
Offset Paper
Also known as book paper. General description of any paper primarily
suited for offset printing. Can be coated or uncoated. Characterized by
strength, dimensional stability, lack of curl and freedom from foreign
surface material. Finish can be vellum or smooth.
Offset Printing
Also know as web offset or lithography. Offers highest degree of
precision, clarity, and quality.
Brown boxes that have been used for their intended purpose, then collected
for recycling.
Abbreviation for a recovered paper grade including old magazines, catalogs
and similar materials.
Application of coating to the paper off the paper machine, or as a
separate operation to the papermaking.
One Time Carbon Base Paper
Unlike regular carbon paper which is used multiple time, one time carbon
as name suggest is used only once e.g. government form. The specification
on this paper is not as stringent as regular carbon paper.
Onionskin Paper
A lightweight, bond-type, thin and semitransparent paper used for
duplicate copies of typed matter to save filing space.
Opacity
That properties of paper which minimizes the “show-through” of printing
from the backside or the next sheet. The higher the opacity the less
likely that the printing on one side will be visible from the other side.
Open End Envelope
An envelope that opens on the short dimension.
Optical Brightener
Fluorescent dyes added to paper to enhance the visual brightness; the dye
absorbs ultraviolet light and re-emits it in the visual spectrum.
Optical Brightness
Optical brighteners or fluorescent dyes are extensively used to make high,
bright blue – white papers. They absorb invisible ultraviolet light and
convert to visible light, falling into the blue to violet portion of the
spectrum, which is then reflected back to our eyes.
Optical Whitener
A dye that is added to the fiber stock or applied to the paper surface at
the size press to enhance its brightness.
Orange Peel
A type of sheet surface that looks like orange.
Organosolv Pulping
Pulping method using organic solvent, e.g. organic acid or alcohol, as
delignification/cooking chemical.
Paper which is trimmed improperly so the corners are not true 90 degrees.
This will result in difficulty when the presser does not have a good guide
edge to work from for accurate register.
Out Turn Sheet
A sheet of paper, taken during manufacture, serving as a reference for the
mill or client.
The percentage loss in weight of a paper specimen when dried to constant
weight in an oven maintained at the temperature of 105 +/- 2 C.
Oxygen Bleaching
A process in which pulp is initially treated with oxygen followed by 4-5
bleaching stages.
A process in which oxygen gas and sodium hydroxide are used to remove
lignin from brown stock.
A highly reactive gas with molecules made up of three oxygen atoms.
Ozone Bleaching
A process that uses ozone to whiten cellulose fibers following the Kraft
pulping and oxygen delignification processing.
P
A paper or paperboard used for wrapping or packing good.
Packaging Paper
A paper or paperboard used for wrapping or packing good.
Pallet
A platform with a slatted bottom, used to hold and ship cartons of paper
stacked on top of each other. A standard amount of paper that fits on a
wooden pallet. In cut-size sheets, a pallet equals 40 cartons.
Paper
A homogeneous sheet formed by irregularly intervening cellulose fibers.
Paper Cut
The excruciating, often unforeseeable, and usually
invisible-to-the-naked-eye cut received when skin slides along the edge of
a piece of paper at just the wrong angle.
Paper Surface Efficiency (printing)
Measure of the printability of a sheet of paper which is dependent upon
the amount of ink the paper absorbs, the smoothness of its surface, and
the evenness of its caliper.
Paperboard
A heavy weight, thick, rigid and single or multi-layer sheet. What
differentiates paperboard from paper is the weight of the sheet. If
paperboard is very heavy it is called Board. Paper heavier than 150 gram
per meter square are normally called Paperboard and paperboard heavier
than 500 gram per meter square are called board.
Paper-ink Affinity
The tendency for paper and ink to attract and stay attracted to each
other. This keeps the ink on the paper and off the reader’s hands or the
next sheet. An incompatibility between ink and paper can cause printing
problems.
Invented in China by T’sai Lun some 2,000 years ago, papermaking still
follows the same basic procedures. Today wood chips are cooked with
chemicals to release cellulose fibers and dissolve lignin, then washed to
remove impurities. Most printing papers are then bleached to lighten the
color of the pulp. Pulp is mechanically and chemically treated to impart
certain desired characteristics such as strength, smoothness and sizing.
Large quantity of water is added to uniformly distribution of fibers and
additives. The resulting slurry, which is 99 to 99.5% water, is cascaded
onto the continuously moving forming fabric of the Fourdrinier paper
machine. Side-to-side shaking distributes the slurry, forming a tangled
web of fiber as the water drains off. A wire mesh roll called a dandy
roll, moves over the surface to modulate the turbulence and smooth the
topside of the paper. A felt blanket absorbs more water from the paper and
sends the sheet on through a channel of hot metal drums that dry and press
the paper at the same time to give it a more even-sided finish. At this
point the paper is fully dry and ready for off-machine processes such as
coating, embossed finishes and supercalendering.
Papeterie
A paper used for greeting cards, stationery, etc…which is distinctive from
regular stock in that special watermarks and embossing may be used.
Papyrus
The Egyptians used this aquatic plant to create a writing sheet by peeling
apart the plant’s tissue-thin layers and stacking them in overlapping,
crosshatched pieces to form a sheet. Despite giving us the word “paper,”
papyrus is not a true paper.
Parchment
A sheet of writing material made from the skins of goats or other animals.
Vegetable or imitation parchment is made to resemble animal parchment by
passing a sheet of unsized, pure fiber paper through a bath of sulfuric
acid and then washing it very thoroughly and drying. The acid gelatinizes
the surface fibers and the dried surface is grease-proof, has a high wet
strength and is very resistant to disintegration by water and many
solutions.
Method of treating a paper sheet with sulfuric acid to make it
greaseproof.
Airborne solid impurities such as those present in gaseous emissions
(sodium sulfate, lime, calcium carbonate, soot).
Peel Strength
The amount of normal force required to delaminate a multiply paper.
Strength measured by TAPPI useful method UM808 or other similar methods.
Perfecting Press
A printing press that simultaneously prints both sides of a sheet of paper
as it passes through the press. On other presses, printing both sides
means running the sheet through the press to print one side, allowing the
ink to dry, turning the paper over, and then running the sheet through the
press again to print the other side.
Permanence
The degree to which paper resists deterioration over time.
Permanent Paper
A paper that can resist large chemical and physical changes over and
extended time (several hundred years). This paper is generally acid-free
with alkaline reserve and a reasonably high initial strength.
Permanganate Number (K Number)
Chemical test performed on pulp to determine the degree of
delignification.
Degree to which a fluid (gas or liquid) permeates or penetrate a porous
substance such as paper or fabric.
Pernicious Contraries
Any material present in waste paper that is difficult to see or detect and
which might be detrimental to the paper being manufactured from the
wastepaper or which might either damage paper making equipment or render
repulping difficult
Peroxide Bleaching or Hydrogen Peroxide Bleaching
Method of bleaching pulp with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to remove lignin;
reduces or avoids the need for chlorine dioxide in final bleaching.
pH (Hydrogen Ion Concentration)
A measure of the acidity (or alkalinity) of a solution. Range from 0-14
with 7 being neutral, less than 7 being acid; higher than 7 being
alkaline.
A material which undergoes destruction of its chemical structure when
exposed to light. Typically, the materials become brittle with time and
fragment into small pieces or powder.
Photographic Paper
The base paper used for the production of photographic papers is a
dimensionally stable, chemically neutral chemical pulp paper with wet
strength properties, that must be free from contaminants. Today papers are
coated on both sides with a thin polyethylene film. The cooking prevents
chemicals and water entering the paper during development. This also
permits shorter rinsing and drying cycles.
Pick Out
A problem on press caused by unevenly sealed paper, or paper with low
bonding strength. The ink “picks” off weak areas of the paper, lifting
coating from a coated stock or lifting fibers from an uncoated stock, and
transferring them to the printing blanket.
These fibers will eventually be transferred back onto the sheets
being printed, causing inking and surface inconsistencies.
Pick Resistance
The ability of paper fibers to hold together during the printing process.
Pick Up Roll
Roll, which lifts the wet paper or paperboard off the wire to transfer to
press.
To transfer the wet sheet from wire part to press part. If the sheet moves
unsupported is called “poor man pick up”. If a solid/suction roll is used
to lick/pick the sheet, it is referred as closed transfer.
Picking (Printing)
The problem of ink picking off paper fibers during printing. This may be
an indication of a paper with low bonding strength or the use of an ink
with too much tack for the paper it is printed on.
Pigment
An ingredient added to pulp to increase the brightness and opacity of
white paper or dye the pulp to create a colored sheet. Pigments have very
high lightfastness and bleedfastness.
Coating of paper with a chemical agent (pigment) to reduce surface
porosity and increase opacity.
Imperfections in paper which appear as minute holes upon looking through
the sheet. They originate from foreign particles, which are pressed
through the sheet.
Defect in reels, consisting of ridges running around the circumference,
due to moisture take-up by the surface layers or uneven binding or hard
and soft spots.
Resinous material present in wood (mainly softwood) that carry over into
the pulping and papermaking system to form insoluble deposits.
Playing Card Stock
A stiff board, usually made by pasting sheets of fourdrinier paper, and
given a coating which will take a high polish.
Ply
The separate webs, which make up the sheet formed on a multi-cylinder
machine. Each cylinder adds one web or ply, which is pressed to the other,
the plies adhering firmly upon drying.
Point
A unit of paper or paperboard thickness measuring one-thousandth of an
inch.
Paper used for plastic extrusion. Hot melted plastic is applied at the
paper surface, so the base paper should be able to withstand heat.
Polymer
A chemical term for several classes of organic or carbon containing
chemicals where a monomer or single chemical molecule is connected to
itself in repeating units to form a chemical “chain.” An example of a
polymer is cellulose, a repeating chain of glucose (sugar). Other examples
are polyesters, nylons, viscose, lyocell, polyolefins and polystyrenes.
Porosity
The property of paper that allows the permeation of air, an important
factor in ink penetration.
Postcard board is either slightly mechanical or woodfree and calendered.
Post-Consumer Waste Paper
Waste paper materials recovered after being used by consumers.
Poster Paper
Poster paper is a highly mechanical, highly filled, mostly coloured paper
that has been made weather resistant by sizing.
Poster Paper
Poster paper is a highly mechanical, highly filled, mostly coloured paper
that has been made weather resistant by sizing.
Precision Sheeting
Converting rolls of paper into finished sheet sizes in a single operation.
Pre-Consumer Waste Paper
Waste material from manufacturing operations – dry mill and printer
factory waste, newsstand returns- that has not reached its end-user. This
is highly desirable waste because it normally contains fewer contaminants
and is easier to process.
Press
A combination of two or more rolls used to press out water from wet paper
web. Following are some of the types of the press.
1. Plain Press or Solid Press
This is the simplest and the oldest type of press which is now a
days rarely used except on very slow speed machine. The solid press
consists of two solid rolls covered with rubber and or granite. The top
roll is somewhat offset for the squeezed out water to flow by gravity.
2. Suction Press
In this type of press, one roll is drilled and shell of the drilled
roll rotates over a suction box. The squeezed water is sucked out through
the felt.
In this type of press, one roll is grooved. The squeezed water is
hold in the groves and removed by doctoring or sucking out on the return
run of the roll.
A plain roll press just before the dryer section start, used to
smoothen the paper surface.
Press Part or Press Section
The section of the paper machine which contains press (es). It is usually
located between wire part and dryer part.
Pressure Sensitive Coated Paper
Paper coated with a self-adhesive material which in dry form (solvent
free) is permanently tacky at room temperature. A bond with the receiving
surface may be formed by the application of pressure (e.g. by the finger
or hand). A permanent adhesive is characterized by relatively high
ultimate adhesion and a removable adhesive by low ultimate adhesion. Until
the time of application, the adhesive surface should be covered by a
suitable release coated paper.
Mechanical pulp produced by treating logs with steam before defibration
against a grindstone under externally applied pressure.
Printability
The overall performance of the paper on press.
Printing
The transfer of ink onto paper or other materials to reproduce words and
images.
On-machine coated printing paper. Suitable for color printing or toning
with low grid number or single color printing. Our products in this
category includes: Wood-free printing and writing paper, Ivory wood-free
printing and writing paper.
A suspension of cellulose fibers in water.
Pulp Board
Also known as Printers’ Board, this grade is made from a single web of
pulp on a paper making machine, and is produced in various substances.
Used for index cards and other general products, these boards may be white
or colored.
Unit for defibrating (slushing) pulps and paper machine broke, usually at
the wet end of the paper machine.
Puncture Resistance
The puncture resistance of combined board indicates the ability of the
finished container to withstand external and internal point pressure
forces and to protect the product during rough handling.
Q
The term “rag” is often used interchangeably with “cotton fiber content”
and harkens to a period of time when paper was actually made using cotton
rags which were cleaned and then broken down into fibers which were then
used to manufacture paper. In a sense it could be stated that the fine
paper business has been engaged in recycling materials for production
since its very beginning. Today paper is no longer made from rags and the
term “rag” is falling in disfavor by the industry in lieu of the phrase
“cotton fiber content”.
Today rag paper is mostly made from vegetable fibers consisting of
cellulose, such as cotton, linen, hemp and ramie. Rags are the most
precious raw material for the papermaker. Rag papers and rag-containing
papers with admixtures of chemical pulp are used for banknotes, deeds,
documents, books of account, maps and copperplate engravings and as
elegant writing papers. They are also used for special technical
applications.
Papermaking pulp made from textile waste, cotton, hemp or flax.
Ragger Rope
A rope used to remove contraries from the pulper.
Rattle
That combination of properties such as stiffness, density etc. which is
responsible for noise when the sheet is shaken or flexed.
Ream
Paper recovered for recycling into new paper products. Recovered paper can
be collected from industrial sources (scraps, transport packaging, unsold
newspapers…) or from household collections (old newspapers and
magazines, household packaging).
Recovered paper sorted by types in order to be recycled by paper mills.
Specific grades are used by paper mills, in order to produce different
types of paper and boards.
Recovery Boiler
Boiler used to burn black liquor from chemical pulping for recovery of
inorganic chemicals as well as for energy production.
Recovery Rate (Chemical)
Amount of chemical recovered in chemical recovery process as a percentage
of chemical used in pulping. Chemical loss is compensated my make up
chemicals.
Amount of paper recovered as a percentage of amount of paper consumed.
Rectifier Roll or Holey Roll
Hollow perforated roll in headbox used for even out the flow of fibers and
prevent settling of fibers in headbox by providing gentle agitation.
Recycled Fiber
Fiber obtained from recovered paper; also secondary fiber (cf. virgin
fiber).
Pulp produced from recovered paper to be used in papermaking.
Recycling
Use of recovered waste paper and board by paper mills to produce paper and
boards.
General name of various perennial plants; e.g. common reed, reed canary
grass, giant reed; potential feedstock for pulping and papermaking.
Reel
A continuous sheet of paper wound on a core.
Refiner
An equipment used to give mechanical treatment to the fibers.
Refiner Mechanical Pulp (RMP)
Mechanical pulp produced by passing wood chips between the plates of a
refiner.
Mechanical pulp produced from sawmill dust.
Refining
Mechanical treatment of fibers to enhance bonding.
Reflectivity
Ability of paper or board to reflect light; a measure of gloss.
Refractiveness
A measure of how much a sheet of paper deflects the light that hits it.
The more light a sheet deflects, the greater its refractiveness, allowing
a printed image to be more brilliant and detailed.
Registration
Putting two or more images together so that they are exactly aligned and
the resulting image is sharp.
Reinforcement
Method for strengthening paper with an insert or surface layer of glass or
other synthetic fiber or metal.
Reinforcement Pulp
Softwood chemical pulp added to give paper greater strength and to improve
runnability on the paper machine or printing press.
Reject
Material removed and discarded during the cleaning and screening of
pulp/stock.
Release paper is used to prevent the sticking of glue, paste or other
adhesive substances. Coating paper with silicone yields papers with a
surface that prevents adhesion of most substances. Application: cover
material for self-adhesive papers or films, e.g. in label production.
Relief
A method for printing ink on paper, using type or images that rise above
the surface of the printing plate. Ink sits on top of these raised
surfaces, and as the paper is pressed onto them it picks up ink.
Letterpress, flexography, and rubber stamps all use relief plates. In
letterpress, intense pressure can cause images to be slightly debossed or
depressed below the surface of the paper.
Residual Fibers
Fibers derived from sawmills scraps, plywood plants and other timber
management activities.
A paper’s ability to return to its original form after being stretched,
bent or compressed during the printing and bindery process.
Retention
The amount of filler or other material which remain in the finished paper
expressed as a percentage that added to the furnish before sheet
formation. Retention can occur by various mechanisms. The simplest of
these is mechanical sieving by the forming fabric. Once a fiber mat begins
to form, the mat itself usually can act as a much more effective and finer
sieve than the forming fabric. But even then, particles less than about 10
micrometers in size are not effectively retained by sieving. Rather,
retention of fine particles requires the action of colloidal forces,
including polymeric bridging or a charged patch mechanism. Retention aid
chemicals can be effective either by attaching fine particles to fiber
fines or fibers or by agglomerating them so that they can be sieved more
effectively.
Chemical additives, especially high molecular weight copolymers of
acrylamide, designed to increase the retention efficiency of fine
materials during paper formation.
Equipment which slits and rewinds paper webs into smaller rolls.
Rice Paper
A common misnomer applied to lightweight Oriental papers. Rice alone
cannot produce a sheet of paper. Rice or wheat straw is used occasionally
mixed with other fibers in paper making. The name may be derived from the
rice size (starch) once used in Japanese papermaking
Ridges
Roll defect where there are raised bands or rings of material around the
circumference of the roll.
A test method for measuring the edgewise crush resistance by forming the
paper into a cylinder and applying a crushing force to the edge. (TAPPI
T818)
A type of tubular heat exchanger used for concentrating a solution
consisting of a non-volatile solute and a volatile solvent; solution flows
upward on the heat exchange surface; vaporization ‘ of the volatile
solvent reduces the density of the mixture and causes the vapour-liquid
mixture to rise; commonly used in pulp mills but less common in new
installations.
In rod coater, the rod is the metering device, which controls how much wet
coating is allowed to leave the coating station. Typically thirty times
more will be applied compared to the actual target coat weight.
Roe Number
Measure of the amount of chlorine required for bleaching pulp.
Roll Coating
A process in which the coating is applied by roll and subsequently
smoothed by means of reverse rolls contacting the freshly coated surface.
Roofing Paper
Board that is impregnated with tar, bitumen and/or natural asphalt.
Rosin
Rosin, a natural resin from pine trees in combination with alum, is used
for internal sizing of paper in acidic paper making. The chemical formula
of rosin is C19H29COOH.
Partially or completely saponified (neutralized) rosin. The chemical
formula of rosin is C19H29CONa.
Rotogravure
The opposite of letterpress printing in that the design areas are recessed
into the plate instead of being a relief. It is web-fed and prints thin,
quick drying ink to produce multiple colors. Used in corrugated packaging.
Rough
Heavily textured surfaces produced by minimal pressing after sheet
formation.
Paper having an exceptionally rough or coarse textured surface.
Runnability
The ease with which a paper moves through a printing press or converting
machine. This is primarily determined by the paper’s strength, tear
resistance, dimensional stability, bonding strength and water resistance
S
The term is used interchangeably with the word “bag” applied to a
non-rigid container made from paper or other flexible material.
Safety Paper
Papers with a special protection against abusive imitation. The safeguards
used during the production of the paper – some of them chemicals are
secret.
Or sodium sulfate added to the black liquor to compensate for the soda
loss.
The group of sanitary papers includes cellulose wadding, tissue and crepe
paper, made from waste paper and/or chemical pulp – also with admixtures
of mechanical pulp. As a consequence of the importance of tissue today,
this name is now used internationally as a collective term for sanitary
papers. These grades are used to make toilet paper and numerous other
sanitary products such as handkerchiefs, kitchen wipes, towels and
cosmetic tissues.
Tissue is a sanitary paper made from chemical or waste paper pulp,
sometimes with the admixture of mechanical pulp. It has a closed structure
and is only slightly creped. It is so thin that it is hardly used in a
single layer. Depending on the requirements the number of layers is
multiplied. Creping is made at a dryness content of more than 90 %. The
dry creping (unlike with sanitary crepe papers) and the low grammage of a
single tissue layer result in a high softness of the tissue products. For
consumer products it is normally combined in two or more layers. The
flexible and highly absorbent product [is mainly produced from chemical
pulp and/or DIP – sometimes also with admixture of groundwood pulp] can
also be provided with wet strength. Applications: facial tissues, paper
handkerchiefs, napkins, kitchen rolls, paper towels, toilet paper.
Sap Wood
The fluid part of the tree that moves up from the roots through the outer
portion of the trunk and branches and contributes to its growth.
Satin Finish
A smooth, satin-like, semi-glossy finish of paper or Bristol.
Save-All
Equipment used to reclaim fibers from white water.
Saw Dust
Fine wood particles created when sawing wood; used as biofuel, pulping raw
material, panel board production, animal litter etc.
Scaling
To impress or indent a mark with a string or rule in the paper to make
folding easier.
Score
To impress or indent a mark with a string or rule in the paper to make
folding easier.
An internal bond test that measures the force needed to separate fibers
within a single ply by TAPPI method.
Screen
Device used to remove large solids particles such as fiber bundles and
flakes from stock. In good old days screen used to be open type and could
deal with thin stock only. Modern screen are closed (pressurized) and can
handle low, medium and even high consistency stock. Perforation in screen
basket can be circular, counter shrink or slotted. The screen used just
before headbox not only remove large particles but also align fibers in
the direction of stock flow.
Scuff Resistance
Linerboard’s ability to resist abrasion in the shipping environment may
affect external appearance.
The means of joining the two ends of the fabric together.
Secondary Fibers
Fibers recovered from waste paper and utilized in making paper or
paperboard.
Paper which includes identification features such as metallic strips and
watermarks to assist in detecting fraud and to prevent counterfeiting.
Self Adhesive paper
Used essentially for labeling purposes, this grade has a self-adhesive
coating on one side and a surface suitable for printing on the other. The
adhesive is protected by a laminate which enables the sheet to be fed
through printers or printing machines, the laminate subsequently being
stripped when the label is applied
Self Contained paper
A self imaging carbonless paper that does not need the use of any other
carbonless stock to make an image appear. When pressure is applied, it
causes the chemicals on the front of the sheet to create an image. This
paper is used in ribbonless impact printers.
Semi-Alkaline Pulp (SAP)
Sulfite pulp cooked at slightly alkaline pH (normal sulfite pulp is cooked
at acid pH). SAP is superior in strength to normal sulfite pulp. Used
mainly in printing papers.
Pulp bleached to a brightness somewhere between that of unbleached and
fully bleached pulp.
Pulp produced by chemical treatment followed by mechanical treatment.
Sett
A number of units or bales picked up at the same time by crane or truck.
Shade
The color depth and hue in comparison to papers that are the same color;
also used to describe the color achieved by adding dye to pulp slurry.
There is a wide shade variety in white papers, as well as in colored
papers.
A defect in paper appearance which looks like the drilling pattern in a
suction roll. It is due to opacity effects caused by areas of vacuum and
pressure as the wet web passes over a suction roll.
Shake
The device to shake the wire at the breast roll end from side to side.
Sheeter or Cutter
Machine for cutting the paper web into sheets.
Sheffield Porosity
A test used to measure the smoothness of paper by measuring the rate of
air flow over the surface of the sheet. The lower the number, the smoother
the sheet.
Small bundles of fibers that have not been separated completely during
pulping.
The degree to which a printed film is visible through paper due to the low
opacity of the paper. The undesirable condition in which the printing on
the reverse side of a sheet can be seen through the sheet under normal
lighting conditions. The more opaque a sheet, the less the show-through.
Showers
Water jets or sprays used throughout the pulp and paper mills to wash wire
mesh screen, forming wires, press felts, pulp mat, to dilute pulp etc.
High Pressure Showers A shower consisting of numerous needle jet
nozzles along its length at a pressure of up to 300 psi.
Lubrication Showers A shower consisting of fan nozzles along its
length to provide full coverage of the felts surface with water. This
lubricates the felt as it passes over the suction boxes.
Oscillation Showers The movement from side to side of the shower bar
to ensure full coverage of the felts surface by the water jets.
Side Run
(1) A narrow reel removed from a web during processing, the width of which
is less than the size ordered, but is large enough to permit its use for
purposes other than re-pulping.
(2) An additional part of an order placed in order to better utilize
the maximum trimmed machine width of the making machine.
Silicon Treated Paper
A strong paper with a glazed finish that is treated with silicones on one
side. This produces a release quality that is necessary for the liners
used for pressure sensitive paper.
Single Faced Corrugated Board
Corrugated fiberboard consisting of two layers, one of fluted paper and
one of facing.
Section of paper machine where surface treatments are applied to the sheet
of paper to give it special qualities. Normally comprised of a pair of
rolls towards the end of the dryer train between which the dry or
partially dry web is passed, and into the nip of which a liquid, usually
starch, is applied to impart strength to the sheet. Sometimes a chemical
may be added to produce a water-resistant sheet
Sized Paper
Sizing reduces the water absorbency of the paper and thus creates the
condition for the writability with ink. Sized paper is also used for many
other purposes (printing, coating, gluing, etc.), and the sizing agents
must fulfil a wide range of tasks. For instance, they control the water
absorbency and increase the ability to retain water and ink (pick
resistance).
The treatment of paper which gives it resistance to the penetration of
liquids (particularly water) or vapors. Sizing improves ink holdout.
Slice
Outlet from the head box through which the pulp suspension is fed into the
forming section.
The ability of containers to resist sliding in unit loads can be predicted
for the coefficient of friction of the combined board. A low coefficient
demonstrates containers slipping from the load.
Slime Holes
A hole in paper, characterized by brownish translucent material around the
edges. Caused by a lump of slime which has formed in stock system from the
growth microorganisms, then becoming detached and flowing onto the paper
machine wire with the fiber to form a non-fibrous area.
Slimes
Fungus or other bacteriological growth. If not controlled in papermaking
system, may cause process and quality problems.
Slitter
Rotary knife used to slit or trim a paper web into specified width.
Slitting
Dividing a web of paper in the lengthwise direction into two or more
narrower webs.
Measure of pulp drainage. Has an inverse relationship to freeness.
Sludge
The waste material left over after pulping and deinking. Although some
sludge is produced in the virgin papermaking process, far more is produced
in the deinking (recycling) process. Recycling breaks recovered paper down
into fibers, which are sent to the paper machine for new production, and
other materials, which drop into the sludge. These “other materials”
include clay coatings, fillers from the previous paper, paper clips and
staples, fibers too short to be made into paper, ink if it wasn’t skimmed
off in the deinking process, and any “junk” that crept into the wastepaper
bales.
Inorganic chemicals obtained in molten form from the recovery furnace.
Smooth Finish
A highly calendered or machine-finished sheet.
Smoothness
The surface uniformity of paper. Sheets that are flat and even provide
better ink dot formation and sharper images.
Soda Pulping
An alkaline pulping process that uses a simple, sulfur- free sodium
hydroxide as cooking liquor.
The group of specialty papers comprises numerous paper grades, each
characterized by particular properties. These properties often require
special raw materials.
Chemical pulps used for purposes other than ordinary papermaking (e.g. in
textile production)
Energy applied per unit weight on oven dry basis (KWH/MT) during refining.
Specific Surface (Fiber)
Fiber surface area per unit weight (OD basis)
Specific Surface Load (Refining)
Specific edge load divided by refiner bar width factor (Watt-Sec/m2)
Speck
A small defect of foreign substance with contrasting appearance to the
surrounding paper.
Liquor recovered from cooked pulp.
Spinning Paper
Paper with a particularly high tensile strength in the machine direction;
suitable for being spun into yarn or string.
Splice
Formed by overlapping webs and joining with a strip of double-faced
adhesive tape. Used for lighter-weight grades of paper.
Spread Coating
A method of coating a web of paper by means of a vertical plate
restraining a pond of viscous coating material, for example resins,
plastics or adhesives, which is drawn through an adjustable gap between
the plate and the paper by the forward movement of the web over a
horizontal support
Paper used for printing postal stamp. Paper should have good printability,
high strength, good glueability, permanence and high dimensional
stability.
The wooden hammers used in a watermill to pulp rags in order to separate
the fibers.
Atmospheric conditions of temperature and humidity in which laboratories
agree to conduct tests, eliminating those variables in comparing results.
Starch
A natural product from corn, potatoes, tapioca, etc., and used for dry
strength. Cationic starch is added at the paper machine wet end.
Starch is a free flowing white powder. Typically, starch used in the
paper industry is extracted from maize kernels, wheat or potatoes; in rare
cases, tapioca or rice can be the source. Starches from the different
plants each have a characteristic granule size and shape.
Potato starch is often referred to as farina, and maize starch is
sometimes called corn. Native starch is sometimes called pearl starch.
Steam Finishing or Steam Calendering
A way of treating paper before calendering to improve its density and
surface smoothness
Wood chips are often treated with steam prior to pulping; used in
thermo-mechanical pulping. Also injection of steam in direct or indirect
cooking digester for chip packing and or cooking.
Stencil
A sheet of plastic, paper, or other material with letters or an image cut
out of it. When placed on a surface and inked, it reproduces the cut-away
images onto the material behind it.
Stickies
Sticky materials in recycled papermaking pulp, often resulting from
pressure-sensitive labels.
The ability of paper or paperboard to resist an applied bending force and
to support its own weight while being handled. A sheet that is too limp
can cause feeding and transport problems in copiers and printers. An
adequate degree of stiffness is important to avoid distortion of the paper
due to the pull of ink during offset printing. Stiffness is critical to
many converting operations for forms and envelope grades.
Stock
A term used to define pulp after mechanical (refining or beating) and /or
chemical treatment (sizing, loading, dying etc.) in the paper making
process. A pulp ready to make paper.
Stock Preparation
Collective term for all treatment necessary for the preparation of the
stock before it reaches the paper machine.
Straw Pulp
Pulp that is made from the straw of grains such as rice straw. It is
cooked by soda process.
Board made from partially cooked straw, bagasse or grass or a mixture of
these.
The maximum tensile strain developed in paper before rupture. The stretch
or percentage elongation is expressed as a percentage.
Strike-through
The penetration of ink through paper.
Substrate
The base material on which a substance (such as ink, adhesive, coating) is
applied.
Device that removes water from the paper machine by a suction action
located beneath the wire at the wet end.
Suede Paper
Paper that has a velour finish.
Sulfate Pulping
Alkaline process of cooking pulp.
Sulfite Pulping
Acid process of cooking pulp
Super Art Paper
Highest grade of art paper with double or triple coating. Coat weight of
25g/m2 per side, with gloss level over 80%, surface feels smooth and
shiny, superb printing quality, suitable for high-quality picture books,
product catalogues, and refined printing products..
Supercalender
A stack of alternating steel and fiber-covered rolls at the end of the
paper machine which is used to increase a sheet’s gloss and smoothness.
Supercalendering
Treatment of paper on an off-machine supercalender to improve smoothness
and gloss.
For coated boards, Parker Print Surf (PPS) roughness tester is used where
the test result is expressed as an average of the surface profiles in
micrometers ( m ) low results show smooth surface while high results
indicate poor surface.
For coated board, Bendtsen method readings given as total leakage of air
in ml/min. Smoother surface has lower readings
Surface Smoothness
The smoothness of the linerboard surface may affect printing quality
because slight depressions may not receive complete ink coverage. Surface
smoothness may also affect the coefficient of friction, gloss and coating
absorption.
The method consists of printing a strip of paper in a print tester at an
accelerating rate. The method is preferable to Wax Pick.
Surface-Sized
Paper that has been treated with starch or other sizing material at the
size press of the paper machine. This term is used interchangeably with
the term “tub-sized”, although tub-size more properly refers to surface
sizing applied as a separate operation where the paper is immersed in a
tub of sizing (starch or glue), after which it passes between squeeze
rolls and is air dried.
Sustainable Forest Management
Managing a forest in a way that enhances its ecosystem while providing
environmental, economic, social and cultural opportunities for present and
future generations.
An increase in volume of fiber due to the absorption of liquid.
Synthetic Fiber Paper
Papers made from synthetic fibers such as polyamide and polyester, from
viscose staple fiber or sometimes also with fillers. The fibers are mainly
held together by binders. The durable synthetic fiber papers are used for
maps and highly important documents such as driving licenses or vehicle
registration books.
Abbreviation indicating that the paper has been guillotine trimmed on all
four sides. Literal translation: trimmed four sides.
Table Roll
The small diameter rolls used to support the wire.
Tack or Stickiness
Tack is a critical property of the ink used in lithography. Because the
ink sits on a flat surface, it needs internal cohesion; in other words, it
needs to stick to itself so that it doesn’t run all over the plate.
However, too much tack can cause it to pull the paper apart. When printing
two or more ink colors in line, the ink tack and sequence must be adjusted
in order for the inks to adhere to each other as well as to the paper.
Tag Paper
A heavy utility grade of paper used to print tags, such as the store tags
on clothing. Tag paper must be strong and durable, yet have good affinity
for printing inks.
Mineral used in papermaking as a filler and coating pigment.
Tea Bag Paper
Used to pack tea leaves. Paper should not have any impurities. It should
have high liquid permeability and should withstand boiling water.
Tear Index
Tear index = tearing resistance/basis weight.
Tear Resistance
The mean force required to continue the tearing of paper from an initial
cut under standardized conditions.
A measure of how likely a paper will continue to tear once started. Tear
strength will differ with and against the grain.
Technical Paper
Variety of medium-grammage papers used in different industrial purposes.
Tensile Energy Absorption (TEA)
It is the work done when a paper specimen is stressed to rupture in
tension under prescribed conditions as measured by the integral of tensile
strength over the range of tensile strain from 0 to maximum.
Tensile Index
Tensile index = tensile strength (N/m) /basis weight (g/m2).
Tensile Strength
A measure of how likely a paper is to break when pulled at opposite ends.
This is very important when running through high-speed web presses.
Terms of Sale
The point at which sellers have fulfilled their obligations so the goods
in a legal sense could be said to have been delivered to the buyer. They
are shorthand expressions that set out the rights and obligations of each
party when it comes to transporting the goods. Following, are the thirteen
terms of sale in international trade as Terms of Sale reflected in the
recent amendment to the International chamber of Commerce Terms of Trade (INCOTERMS),
effective July 1990: exw, fca, fas, fob, cfr, cif, cpt, cip, daf, des, deq,
ddu and ddp.
Terms of Sale – CFR (Cost and Freight) (…Named Port of
Destination) A Term of Sale where the seller pays the costs and freight
necessary to bring the goods to the named port of destination, Terms of
Sale but the risk of loss of or damage to the goods, as (continued) well
as any additional costs due to events occurring after the time the goods
have been delivered on board the vessel, is transferred from the seller to
the buyer when the goods pass the ship’s rail in the port of shipment. The
CFR term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.
Terms of Sale – CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) (…Named Place of
Destination) A Term of Sale where the seller has the same obligations as
under the CFR but also has to procure marine insurance against the buyer’s
risk of loss or damage to the goods during the carriage. The seller
contracts for insurance and pays the insurance premium. The CIF term
requires the seller to clear the goods for export.
Terms of Sale – CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To) (…Named Place
of Destination) A Term of Sale which means the seller has the same
obligations as under CPT, but with the addition that the seller has to
procure cargo insurance against the buyer’s risk of loss of or damage to
the goods during the carriage. The seller contracts for insurance and pays
the insurance premium. The buyer should note that under the CIP term the
seller is required to obtain insurance only on minimum coverage. The CIP
term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.
Terms of Sale – CPT (Carriage Paid To) (…Named Place of
Destination) A Term of Sale which means the seller pays the freight for
the carriage of the goods to the named destination. The risk of loss of or
damage to the goods, as well as any additional costs due to events
occurring after the time the goods have been delivered to the carrier, is
transferred from the seller to the buyer when the goods have been
delivered into the custody of the carrier. If subsequent carriers are used
for the carriage to the agreed upon destination, the risk passes when the
goods have been delivered to the first carrier. The CPT term requires the
seller to clear the goods for export.
Terms of Sale – DAF (Delivered At Frontier) (…Named Place) A Term
of Sale which means the sellers fulfill their obligation to deliver when
the goods have been made available, cleared for export, at the named point
and placed at the frontier, but before the customs Terms of Sale border of
the adjoining country. (continued)
Terms of Sale – DDP (Delivered Duty paid) (…Named Port of
Destination) Delivered Duty Paid means that the seller fulfills his
obligation to deliver when the goods have been made available at the named
place in the country of importation. The seller has to bear the risks and
costs, including duties, taxes and other charges of delivering the goods
thereto, clear for importation. While the EXW term represents the minimum
obligation for the seller, DDP represents the maximum.
Terms of Sale – DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) (…Named Port of
Destination) A Term of Sale where the seller fulfills his obligation to
deliver when the goods have been made available at the named place in the
country of importation. The seller has to bear the costs and risks
involved in bringing the goods thereto (excluding duties, taxes and other
official charges payable upon importation) as well as the costs and risks
of carrying out customs formalities. The buyer has to pay any additional
costs and to bear any risks caused by failure to clear the goods for in
time.
Terms of Sale – DEQ (Delivered Ex Quay, [Duty Paid]) (…Named Port
of Destination) A Term of Sale which means the DDU term has been fulfilled
when the goods have been available to the buyer on the quay (wharf) at the
named port of destination, cleared for importation. The seller has to bear
all risks and costs including duties, taxes and other charges of
delivering the goods thereto.
Terms of Sale – DES (Delivered Ex Ship) (…Named Port of
Destination) A Term of Sale where the seller fulfills his/her obligation
to deliver when the goods have been made available to the buyer on board
the ship, not cleared for import at the named port of destination. The
seller has to bear all the costs and risks involved in bringing the goods
to the named port destination.
Terms of Sale – EXW (Ex Works) (…Named Place) A Term of Sale which
means that the seller fulfills the obligation to deliver when he or she
has made the goods available at his/her premises (i.e., works, factory,
warehouse, etc.) to the buyer. In particular, the seller is not
responsible for loading the goods in the vehicle provided by the buyer or
for clearing the goods for export, unless otherwise agreed. The buyer
bears all costs and risks involved in taking the goods from the seller’s
premises to the desired destination. This term thus represents the minimum
obligation for the seller.
Terms of Sale – FAS (Free Alongside Ship) (…Named Port of
Shipment) A Term of Sale which means the seller fulfills his obligation to
deliver when the goods have been placed alongside the vessel on the quay
or in lighters at the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer
has to bear all costs and risks of loss of or damage to the goods from
that moment.
Terms of Sale – FCA (Free Carrier) (… Named Place) A Term of Sale
which means the seller fulfills their obligation when he or she has handed
over the goods, cleared for export, into the charge of the carrier named
by the buyer at the named place or point. If no precise point is indicated
by the buyer, the seller may choose, within the place or range stipulated,
where the carrier should take the goods into their charge.
Terms of Sale – FOB (Free On Board) (…Named Port of Shipment) An
International Term of Sale that means the seller fulfills his or her
obligation to deliver when the goods have passed over the ship’s rail at
the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer has to bear all
costs and risks to loss of or damage to the goods from that point. The FOB
term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.
Testliner
Mainly produced from waste paper used as even facing for corrugated board
or as liner of solid board. They are often produced as duplex (two-layer)
paper. The grammage is higher than 125 gsm.
Text Paper
Text papers are defined as fine, high quality uncoated papers. Typically,
they are made in various colors, with numerous textures and a variety of
surface finishes. Text papers are made from high-grade bleached wood pulp,
cotton fibers, or tree-free pulp such as bamboo. Recycled sheets include
high quality recycled waste paper and post-consumer waste pulp, in
addition to bleached wood pulp, tree-free pulp or cotton fibers.
Thermal Paper
Any paper with a heat-sensitive coating on which an image can be produced
by the application of heat.
Thermal Transfer Printing
Printing whereby a design image is first printed on heat transfer paper
using inks with sublimable dispersed dyes.
Thermo Mechanical Pulping (TMP)
Mechanical pulp made by steaming wood chips under pressure prior to and
during refining, producing a higher yield and stronger pulp than regular
stone groundwood or regular refiner wood pulp.
Thin Paper
Includes carbonizing, cigarette, bible, air mail and similar papers.
Thinning
A practice in which certain trees are removed from a dense stand to allow
the remaining trees adequate sunlight, nutrients and moisture to grow at
an even rate.
To vary a color by adding white. Also, a very light or delicate variation
of a color.
A low weights and thin sheet. Normally a paper sheet weighing less than 40
gram per meter square is called tissue.
At Home products: Also known as Consumer Products, these are the
tissue products you purchase in the grocery store and convenience store
for use in your home and include toilet paper and facial tissue, napkins
and paper towels, and other special sanitary papers.
Away from Home products: Also known as Commercial & Industrial
Tissue, these are the products that serve markets such as hospitals,
restaurants, businesses, institutions, and janitorial supply firms.
Specialty: These types of tissue papers are often high end,
decorative papers that are glazed, unglazed, or creped, and include
wrapping tissue for gifts and dry cleaning, as well as crepe paper for
decorating
Facial tissue: The class of soft, absorbent papers in the sanitary
tissue group. Originally used for removal of creams, oil, and so on, from
the skin, it is now used in large volume for packaged facial tissue,
toilet paper, paper napkins, professional towels, industrial wipes, and
for hospital items. Most facial tissue is made of bleached sulfite or
sulfate pulp, sometimes mixed with bleached and mechanical pulp, on a
single-cylinder or Fourdrinier machine. Desirable characteristics are
softness, strength, and freedom from lint.
Titanium Dioxide
An opaque and expensive compound used as a white pigment and opacifier in
papermaking. Elemental titanium is a lustrous, lightweight, white metal
with exceptional strength.
Permissible degree of variation from a pre-set standard.
Ton on Tonne
Metric ton or Metric Tonne is equal to 1000 Kgs. or 2240 lbs. English tons
are as defined. Long Ton = 2240 lbs is similar to metric ton. Standard
English ton is 2200 lbs. Short ton is 2000 lbs.
Top Side
Side of the paper opposite to the wire side.
Total Alkali
NaOH + Na2S + Na2CO3 + 0.5*Na2SO3 all expressed as Na2O in alkaline
pulping liquor.
Totally chlorine free applies to virgin fiber papers that are unbleached
or processed with a sequence that includes no chlorine or chlorine
derivatives. (Also see ECF)
A paper suitable for drawing office use; sufficiently translucent for an
image on it to be reproduced by processes using transmitted light and for
a design to be traced on it from an original placed beneath it. Such
processes include blueprint and diazo.
Transparent Paper
Extended and particularly careful grinding of high quality fibers (hard
chemical pulps, rags) yields a raw material permitting the production of
transparent paper.
Papers which have functional characteristics added through special
treatment. Among the most common are insect resistant, mold resistant,
clay coated, and flame retardant.
Trim
To cut true to exact size, by cutting away the edges of paper in the web
or sheet.
The operation of surface sizing paper by passing it through a bath of a
suitable solution such as gelatin.
Tube Digester
Single or multi-tube continuous digester; used mainly in nonwood pulping
and sawdust pulping purposes; horizontal tubes..
Twin-wire Machine
A papermaking machine with two continuous forming wires, rather than just
one. Twin-wires were designed to create a less two-sided paper than paper
manufactured on a Fourdrinier paper machine.
Other techniques for reducing two-sidedness have since been
developed, enabling paper manufacturers to create paper on single-wire
machines with little side-to-side variation.
Twisting Paper
A paper of high tensile strength in the machine direction which is cut
into narrow widths and spun or twisted into yarn or twine.
Two Parallel Fold
An excellent fold for legal size (or larger) pieces that are to be mailed.
A legal sheet (8.5″ x 14″) is folded to 3.5″ x 8.5″. A 9″ x 16″ sheet
produces a 4″ x 9″, four panel brochure. Note: A perforation added at one
of the folds can create a three panel brochure with detachable reply card.
Two-Sidedness
The property denoting a difference in appearance and printability between
its top (felt) and wire sides.
U
A packaging material comprising two layers of Kraft paper bonded together
by means of a laminate that is resistant to the transmission of water in
liquid or vapor form. E.g. bitumen or plastic.
Un-sized Paper
A paper which has not been sized.
Urban Forest
A description of towns and cities which are the source of wastepaper as
one of the raw materials used for paper making.
Urban Wood
Used pallets, wooden shipping crates and clean construction wood diverted
from the waste stream and chipped for use in making particleboard and
medium density board.
A very glossy, slick coating applied to the printed paper surface and
dried on press with ultraviolet (UV) light. UV coating can cause slight
variations in match colors, so consult an ink manufacturer or printer for
best results.
An ink specially formulated to dry quickly with ultraviolet light while
still on press. Fast UV drying eliminates the need to wait for the first
side to dry before printing the second side.
V
V-fold has one fold which creates two panels.
Vacuum Box
A paper or board making machine comprising one open ended cylinder, or
more than one open ended cylinder in series, covered with fine mesh wire,
which revolves in a vat of stock. Water draining through the wire leaves a
mat of fibers on its surface and the ultimate thickness of the product may
be determined by the number of cylinders used. The resultant web is
removed from the last cylinder and then passed through conventional
pressing and drying sections
Paper that has acquired, by the action of sulfuric acid, a continuous
texture. It offers high resistance to disintegration by water and grease.
Vegetable Parchment
Paper that has acquired, by the action of sulfuric acid, a continuous
texture. It offers high resistance to disintegration by water and grease.
Vehicle
The liquid part of the ink, giving it the flow properties that enable it
to be applied to a surface.
Veining
(1) Paper finish that exhibits a toothy surface similar to eggshell or
antique and is relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration.
(2) A high-grade paper made to resemble parchments originally made
from calf’s skin.
(3) Social and personal stationery is often called vellum.
Virgin Fiber
Fiber that has never been used before in the manufacture of paper or other
products.
Forest in its natural state, untouched by man.
Viscose Pulp
Dissolving pulp intended for the manufacture of viscose.
Viscosity (ink)
A measurement of the fluidity of ink. A higher viscosity is the thicker,
and the lower viscosity is thinner.
Vulcanizing Paper
Paper made specifically for treatment with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and
sulfuric acid (H2SO4) to gelatinize the surface cellulose. Vulcanizing
converts the paper in to a hard, dense and tough sheet which is used in
electrical insulation, luggage, mechanical assemblies and building
material.
A single or multi-layer loosely matted fiber pad made from chemical pulp
and used in packaging, thermal insulation and /or acoustical applications.
It is also used in diaper and as absorbent material in other sanitary
products.
A paper used for wall covering. Also known as hanging paper.
Wall Paper
A paper used for wall covering. Also known as hanging paper.
Warp
The machine direction yarns in a woven fabric (press felt, dryer screen
etc.) See also weft
One type of pulp washer; uses pressing action for dewatering and
displacement.
Japanese handmade paper. For more detail, please visit
Washing
A process of separating spent cooking or bleaching chemicals from pulp
fibers.
Deinking in which solid particles are separated on the basis of their size
by washing. Also see Flotation Deinking and Combination Deinking.
Water Finished Paper
A high glazed paper produced by moistening the sheet with water or steam
during calendering.
A high glazed paper produced by moistening the sheet with water or steam
during calendering.
Paper which has been impregnated, coated or laminated to resist the
penetration of water.
The water retention value test provides an indication of fibers’ ability
to take up water and swell. The WRV is also highly correlated to the
bonding ability of kraft fibers.
Water Vapor Transmission
The rate of water vapor transmission through containerboard indicates the
ability of the finished container to protect its contents from undesirable
effects of high humidly or moisture loss of the product.
Water-Color Paper
A medium weight, hard sized, coarse surface paper, suitable for painting
with water based colors.
A medium weight, hard sized, coarse surface paper, suitable for painting
with water based colors.
A paper with little or no sizing, like blotter, making it very absorbent
If dampening is desired, this paper can be sprayed with an atomizer.
Watermark
The image impressed into the formation of paper by the dandy roll on the
wet end of the paper machine; can be seen by holding the watermarked sheet
up to the light. Can be either a wire mark or a shaded image.
Waviness
A form of paper curl resulting when the sheet edges in the pile absorb
moisture that the center of the pile cannot absorb; or the sheet edges
surrendering moisture while the center remains moist.
Wavy Edges
Warping effect in paper that is the result of the edges of the sheet
having picked up moisture and expanded. Will normally happen only in a
pile that prevents the center of the sheets from picking up the same
amount of moisture and leveling out or cockling. It is usually a warm
weather problem caused by improper balance between moisture content of the
paper or too high humidity in the air.
Waxed Paper
Nearly woodfree papers that are impregnated with paraffin, wax or
wax/paraffin/plastic mixtures. With the appropriate saturation agent and
process the product may be tailored for specific applications, e.g.
packaging of bread or sweets or wrapping razor blades.
Waxing
Coating or impregnating of paper or board with paraffin or wax.
Web
Term used for the full width of the paper sheet in the process of being
formed, pressed, dried, finished and/or converted.
Web Break
A tear in a web during the printing process.
Weft
The cross machine direction yarns in a woven fabric (press felt, dryer
screen etc.). See also warp
Wet Break
A paper break at the wet end (on wire or press) during papermaking
process.
First part of the paper machine consisting of wire part and press part.
Wet Lap Machine
Paper machine consisting essentially of a wire covered cylinder rotating
in a vat of pulp stock on which a mat of varying thickness is formed by
drainage. These mats are removed either intermittently in thick sheets
called laps, or continuously.
Chemical additives added with the stock at the wet end. Following are some
of the wet end additives.
Additives
To impart wet strength to such papers as coffee filter
Wet Strength Paper
A chemically treated paper strong enough to withstand tear, rupture or
falling apart when saturated with water.
Wet Tensile Strength
The measure of the force necessary to break a one inch strip if paper
after it has been immersed in water.
Wetting Agent
Substance that increases the wettability of a surface for a liquid.
White Liquor
White liquor is the aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide & sodium sulfide
used as the cooking liquor in Kraft pulping.
White Top Liner
A two-ply sheet comprised of one bleached and one unbleached layer.
White Water
The filtrate from the wet end of the paper machine.
White Water System
Flow circuit for paper machine white water (includes pipes, storage tanks,
cleaning equipment, water from forming section and return feed).
Whiteness
Whiteness of pulp and paper is generally indicated by its brightness,
which is the reflectance of a wavelength of blue light. So-called white
papers have a definite hue. Most are made with a blue white tint.
Whole Tree Chip
Wood chips produced by chipping whole trees, usually in the forest. Thus
the chips contain both bark and wood. They are frequently produced from
the low-quality trees or from tops, limbs, and other logging residues.
Wicking
The bleeding of ink from the ink jet printing process into unwanted areas
of the paper, causing a blurring effect of the printed character or image.
Willesden Paper
Paper made waterproof by immersing in a bath of cuprammonium hydroxide,
washing and drying. The treatment partially dissolves and gelatinizes the
surface and the final paper is parchment-like, tough, waterproof, rotproof
and distasteful to insects. It is used for roof covering and insulating
purposes.
Machine for cutting the paper web longitudinally into narrower webs, which
are then wound to reels; also slitter-winder
Winding
Operation whereby a web of paper or board is wound into one or more reels.
Wipes or Wiper
Folded absorbent tissue used for cleaning purpose.
Wire Guide Roll
The small diameter roll used for guiding (keeping on track) the wire. One
end of the roll is adjusted to compensate any misalignment.
Wire Mark
On the bottom or wire side of the paper, these are impressed traces of the
machine wire.
The moving “screen” at the wet end of a paper machine where the sheet is
formed.
The small diameter rolls used at the return run (Couch roll to Breast
roll) of the wire.
The side of a sheet next to the wire in manufacturing; opposite from the
felt or top side; usually not as smooth as the felt or topside.
Wire Tension Roll
The small diameter rolls used at the return run (Couch roll to Breast
roll) of the wire to adjust the tension of the wire.
Wood Pulp
Mechanical or chemical pulp made from wood (cf. Non-wood pulp).
Wood-Free
Pulp furnish without mechanical pulp.
Wove
The Paper having a uniform surface and no discernible marks. Soft, smooth
finish, most widely used writing, printing, book and envelope paper.
Relatively low opacity, brightness and bulk.
Wrapper
The materials, consisting usually of paper or paperboard, sometimes with
treatment for moisture barrier properties, which are used to protect the
roll or pile form damage.
Wrinkle
Blade Wrinkle: Blade coating defect, an irregular line on the coated
surface, essentially in the machine direction.
Winder Wrinkle: Ridges at an angle to the machine direction, caused
by hard sport in the reel.
Writing Paper
Uncoated paper that is suitable for writing with ink on both sides. The
writing must neither bleed nor strike through. Writing paper is always
fully sized and also suitable for printing. It can be woodfree or
mechanical, depending on the intended purpose. The admixture of fillers
makes it less translucent.
The printing process used by photocopying machines. Electric charge
creates the image on an eloctro-photographic surface that works as a
plate. This surface is cleared after each copy is made, and used over
again for the next copy.
Xylan
A type of hemi-cellulose in wood. Yellow, water-soluble, gummy
polysaccharide found in plant (e.g. hardwood or cereal straws) cell walls;
main structural components are xylose and other pentoses; yields xylose
and other pentoses upon hydrolysis.
Xylanase
Enzyme used for hydrolysis of xylan in pulp bleaching.
Y
A type of Fourdrinier paper machine employing a single dryer of large
circumference with highly polished surface.
Yellow Pages
Used for telephone directory advertising. Paper used for this needs to
have high bulk (1.1 to 1.2), high tensile strength of about 2 kg/15 mm in
MD and good opacity (90%) so that the fine print made on thin paper like
40 gsm would be readable on both side. Excellent reel build up is required
for smooth feeding during printing. This requires every uniform profile of
bulk, gsm, caliper, moisture etc.
Yellowing
Or brightness reversion is the discoloration of white paper primarily due
to aging.
Ratio of product output and raw material input, expressed in percentage.
Z
The direction perpendicular to the plane of a sheet of paper.
Z-Direction Tensile Strength
The tensile strength measured in Z-direction.
Zero (Effluent) Discharge
No effluent discharge from pulp & papermaking plant.
Z-Fold
A paper fold represented by back and forth folds into three panels.
Zig Zag Folding
Folding used with continuous forms with alternating position (head and
foot). Commonly used to convert roll paper to easily managed flat-back
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the kinds of lumber is lumbertor, lumberking, and the inforlumber -------------Lumber is divided into 3 main categories - hardwoods, softwoods and engineered. Hardwoods (Oak, Cherry, Mahogany) are sold by the board foot. Softwoods (Pine, Firs, Larches) are mostly sold as 'dimensional' lumber, sawn a nd surfaced to a particular size (like 2X4in studs) for construction. Engineered lumber would include plywood, laminated beams, and butcher blocks. Mahogany Mahogany is highly resistant to decay and offers a finely textured closed grain. Mahogany is one of the softer hardwoods, making it much easier to work with tha n some others. Paneling is often made of mahogany. It can also be used for fine veneers and some types of furniture. Maple Maple is one of the traditional American hardwoods and has been used for furnitu re making since Colonial times. One species of maple, which is known as rock or hard maple, is denser than regular maple. Hard maple may be a good choice becaus e of the added strength, but it is more difficult to work with. Many bowling all ey floors and old-time dance hall floors are made of maple. Oak Oak is a very durable hardwood that features an open grain. The coarse grain can make oak very difficult to carve or shape, so it is best used for simple furnit ure designs. When you sink posts into the ground to build a fence, you are very likely working with oak. Teak Teak is a hardwood that hails from Southeast Asia. While it is similar to rosewo od due to its golden-brownish color, it lacks the black highlights. Teak is very expensive, so it is often used as a veneer to cover up less expensive, less att ractive woods. Teak has an open grain with medium texture. Power tools or very s harp hand tools are needed to work with teak because it is very hard. Walnut Walnut is a dark hardwood that features a striking black and brown grain pattern . Although walnut is quite hard, it is easier to work with than similar hardwood s like maple or cherry. Staining is almost never an issue since it is already da rk. Walnut is also a popular wood because it resists decay and is not subject to easy warping or swelling. Walnut can be used to make furniture and is very suit able for paneling. Lumber is divided into hardwood (from deciduous trees) and softwood (from conife rous trees). While that may seem to indicate that one type is harder than anothe r, a softwood like Douglas fir is actually harder than a hardwood like poplar. F or the most part, however, hardwoods are more durable than softwoods. This is wh y hardwood is more often used for flooring, finished projects and paneling. ypes of Woods The more one knows about the unique characteristics of wood and its source, the better one can understand the degree of warmth and beauty that it brings to our everyday décor. Furniture made of wood is one of the few things in the world that all people can own and know that they are the only person in the world who owns that particular grain pattern and its inherent beauty. Each grain pattern is a u nique masterpiece of design, texture and splendor. Even what some may view as a defect, like a knot or other natural blemishes, can add more beauty and characte r to any given piece of furniture. The classification of wood has historically always been either hard wood; any le af bearing tree, and soft wood; any cone bearing tree. These terms can be confus ing since some leaf bearing trees can have very soft wood and some coniferous tr ees can have very hard woods. To make this easier, below you will find a list of different tree types, classification and then individual wood characteristics. There are two basic wood grades. Select lumber is excellent quality for use when appearance and finishing are important and common lumber that has defects used for construction and general-purpose projects. The grades of the select lumber a re: B and Better grade, which has minute or no blemishes; C Select grade which h as some minor defects such as small knots; D select grade that has larger imperf ections, which can be concealed by paint. The grades of common lumber are No. 1 grade containing tight knots and few blemishes. No. 2 grade that has more and la rger knots and blemishes. No. 3 grade that has loose knots, knotholes, and other flaws. No. 4 grade that is low quality and No. 5 grade where the appearance is not important. HARDWOODS OAK: Oak is the most widely used hardwood. There are more than 60 species of oak grown in the U.S., which can be separated into two basic varieties; white and r ed. The red variety is also known as black oak (a reference to its bark). Properties: Oak is a heavy, strong, light colored hardwood. It is ring porous, d ue to the fact that more and larger conductive vessels are laid down early in th e summer, rather than later. Prominent rings and large pores give oak a course t exture and prominent grain. Oak also has conspicuous medullary rays which can be seen as "flakes" in quarter sawed oak lumber. Uses: Oak is the most popular wood used to craft American and English country de signs. It is also used for Gothic and William & Mary reproductions, as well as m any transitional and contemporary pieces. MAPLE: There are 115 species of maple. Only 5 commercially important species gro w in the U.S. Two of the five are hard rock maple and sugar maple. Properties: Maple is so hard and resistant to shocks that it is often used for b owling alley floors. Its diffuse evenly sized pores give the wood a fine texture and even grain. Maple that has a curly grain is often used for violin backs (th e pattern formed is known as fiddleback figure). Burls, leaf figure, and birds-e ye figures found in maple are used extensively for veneers. The Birds eye figure in maple is said to be the result of stunted growth and is quite rare. Uses: Maple is used extensively for American colonial furniture, especially in m edium and lower priced categories. It can also be stained to simulate cherry woo d, which it resembles. MAHOGANY: Mahogany, also known as Honduras mahogany is a tropical hardwood indig enous to South America, Central America and Africa. There are many different gra des and species sold under this name, which vary widely in quality and price. Ma hogany which comes from the Caribbean is thought to be the hardest, strongest an d best quality. Logs from Africa, though highly figured, are of slightly lesser quality. Philippine mahogany has a similar color, but is not really mahogany at all. It is a much less valuable wood, being less strong, not as durable or as be autiful when finished. Properties: Mahogany is strong, with a uniform pore structure and poorly defined annual rings. It has a reddish - brown color and may display stripe, ribbon, br oken stripe, rope, ripple, mottle, fiddleback or blister figures. Crotch mahogan y figures are widely used and greatly valued. Mahogany is an excellent carving w ood and finishes well. Uses: Mahogany is used extensively in the crafting of Georgian, Empire and Feder al reproduction furniture. Mahogany is also used in styles ranging from Victoria n furniture reproductions to Contemporary. CHERRY: Cherry is grown in the Eastern half of the U.S.. It is sometimes called fruitwood. The term fruitwood is also used to describe a light brown finish on o ther woods. Properties: A moderately hard, strong, closed grain, light to red-brown wood, ch erry resists warping and checking. It is easy to carve and polish. Uses: Cherry veneers and solids are used in a variety of styles. Cherry has been called New England mahogany and is often used to craft 18th century, Colonial a nd French Provincial designs. WALNUT: Walnut is one of the most versatile and popular cabinet making woods. It grows in Europe, America and Asia. There are many different varieties. Properties: Walnut is strong, hard and durable, without being excessively heavy. It has excellent woodworking qualities, and takes finishes well. The wood is li ght to dark chocolate brown in color with a straight grain in the trunk. Wavy gr ain is present toward the roots, and walnut stumps are often dug out and used as a source of highly figured veneer. Large burls are common. Walnut solids and ve neers show a wide range of figures, including strips, burls, mottles, crotches, curls and butts. European walnut is lighter in color and slightly finer in textu re than American black walnut, but otherwise comparable. Uses: Walnut is used in all types of fine cabinet work, especially 1 8th century reproductions. ROSEWOOD: Very hard and has a dark reddish brown color. It is fragrant and close grained. It is hard to work and takes high polish. Used in musical instruments, piano cases, tool handles, art projects, veneers and furniture. TEAK: True teak is indigenous to Southeast Asia, but similar wood species also grow in Africa. Properties & Uses: Teak is a yellow to dark brown hardwood which is extremely he avy, strong and durable. Often strongly figured, teak may show straight grain, m ottled or fiddleback figures. It carves well, but because of its high value, is often used as a veneer. Scandinavian modern, and oriental furniture styles are o ften crafted of teak. SOFTWOODS PINE: Pine is a softwood which grows in most areas of the Northern Hemisphere. T here are more than 100 species worldwide. Properties: Pine is a soft, white or pale yellow wood which is light weight, str aight grained and lacks figure. It resists shrinking and swelling. Knotty pine i s often used for decorative effect. Uses: Pine is often used for country or provincial furniture. Pickled, whitened, painted and oil finishes are often used on this wood. ASH: There are 16 species of ash which grow in the eastern United States. Of th ese, the white ash is the largest and most commercially important. Properties: Ash is a hard, heavy, ring porous hardwood. It has a prominent grain that resembles oak, and a white to light brown color. Ash can be differentiated from hickory (pecan) which it also resembles, by white dots in the darker summe rwood which can be seen with the naked eye. Ash burls have a twisted, interwoven figure. Uses: Ash is widely used for structural frames and steam bent furniture pieces. It is often less expensive than comparable hardwoods. HICKORY: There are 15 species of hickory in the eastern United States, eight of which are commercially important. Properties: Hickory is one of the heaviest and hardest woods available. Pecan is a species of hickory sometimes used in furniture. It has a close grain without much figure. Uses: Wood from the hickory is used for structural parts, especially where stren gth and thinness are required. Decorative hickory veneers are also commonly used . BEECH: The American beech is a single species which grows in the eastern half of the United States. Properties & Uses: Beech is a hard, strong, heavy wood with tiny pores and large conspicuous medullary rays, similar in appearance to maple. This relatively ine xpensive wood has reddish brown heartwood and light sapwood. Beech is often used for frames, a variety of bent and turned parts. Quarter sliced and half round c ut beech veneers are commonly used. BIRCH: There are many species of birch. The yellow birch is the most commerciall y important. European birch is fine grained, rare and expensive. Properties & Uses: Birch is a hard, heavy, close grained hardwood with a light b rown or reddish colored heartwood and cream or light sapwood. Birch is often rot ary or flat sliced, yielding straight, curly or wavy grain patterns. It can be s tained to resemble mahogany or walnut. CEDAR: Several species of cedar grow in the southern United States, Central and South America. Properties & Uses: Cedar is a knotty softwood which has a red-brown color with l ight streaks. Its aromatic and moth repellent qualities have made it a popular w ood for lining drawers, chests and boxes. Simple cases and storage closets are a lso constructed from this light, brittle wood. REDWOOD: Indigenous to the Pacific United States, redwood trees grow to more tha n 300 feet tall and 2,500 years old. Properties & Uses: The best quality redwood comes from the heartwood which is re sistant to deterioration due to sunlight, moisture and insects. It is used to cr aft outdoor furniture and decorative carvings. Redwood burls have a "cluster of eyes" figure. They are rare and valuable. HEMLOCK: Light in weight, uniformly textured. It machines well and has low resis tance to decay and nonresinous. Used for construction lumber, planks, doors, boa rds, paneling, sub flooring and crates. FIR: Works easy and finishes well. Uniform in texture and nonresinous. Has low r esistance to decay. Used in furniture, doors, frames, windows, plywood, veneer, general millwork and interior trim. SPRUCE: Strong and hard. Finishes well and has low resistance to decay. Has mode rate shrinkage and light in weight. Used for masts and spars for ships, aircraft , crates, boxes, general millwork and ladders. Woods. An account of the qualities of the different woods may be of use to the pu rchaser. Ash is rather lighter colored than oak, but is sometimes used in connection with it. It is less likely to split. Beech, a tables, d it may n, which very close and tough wood, is chiefly used for the framework of chairs, and bedsteads. It is nearly of the color of birch, but rather paler, an be known by the presence of those peculiar little specks of darker brow are easily seen in a carpenter's plane. Birch is very close-grained, strong, and easily worked. It is of a pale yellowis h brown. If polished or varnished, it somewhat resembles satinwood, but is darke r, and by staining is capable of being made to closely resemble Honduras mahogan y. It is used in the better kinds of low-priced furniture. Cedar somewhat resembles mahogany, though more purplish. It has no ,'curl," and is free from tendency to warp or '' cast." The best varieties have a peculiarly pleasant aroma, which is offensive to moths ; hence it is highly valued for maki ng drawers and chests for clothing. Chestnut is coarse-grained, strong, elastic, light, and very durable. Some of th e best of the cheaper furniture is made of it. It looks so much like white oak a s to be frequently used in combination with it. Ebony is of a deep black color, and highly prized for several purposes, particul arly inlaying. It is exceedingly hard, heavy, and durable, but expensive. Pear a nd other woods dyed black are often substituted for it ; but are not so suscepti ble of good polish and luster, or so permanent in color. The best comes from Afr ica ; a kind variegated with brown is brought from Mauritius and Ceylon. Mahogany is imported of two kinds Honduras and Spanish. The former has a coarse, loose, and straight grain, without much curl or wave. The latter is darker, wit h curl, by which in great measure its price is regulated, and with a very fine, close texture. Spanish mahogany will bear great violence ; it is also free from ally tendency to warp. When, how-ever, it is very much curled, it is not nearly so strong or so free from twist ; but this is of little consequence, as its valu e is so great that it is generally veneered on to some less valuable wood, as Ho nduras or cedar. The heaviest mahogany is generally the best. Maple is of several qualities, the bird's-eye maple being most highly valued. It somewhat resembles satinwood, but is more buff than yellow, has more curl, and more " bird's-eye. " Maple is light and not very durable, and is used only in th e cheaper kinds of furniture. Oak. There are several varieties, of which the white oak, the red oak, and the l ive oak are the most important. The first is most used. Oak takes long to season , and is worse than most woods if used green. It is very hard to work. Its appea rance improves with age. On account of its tendency to warp, a great deal of socalled oak work is paneled with chestnut. Pearwood is of a light yellow color, and, on account of its even grain, a favori te wood for carving. It is often stained to imitate ebony. Pine is used in two varieties, the white and the yellow. When thoroughly dry, th ese woods are very free from all tendency to warp or shrink ; but in a half-seas oned state articles made of them fall to pieces. They are readily distinguished from one another by the difference of color, and from deals by the absence of tu rpentine veins. When oiled and varnished, both kinds of pine look very well. It seems a sin to stain it. Rattan, from strips of which the seats of cane chairs are made, is a small sort of cane, brought from China, Japan, and Sumatra. A very pretty and durable style of summer-chairs, lounges, tables, baskets, etc., is now made wholly of rattan. Rosewood is hard and dark, with some little curl, intermediate in this respect b etween Spanish and Honduras mahogany, and of a very open grain. Most articles of rosewood furniture are veneered, but the best are of solid wood. The color, whi ch consists of large elongated dark zones on a reddish-brown ground, is permanen t, unless it be much exposed to the direct rays of the sun ; and it takes a fine polish, which is improved by slight waxing, or, better, by the French polish, w hich brings out the color of the wood admirably. Satinwood is now used chiefly for inlaying, lining, and veneers. It is of a full yellowish color, with a fine grain, little curl, and a silky luster. Its toughn ess fits it well for furniture. Walnut is a native wood, but is used in such prodigious quantity that it is also imported. Well seasoned it is exceedingly tough and little inclined to warp. aditional Wood Types Hickory If you are looking for strength, hardness, and durability; Hickory is the best c ommercially available wood in North America. The grain is normally straight, but can sometimes be irregular or wavy. Hickory has a coarse texture, with a great deal of color variation between reddish brown, lighter brown, and white. Soft Maple Soft Maple is considered a paint grade because of minor mineral streaking, in ad dition to its close grained texture creating a more than adequate painting surfa ce. Having medium density, hardness, and strength, its machining and finishing p roperties are good, as is its stability. This fine textured and close grained wo od does not require filling. Red Oak Red Oak is a wood that is known for being very hard, heavy, and strong. However, given its density, it is actually fairly easy to work. Like Hickory, it does ha ve a coarse texture. Red Oak turns, carves, and bends well. It is also character ized by having excellent sanding and finishing properties, and great stability. Knotty Pine Knotty Pine is a lightweight wood, characterized by a straight grain and a fine, even texture. While knots are prevalent in the wood, the knots tend to be small and tight, giving the wood the signature rustic look that pine is so well known for, Knotty Pine is dimensionally stable and durable. Rubberwood Belonging to the Maple family, Rubberwood has very little tendency to warp or cr ack, as well as a dense grain character. Another benefit is that it is Earth Fri endly. Unlike other trees used for lumber, Rubberwood is not harvested until it can no longer be used for its latex-producing sap; and then when it is harvested , new rubber trees are planted. Metallic Selection Flat Black Finish With its black powder coating, metal corbels available in the flat black finish easily complement lighter colored wood types or stone facades alike. This smooth finish gives the appearance of a cast iron, but allows for the light weight of wrought aluminum. The smooth and rich black finish is sleek looking, though it i s not glossy. Brushed Aluminum The brushed aluminum finish draws its name from the fact that the metal is physi cally brushed to give a textured appearance, and then finished with a clear coat . This finish works particularly well when contrasting darker wood finishes, suc h as Black Walnut, or even Cherry or Mahogany finished with a dark stain. Antique Cast Iron The antique cast iron finish chosen by Osborne was carefully selected with an ey e toward authenticity of appearance. It has both the visual and tactile feeling that is found on genuine cast iron work but with lower maintenance and a longer life. Brushed Copper The copper finish we carefully selected is situated has a slightly aged appearan ce. We stopped short of a full patination as it is too dark. Conversely, we avoi ded a new penny look. The result is a finish that quickly identifies itself as c opper but which is neither too dark nor to light. It will blend well with surrou nding copper elements such as hardware. Chrome Our chrome finish is a highly polished chrome that is plated to a fine zinc allo y that has been chosen for weight and durability. The chrome finish is mirror cl ear and is reminiscent of the finish found on expensive faucet sets. This finish will hold its own around any fine hardware that is used on surrounding cabinetw ork. Stainless Steel All of our stainless steel products are produced from high quality, thick gauge stainless steel. You can feel the quality of craftsmanship and materials the min ute you touch the products. Although stainless steel is frequently associated wi th designs that reflect an industrial design aesthetic, stainless steel can serv e equally well as a counterbalance when introduced into more complicated design work. Gun Metal Gray Our gunmetal gray finish is a polished finish applied to a fine quality zinc all oy base. The result is a timeless, elegant appearance that lends itself to proje cts where quiet sophistication is called for. The inclusion products in our gunm etal gray finish can be selected to successfully compliment other cabinet hardwa re or may be used as stand-alone pieces that harmonize on a quieter level. Bronze Osborne replicates the original copper-and-tin recipe that is used to create bea utiful bronze by applying a faultless bronze finish over a fine quality zinc bas ed alloy that results in a product that is both attractive and durable. This all ows us to offer products with all of the luxury of bronze but without the extrem e weight that is usually associated with bronze products. Alder Alder is characterized by its straight grain and even texture. Its reddish brown color often looks similar to Cherry. While Alder is often used to mimic Cherry, its rich tone is beautiful. And certainly warrants use for its own distinct qua lities. Though it dents relatively easy, it offers a stable surface. Cherry Cherry wood is moderately heavy, hard, and strong, and it also machines and sand s to glass-like smoothness. Because of this, Cherry finishes beautifully. The he artwood in Cherry is red in color, and the sapwood is light pink. Components mad e of Cherry generally consist of approximately 25% sapwood and 75% heartwood. Hard Maple Hard Maple is considered our stain grade Maple, because it is more consistent in color than its cousin, Soft Maple. The wood is characterized as dense, and ligh t in color. Similar to our Soft Maple, Hard Maple is a fine textured and close g rained wood that does not require filling. Mahogany Not only one of the most valuable timbers in Africa, this species is also one of the foremost cabinet woods in the world. Mahogany is characterized as having st raight to interlocked grain and a medium coarse texture. The wood varies slightl y in color from a light reddish brown to a medium red. Red Birch The heartwood of Yellow Birch is red in color. While it is softer than Red Oak, it does actually have a tighter grain, which makes it very easy to finish. Red B irch is similar to Cherry in its appearance, as well as in its density and its r esistance to abrasion. Black Walnut Black walnut is considered a rare wood type, and it is quite durable and strong. Its coloration can be light to chocolate brown, and may contain burls, butts, a nd curls. The sapwood is usually white in color, and may be as high as 25%, but we have it steamed to make it a light coffee color, allowing for better color un iformity. Lyptus Lyptus lumber comes from Eucalyptus trees grown to CERFLOR standards, Brazil's n ational sustainable forestry standard. Lyptus is pruned throughout its growing p rocess, which means it grows straight and relatively knot-free; reducing waste. Also, it is a fast growing tree, making it an easily replenished lumber source. Lyptus rivals Cherry and Mahogany in appearance, while having properties similar to Hard Maple. FSC Wood Types FSC Hard Maple Like our premium selection Hard Maple, FSC Certified Hard Maple is stain grade, light in color, and is also smooth, durable, and strong. FSC Certified Hard Mapl e, however, has been certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council; affirming th at from the moment the lumber was harvested through its manufacture into compone nts at our plant, it was handled in an eco-friendly manner. FSC Cherry Like our premium selection Cherry, FSC Certified Cherry is moderately hard, heav y, and strong; sanding and finishing quite smoothly. FSC Certified Cherry, howev er, has been certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council; affirming that from the moment the lumber was harvested through its manufacture into components at o ur plant, it was handled in an eco-friendly manner. Specialty Woods Beech Beech is a heavy, pale -colored, medium-to-hard wood. It is a fine, tight grain and has large medullar rays. Beech is similar in appearance to maple and birch. One excellent characteristic of Beech is that fact that it does stain and polish well. Beech is a wood with high crush strength and medium stiffness. Spanish Cedar Spanish Cedar is a freshly cut heartwood that is pinkish to reddish brown but be comes red or dark reddish brown upon exposure. The wood is coarser than that of mahogany. Spanish Cedar has many other great qualities such as being durable, li ght but strong and is a straight grain wood. Western Red Cedar Western Red Cedar has twice the stability of most commonly available softwoods. Although Western Red Cedar is one of the world's most durable woods it however l acks in strength. Western Red Cedar has a uniform texture and is also a straight grained wood. One great characteristics of Western Red Cedar is that it is one of the easiest woods to work with. Tiger Maple Tiger Maple has a unique pattern to it, the pattern travels across the grain and can look like stripes, waves or small flames. The curly grain can make tiger ma ple less stable than straight grained maple. Tiger Wood is a hard durable wood a nd is a frequent choice for custom-made furniture. Sapele Sapele has a reddish brown color that is similar to Mahogany. Sapele has an inte resting interlocked grain that changes direction in frequent, irregular interval s. Sapele and Mahogany might be similar in color but you can depend on Sapele to be more durable. Sapele is a wood of fine texture. Heart Pine Heart Pine is a wood where the color ranges from dark rich amber to various shad es of golden yellow. When Heart Pine is exposed to light it does cause the wood to darken and yellow with time. Heart Pine is softer than red oak yet quite dens e and strong. The grain of Heart Pine is open and broad with some knots as well. Douglas Fir Douglas Fir, also known as the Oregon Pine, is a light rosy colored wood that re ddens overtime. It is a tight knotted and close-grained wood that has a high deg ree of stiffness as well. IF you are looking to paint or stain this wood it hold s all types of stains and finishes. Douglas Fir is dimensionally stable. Cypress Cypress wood, which is found along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Delaware to F lorida, is noted for color consistency, density, hardness, and relative lack of knots. It has a predominantly yellow tone with reddish, chocolate, or olive hues . Cypress has oils in the heartwood that make it very durable. Types of WoodsAlder Ash Cherry Eucalyptus Hickory Oak Parawood Pine Rosewood Rubberwood Aspen Beech Birch Mahogany Maple Poplar Redwood Teak Walnut Hard vs. Soft Alder Alder, part of the birch family, is a softer hardwood from the Pacific Northwest . Consistent color, stability, and uniform acceptance of stains and finishes are some of the characteristics that have made Western Alder a preferred wood for f urniture. Its elasticity makes it ideal for carving intricate details. Ranking s econd only to oak as the most commonly used wood, alder offers the look of many fine hardwoods at a value price. Ash White Ash is commonly used in the furniture market. Ash is a long-fibered, light -colored, medium-density wood that grows in the United States and Canada. Its co arse, porous grain is similar to that of oak, but it varies from white to lightred in color. Hard and heavy enough to be used for baseball bats, it s also flexib le enough for bending. Ash takes stain well and is used mainly for chairs and st ools. Aspen Hailing from the north-eastern and north-central United States, this is a softer , light-colored, even-grained hardwood belonging to the Populous family. Unfinis hed, aspen appears to have little or no grain, but the natural grain appears aft er the stain has been applied. Aspen can be finished to resemble cherry, walnut, and other more expensive hardwoods. It accepts most stains well, but may need a sealer to achieve an even coloring. Beech Found primarily in northeast U.S. and Canada, beech is a heavy, pale-colored, me dium-to-hard wood used widely for chairs and stools. It has a fine, tight grain and large medullar rays, similar in appearance to maple or birch woods. Beech wo od has a high shock resistance and takes stains well. Birch Birch is a stiff, close-grained hardwood that grows primarily in northeast U.S. and Canada. A heavy wood, it has a high shock resistance. Birch is very light in color (predominantly a light yellow) and takes any stain well. Cherry Also known as fruitwood, cherry is a strong, fine-grained hardwood with a pink u ndertone, often played up with a medium or dark finish to enhance its mahogany-r ed tones. Its rich coloring darkens with age and exposure to light. Cherry resis ts warping and is easy to carve and polish. Often used for 18th-century and form al, traditional-style furniture, cherry is often considered a luxury wood. Finegrained hardwoods, such as maple and alder, are common substitutes for cherry. B lack Cherry grows in Canada, the United States, and Central America; European Ch erry is distributed throughout Europe and southeast Asia. Eucalyptus This is a hardwood that earns high marks for strength, durability, and excellent weathering characteristics. Eucalyptus is pinkish-brown in color and ages to a reddish-brown with time and exposure to light. Its resistance to decay is simila r to that of teak wood. In fact, when finished with a high-quality oil, eucalypt us takes on a teak-like appearance. Hickory One of the hardest, heaviest, and strongest woods in the United States, hickory is a hardwood whose varieties can also be found in Canada and Mexico. Distinguis hed by extreme contrasts of light and dark colors, it has a dramatic natural loo k. For more even coloring, hickory can be easily stained. Mahogany A tropical medium-to-hard wood indigenous to South America, Central America, and Africa, mahogany s strength makes it an excellent carving wood. It has a uniform pore structure, a medium grain, and less defined annual rings. Mahogany ranges f rom tan to reddish-brown in color, and may display stripe, ribbon, rope, ripple, or blister figures. Its stability and resistance to decay makes the wood ideal for high-quality cabinetry and furniture. Maple This is a very light-colored medium-to-hard wood, abundant in the eastern United States. Known for its shock resistance, maple has diffused, evenly-sized pores that give the wood a fine texture and an even grain. Eastern maples are generall y harder than western maples, due to the colder winters and shorter growing seas ons. Both are highly durable and take any stain well. Maple can be finished to r esemble walnut, cherry, or other more expensive hardwoods. Oak Oak is the wood most commonly used for finer, more durable furniture. It s a very hard, heavy, open-grained wood that grows from deciduous and evergreen trees in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It's found in both red and white varietie s. Red oak (also known as black oak) has a pinkish cast and is the more popular of the two. White oak has a slightly greenish cast. Prominent rings and large po res give oak a coarse texture and prominent grain. It stains well in any color. Parawood Native to the Amazon region of South America, this wood is used for much of the furniture made in that region. Parawood can be traced back to the days of Christ opher Columbus, when its seedlings were used in rubber plantations to produce la tex. Today it s used to build fine furniture, a new tree planted in the place of e ach that is cut. Parawood is just as hard as maple or ash, and takes a very even stain. Yellow in color, it has a medium grain similar to mahogany. Pine Pine is a softwood that grows in many varieties in various parts of the world. I n the U.S., Eastern White Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and Sugar Pine are some of the t ypes used to make furniture. Pine s "knotty" characteristics provide warmth an d individuality to each crafted piece. Usually light-yellow in color, the wood h as a broadly spaced striation pattern. It s ideal for children s rooms, family rooms , beach cottages anywhere you d like an airier, lighter feel. Its natural grain an d shades ensure that no piece is exactly alike. Excellent for staining. Poplar Poplar is a light-colored, softer wood that is more costly than pine, but less c ostly than oak or maple. It's generally straight-grained and "woolly" with a fin e, even texture. Pale in color, similar to beech and alder, poplar grows through out North America, Europe, and Asia. Redwood A hard, valuable, reddish-brown wood, redwood has a straight grain and a fine, c oarse texture. Its coloring ranges from light-red to a deep reddish-brown, with very prominent growth rings. Weathering more gracefully than other woods, redwoo d is often used to build decks and outdoor furnishings. Stains can enhance its n atural beauty and durability. Redwood grows along the Pacific coast of the Unite d States in California and Oregon. Rosewood This is a dark-red or brown hardwood, derived from tropical trees. Heavy, hard, and dense, rosewood is noted for its stability and excellent decay resistance. T hough commonly used for Oriental furniture, rosewood is now used for traditional European designs, as well as cabinetry. Quality rosewood furniture can be disti nguished by silver lines, achieved by polishing with Chinese Tang Oil. This firm luster surface is different from the glossy imitation paint used on more inferi or rosewood furniture. Rubberwood This wood is plantation-grown in tropical countries, particularly in the Amazon. The trees' sap is used for latex production. A rubber tree is useful for about 30 years, at which time it slows in creating latex. The trees are then cut down to make room for newly planted trees. This eco-friendly timber is very durable, and resistant to most varieties of fungi, bacteria, and mold. It is comparable t o teak. Teak Indigenous to Indonesia, India, and Central America, teak is a high-quality yell ow to dark-brown hardwood. It s generally straight-grained with a coarse, uneven t exture and an oily feel. Teak ranges from yellow-brown to dark golden-brown in c olor. Noted for its heaviness and durability, it was originally used for shipbui lding and is now often used for high-caliber outdoor furniture and decking. Walnut Prized in North America for high-end cabinetry and furniture, walnut provides st rength, hardness, and durability without excessive weight. It has excellent wood working qualities and takes finishes well. Walnut is light to dark chocolate-bro wn in color, with a straight grain in the trunk. It can be found in the United S tates and Canada. Hardwood vs. Softwood Solid woods can be classified as hard or soft. A hardwood is derived from a broa d-leefed tree (without needles), such as maple, cherry, oak, ash, walnut, or mah ogany. Hardwoods usually offer greater strength and stability. Softwoods come fr om needle-bearing evergreen trees, such as pine, spruce, redwood, or cedar, and are preferred for intricately carved pieces. Softwoods are more susceptible to m arks and dings, but this can often result in an appealing weathered quality. Real wood furniture is the most popular furniture in existence. It's been around for hundreds of years and probably existed when the cave people got tired of squatting on the dirt floor of their caves and looked around for a better way. The woods that are fashioned into furniture fall into three categories: 1. Hardwoods 2. Softwoods 3. Composites Even the term 'hardwood' or 'softwood' is deceptive. Hardwoods aren't necessarily harder, denser material. For example, balsa wood is one of the lightest, least dense woods there is, and it's considered a hardwood. Technically, lumber is classified based on how the tree reproduces. As a general rule, though, softwood trees are evergreen year round while the hardwoods create the gorgeous autumn foliage that we all love so much. Hardwoods are considered the highest quality and are the most expensive. Their natural colors vary from the darkest woods to the lightest ones and and they can be stained or painted for even more variety. Hardwood furniture is least likely to warp or bend and is prized in all high quality homes. The five woods most commonly used in furniture production are cherry, walnut, oak, maple and mahogany. Softwoods are less expensive than hardwoods, but they require extra care. Because they are less durable, it's much easier to scratch or dent softwood furniture. In addition, they often don't have the beautiful grains of a hardwood, and therefore don't stain as beautifully. Pine is an example of a softwood that is commonly used for furniture. These woods are often used in construction as well so the choicest pieces are reserved for furniture. In construction, knots and splits are common. Lots of construction lumber will not accept paint and this kind of wood is used for shelves or packing crates. The softwood used in furniture is designated as "Appearance" lumber and includes most softwood lumber that has been custom milled to a pattern or otherwise surfaced on all four sides. Composites are the cheapest form of wood and are literally manufactured, rather than grown. 1. Plywood: multiple layers of thin wooden sheets are glued together and pressed. Plywood is strong and resists swelling, shrinking and warping. There is some furniture made directly from plywood, but generally it is only used as a support when incorporated into furniture. 2. Particle board: sawdust and small wood chips are mixed with glue or resin which is then shaped and pressure treated. When used for inexpensive furniture, particle board is usually covered with laminate or veneer. This is necessary because particle board splits easily and the laminate prevents splitting. However, the downside is that the laminate may separate from the wood because the particle board responds to temperature and pressure changes by swelling and shrinking. 3. Hardboard: is made like particle board but it's placed under higher pressure so it's stronger. 4. MDF or Medium Density Fiberboard: wood particles are bonded with resin and compressed. It is harder than particle board or hardboard, and can be cut like plywood although it isn't as strong as plywood. Some MDF is covered with melamine which is a durable plastic in a variety of colors. The exposed edges of MDF are rough and need covering with molding or some other decorative material. Technically, furniture made from all of these wood products is "real" wood furniture, even the composites. Prices and quality range from the hardwoods down to the composites. The higher you go up the spectrum, the more you can expect to pay for your wood furniture. The good part, of course, is that with proper care hardwood furniture will last for decades or even generations. If you can afford it, always choose hardwood furniture. Lumber (also known as timber) is wood in any of its stages from felling to readi ness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper pro duction. Lumber is supplied either rough or finished. Besides pulpwood, rough lumber is t he raw material for furniture-making and other items requiring additional cuttin g and shaping. It is available in many species, usually hardwoods.[citation need ed] Finished lumber is supplied in standard sizes, mostly for the construction i ndustry, primarily softwood from coniferous species including pine, fir and spru ce (collectively known as Spruce-pine-fir), cedar, and hemlock, but also some ha rdwood, for high-grade flooring Terminology In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Countries such as Australia and New Zealand, timber is a term used for sawn wood products, such as floor boards, wh ereas generally in the United States and Canada, it refers to felled trees, late r milled into boards referred to as lumber. "Timber" is also used there to descr ibe sawn lumber not less than 5 inches (127 mm) in its smallest dimension.[1] An example of the latter is the often partially finished lumber used in timber-fra me construction. In the United Kingdom the word lumber has several other meanings, including unus ed or unwanted items. Dimensional lumber Example of 2×6. Dimensional lumber is a term used for lumber that is finished/planed and cut to standardized width and depth specified in inches. Examples of common sizes are 2×4 (also two-by-four and other variants, such as four-by-two in the UK, Australia, New Zealand), 2×6 (pictured), and 4×4. The length of a board is usually specified s eparately from the width and depth. It is thus possible to find 2×4s that are four , eight, or 12 feet in length. In the United States and Canada the standard leng ths of lumber are 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 feet. For wall framin g, "stud," or "precut" sizes are available, and commonly used. For an eight, nin e, or ten foot ceiling height, studs are available in 92 5/8 inches, 104 5/8 inc hes, and 116 5/8 inches. (Because the term "stud" is used inconsistently when re ferring to length, care should be taken to always specify the exact, actual leng th required.) .Solid dimensional lumber typically is only available up to lengths of 24 ft. En gineered wood products, manufactured by binding the strands, particles, fibers, or veneers of wood, together with adhesives, to form composite materials, offer more flexibility and greater structural strength than typical wood building mate rials.[2] Pre-cut studs save a framer a lot of time as they are pre-cut by the manufacture r to be used in 8 ft, 9 ft & 10 ft ceiling applications, which means they have r emoved a few inches of the piece to allow for the sill plate and the double top plate with no additional sizing necessary. In the Americas, two-bys (2×4s, 2×6s, 2×8s, 2×10s, and 2×12s), along with the 4×4, are commo n lumber sizes used in modern construction. They are the basic building block fo r such common structures as balloon-frame or platform-frame housing. Dimensional lumber made from softwood is typically used for construction, while hardwood bo ards are more commonly used for making cabinets or furniture. Lumber's nominal dimensions are given in terms of green (not dried), rough (unfi nished) dimensions. The finished size is smaller, as a result of drying (which s hrinks the wood), and planing to smooth the wood. However, the difference betwee n "nominal" and "finished" lumber size can vary. So various standards have speci fied the difference between nominal size, and finished size, of lumber. Early standards called for green rough lumber to be of full nominal dimension wh en dry, but the requirements have diminished over time. For example, in 1910, a typical finished 1-inch- (25 mm) board was 13/16 in (21 mm). In 1928, that was r educed by 4%, and yet again by 4% in 1956. In 1961, at a meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Committee on Grade Simplification and Standardization agreed to wha t is now the current U.S. standard: in part, the dressed size of a 1 inch (nomin al) board was fixed at 3/4 inch; while the dressed size of 2 inch (nominal) lumb er was reduced from 1 5/8 inch to the now standard 1 1/2 inch.[3] [edit] Grades and standards Individual pieces of lumber exhibit a wide range in quality and appearance with respect to knots, slope of grain, shakes and other natural characteristics. Ther efore, they vary considerably in strength, utility and value. The move to set national standards for lumber in the United States began with pu blication of the American Lumber Standard in 1924, which set specifications for lumber dimensions, grade, and moisture content; it also developed inspection and accreditation programs. These standards have changed over the years to meet the changing needs of manufacturers and distributors, with the goal of keeping lumb er competitive with other construction products. Current standards are set by th e American Lumber Standard Committee, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.[4] Design values for most species and grades of visually graded structural products are determined in accordance with ASTM standards, which consider the effect of strength reducing characteristics, load duration, safety and other influencing f actors. The applicable standards are based on results of tests conducted in coop eration with the USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Design Values for Wood Constru ction, which is a supplement to the ANSI/AF&PA National Design Specification® for Wood Construction, provides these lumber design values, which are recognized by the model building codes. A summary of the six published design values including b ending (Fb), shear parallel to grain (Fv), compression perpendicular to grain (F c-perp), compression parallel to grain (Fc), tension parallel to grain (Ft), and modulus of elasticity (E and Emin) can be found in Structural Properties and Pe rformance[5] published by WoodWorks. Canada has grading rules that maintain a standard among mills manufacturing simi lar woods to assure customers of uniform quality. Grades standardize the quality of lumber at different levels and are based on moisture content, size and manuf acture at the time of grading, shipping and unloading by the buyer. The National Lumber Grades Authority (NLGA)[6] is responsible for writing, interpreting and maintaining Canadian lumber grading rules and standards. The Canadian Lumber Sta ndards Accreditation Board (CLSAB)[7] monitors the quality of Canada's lumber gr ading and identification system. Attempts to maintain lumber quality over time have been challenged by historical changes in the timber resources of the United States from the slow-growing virgin forests common over a century ago to the fast-growing plantations now common in today's commercial forests. Resulting declines in lumber quality have been of c oncern to both the lumber industry and consumers and have caused increased use o f alternative construction products[8][9] Machine stress-rated and machine-evaluated lumber is readily available for end-u ses where high strength is critical, such as truss rafters, laminating stock, Ibeams and web joints. Machine grading measures a characteristic such as stiffnes s or density that correlates with the structural properties of interest, such as bending strength. The result is a more precise understanding of the strength of each piece of lumber than is possible with visually graded lumber, which allows designers to use full-design strength and avoid overbuilding.[10] In Europe, strength grading of sawn softwood is done according to EN-14081-1/2/3 /4 and sorted into 9 classes; In increasing strength these are: C14, C16, C18, ? 22, ?24, ?27, ?30, ?35 and ?40[11] C14 Used for Scaffolding or Formwork C24 General construction C30 Prefab Rooftrusses and where design requires somewhat stronger joists than C 24 can offer C40 Usually seen in Glulam [edit] Hardwoods In North America, sizes for dimensional lumber made from hardwoods varies from t he sizes for softwoods. Boards are usually supplied in random widths and lengths of a specified thickness, and sold by the board-foot (144 cubic inches or 2,360 cubic centimetres, 1/12th of 1 cubic foot or 0.028 cubic metres. This does not apply in all countries; for example, in Australia many boards are sold to timber yards in packs with a common profile (dimensions) but not necessarily consistin g of the same length boards. Also in North America, hardwood lumber is commonly sold in a "quarter" system wh en referring to thickness. 4/4 (four quarters) refers to a 1-inch-thick (25 mm) board, 8/4 (eight quarters) is a 2-inch-thick (51 mm) board, etc. This system is not usually used for softwood lumber, although softwood decking is sometimes so ld as 5/4 (actually one inch thick). Hardwoods cut for furniture are cut in the fall and winter, after the sap has st opped running in the trees. If hardwoods are cut in the spring or summer the sap ruins the natural color of the timber and decreases the value of the timber for furniture. [edit] Engineered lumber Engineered lumber is lumber created by a manufacturer and designed for a certain structural purpose. The main categories of engineered lumber are:[12] Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) LVL comes in 1 3/4 inch thicknesses with depths su ch as 9 1/2, 11 7/8, 14, 16, 18, or 24 inches, and are often doubled or tripled up. They function as beams to provide support over large spans, such as removed support walls and garage door openings, places where dimensional lumber isn't su fficient, and also in areas where a heavy load is bearing from a floor, wall or roof above on a somewhat short span where dimensional lumber isn't practical. Th is type of lumber cannot be altered by holes or notches anywhere within the span or at the ends, as it compromises the integrity of the beam, but nails can be d riven into it wherever necessary to anchor the beam or to add hangers for I-jois ts or dimensional lumber joists that terminate at an LVL beam. Wood I-Joists Sometimes called "TJI","Trus Joists" or "BCI", all of which are br ands of wood I-joists, they are used for floor joists on upper floors and also i n first floor conventional foundation construction on piers as opposed to slab f loor construction. They are engineered for long spans and are doubled up in plac es where a wall will be aligned over them, and sometimes tripled where heavy roo f-loaded support walls are placed above them. They consist of a top and bottom c hord/flange made from dimensional lumber with a webbing in-between made from ori ented strand board (OSB). The webbing can be removed up to certain sizes/shapes according to the manufacturer's or engineer's specifications, but for small hole s, wood I-joists come with "knockouts", which are perforated, pre-cut areas wher e holes can be made easily, typically without engineering approval. When large h oles are needed, they can typically be made in the webbing only and only in the center third of the span; the top and bottom chords cannot be cut. Sizes and sha pes of the hole, and typically the placing of a hole itself, must be approved by an engineer prior to the cutting of the hole and in many areas, a sheet showing the calculations made by the engineer must be provided to the building inspecti on authorities before the hole will be approved. Some I-joists are made with W-s tyle webbing like Freshly cut logs showing sap running from beneath bark a truss to eliminate cutting and allow ductwork to pass through. Finger-Jointed Lumber Solid dimensional lumber lengths typically are limited to lengths of 22 to 24 feet, but can be made longer by the technique of "finger-joi nting" lumber by using small solid pieces, usually 18 to 24 inches long, and joi ning them together using finger joints and glue to produce lengths that can be u p to 36 feet long in 2×6 size. Finger-jointing also is predominant in precut wall studs. It is also an affordable alternative for non-structural hardwood that wil l be painted (staining would leave the finger-joints visible). Care must be take n during construction to avoid nailing directly into a glued joint as stud break age can occur. Glu-lam Beams Created from 2×4 or 2×6 stock by gluing the faces together to create b eams such as 4×12 or 6×16. By gluing multiple, common sized pieces of lumber togethe r, they act as one larger piece of lumber - thus eliminating the need to harvest larger, older trees for the same size beam. Manufactured Trusses Trusses are used in home construction as a pre-fabricated r eplacement for roof rafters and ceiling joists (stick-framing). It is seen as an easier installation and a better solution for supporting roofs as opposed to th e use of dimensional lumber's struts and purlins as bracing. In the southern USA and other parts, stick-framing with dimensional lumber roof support is still pr edominant. The main drawback of trusses are reduced attic space, time required f or engineering and ordering, and a cost higher than the dimensional lumber neede d if the same project were conventionally framed. The advantages are significant ly reduced labor costs (installation is faster than conventional framing), consi stency, and overall schedule savings. [edit] Timber piles In the US pilings are mainly cut from Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) and Douglas Fir (DF). Treated Piling are available in CCA retentions of .60, .80, and 2.50 pcf (pounds per cubic foot) if treatment is required. Defects in lumber Defects occurring in timber are grouped into the following five divisions: [edit] Conversion During the process of converting timber to commercial form the following defects may occur: Chip mark: this defect is indicated by the marks or signs placed by chips on the finished surface of timber Diagonal grain: improper sawing of timber Torn grain: when a small depression is made on the finished surface due to falli ng of some tool Wane: presence of original rounded surface in the finished product [edit] Defects due to fungi Fungi attack timber when these conditions are all present: The timber moisture content is above 25% on a dry-weight basis The environment is warm enough Air is present Wood with less than 25% moisture (dry weight basis) can remain free of decay for centuries. Similarly, wood submerged in water may not be attacked by fungi if t he amount of oxygen is inadequate. Fungi timber defects: Blue stain Brown rot Dry rot Heart rot Sap stain Wet rot White rot [edit] Insects Following are the insects which are usually responsible for the decay of timber: Beetles Marine borers (Barnea similis) Termites Carpenter ants [edit] Natural forces There are two main natural forces responsible for causing defects in timber: abn ormal growth and rupture of tissues. [edit] Seasoning Defects due to seasoning are the number one cause for splinters and slivers. [edit] Durability and service life Under proper conditions, wood provides excellent, lasting performance. However, it also faces several potential threats to service life, including fungal activi ty and insect damage which can be avoided in numerous ways. Section 2304.11 of the International Building Code (IBC) addresses protection against decay and termit es. This section provides requirements for non-residential construction applicat ions, such as wood used above ground (e.g., for framing, decks, stairs, etc.), a s well as other applications. There are four recommended methods to protect wood-frame structures against dura bility hazards and thus provide maximum service life for the building. All requi re proper design and construction: 1. Control moisture using design techniques to avoid decay. 2. Provide effective control of termites and other insects. 3. Use durable materials such as pressur e treated or naturally durable species of wood where appropriate. 4. Provide qua lity assurance during design and construction and throughout the building s servic e life using appropriate maintenance practices. [edit] Moisture control Wood is a hygroscopic material, which means it naturally absorbs and releases wa ter to balance its internal moisture content with the surrounding environment. T he moisture content of wood is measured by the weight of water as a percentage o f the oven-dry weight of the wood fiber. The key to controlling decay is to cont rol moisture. Once decay fungi are established, the minimum moisture content for decay to propagate is 22 to 24 percent, so building experts recommend 19 percen t as the maximum safe moisture content for untreated wood in service. Water by i tself does not harm the wood, but rather, wood with consistently high moisture c ontent enables fungal organisms to grow. The primary objective when addressing moisture loads is to keep water from enter ing the building envelope in the first place, and to balance the moisture conten t within the building itself. Moisture control by means of accepted design and c onstruction details is a simple and practical method of protecting a wood-frame building against decay. Finally, for applications with a high risk of staying we t, designers should specify durable materials such as naturally decay-resistant species or wood that s been treated with preservatives. Cladding, shingles, sill p lates and exposed timbers or glulam beams are examples of potential applications for treated wood. [edit] Controlling termites and other insects For buildings in termite zones, basic protection practices addressed in current building codes include (but are not limited to) the following: Grade the building site away from the foundation to provide proper drainage. Cov er exposed ground in any crawl spaces with 6-mil polyethylene film and maintain at least 12 to 18 inches of clearance between the ground and the bottom of frami ng members above (12 inches to beams or girders, 18 inches to joists or plank fl ooring members). Support post columns by concrete piers so there s at least six in ches of clear space between the wood and exposed earth. Install wood framing and sheathing in exterior walls at least eight inches above exposed earth; locate s iding at least six inches from the finished grade. Where appropriate and desired , ventilate crawl spaces according to local building codes. Remove building mate rial scraps from the job site before backfilling. If termites are found, elimina te their nests. If allowed by local regulation, treat the soil around the founda tion with an approved termiticide to provide protection against subterranean ter mites. Preservatives Main article: Wood preservation Special fastners should be used with treated lumber because of the corrosive ch emicals used in its preservation process To avoid decay and termite infestation, it is important to separate untreated wo od from the ground and other sources of moisture. These separations are required by many building codes and are considered necessary to maintain wood elements i n permanent structures at a safe moisture content for decay protection. When it is not possible to separate wood from the sources of moisture, designers often r ely on preservative-treated wood.[13] Wood can be treated with a preservative that improves service life under severe conditions without altering its basic characteristics. It can also be pressure-i mpregnated with fire-retardant chemicals that improve its performance in a fire. [14] One of the early treatments to fireproof lumber which retard fires was deve loped in 1936 by Protexol Corporation in which lumber is heavily treated with sa lt.[15] Wood does not deteriorate just because it gets wet. When wood breaks dow n, it is because an organism is eating it as food. Preservatives work by making the food source inedible to these organisms. Properly preservative-treated wood can have 5 to 10 times the service life of untreated wood. Preserved wood is use d most often for railroad ties, utility poles, marine piles, decks, fences and o ther outdoor applications. Various treatment methods and types of chemicals are available, depending on the attributes required in the particular application an d the level of protection needed.[16] There are two basic methods of treating: with and without pressure. Non-pressure methods are the application of preservative by brushing, spraying or dipping th e piece to be treated. Deeper, more thorough penetration is achieved by driving the preservative into the wood cells with pressure. Various combinations of pres sure and vacuum are used to force adequate levels of chemical into the wood. Pre ssure-treating preservatives consist of chemicals carried in a solvent. Chromate d copper arsenate (CCA), once the most commonly used wood preservative in North America began being phased out of most residential applications in 2004. Replaci ng it are amine copper quat (ACQ) and copper azole (CA). All wood preservatives used in the U.S. and Canada are registered and regularly re-examined for safety by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Health Ca nada's Pest Management and Regulatory Agency, respectively.[1 Timber framing is a style of construction which uses heavier framing elements th an modern stick framing, which uses dimensional lumber. The timbers originally w ere tree boles squared with a broadaxe or adze and joined together with joinery without nails. A modern imitation with sawn timbers is growing in popularity in the United States. [edit] Residual wood The conversion from coal to biomass power is a growing trend in the United State s.[18] The U.S. and Canadian governments both support an increased role for energy deri ved from biomass, which are organic materials available on a renewable basis and include residues and/or byproducts of the logging, sawmilling and papermaking p rocesses. In particular, they view it as a way to lower greenhouse gas emissions by reducing consumption of oil and gas while supporting the growth of forestry, agriculture and rural economies. Studies by the U.S. government have found the country s combined forest and agriculture land resources have the power to sustain ably supply more than one-third of its current petroleum consumption.[19] Three potentially large sources of forest biomass currently not being used in ab undance are harvesting residues, particularly those left at the roadside, thinni ng treatments done in conjunction with efforts to reduce forest fire hazards (mo stly in the U.S.), and salvage and recovery of beetle-killed timber (mostly in C anada). Biomass is already an important source of energy for the North American forest p roducts industry. It is common for companies to have cogeneration facilities, al so known as combined heat and power, which convert some of the biomass that resu lts from wood and paper manufacturing to electrical and thermal energy in the fo rm of steam. The electricity is used to, among other things, dry lumber and supp ly heat to the dryers used in paper-making. [edit] Remanufactured lumber Remanufactured Lumber refers to secondary or tertiary processing/cutting of prev iously milled lumber. The term specifically refers to lumber cut for industrial or wood packaging use. Lumber is cut by ripsaw or resaw to create dimensions tha t are not usually processed by a primary sawmill. Resawing is the process of splitting 1 inch through 12 inch hardwood or softwood lumber into two or more thinner pieces of full length boards. For example, spli tting a ten foot 2x4 into two ten foot 1x4s is considered resawing. In addition to resawing lumber, remanufactured lumber can be ripped on a ripsaw using single or multiple blades. Ripping is the process of splitting 1" through 12" hardwood or softwood lumber into two or more narrower pieces of full length boards. For example, splitting a ten foot 2x4 into two ten foot 2x2s is consider ed ripping.[20] [edit] Environmental benefits of lumber Green building minimizes the impact or "environmental footprint" of a building. Wood is a major building material that is renewable and uses the sun s energy to r enew itself in a continuous sustainable cycle.[21] Studies show manufacturing wo od uses less energy and results in less air and water pollution than steel and c oncrete. Lumber or Timber is a term used to describe wood from the time trees are cut dow n, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial use as structural mate rial for construction or wood pulp for paper production. In the U.K. and Australia, "timber" is that is, boards), whereas generally in of timber cut into boards is referred nada sawn wood products of five inches sometimes called "timbers". Wood cut from Victorian Mountain Ash Lumber is supplied either rough or finished. Rough lumber is the raw material fo r furniture making. It is available in many species, usually hardwoods Dimensional Lumber Dimensional lumber is a term used in North America for lumber that is finished/p laned and cut to standardized width and depth specified in inches. [change] SoftwoodsSoftwood Dimensional Lumber Sizes Nominal Actual Nominal Actual 1 × 2 ¾? × 1½? (19×38 mm) 2 × 2 1½? × 1½? (38×38 mm) 1 × 3 ¾? × 2½? (19×64 mm) 2 × 3 1½? × 2½? (38×64 mm) 1 × 4 ¾? × 3½? (19×89 mm) 2 × 4 1½? × 3½? (38×89 mm) 1 × 6 ¾? × 5½? (19×140 mm) 2 × 6 1½? × 5½? (38×140 mm) 1 × 8 ¾? × 7¼? (19×184 mm) 2 × 8 1½? × 7¼? (38×184 mm) 1 × 10 ¾? × 9¼? (19×235 mm) 2 × 10 1½? × 9¼? (38×235 mm) 1 × 12 ¾? × 11¼? (19×286 mm) 2 × 12 1½? × 11¼? (38×286 mm) 3 × 4 2½? × 3½? (64×89 mm) 2 × 14 1½? × 13¼? (38×337 mm) 4 × 4 3½? × 3½? (89×89 mm) 6 × 6 5½? × 5½? (140×140 mm) 4 × 6 3½? × 5½? (89×140 mm) 8 × 8 7¼? × 7¼? (184×184 mm) a term also used for sawn wood products ( the United States and Canada, the product to as lumber. In the United States and Ca diameter or greater (4½? nominal size) are Examples of common sizes are 2×4 (also two-by-four and other variants), 2×6, and 4×4. The length of a board is usually specified separately from the width and depth. It is thus possible to find 2×4s that are four, eight, or twelve feet in length. I n the United States the standard lengths of lumber are 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 feet. Outside North America sizes of timber vary slightly. Sizes are, in some cases, b ased on the imperial measurement and referred to as such; in other cases the siz es are too far removed from the imperial size to be referred to by imperial meas urement. Lengths can be sold at every 300 mm (a metric approximation of 1'). Com mon sizes are similar to the North American equivalent; 2.4, 2.7, 3.0, 3.6, 4.2, 4.8, 5.4, 6.0. But also in running lenghts, where each plank in a given packet is different, from 2500mm to 5500mm, though shorter and longer may be present HardwoodsHardwood Dimensional Lumber Sizes Nominal Surfaced 1 Side (S1S) Surfaced 2 sides (S2S) ?? ¼? 3/16? ½? ?? 5/16? ?? ½? 7/16? ¾? ?? 9/16? 1? or 4/4 ?? 13/16? 1¼? or 5/4 1?? 1-1/16? 1½? or 6/4 1?? 1-5/16? 2? or 8/4 1-13/16? 1¾? 3? or 12/4 2-13/16? 2¾? 4? or 16/4 3-13/16? 3¾? In North America sizes for dimensional lumber made from hardwoods varies from th e sizes for softwoods. Boards are usually supplied in random widths and lengths of a specified thickness, and sold by the board-foot (144 cubic inches). [change] Engineered Lumber Engineered lumber is lumber created by a manufacturer and designed for a certain structural purpose. Wood is the main substance in trees. Wood is used for construction of buildings or furniture, and also for art. It is also used for making fires and heating. Pa per is made from wood by a chemical reaction. Wood is very simple to cut, but it is also very strong. A lumberjack is a person who cuts down trees. After a tree falls, the wood in it can be cut into long, s traight pieces called lumber. Lumber can then be used to make posts, or put toge ther with nails, screws, or even glue to make wooden frames for other shapes. Wood comes in many different kinds. Oak and maple are widely-used types of wood. For a long time and even today, many buildings, mostly houses, have been made of wood. To build a house with wood, lumber is put together into frames that are t he shape of each wall, floor, and roof of the house. Then the frames are placed into the shape of a house. Then the frames can be covered to make solid walls. S ometimes the walls are made of more wood. When the outside of a house or building is covered in wood, the wooden pieces ar e usually flat and stacked. These pieces are called shingles. Wood is also somet imes used in other parts of the house, like doors and staircases. Wood is also u sed to make fences. People also make many kinds of furniture with wood, like chairs, dressers, table s, and desks. When someone builds something with wood, they usually paint it. Paint protects a nd beautifies the wood. Some people like the look of wood, so they put clear pai nt called varnish on it. Some people make art with wood. Sometimes sculptures are built with wood. Regular pencils are made of wood, with dark graphite inside for writing. A place that has many trees in it that are close together, like a forest, is som etimes called 'the woods' when it is not very big. Wood can be turned into paper in large factories called paper mills. The wood is first chopped into small chips and cooked with chemicals in large vessels. The chemicals separate a substance called cellulose off the wood. The cellulose is t hen added with other chemicals and additives, and pressed into paper in large ma chines called paper machines. Most paper is made from pine, spruce and eucalyptu s. Lumber Background Lumber is a generic term that applies to various lengths of wood used as constru ction materials. Pieces of lumber are cut lengthwise from the trunks of trees an d are characterized by having generally rectangular or square cross sections, as opposed to poles or pilings, which have round cross sections. The use of wood as a construction material predates written history. The earlies t evidence of wood construction comes from a site near Nice, France, where a ser ies of post holes seems to indicate that a hut 20 ft (6m) wide by 50 ft (15 m) l ong was built there 400,000 years ago using wood posts for support. The oldest w ood construction found intact is located in northwest Germany, and was built abo ut 7,300 years ago. By 500 b.c. iron axes, saws, and chisels were commonly used to cut and shape wood. The first reference to cutting wood in a sawmill, rather than using hand tools, comes from northern Europe and dates from about 375. The sawmill was powered by the flow of water. In North America, European colonists found vast forests of trees, and wood becam e the principal building material. The circular saw, which had been developed in England, was introduced in the United States in 1814 and was widely used in saw mills. A large-scale bandsaw was developed and patented by Jacob R. Hoffman in 1 869 and replaced the circular saw for many sawmill operations. Lumber produced in early sawmills had varying dimensions depending on the custom er's specific order or the mill's standard practice. Today, lumber pieces used i n construction have standard dimensions and are divided into three categories, d epending on the thickness of the piece. Lumber with nominal thicknesses of less than 2 in (5 cm) are classified as boards. Those with nominal thicknesses of 2 i n (5 cm) but less than 5 in (13 cm) are classified as dimension. Those with nomi nal thicknesses of 5 in (12.5 cm) and greater are classified as timbers. The nom inal widths of these pieces vary from 2-16 in (5-40 cm) in 1 in (2.5 cm) increme nts. Most rough-cut lumber pieces are dried and then finished, or surfaced, by r unning them through a planer to smooth all four sides. As a result, the actual d imensions are smaller than the nominal dimensions. For example, a standard two-b y-four piece of dried, surfaced dimension lumber actually measures 1.5 in (3.8 c m) by 3.5 in (8.9 cm). Pieces of lumber that are not only surfaced, but also machined to produce a spec ific cross sectional shape are classified as worked lumber or pattern lumber. De corative molding, tongue-and-groove flooring, and shiplap siding are examples of pattern lumber. Today, processing wood products is a billion-dollar, worldwide industry. It not only produces construction lumber, but also plywood, fiberboard, paper, cardboar d, turpentine, rosin, textiles, and a wide variety of industrial chemicals. Raw Materials The trees from which lumber is produced are classified as hardwoods or softwoods . Although the woods of many hardwoods are hard, and the woods of many softwoods are soft, that is not the defining characteristic. Most hardwood trees have lea ves, which they shed in the winter. Hardwood trees include oaks, maples, walnuts , cherries, and birches, but they also include balsa, which has one of the softe st and lightest of all the woods. Softwood trees, on the other hand, have needle s instead of leaves. They do not shed their needles in the winter, but remain gr een throughout the year and are sometimes called evergreens. Softwood trees incl ude pines, firs, hemlocks, spruces, and redwoods. Hardwoods are generally more expensive than softwoods and are used for flooring, cabinetry, paneling, doors, and trimwork. They are also extensively used to man ufacture furniture. Hardwoods are available in lengths from 4-16 ft (1.2-4.8 m). Softwoods are used for wall studs, joists, planks, rafters, beams, stringers, p osts, decking, sheathing, subflooring, and concrete forms. They are available in lengths from 4-24 ft (1.2-7.3 m). Both hardwood and softwood lumber pieces are graded according to the number and size of defects in the wood. Defects include knots, holes, pitch pockets, splits , and missing pieces on the edges or corners, called wanes. These defects primar ily affect the appearance, but may also affect the strength of the piece. The hi gher grades are called select grades. Hardwoods may also be graded as firsts or seconds, which are even higher than select. These grades have very few defects a nd are used for trim, molding, and finish woodwork where appearance is important . The higher the grade, the fewer the number of defects. The lower grades are ca lled common grades and are used for general construction where the wood will be covered or where defects will not be objectionable. Common grades are designated in descending order of quality by a number such as #1 common, #2 common, and so on. Pieces of softwood common grade lumber may also be designated by an equival ent name, such as select merchantable, construction, and so on. Lumber intended for uses other than construction, such as boxes or ladders, are given other grad ing designations. The Manufacturing Process In the United States, most trees destined to be cut into lumber are grown in man aged forests either owned by the lumber company or leased from the government. A fter the trees have reached an appropriate size, they are cut down and transport ed to a lumber mill where they are cut into various sizes of lumber. Here is a typical sequence of operations for processing trees into lumber. Felling 1 Selected trees in an area are visually inspected and marked as being ready to be cut down, or felled. If a road does not already exist in the area, one is cut and graded using bulldozers. If operations are expected to extend into the rain y season, the road may be graveled, and culverts may be installed across streams to prevent washouts. 2 Most tree felling is done with gasoline-powered chain saws. Two cuts are made near the base, one on each side, to control the direction the tree will fall. On ce the tree is down, the limbs are trimmed off with chain saws, and the tree is cut into convenient lengths for transportation. 3 If the terrain is relatively level, diesel-powered tractors, called skidders, are used to drag the fallen tree sections to a cleared area for loading. If the terrain is steep, a self-propelled yarder is used. The yarder has a telescoping hydraulic tower that can be raised to a height of 110 ft (33.5 m). Guy wires sup port the tower, and cables are run from the top of the tower down the steep slop es to retrieve the felled trees. The tree sections, or logs, are then loaded on trucks using wheeled log loaders. 4 The trucks make their way down the graded road and onto public highways on the ir way to the lumber mill. Once at the mill, giant mobile unloaders grab the ent ire truck load in one bite and stack it in long piles, known as log decks. The d ecks are periodically sprayed with water to prevent the wood from drying out and shrinking. Debarking and bucking 5 Logs are picked up from the log deck with rubber-tired loaders and are placed on a chain conveyor that brings them into the mill. In some cases, the outer bar k of the log is removed, either with sharp-toothed grinding wheels or with a jet of high-pressure water, while the log is slowly rotated about its long axis. Th e removed bark is pulverized and may be used as a fuel for the mill's furnaces o r may be sold as a decorative garden mulch. 6 The logs are carried into the mill on the chain conveyor, where they stop mome ntarily as a huge circular saw cuts them into predetermined lengths. This proces s is called bucking, and the saw is called a bucking saw. Headrig sawing large logs 7 If the log has a diameter larger than 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m), it is tipped off the conveyor and clamped onto a moveable carriage that slides lengthwise on a set o f rails. The carriage can position the log transversely relative to the rails an d can also rotate the log 90 or 180 degrees about its length. Optical sensors sc an the log and determine its diameter at each end, its length, and any visible d efects. Based on this information, a computer then calculates a suggested cuttin g pattern to maximize the number of pieces of lumber obtainable from the log. 8 The headrig sawyer sits in an enclosed booth next to a large vertical bandsaw called the headrig saw. He reviews the suggested cutting pattern displayed on a television monitor, but relies more on his experience to make the series of cuts . The log is fed lengthwise through the vertical bandsaw. The first cut is made along the side closest to the operator and removes a piece of wood called a slab . The outer surface of the slab has the curvature of the original tree trunk, an d this piece is usually discarded and ground to chips for use in paper pulp. 9 The carriage is returned to its original position, and the log is shifted side ways or rotated to make subsequent cuts. The headrig sawyer must constantly revi ew the log for internal defects and modify the cutting pattern accordingly as ea ch successive cut opens the log further. In general, thinner pieces destined to be made into boards are cut from the outer portion of the log where there are fe wer knots. Thicker pieces for dimension lumber are cut next, while the center of the log yields stock for heavy timber pieces. Bandsawing small logs 10 Smaller diameter logs are fed through a series of bandsaws that cut them into nominal 1 in (2.5 cm), 2 in (5 cm), or 4 in (10 cm) thick pieces in one pass. Resawing 11 The large cut pieces from the headrig saw, called cants, are laid flat and mo ved by chain conveyor to multiple-blade bandsaws, where they are cut into the re quired widths and the outside edges are trimmed square. The pieces that were cut from smaller logs may also pass through multiple-blade bandsaws to cut them to width. If the pieces are small enough that they do not need further cutting, the y may pass through a chipper, which grinds the uneven edges square. Drying or seasoning 12 The cut and trimmed pieces of lumber are then moved to an area to be dried, o r "seasoned." This is necessary to prevent decay and to permit the wood to shrin k as it dries out. Timbers, because of their large dimensions, are difficult to thoroughly dry and are generally sold wet, or "green." Other lumber may be air d ried or kiln dried, depending on the required moisture content of the finished p iece. Air-dried lumber is stacked in a covered area with spacers between each pi ece to allow air to circulate. Air-dried woods generally contain about 20% moist ure. Kiln-dried lumber is stacked in an enclosed area, while 110-180°F (44-82°C) hea ted air is circulated through the stack. Kiln-dried woods generally contain less than 15% moisture and are often specified for interior floors, molding, and doo rs where minimal shrinkage is required. Planing 13 The dried pieces of lumber are passed through planers, where rotating cutting heads trim the pieces to their final dimensions, smooth all four surfaces, and round the edges. Grade stamping and banding 14 Each piece of lumber is visually or mechanically inspected and graded accordi ng to the amount of defects present. The grade is stamped on each piece, along w ith information about the moisture content, and a mill identification number. Th e lumber is then bundled according to the type of wood, grade, and moisture cont ent, and the bundle is secured with steel bands. The bundle is loaded on a truck or train and shipped to a lumber yard for resale to customers. Quality Control There are very few pieces of perfect lumber. Even though great avoid or minimize defects when sawing the wood to the required almost always some defects present. The number and location of ermines the grade of the lumber, and the purchaser must choose appropriate for each specific application. The Future care is taken to sizes, there are these defects det the grade that is As the number of older trees available for logging diminishes, so does the lumbe r industry's ability to selectively cut pieces of lumber to the sizes needed for construction. Many of the trees being logged today are second-generation or thi rd-generation trees that are younger and smaller in diameter than the original o ld-growth trees. These younger trees also contain a higher percentage of juvenil e wood, which is less dimensionally stable than older wood. To counter this trend, the lumber industry is literally taking trees apart and p utting them back together again to manufacture the sizes, strengths, and stabili ty required for construction. Actually, they have been doing this for decades in the form of plywood and glue-laminated beams, and some of the new products use similar technology. One of the new manufactured lumber products is called parallel strand lumber. It begins much like plywood with a thin veneer of wood being peeled off a log. The veneer passes under a fiber-optic scanner that spots defects and cuts them out, sort of like an automated cookie cutter. The veneer is then dried and cut into 0.5 in (1.3 cm) wide strips. The strips are fed into one end of a machine, which coats them with a phenolic resin glue and stacks them side-to-side and end-to-e nd to form a solid 12 in by 17 in (30 cm by 43 cm) beam of wood. The beam is zap ped with 400,000 watts of microwave energy, which hardens the glue almost instan tly. As the beam emerges from the other end of the machine, it is cut into 60 ft (18.3 m) lengths. It is then further cut into various sizes of lumber, and sand ed smooth. The resulting pieces are significantly stronger and more dimensionall y stable than natural wood, while being attractive enough to be used for exposed beams and other visible applications. Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundred s of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an o rganic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers (which are strong in te nsion) embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. Wood is sometim es defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees,[1] or it is define d more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in tree root s or in other plants such as shrubs.[citation needed] In a living tree it perfor ms a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up for th emselves. It also mediates the transfer of water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with compar able properties, and to material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber. The earth contains about one trillion tonnes of wood, which grows at a rate of 1 0 billion tonnes per year. As an abundant, carbon-neutral renewable resource, wo ody materials have been of intense interest as a source of renewable energy. In 1991, approximately 3.5 billion cubic meters of wood were harvested. Dominant us es were for furniture and building construction.[ History A 2011 discovery in the Canadian province of New Brunswick uncovered the earlies t known plants to have grown wood, approximately 395 to 400 million years ago.[3 ] People have used wood for millennia for many purposes, primarily as a fuel or as a construction material for making houses, tools, weapons, furniture, packaging , artworks, and paper. Wood can be dated by carbon dating and in some species by dendrochronology to ma ke inferences about when a wooden object was created. The year-to-year variation in tree-ring widths and isotopic abundances gives clu es to the prevailing climate at that time.[4] Physical properties Growth rings Wood, in the strict sense, is yielded by trees, which increase in diameter by th e formation, between the existing wood and the inner bark, of new woody layers w hich envelop the entire stem, living branches, and roots. This process is known as secondary growth; it is the result of cell division in the vascular cambium, a lateral meristem, and subsequent expansion of the new cells. Where there are c lear seasons, growth can occur in a discrete annual or seasonal pattern, leading to growth rings; these can usually be most clearly seen on the end of a log, bu t are also visible on the other surfaces. If these seasons are annual these grow th rings are referred to as annual rings. Where there is no seasonal difference growth rings are likely to be indistinct or absent. If there are differences within a growth ring, then the part of a growth ring ne arest the center of the tree, and formed early in the growing season when growth is rapid, is usually composed of wider elements. It is usually lighter in color than that near the outer portion of the ring, and is known as earlywood or spri ngwood. The outer portion formed later in the season is then known as the latewo od or summerwood.[5] However, there are major differences, depending on the kind of wood (see below). Knots A knot on a tree at the Garden of the Gods public park in Colorado Springs, Col orado (October 2006) A knot is a particular type of imperfection in a piece of wood; it will affect t he technical properties of the wood, usually for the worse, but may be exploited for visual effect. In a longitudinally sawn plank, a knot will appear as a roug hly circular "solid" (usually darker) piece of wood around which the grain of th e rest of the wood "flows" (parts and rejoins). Within a knot, the direction of the wood (grain direction) is up to 90 degrees different from the grain directio n of the regular wood. In the tree a knot is either the base of a side branch or a dormant bud. A knot (when the base of a side branch) is conical in shape (hence the roughly circular cross-section) with the inner tip at the point in stem diameter at which the pl ant's vascular cambium was located when the branch formed as a bud. During the development of a tree, the lower limbs often die, but may remain atta ched for a time, sometimes years. Subsequent layers of growth of the attaching s tem are no longer intimately joined with the dead limb, but are grown around it. Hence, dead branches produce knots which are not attached, and likely to drop o ut after the tree has been sawn into boards. In grading lumber and structural timber, knots are classified according to their form, size, soundness, and the firmness with which they are held in place. This firmness is affected by, among other factors, the length of time for which the branch was dead while the attaching stem continued to grow. Wood Knot Knots materially affect cracking and warping, ease in working, and cleavability of timber. They are defects which weaken timber and lower its value for structur al purposes where strength is an important consideration. The weakening effect i s much more serious when timber is subjected to forces perpendicular to the grai n and/or tension than where under load along the grain and/or compression. The e xtent to which knots affect the strength of a beam depends upon their position, size, number, and condition. A knot on the upper side is compressed, while one o n the lower side is subjected to tension. If there is a season check in the knot , as is often the case, it will offer little resistance to this tensile stress. Small knots, however, may be located along the neutral plane of a beam and incre ase the strength by preventing longitudinal shearing. Knots in a board or plank are least injurious when they extend through it at right angles to its broadest surface. Knots which occur near the ends of a beam do not weaken it. Sound knots which occur in the central portion one-fourth the height of the beam from eithe r edge are not serious defects.[6] Knots do not necessarily influence the stiffness of structural timber, this will depend on the size and location. Stiffness and elastic strength are more depend ent upon the sound wood than upon localized defects. The breaking strength is ve ry susceptible to defects. Sound knots do not weaken wood when subject to compre ssion parallel to the grain. In some decorative applications, wood with knots may be desirable to add visual interest. In applications where wood is painted, such as skirting boards, fascia boards, door frames and furniture, resins present in the timber may continue to 'bleed' through to the surface of a knot for months or even years after manufac ture and show as a yellow or brownish stain. A knot primer paint or solution, co rrectly applied during preparation, may do much to reduce this problem but it is difficult to control completely, especially when using mass-produced kiln-dried timber stocks. Heartwood and sapwood A section of a Yew branch showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood, and pith (centre dark spot). The dark radial lines are small knots. Heartwood (or duramen[7]) is wood that as a result of a naturally occurring chem ical transformation has become more resistant to decay. Heartwood formation occu rs spontaneously (it is a genetically programmed process). Once heartwood format ion is complete, the heartwood is dead.[8] Some uncertainty still exists as to w hether heartwood is truly dead, as it can still chemically react to decay organi sms, but only once.[9] Usually heartwood looks different; in that case it can be seen on a cross-sectio n, usually following the growth rings in shape. Heartwood may (or may not) be mu ch darker than living wood. It may (or may not) be sharply distinct from the sap wood. However, other processes, such as decay, can discolor wood, even in woody plants that do not form heartwood, with a similar color difference, which may le ad to confusion. Sapwood (or alburnum[7]) is the younger, outermost wood; in the growing tree it is living wood,[8] and its principal functions are to conduct water from the roo ts to the leaves and to store up and give back according to the season the reser ves prepared in the leaves. However, by the time they become competent to conduc t water, all xylem tracheids and vessels have lost their cytoplasm and the cells are therefore functionally dead. All wood in a tree is first formed as sapwood. The more leaves a tree bears and the more vigorous its growth, the larger the v olume of sapwood required. Hence trees making rapid growth in the open have thic ker sapwood for their size than trees of the same species growing in dense fores ts. Sometimes trees (of species that do form heartwood) grown in the open may be come of considerable size, 30 cm or more in diameter, before any heartwood begin s to form, for example, in second-growth hickory, or open-grown pines. The term heartwood derives solely from its position and not from any vital impor tance to the tree. This is evidenced by the fact that a tree can thrive with its heart completely decayed. Some species begin to form heartwood very early in li fe, so having only a thin layer of live sapwood, while in others the change come s slowly. Thin sapwood is characteristic of such species as chestnut, black locu st, mulberry, osage-orange, and sassafras, while in maple, ash, hickory, hackber ry, beech, and pine, thick sapwood is the rule. Others never form heartwood. No definite relation exists between the annual rings of growth and the amount of sapwood. Within the same species the cross-sectional area of the sapwood is ver y roughly proportional to the size of the crown of the tree. If the rings are na rrow, more of them are required than where they are wide. As the tree gets large r, the sapwood must necessarily become thinner or increase materially in volume. Sapwood is thicker in the upper portion of the trunk of a tree than near the ba se, because the age and the diameter of the upper sections are less. When a tree is very young it is covered with limbs almost, if not entirely, to t he ground, but as it grows older some or all of them will eventually die and are either broken off or fall off. Subsequent growth of wood may completely conceal the stubs which will however remain as knots. No matter how smooth and clear a log is on the outside, it is more or less knotty near the middle. Consequently t he sapwood of an old tree, and particularly of a forest-grown tree, will be free r from knots than the inner heartwood. Since in most uses of wood, knots are def ects that weaken the timber and interfere with its ease of working and other pro perties, it follows that a given piece of sapwood, because of its position in th e tree, may well be stronger than a piece of heartwood from the same tree. It is remarkable that the inner heartwood of old trees remains as sound as it us ually does, since in many cases it is hundreds, and in a few instances thousands , of years old. Every broken limb or root, or deep wound from fire, insects, or falling timber, may afford an entrance for decay, which, once started, may penet rate to all parts of the trunk. The larvae of many insects bore into the trees a nd their tunnels remain indefinitely as sources of weakness. Whatever advantages , however, that sapwood may have in this connection are due solely to its relati ve age and position. If a tree grows all its life in the open and the conditions of soil and site rem ain unchanged, it will make its most rapid growth in youth, and gradually declin e. The annual rings of growth are for many years quite wide, but later they beco me narrower and narrower. Since each succeeding ring is laid down on the outside of the wood previously formed, it follows that unless a tree materially increas es its production of wood from year to year, the rings must necessarily become t hinner as the trunk gets wider. As a tree reaches maturity its crown becomes mor e open and the annual wood production is lessened, thereby reducing still more t he width of the growth rings. In the case of forest-grown trees so much depends upon the competition of the trees in their struggle for light and nourishment th at periods of rapid and slow growth may alternate. Some trees, such as southern oaks, maintain the same width of ring for hundreds of years. Upon the whole, how ever, as a tree gets larger in diameter the width of the growth rings decreases. Different pieces of wood cut from a large tree may differ decidedly, particularl y if the tree is big and mature. In some trees, the wood laid on late in the lif e of a tree is softer, lighter, weaker, and more even-textured than that produce d earlier, but in other trees, the reverse applies. This may or may not correspo nd to heartwood and sapwood. In a large log the sapwood, because of the time in the life of the tree when it was grown, may be inferior in hardness, strength, a nd toughness to equally sound heartwood from the same log. In a smaller tree, th e reverse may be true. Color In species which show a distinct difference between heartwood and sapwood the na tural color of heartwood is usually darker than that of the sapwood, and very fr equently the contrast is conspicuous (see section of yew log above). This is pro duced by deposits in the heartwood of chemical substances, so that a dramatic co lor difference does not mean a dramatic difference in the mechanical properties of heartwood and sapwood, although there may be a dramatic chemical difference. Some experiments on very resinous Longleaf Pine specimens indicate an increase i n strength, due to the resin which increases the strength when dry. Such resin-s aturated heartwood is called "fat lighter". Structures built of fat lighter are almost impervious to rot and termites; however they are very flammable. Stumps o f old longleaf pines are often dug, split into small pieces and sold as kindling for fires. Stumps thus dug may actually remain a century or more since being cu t. Spruce impregnated with crude resin and dried is also greatly increased in st rength thereby. Since the latewood of a growth ring is usually darker in color than the earlywoo d, this fact may be used in judging the density, and therefore the hardness and strength of the material. This is particularly the case with coniferous woods. I n ring-porous woods the vessels of the early wood not infrequently appear on a f inished surface as darker than the denser latewood, though on cross sections of heartwood the reverse is commonly true. Except in the manner just stated the col or of wood is no indication of strength. Abnormal discoloration of wood often denotes a diseased condition, indicating un soundness. The black check in western hemlock is the result of insect attacks. T he reddish-brown streaks so common in hickory and certain other woods are mostly the result of injury by birds. The discoloration is merely an indication of an injury, and in all probability does not of itself affect the properties of the w ood. Certain rot-producing fungi impart to wood characteristic colors which thus become symptomatic of weakness; however an attractive effect known as spalting produced by this process is often considered a desirable characteristic. Ordinar y sap-staining is due to fungal growth, but does not necessarily produce a weake ning effect. Water content Water occurs in living wood in three conditions, namely: (1) in the cell walls, (2) in the protoplasmic contents of the cells, and (3) as free water in the cell cavities and spaces. In heartwood it occurs only in the first and last forms. W ood that is thoroughly air-dried retains 8 16% of the water in the cell walls, and none, or practically none, in the other forms. Even oven-dried wood retains a s mall percentage of moisture, but for all except chemical purposes, may be consid ered absolutely dry. The general effect of the water content upon the wood substance is to render it softer and more pliable. A similar effect of common observation is in the soften ing action of water on paper or cloth. Within certain limits, the greater the wa ter content, the greater its softening effect. Drying produces a decided increase in the strength of wood, particularly in smal l specimens. An extreme example is the case of a completely dry spruce block 5 c m in section, which will sustain a permanent load four times as great as a green (undried) block of the same size will.[citation needed] The greatest strength increase due to drying is in the ultimate crushing strengt h, and strength at elastic limit in endwise compression; these are followed by t he modulus of rupture, and stress at elastic limit in cross-bending, while the m odulus of elasticity is least affected. Structure Wood is a heterogeneous, hygroscopic, cellular and anisotropic material. It is c omposed of cells, and the cell walls are composed of micro-fibrils of cellulose 50%) and hemicellulose (15% 25%) impregnated with lignin (15% 30%).[10] (40% Sections of tree trunk A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, Netherlands In coniferous or softwood species the wood cells are mostly of one kind, trachei ds, and as a result the material is much more uniform in structure than that of most hardwoods. There are no vessels ("pores") in coniferous wood such as one se es so prominently in oak and ash, for example. The structure of hardwoods is more complex.[11] The water conducting capability is mostly taken care of by vessels: in some cases (oak, chestnut, ash) these are quite large and distinct, in others (buckeye, poplar, willow) too small to be s een without a hand lens. In discussing such woods it is customary to divide them into two large classes, ring-porous and diffuse-porous. In ring-porous species, such as ash, black locust, catalpa, chestnut, elm, hickory, mulberry, and oak, the larger vessels or pores (as cross sections of vessels are called) are locali sed in the part of the growth ring formed in spring, thus forming a region of mo re or less open and porous tissue. The rest of the ring, produced in summer, is made up of smaller vessels and a much greater proportion of wood fibers. These f iber are the elements which give strength and toughness to wood, while the vesse ls are a source of weakness. Magnified cross-section of Black Walnut, showing the vessels, rays (white lines ) and annual rings: this is intermediate between diffuse-porous and ring-porous, with vessel size declining gradually In diffuse-porous woods the pores are evenly sized so that the water conducting capability is scattered throughout the growth ring instead of being collected in a band or row. Examples of this kind of wood are basswood, birch, buckeye, mapl e, poplar, and willow. Some species, such as walnut and cherry, are on the borde r between the two classes, forming an intermediate group. Earlywood and latewood in softwood In temperate softwoods there often is a marked difference between latewood and e arlywood. The latewood will be denser than that formed early in the season. When examined under a microscope the cells of dense latewood are seen to be very thi ck-walled and with very small cell cavities, while those formed first in the sea son have thin walls and large cell cavities. The strength is in the walls, not t he cavities. Hence the greater the proportion of latewood the greater the densit y and strength. In choosing a piece of pine where strength or stiffness is the i mportant consideration, the principal thing to observe is the comparative amount s of earlywood and latewood. The width of ring is not nearly so important as the proportion and nature of the latewood in the ring. If a heavy piece of pine is compared with a lightweight piece it will be seen at once that the heavier one contains a larger proportion of latewood than the oth er, and is therefore showing more clearly demarcated growth rings. In white pine s there is not much contrast between the different parts of the ring, and as a r esult the wood is very uniform in texture and is easy to work. In hard pines, on the other hand, the latewood is very dense and is deep-colored, presenting a ve ry decided contrast to the soft, straw-colored earlywood. It is not only the proportion of latewood, but also its quality, that counts. In specimens that show a very large proportion of latewood it may be noticeably mo re porous and weigh considerably less than the latewood in pieces that contain b ut little. One can judge comparative density, and therefore to some extent stren gth, by visual inspection. No satisfactory explanation can as yet be given for the exact mechanisms determi ning the formation of earlywood and latewood. Several factors may be involved. I n conifers, at least, rate of growth alone does not determine the proportion of the two portions of the ring, for in some cases the wood of slow growth is very hard and heavy, while in others the opposite is true. The quality of the site wh ere the tree grows undoubtedly affects the character of the wood formed, though it is not possible to formulate a rule governing it. In general, however, it may be said that where strength or ease of working is essential, woods of moderate to slow growth should be chosen Earlywood and latewood in ring-porous woods Earlywood and latewood in a ring-porous wood (ash) in a Fraxinus excelsior ; ta ngential view, wide growth rings In ring-porous woods each season's growth is always well defined, because the la rge pores formed early in the season abut on the denser tissue of the year befor e. In the case of the ring-porous hardwoods there seems to exist a pretty definite relation between the rate of growth of timber and its properties. This may be br iefly summed up in the general statement that the more rapid the growth or the w ider the rings of growth, the heavier, harder, stronger, and stiffer the wood. T his, it must be remembered, applies only to ring-porous woods such as oak, ash, hickory, and others of the same group, and is, of course, subject to some except ions and limitations. In ring-porous woods of good growth it is usually the latewood in which the thic k-walled, strength-giving fibers are most abundant. As the breadth of ring dimin ishes, this latewood is reduced so that very slow growth produces comparatively light, porous wood composed of thin-walled vessels and wood parenchyma. In good oak these large vessels of the earlywood occupy from 6 to 10 percent of the volu me of the log, while in inferior material they may make up 25% or more. The late wood of good oak is dark colored and firm, and consists mostly of thick-walled f ibers which form one-half or more of the wood. In inferior oak, this latewood is much reduced both in quantity and quality. Such variation is very largely the r esult of rate of growth. Wide-ringed wood is often called "second-growth", because the growth of the youn g timber in open stands after the old trees have been removed is more rapid than in trees in a closed forest, and in the manufacture of articles where strength is an important consideration such "second-growth" hardwood material is preferre d. This is particularly the case in the choice of hickory for handles and spokes . Here not only strength, but toughness and resilience are important. The result s of a series of tests on hickory by the U.S. Forest Service show that: "The work or shock-resisting ability is greatest in wide-ringed wood that has fr om 5 to 14 rings per inch (rings 1.8-5 mm thick), is fairly constant from 14 to 38 rings per inch (rings 0.7 1.8 mm thick), and decreases rapidly from 38 to 47 ri ngs per inch (rings 0.5 0.7 mm thick). The strength at maximum load is not so grea t with the most rapid-growing wood; it is maximum with from 14 to 20 rings per i nch (rings 1.3 1.8 mm thick), and again becomes less as the wood becomes more clos ely ringed. The natural deduction is that wood of first-class mechanical value s hows from 5 to 20 rings per inch (rings 1.3 5 mm thick) and that slower growth yie lds poorer stock. Thus the inspector or buyer of hickory should discriminate aga inst timber that has more than 20 rings per inch (rings less than 1.3 mm thick). Exceptions exist, however, in the case of normal growth upon dry situations, in which the slow-growing material may be strong and tough."[12] The effect of rate of growth on the qualities of chestnut wood is summarised by the same authority as follows: "When the rings are wide, the transition from spring wood to summer wood is grad ual, while in the narrow rings the spring wood passes into summer wood abruptly. The width of the spring wood changes but little with the width of the annual ri ng, so that the narrowing or broadening of the annual ring is always at the expe nse of the summer wood. The narrow vessels of the summer wood make it richer in wood substance than the spring wood composed of wide vessels. Therefore, rapid-g rowing specimens with wide rings have more wood substance than slow-growing tree s with narrow rings. Since the more the wood substance the greater the weight, a nd the greater the weight the stronger the wood, chestnuts with wide rings must have stronger wood than chestnuts with narrow rings. This agrees with the accept ed view that sprouts (which always have wide rings) yield better and stronger wo od than seedling chestnuts, which grow more slowly in diameter."[12] Earlywood and latewood in diffuse-porous woods In the diffuse-porous woods, the demarcation between rings is not always so clea r and in some cases is almost (if not entirely) invisible to the unaided eye. Co nversely, when there is a clear demarcation there may not be a noticeable differ ence in structure within the growth ring. In diffuse-porous woods, as has been stated, the vessels or pores are even-sized , so that the water conducting capability is scattered throughout the ring inste ad of collected in the earlywood. The effect of rate of growth is, therefore, no t the same as in the ring-porous woods, approaching more nearly the conditions i n the conifers. In general it may be stated that such woods of medium growth aff ord stronger material than when very rapidly or very slowly grown. In many uses of wood, total strength is not the main consideration. If ease of working is pri zed, wood should be chosen with regard to its uniformity of texture and straight ness of grain, which will in most cases occur when there is little contrast betw een the latewood of one season's growth and the earlywood of the next. Monocot wood Trunks of the Coconut palm, a monocot, in Java. From this perspective these loo k not much different from trunks of a dicot or conifer Structural material that roughly (in its gross handling characteristics) resembl es ordinary, "dicot" or conifer wood is produced by a number of monocot plants, and these also are colloquially called wood. Of these, bamboo, botanically a mem ber of the grass family, has considerable economic importance, larger culms bein g widely used as a building and construction material in their own right and, th ese days, in the manufacture of engineered flooring, panels and veneer. Another major plant group that produce material that often is called wood are the palms. Of much less importance are plants such as Pandanus, Dracaena and Cordyline. Wi th all this material, the structure and composition of the structural material i s quite different from ordinary wood. Hard and soft woods There is a strong relationship between the properties of wood and the properties of the particular tree that yielded it. The density of wood varies with species . The density of a wood correlates with its strength (mechanical properties). Fo r example, mahogany is a medium-dense hardwood that is excellent for fine furnit ure crafting, whereas balsa is light, making it useful for model building. One o f the densest woods is black ironwood. It is common to classify wood as either softwood or hardwood. The wood from coni fers (e.g. pine) is called softwood, and the wood from dicotyledons (usually bro ad-leaved trees, e.g. oak) is called hardwood. These names are a bit misleading, as hardwoods are not necessarily hard, and softwoods are not necessarily soft. The well-known balsa (a hardwood) is actually softer than any commercial softwoo d. Conversely, some softwoods (e.g. yew) are harder than many hardwoods. Chemistry of wood Aside from water, wood has three main components. Cellulose, a crystalline polym er derived from glucose, constitutes about 41 43%. Next in abundance is hemicellul ose, which is around 20% in deciduous trees but near 30% in conifers. It is main ly five-carbon sugars that are linked in an irregular manner, in contrast to the cellulose. Lignin is the third component at around 27% in coniferous wood vs 23 % in deciduous trees. Lignin confers the hydrophobic properties reflecting the f act that it is based on aromatic rings. These three components are interwoven, a nd direct covalent linkages exist between the lignin and the hemicellulose. A ma jor focus of the paper industry is the separation of the lignin from the cellulo se, from which paper is made. In chemical terms, the difference between hardwood and softwood is reflected in the composition of the constituent lignin. Hardwood lignin is primarily derived from sinapyl alcohol and coniferyl alcohol. Softwood lignin is mainly derived fr om coniferyl alcohol.[13] Extractives Aside from the lignocellulose, wood consists of a variety of low molecular weigh t organic compounds, called extractives. The wood extractives are fatty acids, r esin acids, waxes and terpenes.[14] For example, rosin is exuded by conifers as protection from insects. The extraction of these organic materials from wood pro vides tall oil, terpentine, and rosin.[15] Uses Fuel Main article: Wood fuel Wood has a long history of being used as fuel, which continues to this day, most ly in rural areas of the world. Hardwood is preferred over softwood because it c reates less smoke and burns longer. Adding a woodstove or fireplace to a home is often felt to add ambiance and warmth.[16] The churches of Kizhi, Russia are among a handful of World Heritage Sites built entirely of wood, without metal joints. See Kizhi Pogost for more details. The complex carpentry of the Centre Pompidou-Metz museum, Metz. The Saitta House, Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, New York built in 1899 is made of an d decorated in wood.[17] Construction Wood has been an important construction material since humans began building she lters, houses and boats. Nearly all boats were made out of wood until the late 1 9th century, and wood remains in common use today in boat construction. Wood to be used for construction work is commonly known as lumber in North Ameri ca. Elsewhere, lumber usually refers to felled trees, and the word for sawn plan ks ready for use is timber. New domestic housing in many parts of the world today is commonly made from timb er-framed construction. Engineered wood products are becoming a bigger part of t he construction industry. They may be used in both residential and commercial bu ildings as structural and aesthetic materials. In buildings made of other materials, wood will still be found as a supporting m aterial, especially in roof construction, in interior doors and their frames, an d as exterior cladding. Wood is also commonly used as shuttering material to form the mould into which c oncrete is poured during reinforced concrete construction. Furniture and utensils Wood has always been used extensively for furniture, such as chairs and beds. Al so for tool handles and cutlery, such as chopsticks, toothpicks, and other utens ils, like the wooden spoon. Engineered wood Wood can be cut into straight planks and made into a wood flooring. Engineered wood products, glued building products "engineered" for application-s pecific performance requirements, are often used in construction and industrial applications. Glued engineered wood products are manufactured by bonding togethe r wood strands, veneers, lumber or other forms of wood fiber with glue to form a larger, more efficient composite structural unit.[18] These products include gl ued laminated timber (glulam), wood structural panels (including plywood, orient ed strand board and composite panels), laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and other s tructural composite lumber (SCL) products, parallel strand lumber, and I-joists. [18] Approximately 100 million cubic meters of wood was consumed for this purpos e in 1991.[2] The trends suggest that particle board and fiber board will overta ke plywood. Engineered wood products display highly predictable and reliable performance cha racteristics and provide enhanced design flexibility: on one hand, these product s allow the use of smaller pieces, and on the other hand, they allow for bigger spans. They may also be selected for specific projects such as public swimming p ools or ice rinks where the wood will not deteriorate in the presence of certain chemicals, and are less susceptible to the humidity changes commonly found in t hese environments. Engineered wood products prove to be more environmentally friendly and, if used appropriately, are often less expensive than building materials such as steel or concrete. These products are extremely resource-efficient because they use more of the available resource with minimal waste. In most cases, engineered wood pr oducts are produced using faster growing and often underutilized wood species fr om managed forests and tree farms.[19] Wood unsuitable for construction in its native form may be broken down mechanica lly (into fibers or chips) or chemically (into cellulose) and used as a raw mate rial for other building materials, such as engineered wood, as well as chipboard , hardboard, and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Such wood derivatives are wide ly used: wood fibers are an important component of most paper, and cellulose is used as a component of some synthetic materials. Wood derivatives can also be us ed for kinds of flooring, for example laminate flooring. Next generation wood products Further developments include new lignin glue applications, recyclable food packa ging, rubber tire replacement applications, anti-bacterial medical agents, and h igh strength fabrics or composites.[20] As scientists and engineers further lear n and develop new techniques to extract various components from wood, or alterna tively to modify wood, for example by adding components to wood, new more advanc ed products will appear on the marketplace. In the arts Artists can use wood to create delicate sculptures. Stringed instrument bows are often made from pernambuco or brazilwood. Main article: Wood as a medium Wood has long been used as an artistic medium. It has been used to make sculptur es and carvings for millennia. Examples include the totem poles carved by North American indigenous people from conifer trunks, often Western Red Cedar (Thuja p licata), and the Millennium clock tower,[21] now housed in the National Museum o f Scotland[22] in Edinburgh. It is also used in woodcut printmaking, and for engraving. Certain types of musical instruments, such as those of the violin family, the gu itar, the clarinet and recorder, the xylophone, and the marimba, are made mostly or entirely of wood. The choice of wood may make a significant difference to th e tone and resonant qualities of the instrument, and tonewoods have widely diffe ring properties, ranging from the hard and dense african blackwood (used for the bodies of clarinets) to the light but resonant European spruce (Picea abies) (t raditionally used for the soundboards of violins). The most valuable tonewoods, such as the ripple sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), used for the backs of violins , combine acoustic properties with decorative color and grain which enhance the appearance of the finished instrument. Despite their collective name, not all woodwind instruments are made entirely of wood. The reeds used to play them, however, are usually made from Arundo donax, a type of monocot cane plant. Sports and recreational equipment Many types of sports equipment are made of wood, or were constructed of wood in the past. For example, cricket bats are typically made of white willow. The base ball bats which are legal for use in Major League Baseball are frequently made o f ash wood or hickory, and in recent years have been constructed from maple even though that wood is somewhat more fragile. In softball, however, bats are more commonly made of aluminium (this is especially true for fastpitch softball). Many other types of sports and recreation equipment, such as skis, ice hockey st icks, lacrosse sticks and archery bows, were commonly made of wood in the past, but have since been replaced with more modern materials such as aluminium, fiber glass, carbon fiber, titanium, and composite materials. One noteworthy example o f this trend is the golf club commonly known as the wood, the head of which was traditionally made of persimmon wood in the early days of the game of golf, but is now generally made of synthetic materials. Medicine In January 2010 Italian scientists announced that wood could be harnessed to bec ome a bone substitute. It is likely to take at least five years until this techn ique will be applied for humans.[23] The wood species mentioned here, are the most commonly used in our own productio n. It should be noticed that wood is UNIQUE, and there are no two pieces of woo d that are exactly the same, so when dealing with natural products it is importa nt to remember that there can be variations, and especially there are differenci es in appearance between flatsawn and quartersawn wood in appearance, strengths and stability. also there are differencess even within a small region, and even within a single tree. Wood is a wonderful material, and it is selfsustaining when grown in well manage d forests. International désigns Woodworking Corp. Phone: (+632) 813 - 8178 Fax: (+632) 813 - 8176 [email protected] PHILIPPINE ROSEWOOD Scientific Name: Petersianthus Quadrialatus Weight:Abt 650 Kgs/m3 Color:Very Dark With Lighter Flames Naturally Occuring Description: Philippine Rosewood is a very beautiful dark and flamy wood. It has for many years been used for local boatmaking due to it's strength and durabili ty. We have introduced this species for interiors and flooring. TEAK Weight:Abt 600kgs. Color:Brown Scientific Name:Tectona Grandis Description:Teak is one of the world's best timbers. It's usage is multiple, but mainly furniture, decking, and various kitchen accessories. Especially well sui ted for outdoor use. PHILIPPINE MAHOGANY Scientific Name: Shorea Negrosensis Weight:Abt 500kgs/m3 Description: Also known as Lauan, the Philippine Mahogany is considered the very best in Asia. - The types growing in LUZON are generally harder and darker, whi le MINDANAO origin is a lighter and milder type.. YAKAL Scientific Name:Shorea Laevis Weight:Abt 700 Kgs/m3 Color:Yellow To Golden Red Description: Yakal is a hard and golden Mahogany type which is used for frequent ly used products and surfaces. Ideal for outdoor use also. ALMON - Red Mahogany Color: Uniform Light Red Weight: 450-500kgs/m3 Scientific Name: Shorea Almon Description:Almon grows in the southern island of Mindanao. It is uniform in col our and weight, and is mild and easy to work. BAGRAS - Southern Mahogany Weight:400-600kgs At 15% Color:Reddish / Brown Scientific Name:Eucalyptus Deglupta Description:Also known as Mindanao Gum or Rainbow Eucalyptus. Both natural and p lanation growth. - Furniture and cabinet making. BAGTICAN - WHITE LAUAN Color:Pale To Light Red Scientific Name: Shorea And Parashorea Weight:Abt 400-600kgs/m3 Description:Light red or white Lauan and Bagtikan species are widespread in the Philippines, but vary in weight from north to south. - Often used for joinery. IGEM Weight: 450-600kgs Scientific Name: Podocarpus Imbricatus Color: Light Yellow To White Description:Igem is mainly used as a Ramin replacement for mouldings and frames. MAHOGANY - (Plantation) Scientific Name: Swietenica Macrophylla Color: Redbrownish With Orange Tone Weight: Abt 500kgs/m3 At 12% M.c. Description: Swietenia Mahogany has been planted in the Philippines since the 70 ies. Originating in Brazil, where it is now an endangered species, this plantati on species can now be aquired on sustainable basis. It may contain some small fi rm knots, but is available in good quality for furniture purposes. ACACIA (road side) Color:Dark Brown, With Very Distingt Sap Wood (yellow) Weight: Abt. 4-500kgs/m3 Scientific Name:Acacia Auriculaeformi, Racosperma Aurculiforme Description:The Acasia grows wild everywhere in the Philippines, and is often us ed for local handicrafts, and especilly suited for turning into bowls and plates . ACACIA MANGIUM Weight: 545kgs At 12% Color:Pale Brown With Very Light Sapwood Scientific Name:Acacia Mangium Willd. Leguminosae (mimosoideae) Description:The sapwood of mangium is narrow and pale yellow to light brown, whi le the heartwood is olive brown to gray brown, with darker streaks. It is hard, with a medium texture, strong and durable (not in contact with the ground). The grain shows an interlocked figure radially, but looks straight on the flatsawn s urface NARRA Scientific Name: Pterocarpus Indicus Weight: Abt 600 Kgs/m3 Color:Deep Orange Golden To Darker Red Tones Description:Narra is considered the most valuable wood in the Philippines, and i s therefore very restricted. Special permits are required for export of finished products. - Most often used for furniture, flooring, and panels. PILI Scientific Name:Canarium Luzonicum Weight: Abt 500kgs/m3 Color: Whitish, Light Brown Description:Fruit tree with a nut fruit, also sometimes called olive. Found main ly in the Philippines. Common in primary forests and low and medium altitudes. C ommon names: Antang, kedondong, piling-liitan, belis, malapili COCONUT WOOD Scientific Name: Cocos Nucifera Color:Brown Weight: Abt 600kgs/m3 Description: Coconut is very widespread all over the Philippines, and it used ex tensively in the local construction industry. - It is a very hard wood which is excellent for turning into small bowls, jewelry accessories, but also used for c utting boards, flooring and much more GMELINA (White Teak) Weight: Abt. 400 Kgs At 12% M.c. Color: Pale, Light Color Scientific Name: Gmelina Aborea Description: One of the most used plantation species in the Philippines. Widely used for fingerjointed and edgeglued materials for shelves, furniture parts, and mouldings OAK Scientific Name: Quercus Rob. Weight:About 600kgs/m3 Color: Pale/light Description:Our Oak primarily comes from Northern Europe and is lighter in colou r, and more dense than it's North American equivalent. Lead time for production in Oak will most often be about 6 months, until produciton is stable, after whic h 3 months production time is normal. BEECH WOOD Color:Pale White. Scientific Name:Fagus Grandifolia Description:Mostly closed, straight grain; fine, uniform texture. Our Beech come s from Northern and Central Europe. CHERRY Color:Golden Light Brown Scientific Name:Prunus, Serotina Description:North American Cherry is one of Americas favorite cabinet and furnit ure woods, prized for its rich reddish color and fine graining. MAPLE Color:Creamy White To Light Reddish Brown Scientific Name:Acer Saccharum Description:American white Maple is widely used for furniture, and is often used for very pale products with a soft sanded surface. SANTOL Scientific Name: Sandoricum Koetjape Weight: Abt 500 Kgs/m3 Color: Light Brown Description:heartwood is pale reddish-brown when dry, imparting the color to wat er. It is fairly hard, moderately heavy, close-grained and polishes well. It is plentiful, easy to saw and work, and accordingly popular. If carefully seasoned, it can be employed for house-posts, interior construction, light-framing, barre ls, cabinetwork, boats, carts, sandals, butcher's blocks, household utensils and carvings. When burned, the wood emits an aromatic scent. MOUNTAIN PINE Scientific Name: Pinus Color:Light Reddish Weight: Abt 350-400kgs/m3 Description:Pine is grown above 1000 meters in the Philippines. - It is relative ly fast grown, but we are able to offer most of our products free of knots.
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i don't know
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Mintonette was the original name of which sport?
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Mintonette and the History of Volley Ball In the USA and Globally – Volleyball1on1
How Mintonette was Invented and Later became Volley ball, and then Volleyball
William G Morgan the founder of Mintonette which later became volley ball or Volleyball.
Mintonette as it was originally called was the name given to the sport founded by William G Morgan that later became volley ball and today is known as volleyball. The sport roots can be traced back to Holyoke, Massachusetts when William the director at the local YMCA created the sport as an alternative to the more physical basketball. Basketball was becoming popular at the time but Morgan wanted to create a sport at his physicality where his members did not have to run. So he strung a badminton net in the gym and using the bladder of an old soccer ball invented volleyball.
The sports orgins of “mintonette” are rooted in the fact that the original sport was much like badminton so “minton” to “mintonette.” The court was 25 by 50 feet originally and the net 6 feet 6 inches high. In attempt to bring in other sports the game originally was mimicked after baseball with 9 innings and 3 servers per inning. Also originally there were unlimited number of players on each side.
William G Morgan died On December 27th 1942. He was inducted in the volleyball hall of fame in 1985 at its inauguration by another future hall of famer Doug Beal.
Misty May and Kerri Walsh, today’s volleyballs super stars.
Quick Mintonette and Volleyball Facts:
Over 1 billion people tuned in to watch the first live beach volleyball at the 1996 Olympics.
It is estimated that 1 billion people play volleyball weekly globally and that over 7 million people play in the United States.
At the 2008 Olympics Beach Volleyball was the most viewed sport at the Olympics!
Karch Kiraly is the most recognized Male volleyball player in the world.
Misty May and Kerri Walsh are the most dominant and well known female volleyball players in the world.
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Volleyball
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How many years is a megaannum?
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Who Invented Volleyball?
Who invented volleyball, general history, rules, and object of the game
William G. Morgan (1870-1942), invented volleyball in 1895 in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Morgan, who was born in New York, is known as the inventor of volleyball which he originally named Mintonette.
Later, Alfred Halstead re-named Mintonette volleyball because the object of the game was to volley a ball back and forth over a net.
Morgan studied at the Springfield College of the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) where he met James Naismith.
Naismith, in 1891, had recently invented the game of basketball. During the summer of 1895, Morgan moved to the YMCA at Holyoke where he became Director of Physical Education.
Inventor of Volleyball, William G. Morgan
In this role, Morgan had the opportunity to direct a vast program of exercises and sport classes for male adults. His leadership was eagerly accepted, and his classes grew in large numbers. He came to realize he needed a different type of competitive recreational game in order to vary his physical fitness program.
Basketball, which sport was beginning to develop, seemed to suit young people, but it was necessary to find a less violent and less intense alternative for the older members.
Morgan took some of the characteristics from tennis and handball along with basketball. Morgan liked the game of tennis, but tennis required rackets, balls, a net.
He didnt like all the equipment, but he did like the idea of a net.
Morgan invented volleyball, which was originally called Mintonette. Mintonette was designed to be an indoor sport. Mintonette was less rough than basketball for older members of the YMCA, while still requiring some athletic ability.
The first rules required for a net to be 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters) high, a 25 × 50 foot (7.6 × 15.2 meter) court. Each team could have as many players as a team wanted.
A match was nine innings with three serves for each team in each inning. There was no limit to the number of ball contacts for each team before sending the ball to the other side of the court.
In case of a miss serve, a second try was allowed. Hitting the ball into the net was a fault, with loss of the point or a side-out, except in the case of a first serve attempt.
Invented Volleyball Related Pages
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i don't know
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Karanga is a ritual welcome chant of what people?
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The Hobbit Fan fellowship - In Rotorua Traditional Maori 'Powhiri' ceremonial welcome - YouTube
The Hobbit Fan fellowship - In Rotorua Traditional Maori 'Powhiri' ceremonial welcome
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Published on Nov 3, 2014
Māori Cultural Performance
Our people are known for their great sense of humour and the concerts at Te Puia are a fun way to experience the personality of our Māori culture and traditions. One of our most entertaining forms of storytelling is kapa haka (Māori performance art) and at Te Puia we welcome you to find out why these performances should be on your list of essential things to do in Rotorua.
An Authentic Māori Welcome
Powhiri (ceremonial welcome)
Powhiri is a ritual performed when two groups are meeting for the first time. Gather at the entrance to Rotowhio Marae and be introduced to this spine-tingling ceremony, which begins with the sound of the pūtatara (conch). We ask that visitors please be silent during this ceremony as a mark of respect.
Wero (challenge)
Following the pūtatara, a toa (warrior) will approach your group to challenge the (honorary) male chief and confirm your peaceful intent with the placing of a baton. In ancient times, lack of respect during this ceremony could result in death.
Traditionally, the wero involved three challengers – the scout, the warrior, and the peacemaker – but today you will see these three elements embodied in the performance of a single warrior.
Watch as the warrior ends his challenge with a sweeping motion to clear the path for visitors, before slapping his thigh to indicate an offer of peace. Finally, he will turn his back and pull an imaginary rope to lead you onto the marae.
Karanga (welcome call)
To show respect to the ancestors and the traditions of the visiting group, a female host will then perform a karanga (welcome call). This chant calls you forward and welcomes you onto the marae and into the Tupuna Whare (ancestral meeting house).
Whaikorero (welcome speeches)
Once inside the meeting house, you will be welcomed again and acknowledged as whānau (family) during our leader’s ceremonial speech. This speech will finish with a traditional waiata (chant) performed by the hosts.
Kapa Haka (cultural performance)
A true highlight of any Te Puia outing, our stunning cultural performances feature traditional storytelling and entertainment, with the opportunity to join in the graceful poi dance or ferocious haka, for a more intimate Maori cultural experience.
Waiata-a-ringa (action songs)
You will be treated to a series of traditional songs telling the stories of our ancestors and those of Maori legend. Hand movements and body actions are used to capture the essence of these stories as we showcase the dance steps of yesteryear.
Poi Dance
The captivating poi dance requires skill and grace, as you will witness during this part of the performance. Female visitors will have the opportunity to take part and try out some of the mesmerising poi moves and experience this beautiful and truly unique dance for themselves.
Haka (challenge)
Used traditionally to mentally and physically prepare warriors for battle, the world-renowned haka is a sight to behold. Following a spine-tingling performance by our own warriors, male visitors will be invited to the stage to learn the actions and sounds before performing a haka of their own.
Titi torea (stick game)
Watch as our performers pass batons back and forth in rhythm with the music, showcasing their agility and eye-hand coordination. These stick games have been a favourite of our people for centuries and were used in the past to improve the speed and movement of our warriors as they prepare for battle.
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Māori
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The binary number symbols 100 equate to what conventional number?
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P O W H I R I What is the purpose of powhiri?. The powhiri is a ritual of encounter between: The host people and the visitors The rituals clears. - ppt download
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P O W H I R I What is the purpose of powhiri?. The powhiri is a ritual of encounter between: The host people and the visitors The rituals clears.
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Presentation on theme: "P O W H I R I What is the purpose of powhiri?. The powhiri is a ritual of encounter between: The host people and the visitors The rituals clears."— Presentation transcript:
1 P O W H I R I What is the purpose of powhiri?
2 The powhiri is a ritual of encounter between: The host people and the visitors The rituals clears away any tapu barriers All who take part are under the protection of the marae The visitors show respect by giving support (koha) and being careful to keep to the values and practices of the host people
3 Present in Powhiri is Tapu and Noa Acknowledges the sacred/spiritual to land, to people, to atua (god) The protection of and maintenance of boundaries as they apply within the tikanga (protocols) of iwi, hapu and whanau. Including people, places, actions.
4 What is tapu? What is noa? The dual concept of tapu (sacred) and noa (free from tapu) regulated and constricted every facet of Maori life Tapu is a positive force, associated with life, immortality, masculine objects and women of the highest rank. Noa allowed things to become normal
5 Kawa, Tikanga and Powhiri When conducting powhiri it is necessary to consider some comcepts: Kawa (boundaries) Kawa polices a practice. It serves to ensure that the outcome intended is achieved through a minimum standard of practice that aligns itself to the cultures philosophy and view of the world Tikanga (Practices) Tikanga implies that there is a correct way to do things that involves priority based on past observations or whakapapa that helped qualify and quantify the ‘correctness’ of the said practice
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7 KA TAE MAI NGA MANUHIRI
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10 Ka wero te kaiwero A warrior will come out to assess the intentions of the visitors He will be the ‘best’ warrior He will issue a challenge How the challenge is responded to will indicate the guests intentions
11 Ka whakautu te kaikaranga manuhiri
12 Ka karanga te kaikaranga The women on the tangata whenua (host) side will call to the guests The women on the visitors side will respond to the hosts and the manuhiri start their entrance onto the marae The kaikaranga (caller) is the first speaker. She represents the very best of female speakers where women do not speak on the marae atea.
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14 Haka Powhiri
15 Ka korero te kaikorero The men stand and speak this part of the process is about removing tapu and initiating the start of kotahitanga
16 Ka korero te kaikorero After each speaker the rest of the whanau stand and sing a waiata tautoko (supporting song)
17 The Hongi
18 Ka hongi tetahi ki tetahi After the whaikorero and waiata there is an opportunity to lay down your koha (gift) Following this, everyone greets each other. The hongi.
19 Ka kaitahi To completely break the tapu and bring about kotahitanga everyone shares kai (food) together
20 Powhiri and nga atua Maori Tumatauenga governs the kawa of wero Papatuanuku, Hineahuone and Hine titama hold the kawa of the karanga Tane te wananga and Tu te ihiihi influence the kawa of whaikorero Tawhirimatea, tane mahuta and Tumatauenga hold the kawa of the marae atea Rongomatane hold the kawa of the whare tipuna Tahu, Hinenuitepo and Rongomaraeroa govern the kawa of kai hakari
21 Roles and Roleplayers Kia Karanga: The caller – call of welcome Whaikorero – The orator speech of welcome Kai Waiata – The singer Complementary chants or songs Tangi – expression of emotion, sorrow, grief, joy Kokiri take – initating projects and action, addressing issues Whakatara – stirring, being accountable and holding people to what they say they will do Karakia – Prayer Mahi kai – The gathering of food Whakapai marae –The tidying of the marae
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i don't know
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What was the first internet top-level domain?
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What is a Top-Level Domain (TLD)? - Definition from Techopedia
[WEBINAR] An On-Ramp for In-Memory Computing
Techopedia explains Top-Level Domain (TLD)
A top-level domain recognizes a certain element regarding the associated website, such as its objective (business, government, education), its owner, or the geographical area from which it originated. Each TLD includes an independent registry controlled by a specific organization, which is managed under the guidance of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
ICANN recognizes the following types of TLDs:
Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD): These are the most popular types of TDLs. Some examples include ".edu" for educational sites and ."com" for commercial sites. These types of TLDs are available for registration.
Country-Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD): Every ccTLD recognizes a specific country and is generally two letters long. For example, the ccTLD for Australia is ".au".
Sponsored Top-Level Domains (sTLD): These TLDs are supervised by private organizations.
Infrastructure Top-Level Domains: There is only one TLD in this category, which is ".arpa". The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority controls this TLD for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Some of the TLDs and their explanations are as follows:
.com - Commercial businesses
.edu - Educational facilities like universities
.th - Thailand
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.arpa
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Micturate is a medical term for expelling what from the human body?
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ICANN | Archives | Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
ARCHIVES
Please note: You are viewing archival ICANN material. Links and information may be outdated or incorrect. Visit ICANN's main website for current information.
Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)
Many of the new TLDs are accepting registrations. Go to the InterNIC website for more information .
Introduction
The Internet's domain-name system (DNS) allows users to refer to web sites and other resources using easier-to-remember domain names (such as "www.icann.org") rather than the all-numeric IP addresses (such as "192.0.34.65") assigned to each computer on the Internet. Each domain name is made up of a series of character strings (called "labels") separated by dots. The right-most label in a domain name is referred to as its "top-level domain" (TLD).
The DNS forms a tree-like hierarchy. Each TLD includes many second-level domains (such as "icann" in "www.icann.org"); each second-level domain can include a number of third-level domains ("www" in "www.icann.org"), and so on.
The responsibility for operating each TLD (including maintaining a registry of the second-level domains within the TLD) is delegated to a particular organization. These organizations are referred to as "registry operators", "sponsors", or simply "delegees."
There are several types of TLDs within the DNS:
TLDs with two letters (such as .de, .mx, and .jp) have been established for over 250 countries and external territories and are referred to as "country-code" TLDs or "ccTLDs". They are delegated to designated managers, who operate the ccTLDs according to local policies that are adapted to best meet the economic, cultural, linguistic, and legal circumstances of the country or territory involved. For more details, see the ccTLD web page on the IANA web site .
Most TLDs with three or more characters are referred to as "generic" TLDs, or "gTLDs". They can be subdivided into two types, "sponsored" TLDs (sTLDs) and "unsponsored TLDs (uTLDs), as described in more detail below.
In addition to gTLDs and ccTLDs, there is one special TLD, .arpa , which is used for technical infrastructure purposes. ICANN administers the .arpa TLD in cooperation with the Internet technical community under the guidance of the Internet Architecture Board.
Generic TLDs
In the 1980s, seven gTLDs (.com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, and .org) were created. Domain names may be registered in three of these (.com, .net, and .org) without restriction; the other four have limited purposes.
In years following the creation of the original gTLDs, various discussions occurred concerning additional gTLDs, leading to the selection in November 2000 of seven new TLDs for introduction. These were introduced in 2001 and 2002. Four of the new TLDs (.biz, .info, .name, and .pro) are unsponsored. The other three new TLDs (.aero, .coop, and .museum) are sponsored. In 2003, ICANN initiated a process that resulted in the introduction of six new TLDs (.asia, .cat, .jobs, .mobi, .tel and .travel) that are sponsored. Information about that process may be found here .
Generally speaking, an unsponsored TLD operates under policies established by the global Internet community directly through the ICANN process, while a sponsored TLD is a specialized TLD that has a sponsor representing the narrower community that is most affected by the TLD. The sponsor thus carries out delegated policy-formulation responsibilities over many matters concerning the TLD.
A Sponsor is an organization to which is delegated some defined ongoing policy-formulation authority regarding the manner in which a particular sponsored TLD is operated. The sponsored TLD has a Charter, which defines the purpose for which the sponsored TLD has been created and will be operated. The Sponsor is responsible for developing policies on the delegated topics so that the TLD is operated for the benefit of a defined group of stakeholders, known as the Sponsored TLD Community, that are most directly interested in the operation of the TLD. The Sponsor also is responsible for selecting the registry operator and to varying degrees for establishing the roles played by registrars and their relationship with the registry operator. The Sponsor must exercise its delegated authority according to fairness standards and in a manner that is representative of the Sponsored TLD Community.
The extent to which policy-formulation responsibilities are appropriately delegated to a Sponsor depends upon the characteristics of the organization that may make such delegation appropriate. These characteristics may include the mechanisms the organization uses to formulate policies, its mission, its guarantees of independence from the registry operator and registrars, who will be permitted to participate in the Sponsor's policy-development efforts and in what way, and the Sponsor's degree and type of accountability to the Sponsored TLD Community.
Historical Materials
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i don't know
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Particularly related to a controversial foodstuff, the bodily intervention device/process called 'gavage' refers to what?
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The GMO Labeling Debate - Collide-a-Scape
Collide-a-Scape
By Keith Kloor | May 12, 2013 11:40 pm
There are two camps that favor labeling genetically modified [GM] foods:
1) The “ Right to Know ” people, who say they just want to know what’s in their food. This is a specious argument. The truth is they think there is something harmful about GMOs. Why else would they feel so strongly about labeling genetically modified foods? Yes, the Just Label it Campaign is couched as a consumer rights issue, but really it’s based on fear. Everybody knows this, so pretending otherwise is silly.
2) The other pro-label camp is comprised of a small minority of pro-biotech people who recognize that the battle for public opinion is lost. The GMO fear-mongers have won–they have successfully framed the argument as a consumer choice issue. So the only sensible thing to do at this point is to play along and join the labeling bandwagon. As Ramez Naam argued effectively in a recent guest post ,
We should label them [GM foods] because that is the very best thing we can do for public acceptance of agricultural biotech. And we should label them because there’s absolutely nothing to hide.
From a political and pragmatic standpoint, this makes sense. After all, winning an argument at all costs can be counterproductive, whatever the cause. (The climate concerned who insist on playing whack-a-mole with climate skeptics–instead of picking their battles carefully–have yet to learn this lesson.) Still, I suspect that many pro-biotech people stand on principle and object to GMO labeling because it implicitly concedes victory to the fear-mongers, which is what one commenter on Naam’s post said :
[Just label it] is a disingenuous campaign and everybody knows it. How can we entertain that?! Capitulating on this misses the whole point and reinforces their framing of the issue. It sets a bad precedent.
Personally, I’m ambivalent about GMO labeling. I see right through the naked cynicism of the Right to Know campaign. It is totally disingenuous. On the other hand, as any student of Aikido or Tai Chi knows, redirecting the force of your attacker is an effective tactic. There is a case to be made that a GMO label on foods would neutralize the opposition and eventually pave the way to greater acceptance of biotechnology. Jonathan Gilligan made this argument earlier in the year, saying,
if GM food is labeled as such, I really believe that most consumers will buy it anyway and it will defuse the “what are they trying to hide” line of attack.
I find this to be a compelling argument. And yet, in a Bloomberg column this weekend, Cass Sunstein makes a good case against mandatory GMO labeling. He essentially concludes that science should guide the argument:
In the abstract, it is hard to disagree with the claim that consumers “have a right to know.” But with respect to food, there are countless facts that people might conceivably want to know, and government doesn’t require them to be placed on labels. Unless science can identify a legitimate concern about risks to health or the environment, the argument for compulsory GM labels rests on weak foundations.
I’m curious to hear where people stand on the GMO labeling issue, and whether anyone has changed his or her mind recently (in either direction) and why.
[Image at Label it Yourself website .]
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http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
I definitely feel that labels should be evidence based and only relate to health and safety issues. However, I have become resigned to the inevitable occurrence of GMO labeling. The popular pressure has simply grown too great to avoid. That said, I strenuously object to the nonsense style and details of the Prop 37, I522, or their derivatives (virtually all current proposals). If labeling is to be done, then put it in the right place (with other health and nutritional information, not blatantly on the package front) and say something useful besides “may contain GMO”. Anyone truly interested in “right to know” would want nothing less.
http://profiles.google.com/edgeben Benjamin Edge
I agree with pdiff, except that I favor the “may contain GMO”, as that defuses the major anti-GM right-to-know argument, yet doesn’t give in to them totally. It also would prevent the need for segregation or testing of ingredients on the basis of GM content and would not open manufacturers and others to lawsuits on that basis. I am absolutely against any kind of warning label.
Martin
Agreed: I’m all for marking packages ‘GM’ and all for GM; just as I’m all for marking alcohol content and all for getting a bit tipsy, and all for marking ‘organic’ so I can avoid the extra expense, and all for marking ‘may contain nuts’ etc etc.
Everyone quickly gets used to it, the hidden scariness of uncertainty is replaced with normality, and the few that remain that want to avoid GM will instead support some interesting niche farming and food businesses run by slightly strange enthusiasts that make for interesting documentaries, and we’re all happy.
http://www.facebook.com/melissa.metrick Melissa Metrick
I do agree with “saying something useful besides “may contain GMO”” and I am for labeling GMO’s. I would like to have GMO labeling on the front of the package (since food companies put faulty health advertisements on the fronts of their packages all the time)- but would agree to put it with the nutritional information or where consumers usually look for nut allergens etc..
brian
I think we would all agree that there’s a line to be drawn between what is reasonable information to include on a label and what’s unreasonable.
It’s reasonable that, when you buy a ready made lasagne, you know you’re buying beef (and not some other meat).
But is it reasonable to know that the cow was an Aberdeen Angus or a Holstein? Should I expect to know what variety of tomato was used for the sauce? I think most people would feel that this is not required – sure, the manufacturer might want to tell you he only used ‘finest Angus beef from the glens of Scotland and sun ripened tomatoes from Spain’ but that’s up to him.
So what side of the line does GM fall? I would say that’s optional information that a food manufacturer or supermarket could include if they wanted to. If someone wanted to market their product as ‘GM free’ that’s up to them – personally I think it’s a rather cynical move to frighten the consumer into buying their product. I’d prefer the information is left off the label because to say a product contains GM or not means absolutely nothing – meaningless information is worse than no information.
DrDenim
There is already a (voluntary) “no GMO” label, which I use to avoid those products so not to support such silliness.
http://www.facebook.com/melissa.metrick Melissa Metrick
The difference between a variety of a conventional or heirloom tomato a restaurant decides to put on their menu and a bioengineered tomato that will be labeled on a product consumers buy- is that a bioengineered tomato most likely has not been breed with other tomatoes within the same plant family. It probably has genes engineered into it from a totally different kingdom such as the animal kingdom. This makes the GMO tomato a completely different organism that has only been existing in the world for twenty years. Most of our conventional food has been produced in many countries and through many cultures for hundreds of years. To label genetically engineered food is a better way we can regulate and track this new organism in our food system. This isn’t fear mongering, it is observing, testing, and informing which is what science is all about.
http://twitter.com/andrewadams99 Andrew Adams
If someone wanted to market their product as ‘GM free’ that’s up to them – personally I think it’s a rather cynical move to frighten the consumer into buying their product.
Surely all they are doing is recognising a demand for a particular kind of product and meeting that demand. What’s wrong with that?
JonFrum
I want to know if products are manufactured by Jews. I just want to know, that’s all. I little yellow triangle on the label would do the job. Why can’t I have the right to choose who I buy from?
morechorizo
It would most likely violate the Civil Rights act. But, hey, it’s a very intelligent and relevant argument…of course.
http://twitter.com/andrewadams99 Andrew Adams
Well I can understand why people might have moral objection to that whihc could outweigh the consumer choice issue. Do you claim there is a similar moral objection to labelling re GMOs?
Of course in the UK (and the rest of the EU) there is mandatory labelling for country of origin, so if you want you can avoid goods produced in Israel (or elsewhere).
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Nothing is wrong with it as a voluntary option to label.
morechorizo
Actually something IS wrong with it as it would most likely violate the Civil Rights act. But, hey, it’s a very intelligent and relevant argument…of course.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Civil Rights? How so?
camille_h
I’ve seen several NON-GMO product labels on heirloom popcorn seeds & several other items. Hope it builds momentum. But there is no reason to exclusively burden the small organic farmer who already face higher production costs (isn’t cheap likely unhealthy food what this is about at heart?) bear the burden for the industrial world’s rampant overuse of pesticides & genetically manipulated food? Seems like the alterations are designed to protect profit, not health or flavor.
Steve Crook
I’m in the UK, and I don’t see it would be possible to get food that directly contains GMOs onto shelves without labeling. Indirectly, (chickens fed on GM maize) is already happening, and afaik there’s been no problem with people buying it.
As long as the ‘contains GMOs’ on the label is just another ingredient entry rather than a warning, just label and let the market decide.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000980613760 Kevin Folta
Most of the people in Group 1 are entirely disingenuous. Non-GMO food is already labeled. Look at the non-GMO project and ‘organic’ food in general. Labels are already there if someone wants the “right to know”.
My feeling, without evidence, is simply that the label is required to create a target, as with the sticker above. The anti-GM activists stop at nothing to support bogus charts, bad science and weak studies. Imagine when they can scare Joe and Jane Six Pack with false information directed toward specific food items!
Once that bad information is out there, it might as well be fact. Those that don’t understand, don’t want to be bothered with critical thinking, or hate a certain company will always remember that lumpy rat that ate the cheerios.
https://delicious.com/robertford Robert Ford
It’s still confusing to me though. There’s clearly no harm caused by them so they have to make stuff up. So what are they really against? To me it seems like they’re mainly against toying with what’s “natural.” They don’t like anything that’s not “natural.”
DrDenim
And “natural” of course meaning farming methods frozen ca 1950s.
cory
Do you consider corn bred to contain BT a GMO product? Given that it is suspect in the deaths of millions of monarch butterflies, I’d like to have the option of not buying it. Labeling would help me to do that. How is that a specious argument?
cory
adding more after caffeine:
I’d also like the option to avoid round-up ready products, for the scientific reason that they are encouraging selection for herbicide resistant weeds and overuse of roundup may blunt the sharp edge of one tool we have, similar to the way that overuse of antibiotics in farm animals is suspected of contributing to the rise in antibiotic resistant infections in humans.
Here is a link on an article from Nature on BT corn:
Now. Please tell me why wanting choice is specious. I have demonstrated two valid, scientifically supported reasons for personally wanting to avoid using two particular GMO products. Shouldn’t I be allowed the information I need to make that choice?
http://twitter.com/mem_somerville mem_somerville
And here we have a perfect illustration of the problem. Cory is misinformed, and has been led to believe that a label is what we need to solve the Monarch issues and do something about Roundup.
Neither of those things changes with a label. (Same thing with patents which is the next goalpost….)
So when they wake up from the haze of the campaign, they’ll look around and realize that their label didn’t do a thing, because it wasn’t based on the facts and the science.
The next f̶u̶n̶d̶r̶a̶i̶s̶e̶r̶ initiative will be to ban GMOs. Which would also have the same outcome–as the conventional herbicides still do the same things. But they’ll think they did something.
cory
I am not misinformed. I would personally like to choose not to spend my money on those products. I deserve that option.
I did not attempt to predict personal shopping behavior without scientific cause (as you are), or predict a change in market or farming practices (as you have). I responded to the original question, which was, “what is your stance on labels”. End of story.
I gave you examples of valid scientific studies that establish the reasons for my concern, and you responded with personal attacks. Now who’s unscientific?
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Your study on Bt has been long ago debunked. Your resistant weeds story is also skewed (see http://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2013/05/superweed/ for example). Mary is correct: You are misinformed. If you still insist on using incorrect and outdated information, then by all means, buy what you like. You already have the information you seem to desire, i.e. Organic and non-GMO labels.
dogctor
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11855846
http://profiles.google.com/edgeben Benjamin Edge
So, according to the abstract, rather than testing the corn products’ effect on rats, they used “synthetic” versions of some chemical they identified in the corn products. I suppose that means GM corn should be pulled from the market until they can do the “real” experiment they could have done in the first place? I guess it is too hard to get rats to overdose on corn cobs before they starve to death. But that would have been good enough for Seralini. I can see the headlines now: “GM corn cobs cause death of rats.” When will folks realize that “in vitro” does not equal “in vivo?”
dogctor
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1868002/
where half the rats go missing and majority of the rest are showing signs of hepatobiliary and renal disease at 5mos of age, in spite of designing the study to hide all adverse effects by using a statistically unbalanced design and avoiding crucial tests altogether.
I’d be embarrassed to publish such junk science.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Weeds are not bacteria. While I admit selection pressure is present in both systems, the comparison is inappropriate. Bacteria reproduce exponentially faster than weedy plants and are prone to rapid mutative changes and exchange of genetic material. In medical situations, they are exposed to a much larger array of selective pressures and those pressures are continuously applied. Weedy plants, on the other hand, are comparatively less mobile, genetically flexible, and efficient at reproduction. This makes them far more manageable. The point of the reference was that resistance has always been present in agricultural pests and always will be. It is present in all agricultural systems (including conventional and organic) and is not unique to GM technology. I completely agree that overuse can be a problem (in any system), but the term “superweed” is a misnomer and scare term.
Your “label” is cute. Why have you omitted every other chemical/process? It would also seem to apply to all production systems from conventional to organic. Your scare abstract on corn is off the mark. I note in the article the authors tested only ground corn cob bedding, on rats. They speculate that fresh corn products could have effects, but they did not test them. Should labels then include everything we speculate might happen? Of course, if you really are that paranoid, we can always come up with a low THF-diol GM corn for you
dogctor
Distinction without a practical difference
….the point is simple.
You created RR resistant crops which everyone who has heard of evolution would have predicted will lead to overuse of Round Up and selection of superweeds <– I don't care whether GMO proponents believe the term is appropriate, because it is succinct and accurate, and I will continue to use it.
This is the exact same concept which will neutralize all benefits of b.t. in a short term, as the overuse of b.t. will lead to selection of superbugs.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Yes, it was speculative. The study involved cell lines exposed to CM extract, in vitro, not in situ. The in situ part was bedding for rats. Unless you are living on and sleeping in corncob bedding, it is speculative that the effects seen in cells would occur from ingestion of corn products that: are typically highly processed, must survive the digestive system, and finally somehow make their way into the relevant tissues. This is why the authors wisely chose to use the word may twice when drawing their conclusions. I see you have used this corn bit, as well as a few other in vitro studies in this blog’s comments before, trying to scare people. It reminds me of the remarks recently made by Sir John Beddington regarding the failure of knowledgeable people to discern the difference between risk and hazard. Show me a study of ingestion of typical corn products inducing these effects. Show me what the effective in situ dose levels are. Show me the cancer it supposedly causes. Explain why, for us high corn consuming Americans, the incidence rate of cancers has been declining since the introduction of GM corn according statistics from the National Cancer Institute. We should note, and you admit, that the extracted CM has nothing to do with GM corn as it is found in other corn as well. The study you cited, for example, did not discern the source of the corn. Elsewhere on this site you have used loose logic to argue that most corn is GM now, so what they used must be too. Bad assumption. For one, the corncob could easily come from popcorn production for which there are no GM varieties. It could have also easily come from non-GM fields in 2002, when the study was done, as GM adoption was less at that time. Most notable, however, the authors also extracted from “fresh” corn, which would be sweet corn, again for which, there were no GM varieties available in 2002. This has nothing to do with GM. Your arguments continue to be loose, chemo-phobic and speculative.
dogctor
Identification of an endocrine disrupting agent from corn with mitogenic activity.
Markaverich BM, Alejandro MA, Markaverich D, Zitzow L, Casajuna N, Camarao N, Hill J, Bhirdo K, Faith R, Turk J, Crowley JR.
Source
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. [email protected]
Abstract
A mitogenic agent in corncob bedding and fresh corn products disrupts sexual behavior and estrous cyclicity in rats. ( IN VIVO ) The mitogenic activity resides in an isomeric mixture of linoleic acid derivatives with a tetrahydrofuran ring and two hydroxyl groups (THF-diols) that include 9, (12)-oxy-10,13-dihydroxystearic acid and 10, (13)-oxy-9,12-dihydroxystearic acid. Synthetic THF-diols stimulated breast cancer cell proliferation in vitro and disrupted the estrous cycle in female rats at oral doses of approximately 0.30 mg/kg body weight/day. Exposure to THF-diols may disrupt endocrine function in experimental animals at doses approximately 200 times lower than classical phytoestrogens, promote proliferation of breast or prostate cancer, and adversely affect human health.
Without the corn labeled, how are researchers supposed to know which corn contains this carcinogen? Perfect public health argument to have the crap labeled.
As far as decreases in cancers, that has nothing to do with your corn. The decreases have been seen in a few specific cancers- namely breast and colon, due to earlier detection and more aggressive treatment. There is a small decrease in death due to better chemotherapy protocols used for lymphoma and some leukemias.
You don’t get to take credit for those,
So back to the question I’ve posed half a dozen times now ” can you cite an article analyzing the transgenic corn on the market for THF-dios?”
All it would take is an HPLC–easy peasy!
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
dogctor, last reply here because, quite frankly, you’re being an idiot on this. Clearly the article you just cited says may. If you can’t figure out what the F that means, then I certainly can not help you see it. As has been pointed out to you here and elsewhere on this blog many times, this chemical IS NOT unique to GM corn. How many times do you have to see that before it gets through? Sorry to be rude here, but you really should know better if you are what you imply you are. Yet, on you go complaining that no one has published an article testing only GM corn for your THF-diol. I’m glad I have lost most my hair by this point in my life, because you would have me ripping it out by the handfuls with your inane logic.
I’m sure you are right, the cancer decreases are not due to corn, but once again, you have completely sailed by the obvious in your obsessive chemo-fascination. The data is quite clear that your implications of massive dangers due to corn have not manifested themselves in reality. People are not dropping dead from eating corn, just like they are not dropping from liver and kidney disease as the charlatans Putztai and Seralini would have us believe. These are really huge clues that your and their hypotheses are wrong. It is just that simple. It is sad and confusing that someone who should be educated enough to discern this can, in fact, not do so.
I hope you can find some sense in the real world eventually. You would do us all a favor of you could gain some basic understanding about the differences between risk and hazard, as well as possible and probable.
dogctor
I’ll take an HPLC on all the corn on the market -organic, organic treated with Round UP, Round Up Resistant corn, B.t. corn dessicated with Round Up.
Monsanto’s, Syngenta’s, Dow’s, BASF, Pioneer, and heirloom varieties of your liking
At this point what we have is your opinion.
Prove it with a peer reviewed study
-and an HPLC.
Will labeling GMOs stop herbicide use? No.
Will labeling GMOs stop weed resistance? No.
Will labeling GMOs affect the butterfly migration patterns over farms? No.
You are fooling yourself if you think that labels will affect the things that you think you want to accomplish.
If you want to avoid GMOs for philosophical reasons, you can do so with the existing labels as Pdiff notes. Just like Kosher, it’s a way for you to select those foods grown to match your philosophy.
dogctor
There is a huge difference between judicious use of antibiotics and overuse of antibiotics.
Same goes for herbicides and insecticides. I am surprised you don’t know better.
The choices you are offering are entirely unsatisfactory to 90% of the consumers who want their food labeled.
http://twitter.com/RobertWager1 Robert Wager
Are you still pushing the 90% myth? When NON-PUSH polls are conducted properly and consumers are asked questions like
What if anything would you like to see added to the food labels? A whopping 3% say GM content.
And the real question is never asked .
Are you willing to pay more for your food to pay for GM specific labeling?
I think we all know the result of that type of poll question.
dogctor
1. Citation to a poll please.
2. I don’t have to pay more to have my food labeled. The increase in cost to add ” contains genetically engineered/ modified ingredients” to a label is a figment of your imagination.
FosterBoondoggle
“I don’t have to pay more to have my food labeled. The increase in cost
to add ” contains genetically engineered/ modified ingredients” to a
label is a figment of your imagination.”
If there were no cost, producers would already provide a label, seeing as some people want it and would pay a premium for it. Those producers would then make extra profits.
As usual, you’re arguing for the sake of argument, not because you have anything coherent to say or a valid point to make.
JonFrum
Unless you’re a farmer, why would you care about weed resistance? When you eat your dinner, do you ever actually think about the weeds that grew in the fields where the plants were grown? Ridiculous. As to butterflies, glyphosate is far LESS toxic than herbicides that have been used in the past. That’s why it’s used. Take away glyphosate, and MORE non-target insects will be killed by agriculture.
So much for your scientifically supported reasons.
cory
We all rely on the agribusiness model for the majority of our food supply. We all share the responsibility to understand the strengths and weaknesses of that system.
cory
Evolved glyphosate-resistant weeds around the world: lessons to be learnt
Stephen B Powles
http://www.facebook.com/melissa.metrick Melissa Metrick
You would care about weed resistance because weeds will choke out your food crops which will effect your dinner. Labeling genetically modified food will hopefully make you think more about your dinner how it got their and what you are eating.
jh
Cory, you can already avoid BT and roundup: buy organic.
When the FDA accepts evidence that GM foods are harmful, it will be time for labeling. Until then, there’s no need for it.
http://twitter.com/RobertWager1 Robert Wager
I see you did not read the series of papers in PNAS that showed Bt crops do not threaten monarch butterflies. Ah the myth continues.
Matt Lewis
FEAR of poison is a good thing, its call self preservation. Since GMO’s were introduced there has been a 50% rise in food and skin allergies. My wife has Celiac disease, I have Crohn’s disease, all four of my children suffer from one or the other.
Not only is it the GMO food, its the herbicides that are used on the GMO food that are causing much more of a problem>
Label is what I settle for, I want a BAN of GMO. You article shows your ignorance. Science is great until it hurts your children and then says oh my bad.
EVERYONE SHOULD EAT ORGANIC. We can produce enough food for the world without GMO if we set greed aside and stop paying people not to grow. Ignorance is all that this article represents.
https://delicious.com/robertford Robert Ford
the hilarious thing is that both of those conditions are genetic and heritable so it’s purely you and your wife who are at fault for passing them on to your kids. #funny
Matt Lewis
hilarious? I think not. Neither of our parents had these issue, and we did not have these issues when we were young, but our children do. 50% increase in skin and food allergies in children since the introduction of GMO foods. Nobody in my family is overweight.
https://delicious.com/robertford Robert Ford
you need to start visiting GNXP blog (on the side bar) cuz you clearly don’t understand even your own predicament let alone GMOs. even a visit to wikipedia might enlighten you. right now you’re a “foil hat” person.
Matt Lewis
Yes Robert wikipedia is a great place to get information any idiot like you can create.
If you are OK with eating poison and passing it to your children have at it, I WANT LABELS….
watch out for Those black helicopters!
Matt Lewis
So because I want GMO labels I am crazy. Robert I would rather be thought crazy by ignorant people, then continue to make my family sick.
Enjoy your poison…..
your own genome is what is making your family sick.
Matt Lewis
you are ignorant
https://delicious.com/robertford Robert Ford
it doesn’t get any more ignorant than having a congenital disorder and yet still deciding to have 4 children. i feel bad for them
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
That study was quickly and definitively shown to be complete BS. The “researchers” had no clue what they were doing.
http://profiles.google.com/edgeben Benjamin Edge
You need to learn just a little genetics to understand how, even if only one grandparent on each side of the family was a carrier for these traits, it could result in your children’s situation, with neither of you showing the diseases.
Microsoft Windows 95 came out at the same time as GMO crops, resulting in the rapid surge of internet use. You could just as easily make the claim that these diseases have increased as a result of the rise in sales of Windows or use of the Internet, and with just as much evidence.
Celiac disease is the result of an allergic reaction to wheat gluten. There is no GM wheat in the food supply, but celiac disease existed before GMOs. So how does GM corn and soy have anything to do with a disease that is only a reaction to (so far) non-GM wheat?
dogctor
The genetic basis to inflammatory bowel disease, isn’t in dispute, but it is the interaction of environmental factors ( food and microbes), which triggers the disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21994005
If I inherited the trait which made me prone to IBD
( given immuno reactivity of cry proteins and suppression of bacterial p450 by glyphosate, which quite plausibly affects the microbiome) I would stay far away from Round Up Ready and Bt crops.
Your lack of sensitivity, Robert Ford, is stunning.
Jake
Fear of poison is a good thing – but you are using anecdotal evidence to describe something as poison. Is fear of lettuce a good thing, or fear of eggs – in short, what makes something a poison?
The idea that you can produce enough food for the entire world with organic food alone is a conspicuous claim to me. We pay people not to grow in order to preserve soil, limit soil erosion, and limit run-off. In order to really do sustainable, organic row-crops, one would have to have a lot of fallow ground every year. It is simply not feasible to grow enough food for a rapidly growing world without chemical and biological technologies.
In no way am I trying to minimize Celiac’s, Crohn’s and allergies (one of my best friends suffers from Crohn’s disease – and it is suffering). However, there is no causal link between GMOs and these diseases. Even if there WERE evidence I would have a hard time arguing for the banning of GMOs, because hunger and malnutrition affect many, many more people and inflict damage to humanity on a global scale.
Jake
“Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, CRP is the largest private-lands conservation program in the United States. Thanks to voluntary participation by farmers and land owners, CRP has improved water quality, reduced soil erosion, and increased habitat for endangered and threatened species.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3035146/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000980613760 Kevin Folta
How do you know it is not organic food causing allergies, celiac disease or Chron’s? In the same time GMO usage has increased, so have products from the organic industry. Correlations do not equate with causality.
Matt, there is no evidence to support your fears. There is no real link to the herbicides (most are gone long before food is set, unlike in non-GM conventional, or pesticides on organic). Your calls for labels and bans come from fear, a lack of understanding of the science, and listening to profiteering activists over neutral scientists.
The worst part is that while you blame healthy food for the problems the real causes go unchecked. Focus on the scientific origins of health issues. I hope that it will find you a faster solution.
Matt Lewis
You trust feeding your children corn, that has bt genes in it. These genes paralyse the bugs intestines and they die when they eat any part of the plant.
You stupidly I might add, think this is OK for you and your children to eat. I think its disgusting and lacking long term studies and will avoid it for my family.
Enjoy your poison, some might argue you deserve it……
http://twitter.com/mem_somerville mem_somerville
Chocolate kills dogs. I hope you don’t give your children chocolate.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
“Enjoy your poison, some might argue you deserve it……”
LOL. That’s it, show your true colors. You indeed are sick ….
Matt Lewis
You want to eat it and want to force it on others, you deserve it.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Exactly how is anyone being forced to use GM? Basically you are telling me that if you knew someone was poisoning themselves (even mistakenly) you would let them die because you judged them unworthy of saving. Wow! That is very sad.
Nullius in Verba
All plants contain a natural cocktail of chemical pesticides, evolved to stop things eating them. It’s sort of the plant’s version of an immune system. Every plant contains bactericides, fungicides, insecticides, and so on. Not only that, but most plants are occupied by many more bacteria and fungi that each have their own chemical arsenals of natural defences. You think you can leave a bunch of food out in a muddy field for months, unprotected by anything, and not have it eaten?
So you’re not avoiding “poisons” by avoiding Bt. It’s just one pesticide evolved by one naturally occurring soil bacterium. The plant has plenty more. Most plants have around a few dozen different chemicals, and there are reckoned to be around 10,000 different chemicals used by plants generally. 99.9% of all the pesticides you eat are absolutely natural, and virtually none of them have been tested for long-term safety.
However, humans have powerful defensive and protective mechanisms themselves, and can detoxify and digest a wide range of such chemicals, and repairs damage. It’s part of the natural healing process. The odds of any individual chemical causing a problem are slight, and the odds are overwhelmingly that it’s going to be a natural chemical rather than an artificial one, simply because there are a lot more of them.
(And indeed perfectly natural food poisoning does kill quite a lot of people already, and used to kill a lot more before we invented all this modern food processing.)
This sort of argument is like having a morbid fear that the light from electric light bulbs is going to burn through your skin, on the basis that electric light has only been around for a century or so, and we haven’t evolved any defences against it. The fact that we walk around in bright sunlight without harm doesn’t occur. Compared to the onslaught of thousands of natural chemicals we face every day, artificial pesticides are a 20 Watt light bulb.
But it does no good telling people all that. They’ll huddle in their darkened rooms, demanding that buildings be labelled on the door “Contains artificial light” and complaining about how it’s everywhere and they can’t avoid it. And that’s fine by me. People can believe what they want, and do what they want with their own bodies. The problem comes when they start demanding things of the rest of us, that we don’t want but that *we* have to pay for.
If you want to eat ‘organic’ food, go ahead. It’s still got pesticides in it, but whatever.
But I want to eat food that *doesn’t* have crazy labels on it. What about *my* choice?
Matt Lewis
They altered the DNA, its not evolved over anything. Let them alter your DNA, seems safe
Nullius in Verba
Unless an organism is an exact clone of it’s parent, the DNA is altered in every generation. Mine is. Yours is.
And humans have been altering the DNA of plants and animals to their design for 6,000 years. Only it was a lot slower, because they had to wait for the random scrambling effects of mutation to come up with the useful changes, and then breed out all the less-useful, damaging ones. In modern times, they speed the process up with radiation and chemical mutagens. But because the DNA-scrambling is random and uncontrolled rather than carefully considered and engineered, it gets called ‘natural’.
I bet you think that carrots are naturally orange. Orange carrots didn’t even exist prior to the 16th century. Genetic modification has a long history.
jh
I think there has to be a demonstrable health issue for FDA-mandated labeling. That’s what the FDA is all about. Using it for any other reason is a distortion of its mission.
camille_h
Discover must not be the magazine I thought it was. It is hard to believe an anti-information anti-labeling anti-disclosure point of view such as this has any traction. If you are making a profit from selling food that people are putting directly into their bodies & using their possible future health outcomes as your science experiment without disclosure, I find that disingenuous at best & possibly quite dangerous. The food “scienticians” drawing up bizarre reworkings of natural products devoid of the nutrient spectrums found in natural foods only to pump them back up with a weird blend of replaced nutrients… What could go wrong? From the same lot that stuffed us full of margarine, partially hydrogenated crap, HFC, dyes, colorants, preservatives, pesticides, etc. No thanks. When I buy a bananna, or a peach, or a tomato or freakshow grains you’ve “improved” I’d like to receive fair warning before turning over my hard won money. Honestly. I vastly prefer Europe’s prove it does no harm conservative approach!!!!! I treasure my heirloom non-killer seeds organic CSA & they are the first destination for our household’s money.
http://twitter.com/RobertWager1 Robert Wager
So the 15 recalls for pathogenic bacteria in organic food since 2011 including one that killed >50 people and gave over 1000 kidney damage for life is? Not a single case of harm form consuming GM crops has ever been documented. You definitely need to read this:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/biosociety/pdf/a_decade_of_eu-funded_gmo_research.pdf
camille_h
Hi Robert & thank you for your reply. Organic food & all food can be improperly handled & result in pathogenic bacteria contamination. This is just a deflection from the issue at hand. The way to solve a debate is to narrow the range of the debate, not to distract or add other concerns.
That said I somewhat agree with you that there is a woeful lack of documentation on the health impacts (if any) of 70% GMO consumption by humans over a period of time. There is a pronounced lack of clinical trials. And a weird spike in all sorts of creepy diseases, related or unrelated (RA, autism, etc. etc.) I prefer the principle of First Do No Harm to be applied here.
I think the true, hidden complaint about GMO labeling is the massive extent to which these altered industrial foodstuffs have already infiltrated our regular food supply- so the fear of industry seems to be that the horse is out of the barn & since disclosures weren’t made when these new additives were brought in, they are concerned about consumer backlash.
http://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers/65-health-risks/1notes#tomatoes
Kevin Bonham
That “weird spike in all sorts of creepy diseases” is also positively correlated with cell phone use, increased atmospheric CO2, satellites in orbit and women in the workforce. There are a lot of things that have increased over the past 30-40 years, but there’s no reason to think that any of them are causally related to disease.
“First do no harm” does not mean “never do anything new until proving it’s 100% safe.” If we did that, we wouldn’t drive cars, use the internet or take aspirin.
dogctor
First do no harm is a guidance for medical professionals to calculate and then discuss the benefits and risk of any intervention ( drug, surgery, food etc).
Since the foods are unlabeled, tracing adverse effects of these foods to chronic illnesses such as IBD, hepatopathies, pancreatitis, immune-mediated diseases has been impossible, which is exactly how Monsanto et al seem to like it. If they are proud of their product, they would have branded it–emblazoning their logo in bold print on the front of the box.
There is no plausible mechanism for causation of IBD by satellites and your other absurd examples–red herrings seem to be a standard feature of the Team GMO playbook.
There are plenty of mechanisms by which b.t.’s immuno-reactive cry proteins can lead to gut inflammation with cross reactivity to other antigens. Round Up and its toxic proprietary adjuvants inhibit the body’s detoxification system and could be applying pressure on the intestinal microbiota selecting out pathogenic bugs such as invasive E.coli and Clostridia.
Here is the back of the envelope calculus on RR and Bt crops:
Benefit to consumer’s health: Zero
Risk: incalculable.
You might not want to wait until a product genetic engineers benefit from financially is proven 100% safe; I as a medical professional am convinced there are much healthier alternatives.
The longer they deny, delay and manufacture doubt, the longer they postpone the inevitable, the more damage they are doing to their own brand and looking just like Big Tobacco.
http://prospect.org/article/manufacture-uncertainty
Kevin Bonham
The foods are unlabeled, but tracking the provenance of food is not hard – researchers are absolutely able to distinguish GE crops from non-GE crops, and if there was an effect on inflammatory disorders, it would be possible to uncover it.
Bt crystal toxins are perfectly acceptable in organic food, if it’s sprayed on rather than added genetically. Studies have show that GE Bt foods express the protein predominantly in leaves and other parts of the plant that aren’t actually ingested. There’s no plausible reason why expressing the protein endogenously vs spraying it onto the plant should be any different health wise. Also, you can inject animals with loads of the toxin and it does nothing.
Bt cry proteins are no more “immuno-reactive” in mammals than any other protein – you can inject grams of the stuff into a mouse and see no obvious pathology (for the record, I’m an immunologist).
You say “Round Up and its toxic proprietary adjuvants inhibit the body’s detoxification system,” can you cite a source for this? I’ve never heard the term adjuvant used in this context, and am not aware of any studies suggesting that glyphosphate is an adjuvant, though I’m happy to learn something new on the subject.
You also say “Here is the back of the envelope calculus on RR and Bt crops:
Benefit to consumer’s health: Zero
Risk: incalculable.” This is not strictly true. There are enormous benefits to reducing the need for chemical pesticides (as with bt crops), and many studies have show that glyphosate (roundup) is less harmful than other herbicides that would be used in their place ( http://www.nature.com/news/case-studies-a-hard-look-at-gm-crops-1.12907 ). And saying the risk is incalculable is disingenuous as well – we can measure the toxicity of cry proteins in animals and humans, we can do the same with glyphosate. We can compare these values to other methods of controlling weeds and insects and we can calculate relative risk. There will always be risk – no one denies that – but the risks with current GMO’s are absolutely calculable and so far fairly low.
dogctor
1. The cry proteins in transgenic foods are not identical to topically sprayed b.t., and their tertiary structure is likely quite different, which alters allergenicity..
Results of a 90-day safety assurance study with rats fed grainfrom corn rootworm-protected corn. B. Hammond a,*, J. Lemen a, R. Dudek a, D. Ward a, C. Jiang a, M. Nemeth a, J. Burns b
a Monsanto Company, 800 North Lindbergh Blvd., St Louis, MO 63167, United States
Rootworm corn was produced by insertion of DNA sequences that encode a modified Bacillus thuringiensis (subspecies kumamotoensis Cry3Bb1 protein that is selectively toxic to Coleopteran species such as corn rootworm larvae (Diabrotica sp.). The genetic insert in MON 863 also contains the coding sequence for the selectable marker, neomycin phosphotransferase type II (NPTII) that is also producedin the plant…The deduced amino acid sequence of the B.t. Cry protein (653 amino acids) produced in MON 863 is >98.9% identical to that of the Cry3Bb1 protein contained in the foliar-applied commercial B.t. microbial product
2. There are indeed studies demonstrating that cry proteins are immuno reactive enough as to be useful as adjuvants in vaccines. They do indeed lead to mucosal and immune responses via gavage and IP injections.
Vazquez-Padron RI. Gonzales-Cabrera J. Garcia-Tovar C. Neri-Bazan L. Lopez-Revilla R. Hernandez
M. Moreno-Fierro L. de la Riva GA., 2000a. Cry1Ac protoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis sp. kurstaki HD73 binds to surface proteins in the mouse small intestine. Biochem Biophys Res Commun., 271:54-8
.
Vazquez-Padron RI. Moreno-Fierros L. Neri-Bazan L. Martinez-Gil AF. de-la-Riva GA. Lopez-Revilla R., 2000b. Characterization of the mucosal and systemic immune response induced by Cry1Ac protein
from Bacillus thuringiensis HD 73 in mice. Braz J Med Biol Res., 33: 147-55.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1764160/
The risk assessment in a private confidential patient -client relationship demands that the medical professional recommend what is best for the patient .
Go ahead and show me how you calculated risks of developing IBD, nephropathy, hepatobiliary disease, pancreatitis, allergies, steatosis, obesity, diabetes to my unique patient and determined them to be low .
I believe that statement is wishful thinking, rather than evidence-based, but you can sway me by showing me your calculations.
In my professional medical opinion what is best for my patients ( many of whom suffer from IBD, liver disorders, pancreatitis, chronic interstitial nephritis, and allergies) is to stay away from the currently commercialized GMOs.
I maintain that the benefits to my patients are Zero, and the risks are incalculable.
I do not mean any offense. But, do immunologists take a medical oath and are they licensed to diagnose, manage, perform surgery and prescribe drugs for dietary -related- disease?
Kevin Bonham
I’ll take these one at a time. These dualing comments are getting super long – do you have a blog? Perhaps it would be useful to take this to a more amenable forum (my blog is at scienceblogs.com/webeasties).
1) Before commenting on this point, I’d like to read the papers you cited, but unfortunately I don’t have institutional access to the “Food and Chemical Toxicology” journal – the first paper you cite (as well as a follow up 13 week trial on the same plant ( http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691508001804 )) is in that journal, but I can only access the abstract. Do you have access to the full text and can you send it to me?
At first blush, there’s no reason to assume that there’s be any structural difference between proteins with greater than 98% homology, is a structural difference described in the paper?
2) I do have access to the two papers that you cite here, and they do not say what you think they say. As you well know, injecting a protein directly into the small intestine or into the peritoneum is VASTLY different than ingesting it. Show me increased inflammation or any immune response from mice fed the toxin if you want to make this point. I’m happy to stipulate that injecting corn into your gut is a bad idea.
My statement, “you can inject animals with loads of the toxin and it does nothing” was based on knowledge from 2001 when I worked in a lab studying a related protein, nematocidal Cry5b. That’s clearly out of date – thanks for updating me (though it’s curious that as I dug through citations, I did not see papers from any other group suggesting this activity).
3) Switching gears here. Now we’re talking about relative risk.
The studies you point to here do not show the relative safety of glyphosate compared to other herbicides. I’d be shocked if this chemical, it’s adjuvants, or any other herbicide or adjuvant DIDN’T kill cells in vitro. That’s not at issue here. The question is whether alternative methods would be better or worse.
Listen, I’m all for reducing herbicide use, and I applaud anyone looking for ways to accomplish this, whether it’s using different farming methods, genetic engineering or whatever. Personally, I’d love to see someone find a way to eat into Monsanto’s profits – I’m no fan of that company.
On risk –
You say, “Go ahead and show me how you calculated risks of developing IBD, nephropathy, hepatobiliary disease, pancreatitis, allergies, steatosis, obesity, diabetes to *my unique patient* and determined them to be low.”
No, of course I can’t do that. You’re a medical professional, and your patients are your patients. I wouldn’t presume.
But I do know how to read and analyze data, and all the data suggests that GMOs are safe. And remember, it’s not a question of eating GMO or no eating GMO, it’s a question of eating GMO or something else. That other food has to be grown, farmers are going to use pesticides and herbicides (even organic ones).
You say there’s no plausible mechanism by which cell phone radiation could cause the pathologies, but based on my understanding of biology, there’s also no plausible mechanism by which a tiny amount ( http://goo.gl/h3e7F ) of an ingested protein would survive digestion in the gut, induce an inflammatory response and lead to the pathologies that you describe either. I’ve been surprised before, I’m not saying it’s not possible, but in the face of so much published research suggesting no harm from GMO’s, it would take some extraordinary evidence to point in the other direction.
You also say, “I do not mean any offense. But, do immunologists take a medical oath and are they licensed to diagnose, manage, perform surgery and prescribe drugs for dietary -related- disease?” I’m sorry, but you did mean offense, or at least to elevate your credentials at the expense of my own. I was not saying that I’m an immunologist to say I know better than you, I was saying that so you could understand where I’m coming from.
I work at a medical school in the GI/nutrition department and I have asked many of the doctors around me about this issue. Many of them study IBD and colitis. They do not have the same concerns that you do.
dogctor
Hi Kevin. Thanks for your long response.
Sorry, Keith–mine will be just as long (unless Kevin dedicates a post on his own blog and then we will move there:)
I bought the first Hammond paper about a year ago, Kevin–If you post your email address I’ll be glad to email it to you. There is no sense in you too spending 35bucks on it. I hope you will share it with all medical doctors, especially ones convinced of the integrity of the safety testing of GMOs.
The second 13wk study is not a follow up to the first, I posted on b.t.– it is on a different variety of Round Up Ready corn. I am pretty sure all the systematic experimental flaws carried over, however.
Unfortunately, I don’t have institutional access, but I found a cool site to read them- you just can’t copy and paste, print/ share, but they are cheap to read. http://www.deepdyve.com/ .
I disagree with you about the implications to immunology of a protein with 98% homology. I just realized that the link I posted doesnt work. Try this one– and please read all the cited articles.
http://www.vkm.no/dav/0dea17091d.pdf
As you well know, injecting a protein directly into the small intestine or into the peritoneum is VASTLY different than ingesting it.
Alright. The studies below, from the broken link (sorry about that) show local and systemic immunogenicity of cry proteins via IP, Intragastric and intranasal routes.
1.Guerrero G.G., Dean D.H., Moreno-Fierros L (2004) Structural implication of the induced immune response by Bacillus thuringiensis Cry proteins: role of the N-terminal region. Molecular Immunology 41, 1177–1183.
Paraphrasing: proteolytic processing of 17 amino acid residues =tCry1A were able to induce not only high igG (serum and trachea from intranasal administration) but also levels of igM in small and large intestine, higher than the non-truncated Cry protein. Which is the reason you can’t assume that the 98% alike with an approximately 12 amino acid difference will not be as immunogenic as the proCry protein.
The N-terminal region ( the immuno active domain) is resistant to proteolysis , and it gives it the ability to bind to glycoproteins, functioning in cellular adhesion and nutrient absorption in vertebrates.
2. Intragastric and intraperitoneal administration of Cry1Ac protoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis induces systemic and mucosal antibody responses in mice.
Vázquez-Padrón RI, Moreno-Fierros L, Neri-Bazán L, de la Riva GA, López-Revilla R.
The spore-forming soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produces parasporal inclusion bodies composed by delta-endotoxins also known as Cry proteins, whose resistance to proteolysis, stability in highly alkaline pH and innocuity to vertebrates make them an interesting candidate to carrier of relevant epitopes in vaccines. The purpose of this study was to determine the mucosal and systemic immunogenicity in mice of Cry1Ac protoxin from B. thuringiensis HD73. Crystalline and soluble forms of the protoxin were administered by intraperitoneal or intragastric route and anti-Cry1Ac antibodies of the major isotypes were determined in serum and intestinal fluids. The two forms of Cry1Ac protoxin administered by intraperitoneal route induced a high systemic antibody response, however, only soluble Cry1Ac induced a mucosal response via intragastric. Serum antibody levels were higher than those induced by cholera toxin. Systemic immune responses were attained with doses of soluble Cry1Ac ranging from 0.1 to 100 microg by both routes, and the maximal effect was obtained with the highest doses. High anti-Cry1Ac IgG antibody levels were detected in the large and small intestine fluids from mice receiving the antigen via i.p. These data indicate that Cry1Ac is a potent systemic and mucosal immunogen.
———————-
Cry1Ac protoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis sp. kurstaki HD73 binds to surface proteins in the mouse small intestine.
Vázquez-Padrón RI, Gonzáles-Cabrera J, García-Tovar C, Neri-Bazan L, Lopéz-Revilla R, Hernández M, Moreno-Fierro L, de la Riva GA.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), considered a safe insecticide, produces insecticidal proteins named Cry during sporulation, which possess exceptional immunological properties. In this work using an immunohistochemical test we demonstrated that Cry1Ac protoxin (pCry1Ac) binds to the mucosal surface of the mouse small intestine . Ligand blot assay allowed us to detect, under denaturing conditions, six pCry1Ac-binding polypeptides present in brush border membrane vesicles isolated from the small intestine. Moreover, this protein induced in situ temporal changes in the electrophysiological properties of the mouse jejunum. The data obtained indicate a possible interaction in vivo of Cry proteins with the animal bowel which could induce changes in the physiological status of the intestine
The studies you point to here do not show the relative safety of glyphosate
compared to other herbicides.
Glyphosate is being promoted as safe as sugar water, and it clearly isn’t. The unsurprising arrival of superweeds, as well as its use as a dessicant sprayed directly on near-market crops, is raising the exposure of the population massively. So, even if pound for pound it is less toxic, the cumulative effects are not. You will have a challenging time convincing me that localized, judicious use of herbicides upon scouting fields for weeds in conventional agriculture before RR crops (even if harsher herbicides were used to spot treat) resulted in more toxicity than blanketing millions of acres of Round-Up Ready crops. And then, of course, there are organic methods of agriculture which do not use any herbicides, instead relying on crop rotation and soil management which gives the desired crops a better head start in out-competing the weeds-there are always alternatives.
But I do know how to read and analyze data, and all the data suggests that GMOs
are safe. Get back to me after you have read all the safety assurance studies, which in spite of an experimental design perfected to hide adverse effects, still manage to state that half the rats went missing and the majority of the rest were suffering from renal and hepatobiliary disease after ingesting the crap for 90 days ( 13 wks)– and after you’ve actually opened you mind to the Big Picture. There is no methodological data upon which the safety of these crops can be measured, and no empirical data to back up the claimed safety, except for per/acute effects. As you likely know, the effects of tobacco and asbestos do not show up for decades.
there’s also no plausible mechanism by which a tiny amount ( http://goo.gl/h3e7F ) of an ingested protein would survive
digestion in the gut, induce an inflammatory response and lead to the
pathologies that you describe either
False. Curiously, none of the studies I cited showed up in your link.
Are you surprised? -I am not…not even a little bit.
“I do not mean any offense. But, do immunologists take a medical oath and are
they licensed to diagnose, manage, perform surgery and prescribe drugs for
dietary -related- disease?”
I am sorry if you are offended, and when you and many of the doctors around you who study IBD and
colitis, and do not have the same concerns that I do, take that medical oath, and have their own license ( to diagnose, manage, perform surgery and prescribe drugs for dietary related disease) on the line- then your, and their opinion on the subject will matter. Until that day, your and their opinion doesn’t enter into my private doctor-client-patient relationship in which I am paid to render an educated professional opinion.
If that is offensive, so be it. It is what it is.
Kevin Bonham
webeastiesblog [at] gmail
For the record, I’m not offended – I only meant to say that your claim that you meant no offense was disingenuous. Since we’re talking about science, I’m perfectly willing to stack up my bonafides, and the bonafides of the doctors I work with that HAVE taken the medical oath, DO have patients, actually study the disorders you’re talking about AND have a comprehensive grasp of the medical and scientific literature because they are also scientists, over those of a general practice vet that studies this in her spare time any day of the week.
No offense.
I’ll work on a blog post about the rest of this stuff and point you in that direction when it’s done so we can stop blowing up Keith’s comments.
dogctor
I think that’s Awesome and I look forward to reading your blog, Kevin.
Dan
Mr. False information, meet The real Dr.
http://profiles.google.com/edgeben Benjamin Edge
For clarification, adjuvants used in agricultural pesticides are chemicals that are added by the manufacturer or the applicator to influence the pesticide’s solubility in water, its uptake by the plant, or its ability to stick to the plant.
Kevin Bonham
Ahh, thank you very much for this clarification. In my field, adjuvant has a very different meaning (though it’s still related to inflammation which is why I was confused).
[email protected]
Robert, I agree. Could you send me ([email protected]) or post the source for the 15 recalls with the death figures and kidney damage? I’m writing an article and would love to include that data if I can source it.
http://twitter.com/RobertWager1 Robert Wager
I just googled organic food recalls and added them up. The 50+ dead was from the summer 2011 in Germany where one organic farm sold contaminated bean sprouts..
cheers
Thanks Robert!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jo-Skull-Crusher-Bo/1620504853 Jo Skull Crusher Bo
I used to subscribe to discover when it was good but over the past few years they have been going downhill. They haven’t had a relevant article for at least two years now.
https://delicious.com/robertford Robert Ford
well, that all assumes that some random hippie is worth protecting from such “poison.”
Buddy199
Over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese, which means that most people eat whatever they want, as much as they want, with not much consideration given to possible negative health effects. If you pointed out that their corn dog had GMO in it you would probably be met with an open mouthed, blank stare. GMO labeling is a concern for just a microscopic hypochondriacal splinter of the population. What a non-issue for everyone else.
[email protected]
Keith, I am adamantly opposed to GMO labeling. As you mentioned, this isn’t really about the right to know, it is about fear-mongering. One look at some of these comments show how wide spread the misinformation and willful ignorance is about GMOs. I think it would set a terrible precedence to label something scientifically sound and give into the fear mongering. If we start here, where does it stop? Label planes with chemtrails (lol)? Label water with fluoride? Label electricity from nuclear plants? Label any product that has used animal testing? Giving into unfounded fears is never a good idea.
Steve Crook
You’ll be accused of having something to hide and make GMO an even bigger target.
All that most people want is to know what’s in the packet so they can make a decision. Label and let the market decide..
It may take a decade, but eventually, you’ll have a generation of
people that have grown up with GMO on the shelves and can’t see anything
wrong with it.
We will be left with a vocal minority who still think we can feed the world organically, but every dog has a few fleas and manages to live with them.
[email protected]
Steve, you may be right. There are a lot of people who think that would happen. It just seems unfair to me to force GMO foods to go through the extra expense of labelling for no valid reason. As I mentioned, if we do it there, do we label other things that are virtually meaningless? Its not even labelling for labelling’s sake. Its labelling to appease the Alex Jones, Joseph Mercolas and Mike Adams of the world. It seems counter-productive to me to give in to the whims of anti-science conspiracy theorists, no matter how wide spread the belief is.
camille_h
Nonsense. Demand for GMO disclosure is mainstream now. Demonizing fair disclosure as some weird conspiracy theory is confounding one for the other, it makes the desire to keep the hidden more suspicious. If you can’t stand behind honest labeling of your product, perhaps you shouldn’t be profiting from it.
Natural products did not need labeling, as they were what you see is what you get. Luckily people are becoming more aware of pesticides, etc.
Why so much sympathy for the poor manufacturers having to update their labels to reflect the modern marketplace THEY are reengineering & not concern for fellow humans need for health-impacting information?
[email protected]
Fair disclosure would be that all natural/organic products disclose the they too use herbicides and pesticides. In many cases, those “natural” poisons are far worse for the environment than the conventional alternative. I’d be all for labelling if it leveled the playing field for everyone and required ALL foods to be labeled with something meaningful like the number of times pesticides and what type of pesticides were used for just one example. Every piece of food you have ever eaten has been genetically modifed over time. A GMO label is virtually meaningless unless, of course, you believe the misinformation and conspiracy theories surrounding GMOs.
Beware the naturalistic fallacy. Natural does not equal safe.
“Beware the naturalistic fallacy. Natural does not equal safe.”
“I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed!”
― William Shakespeare
[email protected]
Camille, instead of addressing the facts, you use a quote and an insult in an attempt to change the subject away from the science. It is exactly that kind of behavior that shows that your argument is without merit and you are the one “unarmed.”
camille_h
Once someone starts admonishing me to “not believe the natural fallacy” there is nothing left to say.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
… and may we offer you a mushroom, all pretty in red with white spots …
camille_h
You already have.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Then why aren’t you eating it? It’s all natural, grown organically on non-GMO compost and the purist spring waters. To repeat hank_59: Natural does not equal safe.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Perhaps you should first soundly demonstrate “health impacting” issues using modern science. Do you think of manufacturers as being big companies? Many are not. Even small Mom & Pop outfits at the farmer’s market will fall under labeling constraints and the associated legal liabilities. Ironically, many “big companies” will be exempt under existing label proposals: all restaurants, all animals fed GM, all enzymatic and fermented products, and even more ironic, all medical foods. Still think you’re getting disclosure?
And speaking of honest labeling, why doesn’t Organic step up to the plate and show us how it’s done?
camille_h
the perfect is not the enemy of the good. We have a long way to go with all kinds of disclosures.
However, organic HAS already stepped up to the plate. When “toxic” “poison” chemical & freak gene manipulation are the default, we’re in trouble as a world.
Most if not all organic items including produce take pains to disclose their organic status. Can’t say the same for GMOs, which appear to be hiding their provenance despite having infiltrated our pantries unannounced. In fact it is because of the marketplace becoming more aware of our choices & largely voluntary differentiation of organics– as well as the generally superior health benefits of organic food, not to mention growing concern about over-industrialized foodstuffs that is driving this wonderful debate that WILL end up disclosing lots of origination & production information to consumers.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
“the perfect is not the enemy of the good. ”
Glad to know that. I’ll remember that when thinking of Bt crops that reduce insecticide use and RR crops that limit the use of far more environmentally harmful and toxic herbicides.
The Organic label hasn’t done crap. Organic as a label means nothing in terms of health (sorry, the benefits are far from proven). It fails to disclose that fact. It also fails to disclose that, as a production method, it is far less efficient, taking far more land to produce equivalent production. It fails to disclose the pesticides and antibiotics it potentially entails. It fails to disclose that no residue testing is required for those pesticides (unlike conventional production). It fails to distinguish between the large industrial scale mono-crop organic outfits and the local 1 acre biodiverse farmer. It fails to disclose that it might be imported as Organic, but the source is dubious. Organic does do one thing: bring in premium $$ for the retailer. That would be why they “take pains” to disclose and certify and promote.
Be happy eating your Organic. Be also happy knowing that it often is produced using “toxic”, “poison” chemicals and freak gene manipulation (chemo-mutagenisis) that have been the default for a long long time now. Be happy that the perfect is not the enemy of the good … except when it, in fact, is.
camille_h
You need to get out more & talk to some good CSAS.
http://pdiff.weebly.com/ Pdiff
Actually, I’ve worked quite closely here with the CSA and farmers market, as well as the restaurants they serve and other small ag operations. I and my community here can do that because, on a global scale, we are wealthy in both money and time. And that’s fine, but I don’t expect or require that my neighbors, the US ag sector, or the entire ag world operate that way because it is highly inefficient in money, time, and inputs.
Bernie Mooney
What exactly are “natural products?”
harrywr2
If we are going to label…then we should label everything without exception.
I.E. Every piece of meat that has been fed GMO grain should be labeled…every gallon of GMO based ethanol gasoline. Every thing that has been cooked with GMO corn oil. Every menu in every restaurant.
Only when the public can see that the vast majority of foodstuff has had ‘GMO’ ingredients for a full generation will they come to realize how truly silly the labeling argument is.
We already label non-GMO foods…we call them ‘organic’.
http://twitter.com/RobertWager1 Robert Wager
If GM specific food labels was really a “right to know” how food crops were made in the first place, then why is “made with ionizing radiation mutagenesis” of made with chemical mutagenesis” not also part of the call to label? The organic food industry does not think the public has THAT “right to know” about how some of their food is made.
Mia
The label should be a man on the toilet clenching his stomach with sweat beads pouring down his face…
Mia
Looks the same, smells the same, goes in the same….and then the story changes….then the fun begins. Processed internally differently, affects differently & is eliminated differently. NOT THE SAME. Don’t just label it. BAN IT!
https://delicious.com/robertford Robert Ford
yes, i agree. ban this commenter!
Mia
There is a whole world of people just like me who are FED UP with your lies. Get a better job that isn’t anti-humanity…one that you can be proud of.
https://delicious.com/robertford Robert Ford
Mia to the rescue! Saving the world from …stuff.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000980613760 Kevin Folta
I love Mia’s scientific evaluation and evidence. “BECAUSE ITS WHAT I THINK” Not the way I like to discuss important scientific issues, but certainly is consistent with the level of sophistication within the pro-labeling community.
They are a fertile ground to discuss logical fallacy and Dialog Deficit Disorder.
Rick
The monkey picture you have of yourself is tres sophisticated…
Matt Lewis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21338670
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000980613760 Kevin Folta
Hey Matt, when you post that article it shows your level of scientific scrutiny. Aris and Leblanc is widely held up as one of the most perfect papers for us to teach from. It shows how bad science can be published. Any first year grad student can find the simple flaws in that work. The main problem is that their “detection” was all done at levels, well, below detection. Look at their standard curves and then the amounts they claim to find. They are looking at noise. Yep. Nothing more than background. But it sure has you nervous, and worse, willing to perpetuate the fear by sharing trash science here.
For additional information please read, http://gmopundit.blogspot.com/2011/04/it-you-record-noise-you-dont-get-music.html
And if you have questions please feel free to send an email. That’s my real name and I’d be happy to talk you through the figures of the paper and show you why it is junk. You’ll feel much better.
Mia
No rampant ibs, crohn’s, colitis, celiac, ibd in the 70’s 80’s, 90’s. Now SUDDENLY everyone and their mother has a bowel problem? What are we eating? Not normal. Never happened before. The problem is not the people. It’s the GMOs plus Glyphosate that is ruining their stomachs & bowels.
I know….deny & blame…SAVE IT.
Matt Lewis
I love that people will blindly eat poison, and fight for that right…
http://www.twipscience.org/ Sebastian Larsen
There’s also a correlation between people drowning in bed sheets and amount of bad Nicholas Cage movies, what’s your point?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jo-Skull-Crusher-Bo/1620504853 Jo Skull Crusher Bo
TIL: Discover works for Monsanto
Jules777
It is not just about fear mongering for everyone you lumped into camp #1. It is about allowing consumers to make choices that are right for them. Ingredients are already required on labels – just as is the percent of RDA for certain vitamins. I personally choose not to eat – or feed my family – GMO foods. And, just as I have to read labels to avoid feeding my son dairy (to which he is allergic), I would like to be able to read the label and know if some other gene (IMO, part of the ingredients!) has been used to create the food. The market economy will then figure out the rest – whether there is a market for GMO foods.
morechorizo
It seems to me that the author and his supporters in this discussion want to metaphorically ram GMO foods down our throat guided by the premise that there is nothing to be “afraid of” and that in time we will all see how great GMO food is.
Why so much hostility for labeling as such? Dismissing absurd arguments like the one JonFrum posted, it is common sense that food genetically manipulated in a laboratory should be labeled as such. There are many people who might want to know that. Will knowing that stop herbicides from being used or butterflies from dying as mem_sommerville rightly points out? No. But it will give the market better information to determine which direction the industry takes. And as true capitalists, we all believe in the positive power an informed market has on the country and the world.
Nullius in Verba
“It seems to me that the author and his supporters in this discussion want to metaphorically ram GMO foods down our throat guided by the premise that there is nothing to be “afraid of” and that in time we willall see how great GMO food is.”
Not at all. You’re welcome to buy organic.
“Why so much hostility for labeling as such?”
There is no hostility to labelling as such. Organic is labelled, and nobody has a problem with that.
” it is common sense that food genetically manipulated in a laboratory should be labeled as such. There are many people who might want to know that.”
OK, sure. And if organic food contains cyanides, there are people who would like to know that too. So should we make all the organic food manufacturers label their food with all the cyanides they contain? And the glucosinolates, indoles, terpenes, phenols, and so on? Let’s see…
3-indolylmethyl glucosinolate (glucobrassicin), 1-methoxy-3-indolylmethyl glucosinolate (neoglucobrassicin), indole-3-carbinol, indole-3-acetonitrile, bis(3-indolyl)methane, allyl isothiocyanate, 3-methylthiopropyl isothiocyanate, 3-methylsulfinylpropyl isothiocyanate, 3-butenyl isothiocyanate, 5-vinyloxazolidine-2-thione (goitrin), 4-methylthiobutyl isothiocyanate, 4-methylsulfinylbutyl isothiocyanate, 4-methylsulfonylbutyl isothiocyanate, 4-pentenyl isothiocyanate, benzyl isothiocyanate, phenylethyl isothiocyanate, 1-cyano-2,3-epithiopropane, 1-cyano-3,4-epithiobutane, 1-cyano-3,4-epithiopentane, threo-1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3,4-epithiobutane, erythro-1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3,4-epithiobutane, 2-phenylpropionitrile, allyl cyanide, 1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3-butene, 1-cyano-3-methylsulfinylpropane, 1-cyano-4-methylsulfinylbutane…
Sounds great, doesn’t it? And we should insist that every single one of them gets labelled on all organic non-GMO produce, because they really believe in informing the consumer…
“As true capitalists, we all believe in the positive power an informed market has on the country and the world.”
Capitalism works even when people are not informed – which is a jolly good thing given how little most people know. That’s why capitalism works and centralised command economies don’t – because in a free market people are free to try every solution, the price they pay for it allocating the resources to balance the individual needs and wishes of a billion people, which is far too much information for any group of bureaucrats and legislators to even gather, let alone comprehend and process. The free market already could (and would) provide labels if that’s what people wanted.
If you want labels, you’ve already got them. Just buy organic/non-GMO labelled products. The more you buy, the more people will want to supply them. Problem solved, right?
dogctor
“if you tell a lie big enough, often enough, some people will believe it” seems to be a favorite of Team GMO.
No, I don’t already have labels–it is a lie. In California fighting the label cost a trivial amount of $45 million, 7 million directly from Monsanto.
I would be quite content if Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, BASF put their logos on the box of Corn Flakes–if they are so proud of their mutant cry proteins and EPSPS with randomly shot into the genome of corn and soy, with its superfluous DNA– they should brand it.
Problem solved, right?
Nullius in Verba
You are already free to produce food with whatever specific ritual properties you want, and label it as such. You’re even free to buy products made by other manufacturers, slap sticky labels on them, and resell them. You can have labels if you want.
Anyone who wants to know can buy products labelled with the information they want. The more people want them, the more money there is to be made supplying them. The more people buy them, the more money there is to fund the effort. The market shifts automatically to produce what people want, where they want it enough to justify the extra effort and hence expense of doing so.
The labelling laws you require already exist. Your problem is that only a tiny (but very noisy) number of people really care about such issues, so there’s no market for it. And you’re not about to pay for it yourselves.
So do you agree with my idea that we should be able to make the organic/non-GMO food growers label their foods with all the cyanides and isothiocyanates they contain? Why isn’t that the same thing? Why aren’t you campaigning for that too?
dogctor
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11352861
http://profiles.google.com/edgeben Benjamin Edge
They are proud of them, and they do brand them, to their farmer customers, as in Roundup Ready, Yield Guard, etc. Once they sell it to the farmer, and the farmer produces a crop, it is co-mingled with other grain, which may or may not be GM, because, for all intents and purposes from that point on, they are the SAME.
dogctor
If I didn’t know better, I’d say you are being stubbornly obtuse.
The branding I am advising is for the final user– the one eating the stuff
=the consumer.
FosterBoondoggle
Your argument on the need for GM labeling seems to come down to this (as you’ve said elsewhere): you want to eat in restaurants and you can’t be *sure* that they’re going to serve you non-GM food because it’s not labeled. (If you buy food in grocery stores, Organic = non-GMO, so your “lie” claim is itself a lie.) Anyway, I went to the big trouble of looking up Organic restaurants in your neighborhood on Yelp. Here you go: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=organic+restaurant&find_loc=Long+beach,+ca . Yelp says there are 110 of them within about a 15 mile radius. So there’s zero basis for your insistence on gov’t mandated labels. If you stick to these restaurants, the purity and essence of your precious bodily fluids is secure.
dogctor
Thanks for your concern and effort you put into defending my essence and bodily fluids.
I am touched.
Am I to understand that you queried these restaurants and got assurances that they eschew GMO corn, soy, sugar beets and canola?
Is that true?
FosterBoondoggle
They advertise as “organic”, which is already something for which there’s a government sanctioned label. If you don’t trust them, why would you trust any more, given a gov’t mandated non-GMO food label, that restaurants advertising as “GMO-free” really were?
http://www.chrisakins.com/ Chris Akins
Organic does not = non-GMO, actually.
James Earlywine
A market becomes more competitive (and therefore effective) when all participants have access to perfect information.
Obviously alot of people want their food to be labelled if it contains GMOs. ..and these food corporations spent $39 million to make sure that we can’t know which of their foods contain GMOs.
That’s anti-free-market. While markets might function better than an economy with centralized planning of production and setting of prices, that doesn’t mean it operates optimally. Insofar as a market is less free/competitive, the justification for laissez-faire economics is diminished.
It is no longer all of us being moved by powerful forces in the market, but all of us being moved by a small set of people who control powerful market forces.
We are isolated and unorganized, they are organized, such that they can pool their money and defeat us. So now we still don’t know which of their foods are the ones we might prefer not to buy.
So we either boycott them all, or just get over it, and eat whatever is shoveled into our food for us by our vast corporate market-monster-masters.
Nullius in Verba
Hypothetically, yes, perfect information would result in a market being more optimally competitive. However, perfect information can never happen in the real world, which is why it is such a good thing that free markets still work very well when you don’t have it.
If it’s obvious that lots of people want their food to be labelled if it contains GMOs, they can already have it. Buy ‘Organic’. Buy ‘No GMO’. The foods you “might prefer not to buy” are the ones without such labels – you already know which they are. If you’re right, manufacturers would be able to charge a premium and anyone who put such labels on would corner the market. The only reason it doesn’t happen is that you are completely wrong – most people *don’t* want labelling, are not willing to pay any extra for it, and it is annoying that you are trying to impose the extra costs and regulatory burdens on their business of complying with your irrational food prejudices.
Seriously, I would like all ‘Organic’, ‘No-GMO’ foods to be labelled with *all* the toxic and untested chemicals they contain, in their full polysyllabic glory. Because when the poor suckers who have bought in to your chemophobic “natural ingredients” schtick read that the food you’re selling them contains stuff like 4-methylsulfonylbutyl isothiocyanate, they’re going to have a fit. I think it would be educational.
I’m not seriously proposing it, because it’s against my free market principles, but it is hypocritical of labelling advocates not to be insisting that all these chemical nasties get labelled too. If they had any principles they’d have to. They don’t, of course, because it’s all a marketing scam on the part of Organic food retailers, and actually providing the consumers with useful information would be against their interests.
Personally I deliberately avoid buying Organic products, because they’re unethical, more expensive, and potentially more dangerous. I think it’s disgusting that they take advantage of people’s scientific ignorance like that. But I don’t want them banned or stopped, because it’s a free country. Now, how about a bit of reciprocity?
James Earlywine
People aren’t willing to pay extra for proper labeling, because they feel they have a right to expect it, as part of a transaction bargained in good faith.
Furthermore, only a limited number of companies label their products “No GMOs”, and they do command a premium price.
No one is suggesting that foods WITHOUT GMOs need to be labelled. Only foods that _DO_ contain GMOs.
If the majority of candy-bar produces began selling their candy bars in gift boxes. ..and some of those gift boxes contained a bomb – you would expect that they should be required to label which boxes have the bomb.
If you have no idea which box, or how many (if any) contain a bomb, you either avoid candy bars entirely, or you just accept that your candybar packaging might explode.
That’s the problem, these GMOs are used by the largest of food corps. Apparently almost all of them. ..but they won’t let us know how many of their products contain these ingredients, and which products, and which ingredients.
Personally, if everyone was afraid of poly-syllabic chemicals, and wanted them on the list of ingredients, that’s fine too. If the people ask for it, why not give it to them? The material cost of compliance is almost nothing.
“..because people won’t pay us extra.” really? We should have to pay a premium to know which of their products contains ingredients we believe are dangerous? We should have to buy organic stuff at a premium, or just accept that there may be poison in our food? That surprises me coming from a person who says they don’t like/trust organic.
Nullius in Verba
Your bomb analogy refers to a safety issue, which is different. If there is sufficient evidence that GMOs pose any safety risk, then labelling or banning is justified – and would already be required by existing law. The point is, there isn’t. It’s an entirely made-up scare, run as part of a marketing campaign by a particular industry sector, against a rival product, that is no more harmful than their own. That’s why a new law/regulation would have to be created – there is currently no legislation that allows adverse labelling to be forced on harmless products.
The material cost of complying with my suggestion to include all the chemical ingredients on the label would be considerable. For a start, you’d need bigger packaging! There are thousands of naturally-occurring chemicals in any vegetable.
There’s an extra burden documenting, monitoring and testing products. You’ve got the overhead of inspectors from the standards agencies. You may even have to build separate facilities to avoid cross-contamination. It’s a significant expense.
And a GMO label won’t tell you anything at all about whether there is “poison” in your food. (Although I can tell you for certain that there is. Every vegetable contains dozens of natural pesticides evolved to stop things eating it.) The term ‘GMO’ is too non-specific. Which GMO? Which genes? If one variety of GMO is safe, and another is dangerous, how does labelling them both the same help? It’s utter nonsense!
By the way, Organic vegetables tend to have a higher pesticide content. This is because plants produce natural pesticides to resist pests and diseases, and often increase their production of these pesticides dramatically when they come under attack. A crop protected by an artificial pesticide safety tested and dose-controlled to a level that prevent pests without risk to humans means this response is unlikely to be triggered. An organic crop without artificial pesticides is far more likely to trigger a reaction that loads the food with uncontrolled levels of randomly-selected pesticides with no safety testing whatsoever. And that’s not even considering the contamination added by the pests.
99.9% of the pesticides you eat are natural, most of them haven’t been tested for safety, and of those that have about half have proved carcinogenic. The risk is almost certainly very low, but the risks from artificially-protected crops are even lower. It’s not worth worrying about, and most people very sensibly don’t. But if you are worried about this sort of stuff, then absolutely the last thing you ought to be eating is Organic!
The same goes for GMO-free. It’s not inherently any safer (non-GMO breeding scrambles the DNA in a far less controlled way) and it’s a lot less well tested.
If people want to buy Organic food, then even though I disagree profoundly, I have no objection to them selling the stuff, labelling it as they choose, or charging a premium to cover the extra expense. Society has no right to limit the freedom of individuals to believe and do what they want except to prevent significant demonstrable non-consensual harm to others. Although Organic, non-GMO foods are far riskier, they’re not risky enough to justify such measures. But I do find it annoying when such people take advantage of the freedom to do their own thing, but then turn around and try to restrict everybody else’s freedom. We don’t want your labels on our food. If you want to put them there, then you can do so at your own expense.
James Earlywine
Tinkering with DNA can produce many unexpected outcomes. These outcomes are difficult to predict and can be disastrous.
You suggest that these materials are thoroughly test/vetted. Many people believe our science/food-producers lack the capacity to effectively detect/predict these threats to safety.
These terrible outcomes are often discovered when harm occurs, because hindsight is 20/20.
As such, many people want to avoid foods containing these experimental materials, until such time as they are revealed to be safe, over time. Some consumers want to have the information required to make decisions that satisfy their risk tolerances. You assertion that they are not exposed to risk, is problematic, because each person has a right to assess their exposure to risk based upon their own knowledge, beliefs, suspicions, evidence, interpretations of the world, etc.
Time reveals more in hindsight, than testing done by firms who seek to get their genetic innovations to market.
James Earlywine
We’ve all seen many whacky things happen as a result of genetic modifications. Humans don’t know enough about DNA and how it determines biological outcomes, to responsibly leverage our limited genetic knowledge to reliably produce only-good outcomes.
If people want to see on the label whether a product contains GMO materials, then let them have that information.
If the materials really are safe, then elevate people’s awareness of this. Given the limited human genetic knowledge, and the limited capacity to reliably predict good outcomes and avoid bad outcomes, I’d say the burden to prove safety and persuade/inform is on the producers.
If they want consumers to buy food with GMO materials, let the labels be clear, and their food producers arguments compelling.
Nullius in Verba
They already *do* have the information.
If it’s labelled ‘GMO-free’ then it doesn’t.
If it’s not, then that’s equivalent to an implicit label of ‘May contain GMOs’.
That tells you everything you need to know.
James Earlywine
That doesn’t tell me everything I need to know. As a consumer, I prefer to avoid food that DOES contain GMOs, not food there merely “might” contain GMOs.
GMOs require special processing to achieve a genetically modified state. “Gluten Free” labels exist, because it often requires special processing to create a gluten-free food. The label indicates, “Something extra was done to this food, it’s not like normal food.”
GMOs, as of now, are not like normal food. After decade or two of technological advancement and improved understanding of DNA, maybe then we can reliably ascertain which GMOs are safe and which (if any) are hazardous. Only then should these practices be adopted into our ordinary and accepted processes for producing food.
Until then, they are exceptional processes, and it should be clearly indicated when these processes have been applied to food.
Nullius in Verba
We’ve already had a decade or two! Some GMOs have been stuck in the bureaucracy for a decade or two, being blocked by people like you.
It’s perfectly normal food. We’ve already determined which are safe and which are not – the unsafe ones are not allowed to be sold.
GMO corn has been on sale since 1996. GM salmon was created in 1989, has passed every safety test, and is *still* waiting.
James Earlywine
waiting for what? Are you sure it passes all safety tests? I’ve heard that it out-competes natural salmon, entirely replacing salmon with a human-tinkered version, which might be okay.. but might not be (depending on the long-term viability of the human-tinkered salmon).
If you’re only waiting for it to be allowed into food, I imagine including the information on the label would go a long way toward getting it into the purchase streams of food consumers.
If a person knows it’s GMO, because it’s printed on the label, then they can buy or not-buy it.
I bet if food corps weren’t fighting to hide the presence of GMOs in their food products, GMOs would find easier access to market.
Nullius in Verba
The salmon released for farming are at least 95% infertile, and all female. The fertile source animals are kept at a separate facility on land, and cannot reproduce without artificial assistance.
The study you’re referring to was considering the hypothetical case of farmed salmon somehow escaping captivity, surviving in the wild, meeting up with male non-GM salmon, mating with them, and happening to be in the fertile 5%. It’s highly speculative, and wouldn’t pose a health risk anyway.
James Earlywine
..but could make AquaBounty the single source for salmon in the world, after they’ve killed off all the naturally-occurring salmon. That’s bad. That drives up the price of salmon, once they have a monopoly.
..and it’s not highly speculative, it’s highly likely.
“AquaBounty plans to raise only sterile fish, but the FDA has called this claim “potentially misleading, “as up to 5 percent of these fish may be fertile.
The company also claims their GE salmon will be raised in closed facilities so that wild stocks won’t be at risk. Since the company intends only to produce and sell the eggs, it is unclear how they could enforce such restrictions on aquaculture companies, like those in China, Southeast Asia and Chile, where regulations and oversight on aquaculture are notoriously weak.
Worldwide, the dominant method of raising salmon is in open net pens in the ocean, and millions of farmed fish escape from these facilities every year.
The impact of a GE salmon escape could be immense, as AquaBounty’s founder once
claimed orders for 15 million eggs.
Escaped fish may outcompete wild fish for food, space and mating opportunities, as they often exhibit greater aggression and risk-taking than wild fish.
AquaBounty’s GE salmon are genetically designed to eat more and grow faster than wild salmon. An invasion of GE fish into a natural fish population could lead to the extinction of both wild and transgenic fish in
that region. Escaped salmon have also been linked to the spread of infectious diseases and sea lice to wild populations.”
How is that not a legitimate concern?
James Earlywine
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/doc/GESalmon-Below-the-Surface.pdf
Nullius in Verba
So if you think they don’t have the capacity to test food safety, on what basis do you think new plant breeds used by organic farmers are any safer?
They can’t have been tested either, right?
James Earlywine
We have eaten foods that grow naturally since time immemorial. They are required for our survival.
Human beings learned about mechanics, physics, etc, and improved out capacity to plant and harvest food.
Many people believe humans still lack a sufficient understanding of DNA to improve outcomes without some pretty serious unintended consequences.
Are you familiar with programming software, and hexeditors?
Just because you can open a hexeditor and start tinkering with the 1s and 0s in a file, and sometimes by well-informed trial-and-error, discover how to circumvent a software’s copyright protection – doesn’t mean you know enough about software to improve upon a software application.
If people don’t want to consume foods that have been DNA-tinkered-with by producers, they should be able to easily identify those products and simply not purchase them. That’s what a free market is made of.
Nullius in Verba
We have eaten foods since time immemorial, but not the same foods we eat today.
We know from the phenomenon of pesticide resistance that it takes about 20-50 years for the pests to adapt. So natural evolution must have been tinkering with the mix at least that frequently. In fact, immunity is basically what sexual reproduction is for.
And since the dawn of agriculture man has been breeding new varieties of crop plants, to the point where modern versions are scarcely recognisable as the same species as the original. Selective breeding is a form of genetic modification as well, although far less controlled than genetic engineering. And modern plant breeding techniques speed the process up by inducing massive mutation rates with chemical and radioactive mutagens, and then sorting out any offspring with useful characteristics.
*Every* crop plant you eat is subject to “genetic tinkering”, both natural and in most cases artificial. But because it’s naturally done that way, nobody feels the need to tell anybody, and so the ignorant think there’s something special about the sort of tinkering that can be done by genetic engineers.
Yes, I’m familiar with programming and hex editors. What I am saying is that most programmers work by making random changes to the code and seeing if the result crashes, and if it doesn’t crash for a decent length of time then they sell it to the public. Genetic engineering consists of figuring out what a specific bit of code actually does, and making intelligent, directed changes to bring about a desired outcome. And *then* running it in a far more *thorough* series of tests to see if the software crashes.
It’s not entirely safe, but it’s a lot safer than what everybody else was doing previously. But because you didn’t realise what everyone else did, when you ask about the new techniques it sounds horrifying.
James Earlywine
People believe that tinkering with a plant’s DNA via controlled laboratory processes, circumvents natural processes/filters/etc.
Regardless of whether you personally believe that people have good reason to make a distinction between controlled breeding and direct modification of DNA, and fear controlled/direct modification, that fear does exist.
Time will reveal if those fears will be substantiated. The future is unknown, if it were not, there would not be any such thing as “risk”.
You usurp people’s freedom to manage their own risks as they see fit, when you withhold information they deem to be relevant, that would impact/determine their purchasing behaviors according to their own appraisal of risk and their own risk tolerances.
That is the opposite of a free-market. A “free” market doesn’t mean the freedom to operate according to anti-freemarket principles, and then defend it as “free” market activity.
James Earlywine
Personally, if I could discover what foods contain GMOs, and what kinds, I would do my research and determine which GMOs I’m comfortable with, and which ones I am not, and adjust my buying behavior accordingly.
Clearly large food corps believe consumers would not purchase many of their products, if they had access to the product-relevant information. As such, they have spent a hefty sum of money to hide this information from consumers.
That’s not free-market.
Nullius in Verba
Food manufacturers are well aware that a scare campaign is being conducted against them, and that people (rightly) associate compulsory labelling with safety issues. It’s a blatant attempt to smear the competition.
And yes, it *is* a free market.
James Earlywine
That’s a fair point. People do associate compulsory labeling with safety issues.
However, people also (rightly) associate anti-free-market activities, like insulating yourself from requirements that you disclose the contents of the package your peddling, with safety issues.
Snake oil salesmen once sold bottles of various elixirs. Some with real value, some with no value, and some with dangers attached. These bottles and salesmen were pretty much indistinguishable.
Now we have consumers who are savy, they are familiar with various active ingredients in medicines, and they can see the contents of any OTC medicine by simply reading the label.
Large food corps appear to be like the era of snake oil salesmen that preceded legitimate pharmaceuticals, and a more-free market for medicines.
Nullius in Verba
” like insulating yourself from requirements that you disclose the contents of the package your peddling, with safety issues.”
There *is* no requirement that you disclose the contents of the package you are selling. That’s why vegetables can be sold loose, with no packaging or labels at all, and with no chemical analysis.
There is no such requirement.It’s not possible.
James Earlywine
As a point of fact, you are mistaken. Loose vegetables are exempt. ..it’s assumed that we all know what they’re made of. ..that they are in their default naturally-occurring state.
Probably bred to optimize their pedigree, and insulated from pests by insecticides that have passed safety tests (though some people prefer organic). ..and probably covered in a thin layer of wax and shined for presentation.
Altering a plant’s DNA, changes what it actually is. To breed two green peppers to produce another green pepper, and to select the most attractive green peppers for seedling .. that is a natural process.
Consider that you could alter a plant’s DNA to turn it into a hybrid green-pepper / frog. That changes the substantive makeup of the plant in a way that goes beyond the constraints of nature. It goes outside the scope of things that are “green pepper”.
This ambiguity should be clearly communicated. “This is made of stuff that isn’t what you might think.”
Which may mean it’s better, may mean it’s not better. I’d like to see a national registry of GMO materials and studies attached for each material.
..because when you begin tinkering with genetics, you begin introducing all sorts of variables that can impact the way a person’s human body develops over time.
People have a right to scrutinize any intentional tinkering done in that domain. ..and especially to suspect corporations that are incentivized to maximize their profits, perhaps at a cost to human health, if they believe the link will not be detected.
How could it possibly be detected, if there is no disclosure when GMOs are included in food products?
It’s seems (and rightly so) rather sinister an agenda for food corps to take up.
Nullius in Verba
Exactly. They’re *allowed* to sell food without telling you what’s in it.
“Probably bred to optimize their pedigree”
“Bred” means their genes have been altered.
“Consider that you could alter a plant’s DNA to turn it into a hybrid green-pepper / frog. That changes the substantive makeup of the plant in a way that goes beyond the constraints of nature.”
No it doesn’t. There is no property of DNA that marks it out as ‘frog’ or ‘pepper’. It’s like computer code – if you transplant a line of code from one program into another, it doesn’t look any different. It’s just code.
Similarly, DNA works the same way in all life, and a lot of the frog genome is actually the same as that in the pepper.
It’s not true either that they can’t subsequently mix. Viruses can (and have) inserted themselves into the permanent genetic record of other species, and can carry genes from one species to another. In fact, genetic engineers borrowed the technology from nature. They didn’t invent it.
There is no distinction. Plants naturally produce chemicals that interfere with the biochemistry of the creatures that eat them – including humans. We don’t know what the long-term effects are.
It’s exactly the same agenda that farmers have had since the dawn of agriculture. The anti-freedom agenda of the organic food producers is far more sinister.
James Earlywine
They’re allowed to sell a limited set of food types without labeling. I guess you’re just not familiar with the laws pertaining to label requirements.
Breeding means their genes have been selected for breeding with other genes. They have not been directly altered.
There is, as yet, no reason to think that human tinkering directly with genes, reliably produces better food than selecting genes for breeding, and letting them come together naturally within the context and scope of natural reproductive processes.
..and that’s my point, transplanting a single line of code might produce a desired outcome, but with many undesirable side-effects.
The code might not look different, but the outcome is very different.
Nullius in Verba
I know the law pertaining to label requirements perfectly fine, thankyou. I’m just pointing out that it conflicts with your claim that there are “requirements that you disclose the contents of the package your peddling”.
“Breeding means their genes have been selected for breeding with other genes. They have not been directly altered.”
A difference without meaning. Engineering selects genes with other genes, and whether direct or indirect, the outcome is the same.
“There is, as yet, no reason to think that human tinkering directly with genes, reliably produces better food than selecting genes for breeding, and letting them come together naturally within the context and scope of natural reproductive processes.”
Of course there is! Otherwise there’d be no point in doing it!
” transplanting a single line of code might produce a desired outcome, but with many undesirable side-effects.”
And so does selective breeding – only instead of a single line of code you’re mixing thousands of lines of code, which inevitably has many more consequences.
James Earlywine
The only transactions that don’t require disclosure, are transactions where the information is considered to be readily available.
I cannot detect when a food as been genetically modified in a lab. ..and I care to know that. .and it costs almost nothing to add this to your label.
If you buy something from a junkyard, you buy it “As-Is” in “Unknown” condition.
..and this is the standard you believe is appropriate for our food suppliers. That they should be able to sell us food As-Is, in Unknown condition.
That should offend the sensibilities of every reasonable person out there.
Nullius in Verba
We evidently have a different definition of “reasonable”.
James Earlywine
You’re not mixing lines of code. That’s like saying that a coach that select players to play against each other, has selected a million different muscle-fiber movements.
..and I think you misread my criticism. There is, as yet, no reason to think that human tinkering directly with genes, _reliably_ produces better food.
Maybe at some point in the future, when we know more, and have better capacity to make DNA edits, and a better understanding of the context and mechanisms of reproduction and biological development, then maybe we can more-reliably produce good outcomes.
This learning will likely result from decades of technological advancement, and biological experimenting. If a consumer wishes to exclude themselves from that domain of experimentation with the food supply, they should have an easy means of doing it.
Nullius in Verba
“..and I think you misread my criticism. There is, as yet, no reason to
think that human tinkering directly with genes, _reliably_ produces
better food.”
Perhaps you misread my answer. I’m saying that there is, because they did. They tinkered with genes, and have produced better foods, which they can sell for enough extra to recoup the investment. They wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work.
What I *think* you’re talking about is something slightly different, which is the ability to predict from theory alone what the result would be. But in practice you get to see and test it.
James Earlywine
Thus far, we don’t have enough data to understand the long-run and broad-scale impacts of GMOs.
The law of large numbers states that given a very large set of observations, very-unlikely things begin happening all the time.
You can’t see that in your laboratories. Especially in the long-run.
While I can appreciate that we don’t have clear and compelling evidence to believe that GMOs (of any particular type) are harmful – we do have reason to be concerned, given the limited information available about outcomes from consuming those GMOs.
As such, many consumers (like myself) would prefer to filter them out of our diet, minimizing our exposure to food-related risk.
James Earlywine
(risk = uncertainty of outcomes)
Nullius in Verba
Yes, and we have even *more* reason to be concerned that conventionally bred crops are harmful.
Law requires proof. I might be ‘concerned’ that you’re secretly trying to kill me, but the law requires proof before it will restrict your freedom.
So far, GM has proved rather safer in practice than organic or conventional farming.
James Earlywine
Food is a different type of product. You can easily opt out of buying a car, or buying a GM car specifically.
The large food corps are ubiquitous in our markets. ..and food is something everyone needs, or they will certainly die.
Nullius in Verba
So?
The large food corps are only ubiquitous because they provide what most people want with the maximum of cheapness and convenience. And they’ll seize any opportunity to get even more money by offering new lines for which there is a market – including special labelling if that’s what people want.
And there are still other smaller shops and chains for speciality items.
But that makes no difference. Big shop or small, the primary risk is still with conventional breeding, and you still need solid evidence before you can go round banning things.
And if you want to put it in terms of food being an essential of life, you might want to think about the poor, who struggle to make their domestic budget, and for who cheap food is a lifesaver. They can’t afford fancy luxuries like ‘Organic’ or ‘non-GMO’. It’s all very well for fussy eaters of the prosperous middle classes in wealthy countries to turn their noses up, but the poor need the extra productivity of GMO/pesticide use. They cannot afford the extra that going non-GMO would cost. In the coming decades, agricultural productivity will need to be considerably improved, or they will certainly die.
James Earlywine
non-GMO is not some special “luxury” item. Furthermore, it’s up to the poor to decide if and when they will purchase and ingest GMOs.
I’m not suggesting that market share isn’t earned, but market dominance creates market power. Market power = less free market.
Once you have a dominant position in the market, competitive forces are relaxed, and firms are at their “liberty” to engage in activities that they were previously limited from doing, due to competitive forces.
As such, we cannot rely on competitive forces to optimize outcomes in those markets. Especially in the short-run. That time-delay and obscurity of information hurts people.
If we can’t know when we’re ingesting GMOs, we can’t even begin to build data that would illuminate potentially harmful effects of GMOs. So we cannot ever ascertain our real exposure to risk, and our market purchase-behaviors do not reflect our real preferences. ..because, generally, consumers prefer to eat food that isn’t hazardous to their health .. and they can’t begin to have access to relevant information, because they can’t even begin to know when they’re consuming GMOs, and from what products. Thanks to lobbying by food producers.
A person would have to be especially (and likely intentionally) obtuse not to find that to be terribly suspect.
Nullius in Verba
“Once you have a dominant position in the market, competitive forces are relaxed”
No they’re not. There are some businesses that take measures to keep out smaller competition, such as by encouraging a larger regulatory burden, but mostly they dominate because they’ve already got all the infrastructure, contacts, and experience needed to do the job well, and anyone else coming in is still learning.
“If we can’t know when we’re ingesting GMOs, we can’t even begin to build data that would illuminate potentially harmful effects of GMOs.”
You couldn’t, anyway. That would be an invitation to placebo/nocebo effects and anecdotal confirmation bias, which is notorious for raising false correlations and superstitions. “The last time I passed a black cat walking under a ladder I had bad luck all the rest of that day…”
And there are a million other factors besides GMOs that are far more likely to be related, and which you don’t measure either. We’ve got no information on whether left-handed harvesters called Bob are a health risk, because nobody gives us the data.
The sort of anecdotes you can collect in daily life don’t have the sample size or experimental power to be able to pick up the small/rare effects that the researchers and epidemiologists might have missed.
GMOs have been tested, and are as safe as any other food. They’re not hazardous.
A person would have to be especially (and likely intentionally) paranoid to find that to be terribly suspect.
James Earlywine
Actually yes they are relaxed. I would like to suggest that you read up on competitive market forces/dynamics. As an MBA student, we’re trained to discover how to create sustainable competitive advantage and differentiation. To avoid competitive dynamics.
Look up Blue Ocean and Judo strategies. In fact, regulation that prohibits price-discrimination in a trading region actually empowers smaller businesses to compete with larger businesses.
There is not good reason to believe that a person’s name or their handed-ness could impact food safety.
There is reason to believe that humans, in their limited knowledge and understanding of biological systems, the DNA code, and how it determines biological activity/development, could make missteps that are not easily detected in the short-run, that hurt human health.
Nullius in Verba
“Look up Blue Ocean and Judo strategies.”
Look it up where?
“There is not good reason to believe that a person’s name or their handed-ness could impact food safety.”
Of course there is. Food handling has an essential impact on safety, practices are based on education and the proper use of equipment, and equipment designed for highly-educated right-handers used by a working-class left-hander is likely to be misused. Of course, nobody has spotted the connection because nobody collects the data.
Whereas data on GMOs has been collected and tested, and they have not hurt anyone. It’s complete speculation.
Nullius in Verba
Again, if they want the information they’re welcome to pay for it, and manufacturers are welcome to provide it. That’s what the organic food industry already does.
They already *have* that freedom. What they *don’t* have the power to do is to take away other people’s freedom to buy products that don’t.
There is room in the market for *both*. Manufacturers can sell products that do give the information, and products that don’t, and the two can *compete* against each other. That’s a free market.
That’s been going on for a number of years now, and the outcome is that comparatively few people are willing to pay the extra cost, and lots of people want the unlabelled products.
James Earlywine
If I sell you a used-car, even if I sell it As-Is, I am required to disclose any information that could reasonably impact your decision to purchase or not purchase that car.
It is reasonable for consumers to expect their food producers to be held to (at the very least) the same standards of disclosure, as you would expect from a used car salesperson.
Nullius in Verba
A used car salesman doesn’t have to disclose any information at all, unless it is a safety issue. What they say has to be truthful, but if they choose not to say anything, the customers can just go elsewhere.
James Earlywine
Actually that’s not true of used car salespersons. The 30-day lemon law applies to used cars, in fact that’s what it was created for.
Individuals also are required by law to disclose pertinent issues if they know them. It’s just difficult to prove what a person knows when they sell a car.
However, as a matter of law, you are required to disclose anything you know about the car, that would reasonably impact their purchasing decision.
As a practical matter, people can simply say “I didn’t know the car had that problem.” ..and the burden is on the claimant to prove otherwise.
Food producers know exactly what their food products contain.
James Earlywine
Clearly the food companies know that this information would impact purchase behavior, or they wouldn’t have spent $39 million dollars (collectively) to fight against the requirement that they disclose this (even innocuously) on their product packaging.
James Earlywine
I’m not suggesting that producers lack ANY capacity to test food safety. For example if I tinker with an apple, and feed it to a horse, and that horse dies 2 hours later. ..and I repeat this experiment over-and-over, I have detected a safety-threat.
However, if I do not detect a safety-threat, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. It simply means that it is not obvious to my instrumentation and within my context of understanding.
Furthermore, what if an apple killed only 1 out of every 3000 horses, but the cause was unquestionably the apple?
Now consider that almost nothing is unquestionable when the correlation is that tenuous.
People have a rightful claim to demand the freedom to appraise risks as they see fit, so that they can manage their exposure to risks as they see fit. That’s what a free market is made of. It requires optimal access to information, to optimize freedom in a market.
Insofar as any organization seeks to limit that, they seek to make the market less free. They then lose their license to defend their position on “free market” principles.
Nullius in Verba
So why do you think the organic apple is any safer for the horse than the engineered one? We’ve tested the engineered ones on a lot more horses than the organic ones, so surely the engineered ones would be safer, by this argument, right?
James Earlywine
If you can prove that, and inform/persuade consumers, then awesome.
We have thousands of years of history to reflect upon, with regard to apples.
If you can prove there are harmful side-effects from eating apples, previously undetected – and then demonstrate that you have a process to make apples safer/healthier, awesome.
..but that’s something different than what is being discussed in this thread. The question isn’t whether some (or all) GMOs are perfectly safe, or even improve the quality of food. The question is whether consumers should be able to organize and leverage regulatory power via the government, to require producers to include relevant product information on the packaging.
It’s relevant because a large portion of consumers care to know about it. ..and large food corps have spent alot of money to ensure that they don’t have to include this information. That’s counter to free-market principles, and create a well-founded fear of those firms that dominate those markets.
Nullius in Verba
“The question isn’t whether some (or all) GMOs are perfectly safe”
Good! Glad that’s sorted out!
“The question is whether consumers should be able to organize and leverage regulatory power via the government, to require producers to include relevant product information on the packaging.”
Yes they can, and entirely without government intervention too! All you have to do is set up your own manufacturers that produce non-GMO food and label it as such, and for consumers to pay a premium for GMO-free labelled produce. You already have that power, and always have.
If you really want to, you can even buy food from other manufacturers, stick your own GMO or non-GMO labels on it, and resell it. There’s no problem with that at all.
But everybody else is free to sell products *without* the labels if they want to, and if they can get people to buy them. The public should have a *choice*. They should be able to buy either. And the public will decide what sells.
James Earlywine
It’s not about offering non-GMO food. It’s about knowing what’s in the products you purchase. If I want to avoid GMOs, I shouldn’t have to act in paranoia, avoiding all products unless they clearly state “No GMOs”. Furthermore, I might care to know which GMOs are in which foods.
That’s relevant, and it’s been requested, and been refused by producers. This is not information they should be able to withhold. Anymore than I should be able to withhold from you information like, “The car you’re about to buy from me has a blown headgasket that I know about.”
The public has more power to make a choice, when they can see the contents of their purchase.
I actually avoid juices that have high-fructose corn syrup. By your logic, I would need to stop buying all juices except the ones that say, “NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!” in big letters on the front. Instead of simply scanning the small letters on the back. Furthermore, now every juice-maker that doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup has to label their products, “NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!”
So as large food producers make all sorts of things that people are averse to, natural products need to plaster their package with “NO X1! No X2! No X3! No X4! No X5!”
That’s rediculous. A packaging should say what IS included, not all the things that are NOT included.
Nullius in Verba
” If I want to avoid GMOs, I shouldn’t have to act in paranoia, avoiding all products unless they clearly state “No GMOs”.”
It is paranoia, and there’s no difference in the information.
If you want to avoid GMOs then the only thing you need to know is when foods have no GMOs. People who want to sell to you are perfectly welcome to put that on their packaging. Obviously, if you want to avoid GMOs then you would have to avoid all products that didn’t state ‘no GMOs’ even if everything *was* labelled.
James Earlywine
Exactly. If I don’t want to eat broccoli, I can easily look to see if a food product has broccoli. You can see broccoli. You can’t see what has been done in the dna.
Therefore it should be indicated on the packaging, in the ingredients section.
By your logic, if I wanted to avoid eating broccoli, I would need to avoid cheese, cereal, bread, candy, ice cream, chicken, beef, seafood, etc. ..because none of them say “Does not contain Broccoli.”
Of course, you can easily see broccoli. Consumers can satisfy their preferences to avoid broccoli by simply observing with their eyes, that it does not exist in cheese, or milk, etc.
Consumers can’t physically observe the presence of GMOs, and they care to know of their presence.
Nullius in Verba
What if I want to avoid food harvested in the month of June by any left-handed blue-eyed farm labourer called ‘Bob’ when the moon is full and the tide is in? I can’t see that by looking at the food in question, so all that information should be on the packaging? How about if I don’t like food transported by rail, or stored in the warehouse on a shelf/aisle with a prime number? How far must we go?
James Earlywine
If you really believe GMO is equivalent, it’s difficult to imagine you aren’t engaged in intentional ignorance.
..but hey, if you can get a large group of people together, who really do care about avoiding “food harvested in the month of June by any left-handed blue-eyed farm labourer called ‘Bob’ when the moon is full and the tide is in” .. then fine.
If a large number of people genuinely care to know that, then it should be disclosed.
It’s the reasonable person standard.
James Earlywine
Free-market principles, do not include the freedom to capture and exercise market power. Obscuring information, limiting honesty-requirements, etc. These things capture market power.
It seems unlikely that food corporations would spend $39M to capture this market power, unless they stood to gain (or mitigate expected losses) of more than $39M.
So far your only valid counter-argument seems to be, “Well, consumers are predictably irrational. Giving them clear access to perfectly-available information, would cause them to act in a manner that does not optimize their well-being, nor the well-being of producers.”
That takes decision-making power away from consumers. “Instead of educating and persuading consumers, we’ll just limit their access to information. We know what’s best for them.”
That’s not a free market principle.
Nullius in Verba
No, they’re not paying $39m to keep information away from consumers. They’re paying $39m to stop one party being able to force unjustified regulations on everyone else. They’re paying to defend their liberty to conduct their own businesses as they see fit.
There is an infinity of information that could be given about a product, and it’s obviously impossible to give it all. This is about the selection of information that *must* be given, which anywhere else is up to the sellers. So long as what they do say is truthful, the rule is ‘caveat emptor’.
And yes, that *is* a free market principle. If you want information, you have to pay the owner’s price for it.
James Earlywine
That’s the thing, no perfectly competitive market exists in the real world – but some markets are more competitive than others.
The nearer a market is to perfect competition, the more optimally it functions, and the more justification there is for it’s existence. It produces winners and losers, but indifferently. It is a just system.
Market power dysfunctions the optimizing natural effects/dynamics of markets. The ability to obscure consumers access to good information about your products, reduces market competition, and dysfunctions that market.
Imagine you and I sell candybars, and yours are of a better quality: they taste better, and they are healthier/safer. Consumers are willing to pay $2 for your candybar, but only $1 for my candy bar.
If I could persuade retailers to repackage our two candybars into ambiguous brown-paper-sacks. I pay them 10-cents, to repackage our candybars, and charge $1.50 per candy bar.
On average, consumers are still paying the amount of money. ..but some consumers pay $1.50 and get the $2 candybar, so they come out ahead. Other consumers pay $1.50 and get the $1 candybar, they are damaged by my exercise of market power to obscure their access to information.
Also I’ve likely sold more candybars than I would have otherwise, securing unearned marketshare.
This might still be better than a centrally-planned economy, but that doesn’t mean it worked out “well”. Most importantly, it allowed me to manipulate the market so that I could profit from consumer ignorance.
—
Now, you and I might have different perspective on the threat on GMOs in food. There may also be validity in the assertions that “contains GMOs” might scare people away from products, when those products are perfect fit for consumption.
..but just because there is predictable irrationality in consumers, doesn’t give consumers license to be dishonest, leverage market power to manipulate markets, or otherwise operate not-in-good-faith.
Consumers asked for the information, so just give it to them.
Nullius in Verba
“If I could persuade retailers to repackage our two candybars into ambiguous brown-paper-sacks…”
If you could do that, why wouldn’t you simply persuade them not to sell your rival’s candy bars?
It requires that the retailer chooses to sell a product they know they could get $2 for for $1.50. *All* retailers. It doesn’t sound very likely, does it?
James Earlywine
At the end of the day, the if the retailer sells all of their candy bars, and gets the same total price, they are indifferent.
The example is meant to illuminate clearly the impact of information obscurity by producers, to control market outcomes.
As access to complete/perfect information is diminished, the market increasingly fails to optimize outcomes, and becomes unjust.
Insofar as this is true, it’s existence and operation can no longer be defended according to “free market” principles, because it is no longer a free market.
We can argue that no market is perfectly competitive or perfectly free. However, when a systemic dynamic exists that makes it less free, and producers are able to preserve/enshrine that dynamic by oligopoly, barriers to entry, and purchasing political capital to control our laws and limit honesty requirements in those markets, that market is intentionally unfree.
That market is one that is deserving of suspicion, and distrust on the part of consumers. You might think GMO hype is a scare tactic, but consider the well-founded fear that exists now because of the actions of the producers that dominate that “free market”.
Nullius in Verba
“At the end of the day, the if the retailer sells all of their candy bars, and gets the same total price, they are indifferent.”
No, they would only be indifferent if they got the same total *profit*. And they wouldn’t.
James Earlywine
Sure they would. Their cost for total candy bars hasn’t changed. Their revenues haven’t changed.
Nullius in Verba
You think they can’t do better than to sell $2 candy bars at $1.50?
James Earlywine
I haven’t said anything of the candybar costs. They might each cost only 25-cents. Candybars are somewhat differentiated. The price is set by what the market will bear.
Nonetheless, to remove people’s access to information, makes the market less free, not more free. Irrespective of what incentives exist. When a producer/distributor has market-power, they can manipulate consumer access to information, to secure their market position. That’s counter to free-market principles.
Nullius in Verba
OK, but do you think they can’t do better than to sell candy bars at $1.50 when they could be sold at $2?
James Earlywine
Sure, because you’re also selling an equal number of $1 candy bars for $1.50.
Imagine instead that 3/4 of those brown-paper-bag-packaged candy bars were the $1 ones.
Imagine also that your consumers are isolated and unorganized.
Also imagine that even after they open the candy bar and eat it, they cannot tell which candy bar they consumed.
That’s what’s going on here.
Nullius in Verba
If both candy bars cost the same, and people are willing to pay $2 for the superior candy bar, then any retailer is obviously going to buy *all* the candy bars from the better supplier and sell them at $2 in their original packaging.
There’s no percentage in hiding information if you can make more money revealing it.
James Earlywine
Imagine you’re a gas station in a small town. You’re able to sell the “mystery candy bar” for $1.50. 1/4 of the candy bars cost you 85-cents. 3/4 of the candy bars cost you 25-cents.
You package them all in the same brown bag, and sell them $1.50. People eat them, and have no idea what they just ate.
That’s large food corps and GMOs. They have a mix of various product offerings. You’re not allowed to know which ones contain GMOs. You just pay the money, hope you don’t get too many GMOs, and have no idea after you eat the food, what you just ate.
Nullius in Verba
OK, buy *all* the candy bars at $0.25 and sell them at $1.50. That’s more profit, right?
James Earlywine
I suppose you could, but if people never get a nice candy bar every now and then, they might stop buying the brown-bag candybar.
..then again, maybe they wouldn’t. Especially if their expectations were shifted/manipulated slowly over time, so they never expected to get a nice candybar, always expected to pay $1.50, and never knew what they’d just eaten.
I guess you could look at it that way too.
Nullius in Verba
But you said a moment ago they couldn’t tell the difference. What’s this “nice”?
James Earlywine
A fair challenge. I could respond by pointing out that both candy bars are nice, and a noticeable difference might not be reliably detected in the short-run. That they enjoy both candy bars, but maybe the “nice” candy bar contains a chemical that makes the brain want more candybars, more frequently, and that the brain enjoys wanting candybars.
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter. People can’t taste GMOs. ..though many still prefer to exclude them from their diet. ..and they can’t, because they can’t tell from the packaging what’s in their food. – and they want to. ..and they can’t. ..because the food producers have refused consumers this information, and spent alot of money to secure their right to refuse this information.
Nullius in Verba
They can, because they can buy organic.
James Earlywine
Price-sensitive consumers will not buy the $2 candy bar.
James Earlywine
The default assumption is that food has not been tinkered with, that it is naturally-occurring, and exists as it does in nature.
Nature has provided food for all species since life has existed on this planet.
If someone is going to make changes to food, and sell it in a form inconsistent with our naturally-occurring default expectations – then this information should be communicated to buyers.
Not only because it is required for a buyer to give informed-consent, in agreeing to purchase the product – but because many buyers clearly care about this information and have requested it to be included in the standard package of information included with a product.
..and most importantly, it increases the freedom in a market.
Nullius in Verba
Default *assumption*, yes. A false one, unfortunately.
Nature doesn’t “provide” food to all species. They *take* it, and it’s very much against the interests of the organism being eaten. Nature also provides the means for the plants to fight back.
James Earlywine
Nature includes the systems that support the life (and eventual death) of all living things. It would be nice if living things could survive/eat in a manner that did not require something else to die. It would be ideal if living things never had to die.
Unfortunately, this is not the way of things, at least not on our planet as we have observed thus far.
These systems are included in the concept typically referred to as “nature”.
I would like to suggest that your arguments do better to inform and persuade consumers, to ameliorate some of their fears of GMOs, and maybe even for consumers to have a favorable attitude toward GMOs.
..better to do that, than to spend $39M to obscure from consumers which foods contain GMOs.
If you really believe GMOs optimize food-production outcomes, teach that to consumers. Don’t hide it from them instead.
I imagine most consumers would recognize that some genetic modifications are likely to be good. ..their concerns are that some may have bad results that are undetected in the short-run, that can harm them in the long-run.
This is a valid concern. We have access to a long-run data-set and observations of ourcomes for naturally-ocurring food.
We don’t have that for GMOs that result from direct interaction with (and modification of) DNA.
I personally am not especially GMO-averse. The argument isn’t whether genetic modification is necessarily (or even likely) a bad thing. The argument is whether consumers have a right to demand this information in their standard package of information that accompanies the food products they purchase.
Nullius in Verba
“The argument is whether consumers have a right to demand this
information in their standard package of information that accompanies
the food products they purchase.”
Yes, they do. All they have to do is not buy the foods without the labels they want.
James Earlywine
except they are indistinguishable in the market. If a label doesn’t indicate whether it includes GMOs, it may or may not include them.
If it says that it doesn’t, then it doesn’t.
So many foods that don’t contain GMOs are available in the market, but I can’t reliable detect them, unless they say “NO GMOs”.
You really think every food that doesn’t contain GMOs should have to put that on the label? What about foods that don’t contain rubber bands? ..and foods that don’t contain arsenic? ..and foods that don’t contain chocolate?
You can’t be serious. A package should describe what IS in the package, not what is excluded from the package.
Consumers care to know if a food product contains GMOs. It should go without saying that if a food package doesn’t indicate that it includes GMOs, then it doesn’t include GMOs.
James Earlywine
because food, by default, does not contain GMOs. Consumers should not assume all food contains GMOs unless the package indicates otherwise. That is not the default state of food.
Nullius in Verba
“You really think every food that doesn’t contain GMOs should have to put that on the label?”
No. I think the manufacturer should be able to put whatever they want on their own packaging, so long as it’s truthful.
If labelled food outsells non-labelled, the manufacturer is free to take advantage. What I’m against is compulsion of *any* sort.
James Earlywine
Well I’m grateful for compulsion. 5 years ago I decided I wanted to take better control of my nutrition. When I was young, food didn’t contain the relevant information I needed to make good purchasing decisions.
Now I can read the labels and see what’s inside before I purchase it. That’s important to me.
As one person, I could never have brought about this improvement to the market for food products.
..and when large food producers have market power, they easily can make the market, establishing the norms/expectations in that market.
They didn’t want consumers to expect that they should be able to see the macro-nutritional contents of the food they were buying. They clearly also don’t want consumers to expect they have a right to know if the food they’re about to buy and ingest, has GMO materials included in it.
In the absence of a law, the coercive power of oligopoly will continue to make the food-product market less free.
Nullius in Verba
“As one person, I could never have brought about this improvement to the market for food products.”
Do you think one person should be able to tell everybody else in the world what to do?
James Earlywine
Our government is intended to be a tool for us to organize. It’s not just one person who wants this information.
Nullius in Verba
If enough people want it, then it’s not relevant that “As one person, I could never have brought about this improvement to the market for food products”.
A large enough number of people do have the power to bring about such improvements, simply by buying products with the improvements. (And anyone can set up in business as a manufacturer/retailer.)
If enough people want it, they already have the power. If very few people want it, they have no right to dictate.
James Earlywine
That’s not true, because buyers are isolated. It is only when they become as organized as these large food corps, that they can impact the market to bring about systemic changes that will ensure justice and safety in their food markets and supply.
Isolated and price-sensitive consumers, who don’t know that saving 40 cents means exposing themselves to GMO materials in their food supply, are not in a position to understand (because the information is hidden from them) what they are buying, and therefore they cannot meaningfully express their preferences.
They might still decide to save 40 cents and eat the GMO stuff. ..or they might decide to spend 40 cents extra and exclude GMO from their diet.
..but as individuals they have no way to bring the systemic market changes that will empower them with that information.
..and large food corps obviously don’t want to share this information with consumers, that’s why they spent $39 million dollars, so they don’t have to tell consumers which of their products contain GMOs, and what kind, etc.
On their list of ingredients, they could simply have an asterix “*”, and at the bottom, indicate “GMO – for more information on GMOs, visit http://website.com/GMORegistry ”
Easy breezy, simple as that.
James Earlywine
That is an ordinary and proper function of government, to secure the food supply and increase market freedom.
America is trailing behind most other developed countries in this domain of consideration.
Nullius in Verba
It’s not a function of government.
And they’re staying ahead of other countries.
James Earlywine
You clearly don’t understand the functions of government.
By your logic, there shouldn’t be any laws at all. In the absence of law, the strong, well-resourced and well-organized people and organization trample the interest of the weak, poor, and disorganized individuals – with impunity.
The only counter-balancing power to money, is law. It ensures justice and is the only mechanism for ameliorating systemic malfeasances, such as we observe constantly on oligopolistic markets.
Many capitalists cite “non-participation” as a meaningful alternative. However, a consumer cannot simply choose not to eat. Large food producers justify their oligopoly on the “economies/efficiencies of scale” premise.
..and then use their size/scale to dominate the food supply, and do whatever they see fit to do, and refuse to even tell consumers how they’ve modified the food supply, and what they’ve included in their food products.
If it weren’t for your clear commitment to this position, I would assume that you are being facetious/sarcastic, or otherwise not-serious.
Nullius in Verba
The only proper function of government is to defend liberty.
The only counter-balance to power and money is competition. Set up in competition, offer a better product/service, and the power and money will follow.
People only *get* power and money in a free market by giving people what they want. As opposed to those in government who get power and money by coercion and corruption.
On the question of liberty, I’m very serious. I agree that from the perspective of someone unused to the theory of liberty it does seem odd. Their intuitions are all based in the traditional authority roles in society, and nothing seems more natural to them on seeing something they disagree with to try to ban it. This sort of conflict of worldviews is very common – and hard to break through.
James Earlywine
I agree, the power of competition and free markets is considerable. One proper function of government is to fix broken markets.
If a product contains materials that people worry are dangerous, they should be required to disclose this. This empowers consumers to easily express their preferences, and increases freedom in the market.
It really is as simple as that. So we at least agree that a proper function of government is to increase liberty.
It just so happens that you believe that natural forces in the world will optimize outcomes, even while you simultaneously acknowledge that there is no perfectly-competitive market in existence.
Insofar as government increases freedom, by empowering market participants and protecting/promoting free-market competitive forces, they have defended liberty.
Answering consumer demand for GMO-related information to be printed on packaging, would increase our liberty.
Sort of like people enjoy more liberty when they are alive, instead of dead. Laws criminalizing murder may limit the liberty of some murderous people, but overall it increases liberty, because more people are alive instead of dead.
Nullius in Verba
“One proper function of government is to fix broken markets.”
I disagree. Although I suppose that’s a matter of opinion.
“If a product contains materials that people worry are dangerous, they should be required to disclose this”
No! If a product contains materials *actually shown* to be dangerous, then they should disclose this.
“Answering consumer demand for GMO-related information to be printed on packaging, would increase our liberty. “
If there was consumer demand for such labelling, then it would already be there.
What you’re asking for is for the demands of the minority of consumers who want this to overrule the majority of consumers who do not, and to *actively prevent* the latter, by government force, from buying the unlabelled products they prefer. That’s not liberty.
James Earlywine
Every person I’ve talked to (in person) wants this information to be made available. I want it. None of us have lobbied congress, because we pretty much feel like it’s hopeless.
..and large food corps just spent $39 million to ensure that it really is hopeless.
Nullius in Verba
“But Everyone I Know Voted For McGovern!”
James Earlywine
Fair enough. My personal experiences are anecdotal. I’ll see if there’s any poll information available online.
Nullius in Verba
No need. The market share for organic vs non-organic tells you that.
James Earlywine
Not true. I don’t buy organic. I would avoid GMOs until I did research to discover which ones I believed were fine, and which ones I wanted to continue to avoid.
..but since I have no idea which products have GMOs, that’s impossible for me to do as a consumer.
..and I almost never buy any organic stuff. ..and everyone I know feels the same way, and a only few of them buy organic.
Nullius in Verba
If so, then a label saying “contains GMOs” doesn’t help, because it doesn’t tell you which GMO it contains.
Incidentally, would you research conventionally bred vegetables the same way, to find out what is in them and whether they were ‘fine’ or to be avoided? If not, why not? The risk is greater, after all.
James Earlywine
I agree, it should contain detailed information about the GMOs, or at least point to a website that offers this information.
Conventionally bred vegetables have long-produced our food supply without causing harm. Humans don’t know enough about DNA and genetic/reproductive processes, to reliably produce good outcomes. Competency and reliability are established/developed over time.
I’m not saying GMOs should be banned, but it is right for consumers to see them as being in an experimental phase, and consumers should only participate in this experiment if they choose to.
Refusing them access to GMO-pertinent information about the food they are ingesting, even after they have requested it, is to remove their capacity to give informed consent, such that the transaction becomes coercive on the part of food-producers, who have leveraged their resources and market power to deny consumers access to the information they have requested (in large numbers).
Nullius in Verba
“Conventionally bred vegetables have long-produced our food supply without causing harm.”
That’s wrong. They have several times proved to be very harmful indeed.
“Humans don’t know enough about DNA and genetic/reproductive processes, to reliably produce good outcomes.”
You keep saying that, but I still don’t know why you think it. If you spray seeds with radiation, most of the results will be useless – very occasionally you will get something useful that you can then breed into a more stable line that expresses the trait alone without all the other less desirable side-effects. If you genetically engineer the specific trait you want, you’re far more likely to get that trait. Sometimes it doesn’t work, and sometimes you get undesirable side-effects, but you can spot those and either engineer or breed them out. As a replacement for the random mutation stage of conventional breeding, it’s far more reliable.
I’ve no idea why you think it isn’t.
James Earlywine
Some people believe that you cannot reliably detect long-run side-effects in a relatively short study in a lab. This is a reasonable concern to have. If a person wants to wait a decade and see that a GMO is safe before including in their diet, they should be at their liberty to do so. They shouldn’t be limited from the information they need to make purchase decisions according to this preference.
I apologize, I wasn’t aware that naturally-bred plants have been observed to create health hazards that are not obvious and easy to detect and filter out from the food supply.
I personally believe that many chemical and selective-breeding innovations have improved the quality of our food supply. I also suspect that most GMOs improve the quality of our food supply.
..but all things equal, I would prefer to limit their presence in my diet, until time reveals which ones really are safe, and which ones (if any) pose a threat to human health.
It’s a pretty basic and well-founded concern, that any consumer might reasonably have. There’s no reason their request for information should not be satisfied, pertaining to the contents of the food products they purchase and ingest.
Nullius in Verba
Why only one decade? Why not two? Or five? Or ten?
And how do you identify the GMO as the factor responsible, rather than any other factor? Mary ate a GM tomato when she was eight and she died of cancer at the age of ninety eight. Was the tomato responsible? How could you possibly tell?
Life is risky, and things change. We don’t know the long-term risks of lots of things. Are radio waves a health hazard? How about plastic? Suncream? Car exhaust? Wind turbines? How can you isolate any one factor, and do you really propose to go through the 21st century being scared of everything until we’ve got at least 8 decades of experience with it? Are we each going to make a diary note of every new thing we’re exposed to, so that it can be traced as a cause of a 0.00001% increase in risk fifty years later?
Or do you shrug, write it off as something you can’t do anything about, and get on with life?
All these constant health scares cause stress and anxiety, which is well-known to cause ill-health via the nocebo effect. Worrying about GMOs is bad for your health.
James Earlywine
Small things behave very differently than big things. It remains to be seen how this biological material will interact with the human body. Especially given that genetic interaction takes places very infrequently and randomly.
However, given the law of large numbers, unlikely things will begin happening quite frequently, and will be strongly correlated with GMO consumption, or not correlated.
Nullius in Verba
Yes, and how is GMO any different in this regard to anything else?
James Earlywine
Because we’re not allowed to know when we’re consuming food products containing GMO. Food producers are allowed to withhold that information from us, and they’ve paid lots of money to ensure that they can, so it’s likely that they will.
We cannot observe/understand what we cannot measure.
Genetic tinkering is a new thing, and the results of any new technology bear themselves out over time.
Unless you are limited from measuring these things. .
It’s like trusting your software developers to write code, except they’re using a hexeditor instead of a development environment. That creates a legitimate concern about unintended consequences. ..because it’s a new body of study/technology, still in it’s infancy.
Consumers should be at their liberty to exclude these items from their diets, if they don’t want to be part of that experimental phase.
Nullius in Verba
But again, there are an infinity of things manufacturers don’t tell us. There is a multitude of information they are allowed to withhold from us. There are thousands of new developments and technologies.
So how is GMO any different?
James Earlywine
If you believe there is a possibility of harm to human health, I would hope that you or some other person doing their moral and civic duty, would elevate consumer awareness/concern, so that they might insist on knowing these details.
Of course, you’re probably referring to rudimentary details, such as “This grain was transported by a forklift while it was in the warehouse.”
The science of material handling in warehouse is not new science. Furthermore, it doesn’t entail tinkering with biological sourcecode, you know, the stuff that determines biological development of organisms in an ecosystem.
The science of tinkering with DNA is still new. So new in fact, that it should be rightfully be called “tinkering” and not “engineering”. Much like hexediting a file’s 1s and 0s should be called “tinkering” and not “software development”.
James Earlywine
You’re talking about the health and lives of human beings, possibly being impacted by a new science that entails tinkering with the codes that drive biological growth/development/evolution.
That potential scope and impact of that, is a great deal more worthy of close monitoring and concern over a long period of time, than the mundane details of how the materials are handled and sorted.
Nullius in Verba
How do you know?
James Earlywine
You have no idea the impact of genetic engineering, because it can’t be measured, because food producers hide the relevant information from us.
The fact that they hide the information is a strong indication that it should be scrutinized/studied more closely.
There is already a great deal of regulation and scrutiny over the mundane details of how food is handled. When it is mishandled, food producers are liable.
This scrutiny is impossible with GMOs, because no one can even known when a food products contains them, and which GMOs it contains.
Nullius in Verba
Scrutiny is possible because you can sequence the genome. By contrast, no records are made of how thoroughly something was washed, so you can’t tell where in the chain the error was made.
James Earlywine
You can sequence a genome, but you can’t measure the impact it makes upon human health, merely by examining the sequence of genes in the plant.
Nullius in Verba
That wasn’t what I said.
You said: “This scrutiny is impossible with GMOs, because no one can even known
when a food products contains them, and which GMOs it contains.” and I replied “Scrutiny is possible because you can sequence the genome.”
You can tell whether a food contains them, and which GMO it contains. Your reasons for thinking scrutiny to be impossible are incorrect.
And of course you can measure the impact, not by simply looking at the sequence, but by creating the organism, feeding it to animals (and then humans), and seeing the impact. Which we have done.
And the measured impact has been far lower than the measured impact (in actual deaths) of eating non-GM organic food, contaminated by poor handling.
But you don’t address the point that GM food has proved observably safer than non-GM, you just keep on asserting – wrongly – that we can’t measure it.
James Earlywine
There hasn’t been enough time to measure the impact of the newer GMOs.
..but if what you say is correct – if we can (with sufficient amounts of money), disect every food product in the market, and determine which ones have GMOs, and create a registry – then we should be putting our resources toward doing that, instead of trying to get food producers to simply tell us.
So I guess we have to reverse engineer all foods to attempt to discover which ones have been manipulated by human hand.
You might think that doesn’t matter, all that matters is the genome itself, but that isn’t the case. If natural causes were to damage our food supply or ecosystem, there is no negligence/liability. If a human hand does it, there is negligence/liability.
Unless you’re able to tinker with it, and then disappear like some prankster into the night. That’s what large food corps have purchased a license to do.
James Earlywine
I wish we had the data and resources to discover why food in America produces so many bad outcomes in people’s health.
My roommate is from Jordan. Before she came here, she had never experienced lactose intolerance, nor gluten intolerance.
She came here, and within a few months, she began experiencing problems.
Then her brothers came here from Jordan, and they began having the same problem.
When they went back home to Jordan, the problem was less severe, but still persisted.
For good reason, they are highly skeptical of American food, and shop at international grocery stores, and are very careful about the food they eat here.
It’s strange, because Americans didn’t have these problems either, until the past few decades.
James Earlywine
Imagine what it’s doing to people. It seems to impact stomach and reproductive function.
James Earlywine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=013_xA5mRdg
Nullius in Verba
There is always a “possibility” of human harm from *anything*. I would hope people only raised the alarm if they had found actual *evidence*.
The science of determining if a new crop plant that has arisen from selective breeding is safe is far older. The genetic engineering only replaces the random mutation part – all the rest of the routine is the same.
It’s not new science. We’ve been doing much of it since 6000 BC.
James Earlywine
If that were true, then we would not be able to achieve better results by doing this genetic-tinkering.
Sure, you can act more deliberately upon the DNA, but that doesn’t mean you know enough about the DNA code or the systems it drives, to deliberately alter the code responsibly. If something bad happens, you can only say, “Wow, sorry. We were still just learning, and didn’t expect it to hurt people.”
It’s funny, corporations act like they know everything and are in excellent control, until something bad happens.. then they’re innocent and dumbfounded while the rest of us are harmed by them.
As such, we cannot rely upon the producers to look after our well-being, we have to make our own decisions about what to ingest. ..and we can’t do that so long as they hide that information from us.
Nullius in Verba
“Sure, you can act more deliberately upon the DNA, but that doesn’t mean
you know enough about the DNA code or the systems it drives, to
deliberately alter the code responsibly.”
Yes, they do.
James Earlywine
“Yes, they do.” is not all that persuasive or compelling an argument. They are DNA tinkerers right now, not DNA engineers. They engage in well-informed trial-and-error.
To act deliberately, does not mean to act with competence and real understanding.
I think my hexeditor analogy holds pretty well. I’ll not reiterate it for the Xnth time, but still.
James Earlywine
Don’t get me wrong, I’m impressed with the advances we’ve made, but I don’t think we know enough yet, and I don’t think we have complete control enough yet, for consumers to put all of their faith in our scientists who declare a GMO as “safe”.
Some consumers (like myself) prefer to wait and see what time reveals. Any consumer who wants to select GMOs for exclusion from their diet, should have easy access to the information required to make that purchasing decision.
Insofar as we cannot, the market is less-free, and less defensible on “free market” principles.
Nullius in Verba
Your repeated assertion that they don’t know what they’re doing is not convincing, either.
I’ve actually written entire programs with a hex editor (or even more primitive means). It’s slow, but it’s not particularly difficult. And I knew how and why everything worked, and what the program would do as a result.
James Earlywine
I’m sure your “entire program” was fairly small, didn’t do much, and required you to do know a great deal about the context within which your program was operating.
That differs very much from the biology and DNA of living organisms, and the balanced ecosystem in which they live. The balanced ecosystem that is (currently) favorable to human survival.
James Earlywine
http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-new-study-on-gm-pig-feed-and-stomach-inflammation/
Nullius in Verba
It doesn’t matter that buyers are isolated. Each acts according to their own preferences, and those preferences are given due weight by the market.
Isolated and price-sensitive consumers who don’t know that the cheaper food contains GMOs obviously don’t care, either. Consumers of organic vegetables don’t know (or care) that they are being exposed to allyl cyanide. So what?
Large food producers don’t want their liberties taken away. For liberty, $39m is cheap at the price.
James Earlywine
You can’t say that a consumer’s preference has been expressed, and that they don’t care if a product contains GMOs, if they have no way to reliably detect the presence of GMOs.
The liberty to withhold information requested by a large number of consumers? Really? You can’t be serious.
Nullius in Verba
“You can’t say that a consumer’s preference has been expressed, and that
they don’t care if a product contains GMOs, if they have no way to
reliably detect the presence of GMOs.”
Does the average consumer know that their vegetables contain allyl cyanide? If they don’t, have their preferences been expressed?
“The liberty to withhold information requested by a large number of consumers? Really? You can’t be serious.”
I’m absolutely serious. That’s freedom of expression.
James Earlywine
Freedom of expression doesn’t include the freedom to engage in fraud. If consumers ask for information pertaining to food contents, food producers should happily disclose/oblige.
If consumers get together and ask their government to require food producers to disclose when food contains allyl cyanide, that’s an explicit expression of their preferences. If the food producers then refuse, that’s a clear “free expression” of the producer’s desire to obscure the contents of their food offerings.
That should not be an option.
However, in this age of technology and smartphone, I would be content for them to simply include a website link to GMO-related information.
Then we could at least form a non-profit that gathers this information into a central database, and write a smartphone app that enabled a consumer to scan the barcode with their camera, and have all GMO-related information presented on their smartphone display.
James Earlywine
Not everyone has a smartphone, but I’d say that’s still a happy compromise. A not-for-profit can gather all the information from the various websites and make it available from a single source/registry on the web, and via smartphone.
Nullius in Verba
Fraud would be telling untruths about the product.
But even in court you have the right to remain silent.
James Earlywine
The relationship between food consumers and food producers is not the same as the relationship between a prosecutor and an accused person.
Operating in good faith so that each party may enjoy the benefit of their bargain/transaction, is a done cooperatively, not adversarially.
If there were no barriers to entry, and no oligopoly, New food producers could pop up tomorrow, promising to label all of their food products, so that you know what you’re getting. The food producer would sell themselves on “We make a promise and we deliver. If any of our foods contain and GMO material, you will know because it will be clearly printed on the label.”
..but that market is controlled by a few large players.
James Earlywine
That’s not free-market. That’s the opposite of free-market.
Nullius in Verba
“If there were no barriers to entry, and no oligopoly, New food producers could pop up tomorrow, promising to label all of their food products, so that you know what you’re getting.”
Yes. That’s what I’m saying should happen. Not restrictions on labelling applied to the old food producers.
And the organic food label demonstrates that they can.
James Earlywine
People shouldn’t have to pay a premium and eat organic food (which I also don’t feel is very safe), to get basic information about the contents of our food. Especially when that information is available and could be included in the package printing at no additional cost.
Nullius in Verba
OK, set up a new label. If there’s enough of you, it should make money the same way.
James Earlywine
Unfortunately, by time is limited. I’m not a food producers and I don’t want to be a food producer. I just want to be able to easily select food from the grocery store, excluding GMOs from my diet until I know more about what they are, what each one does, how each one id made, and any research available on outcomes resulting from consumption of that particular GMO (or one similar to it).
As a consumer, I don’t have access to this information. Not because it isn’t available – the food corps know when they make direct modifications to DNA and include the resultant materials in their food products.
I don’t have access to this information because the food company won’t tell me, and paid $39 million to ensure they never have to.
Nullius in Verba
Often the food company doesn’t know. They bought the flour from one of a dozen wholesalers, who each bought it from one of a dozen import/export businesses, who each bought it from one of a dozen flour mills, who bought it from dozens of different farmers and didn’t pay any attention to whether it was GM or not GM because they know there’s no difference.
If you want to track each stream and keep them separate, that costs money.
James Earlywine
Not really. There is no GMO without a patent. There is no accidental GMO production. They can easily give a year for everyone to get into compliance.
Going forward anyone who produces something using GMO methods, stamps their product. ..because people care to know what was made using GMO.
Simple as that.
Nullius in Verba
Yes, but once the grain (or whatever) is produced, it goes into the same bins as all the rest.
James Earlywine
Yeah, that’s a problem. It should be isolated and labelled. ..because people have legitimate concerns about it’s safety.
Legitimate concern = due to lack of information about GMOs. This information can only be observed/gathered/analyzed over time .. and not enough time has passed to ensure it’s safety.
..and food safety matters to people, and for good reason.
morechorizo
For those who make the argument that there is already “non-GMO” labeling out there, they are right. ORGANIC food is non-GMO. But outside of organic food and conventional food is GM which is a third and completely different way of producing food and should be labeled as such.
Buddy199
I understand that if you eat GMO food next to a windmill while pressing your cell phone to your head you’re safe. What hypochondriacal cry-babies.
jeremyah1
Either Mr. Kloor doesn’t know much about the total farming system around GM seeds – or he is paid by those who take money from Monsanto. That said, he does seem fair and somewhat open minded.
As a farmer born in 1936 let me be clear, the ignorance of the public who are thronging to our nation’s supermarkets are not only ignorant of the facts but are just too trusting in what they read.
GM produced food begins by spraying huge amounts of Glyphosate on the crops, this herbicide which is a chelator, e.g. it binds up minerals essential to weed growth, and the plant growth in the process. Glyphosate has been found in pregnant mothers and their fetuses.
Then comes the Insetcides, some of which are built into every cell of a grain of corn. Not a good thing to ingest, regardless of the promises made by Monsanto and their apologists.
Nullius in Verba
Yes? And what about the insecticides built into every cell of non-GM, organic corn?
dogctor
The insecticide jeremyah is referring to is B.t. aka cry proteins.
Scientific studies, also very recent ones, have shown that the Cry1Ac protein is a potent systemic and mucosal adjuvant, which is an enhancer of immune responses.
References:
Guerrero G.G., Russell W.M., Moreno-Fierros L (2007) Analysis of the cellular immune response induced by Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1A toxins in mice: Effect of the hydrophobic motif from diphtheria toxin. Molecular Immunology 44, 1209–1217.
Guerrero G.G., Dean D.H., Moreno-Fierros L (2004) Structural implication of the induced immune response by Bacillus thuringiensis Cry proteins: role of the N-terminal region. Molecular Immunology 41, 1177–1183.
Moreno-Fierros L, Ruiz-Medina EJ, Esquivel R, López-Revilla R, Piña-Cruz S., 2003. Intranasal Cry1Ac protoxin is an effective mucosal and systemic carrier and adjuvant of Streptococcus pneumoniae polysaccharides in mice. Scand J Immunol., 57: 45-55.
Prasad S.S.S.V. & Shethna, Y.I., 1975. Enhancement of immune response by the proteinaceous crystal of Bacillus thuringiensis var thuringiensis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun., 62: 517-521.
Rojas-Hernández S, Rodríguez-Monroy MA, López-Revilla R, Reséndiz-Albor AA, Moreno-Fierros L.,
2004. Intranasal coadministration of the Cry1Ac protoxin with amoebal lysates increases protection
against Naegleria fowleri meningoencephalitis. Infect Immun., 72:4368-4375
Vazquez-Padron RI. Martinez-Gil AF. Ayra-Pardo C. Gonzalez-Cabrera J. Prieto-Samsonov DL. de laRiva GA., 1998. Biochemical characterization of the third domain from Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1A toxins. Biochem Mol Biol Int., 45(5):1011-20.
Vazquez RI. Moreno-Fierros L. Neri-Bazan L. De La Riva GA. Lopez-Revilla R., 1999. Bacillus thuringensis Cry1Ac protoxin is a potent systemic and mucosal adjuvant. Scand J Immunol., 49: 578- 84.
Vazquez-Padron RI. Gonzales-Cabrera J. Garcia-Tovar C. Neri-Bazan L. Lopez-Revilla R. Hernandez
M. Moreno-Fierro L. de la Riva GA., 2000a. Cry1Ac protoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis sp. kurstaki
HD73 binds to surface proteins in the mouse small intestine. Biochem Biophys Res Commun., 271:54-8
.
dogctor
Beats me.
The spirit of organic farming, as I understand it, is promotion of biodiversity in plants and insects – encouraging beneficial insects, rather than the scorched earth principle of industrial ag of killing every living thing in sight.
jh
“Either Mr. Kloor doesn’t know much about the total farming system around
GM seeds – or he is paid by those who take money from Monsanto.”
Because KK doesn’t agree with you he has to be either ignorant or corrupt?
So much for political discourse in this country! We’re all on the moral high ground, aren’t we?
jeremyah1
No moral high ground here jh – he is just flat out ignorant of the facts. I did say that he seemed to be open minded, and I am hoping that he posts another article that is more factual.
Kris
Roundup (Glyphosate) is toxic & causes Autism. Here’s your science, Sparky…it all starts IN THE GUT.
My heros: Jeffrey Smith & Dr. Seneff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP1I0cAsE2E
http://twitter.com/mem_somerville mem_somerville
Perhaps you missed where Keith talked about Seneff’s paper and its claims? When Media Uncritically Cover Pseudoscience .
Please seek credible sources.
Bernie Mooney
A link to that video? Heroes? My head hurts. It’s either that or maybe I ate too much gmo wheat today.
Felix
So, the truth really DOES hurt…interesting.
Bernie Mooney
The truth? That’s rich. A yogic flying dance teacher with no scientific credentials interviewing a Computer Science person on the dangers of pesticides. .
Dan
What a rusty tool you are. Do you just throw stuff at the wall & see if it sticks?
Dr. Seneff is a well credentialed Senior Research Scientist at MIT. She has a degree in Biophysics, M.S. and E.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering & a Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, all from MIT. She has been studying biology for 30 years.
What do you have, besides WRONG INFORMATION?
Bernie Mooney
Her bio claims she has been studying biology “in recent years.” And the paper was published in a pay to play journal and has been discredited by other scientists. AND, they refer multiple times to Seralin. Enough said.
Karl Haro von Mogel
Thanks for posting this video so I could download it before it disappears.
Dan
What’s wrong artificial information disseminators, you don’t have the nads to confront the Dr. on his real science?
http://twitter.com/stringrrl stringrrl
I believe that we have a right to know. Any food that is made with GM ingredients should be labeled: “May contain Genetically Modified Ingredients” or “May contain ingredients sourced from GMO crops.”
I think MOST people would not blink an eye and just buy it anyway. Some however, will move on and purchase another product that is GMO free or organic (and also says as much).
Your Son
Biotech Soulless Zombies restating LIE AFTER LIE. You have to be willing to sacrifice your 1st born to work for Monsanto. You have all lost your man card when you are willing to live on your knees for a corporation & deny your humanity & integrity.
Here’s your theme song: ENJOY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6cn0mLJVZY
boxorox
There is one part of the labeling campaign that does not get the attention it deserves. That is whether or not the method being proposed will achieve the intended result. Regardless if you feel you have the “right to know”, the law put into place to provide you the information you seek should fulfill it’s promise.
If you actually read the text of I-522, you’ll see the law would not
require anywhere near the level of detail you think it would. It would
not tell you what is in the food, how much is in there or even if there
is a reasonable level of certainty.
The
corn would be absolutely indistinguishable from GM beets, GM wheat, or
anything else. You would not be able to tell if there are GMOs actually
in the food, or simply that the supplier did not supply an affidavit.
Wouldn’t listing the ACTUAL ingredients on the label be MUCH better? If not, why not??
Typically, allergens are listed on the nutrition label where
they belong. Would you feel comfortable buying food that simply said
“May contain allergens”, without telling you anything about which are
there?? Of course you wouldn’t!
As for going after the big chem-agro companies, forcing
retailers to police labels that don’t provide any real information is
NOT fighting against the bad guys. I-522 does not attack Monsanto,
Kellogg, Pepsi, or Kraft with anything. The law would only apply to
foods “offered for retail sale”.
There is absolutely no mention of requiring manufacturers to add
labels at the point of production, packaging, wholesale or distribution.
It ONLY mentions having labels when the food is “offered for retail
sale”. Monsanto does not sell retail food. They are completely let off
the hook.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill-C-Beekeeper/100000812765746 Bill C Beekeeper
The fight to not label shows these corporations have something to hide. The ONLYreason we don’t have better scientific studies is solely based on proprietary basis. MONSANTO will fight to the death to keep anyone from doing a publically financed peer reviewed study of the effects of GMOs on human tissues and organs. The French study has already proven that there are reasons to be concerned, so why not just be a considerate public partner and have independent studies done in an open and fair and reasonable way to quell the suspicions…but we would have a better chance at colonizing Mars than MONSANTO allowing independent studies.
Schratboy
GMOs didn’t exist before 1995. Introducing these novel patented proteins represented a new immune system stimuli associated with these genetically manipulated DNA. Health suffers when the foods being eaten are recognized as foreign by our immune systems causing primary and secondary inflammation. Labeling and education can steer the consuming public to a more healthful NON-GMO food choice.
FosterBoondoggle
“Health suffers when the foods being eaten are recognized as foreign by our immune systems…” Isn’t non-GMO corn also foreign to your body? Do you actually have any clue what the sentences your stringing together mean? Green ideas sleep furiously.
Schratboy
“Personally, I’m ambivalent about GMO labeling…..I see right through the
naked cynicism of the Right to Know campaign. It is totally
disingenuous.”….and perpetuating a 15+ year consumer GMO information boycott is not disingenuous? Keith’s ambivalence seems to be tainted with an affection for glyphosate.
http://www.facebook.com/melissa.metrick Melissa Metrick
I am for GMO labeling, and I do think it is the consumers right to know. When you buy a product you fund that product, the business that makes that product, and the technology used to make that product. For example I buy organic because I like to support organic practices- a counter argument is if you support GMO technology you would specifically buy GMO products take make sure that technology is funded and continues.
night_train
Mr. Kloor, who wouldn’t want to know that 1) they are eating chemically-modified food 2) for which there is no supporting data regarding their safety 3) which are known to sicken and kill lab animals?
http://www.chrisakins.com/ Chris Akins
So using this logic, we should remove all contents labeling on foods, since by definition only contents categorized as safe are allowed into our foods.
People have a right to choose, whether their choices are ignorant or not.
Label the damn food!
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Force-feeding
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What nation has 27 states, most of which exceed the area of an entire moderately-sized country, and include Acre, Minas Gerais, Sergipe, and Amazonas?
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SYNDROMES | AIPPG Forum
AIPPG Forum
* ACUTE RADIATION SYNDROME: Radiation exposure.
o 12 hours post-exposure: Vomiting
o 24 hours post-exposure: Prostration (extreme exhaustion), fever, diarrhea
o Later: Petechial hemorrhage, hypotension, tachycardia, profuse bloody diarrhea, maybe death.
* CHINESE RESTAURANT SYNDROME: MSG reaction ------> Chest Pain, burning sensation over parts of body.
* BROWN-SEQUARD SYNDROME: Damage (injury) to half of spinal cord ------> symptoms:
o Loss of pain and temperature sensation on contralateral side of body.
o Loss of proprioception and discriminatory touch on ipsilateral side of body.
SYNDROMES-2
CARDIOVASCULAR
* ADAMS-STOKES SYNDROME: Heart block, with slow or absent pulse, often accompanied by convulsions.
* BARLOW SYNDROME: Floppy Mitral Valve Syndrome; Massive Mitral Valve Prolapse ------> Late apical systolic murmur, systolic click, or both.
* EISENMENGER'S SYNDROME: Ventricular-Septal Defect ------> Pulmonary hypertension and cyanosis.
* FLOPPY-VALVE SYNDROME: Mitral Incompetence due to myxomatous degeneration of the leaflets.
* LERICHE'S SYNDROME: Occlusion of distal aorta ------>
o Hip, thigh, and calf fatigue.
o Impotence
* BEHCET'S SYNDROME: Vasculitis ------> secondary symptoms:
o Oral and genital ulcers
o Uveitis
o Optic atrophy
* SHOULDER-HAND SYNDROME: Pain in shoulder and swelling in hand, sometimes occurring after Myocardial Infarction.
* SICK SINUS SYNDROME: Chaotic atrial activity; continual changes in P-Waves. Bradycardia, alternating with recurrent ectopic beats and runs of tachycardia.
* SUPERIOR VENA CAVA SYNDROME: Caused by a tumor. Obstruction of SVC ------>
o Edema
o Engorgement of the vessels of face, neck, and arms.
o Nonproductive cough
* TAKAYASU'S SYNDROME: Arteritis of the Aortic Arch, resulting in no pulse. Seen in young women.
* WOLF-PARKINSON WHITE SYNDROME: ECG pattern of Paroxysmal Tachycardia.
o Short PR interval
o Delta wave = early QRS complex.
SYNDROMES-3
CONGENITAL
* CEREBELLAR SYNDROME: Congenital Cerebellar Ataxia
* CERVICAL SYNDROME: Supernumerary C7 rib ------> Pressure on brachial plexus ------> pain radiating over shoulder, arm, and forearm over C7 distribution.
* DANDY-WALKER SYNDROME: Obstruction of Foramina of Magendie and Luschka in infants ------> Hydrocephalus.
* DIGEORGE SYNDROME: Congenital absence of 3rd and 4th Branchial Arches (Thymus and Parathyroid Glands) ------> secondary symptoms:
o No cell-mediated immunity ------> Frequent viral and fungal infections
o Characteristic facial deformities
* DOWN SYNDROME: Trisomy 21. Mental retardation, characteristic facial features, Simeon crease in hand.
* FANCONI'S SYNDROME Type I: Bone-marrow hypoplasia ------> refractory anemia, pancytopenia.
* EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME: Congenital defect in collagen.
o Hyper-elasticity and friability of the skin.
o Hyperextensibility of the joints.
* FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME: Fetal malformations, growth deficiencies, craniofacial anomalies, limb defects.
* GOODPASTURE'S SYNDROME: Autoantibodies against basement membranes ------> Glomerulonephritis (kidney) and hemoptysis (lungs).
o Often, death by renal failure
* KLINEFELTER'S SYNDROME: Trisomy XXY ------> testicular atrophy, increase in gonadotropins in urine.
* KLIPPEL-FEIL SYNDROME:
o Congenital short neck, limited neck rotation
o Abnormalities of the brainstem and cerebellum
o Low hairline.
* LESCH-NYHAN SYNDROME: Deficiency of HGPRT (Hypoxanthine-Guanine Phospho-ribosyltransferase ------>
o Hyperuricemia, uric acid kidney stones
o Choreoathetosis
o Mental retardation, autism, spastic cerebral palsy
o X-Linked recessive
* MARFAN SYNDROME: Connective Tissue disorder ------>
o Arachnodactyly: Abnormally long digits and extremities
o Subluxation of lens
* POSTRUBELLA SYNDROME: Infantile defects resulting from maternal Rubella infection during first trimester.
o Microphthalmos, cataracts
* PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME: Abnormal sensation in breasts, abdominal pain, thirst, headache, pelvic congestion, nervous irritability.
o Ocassionally nausea and vomiting.
* SHEEHAN'S SYNDROME: Post-partum pituitary necrosis ------> hypopituitarism.
* STEIN-LEVENTHAL SYNDROME: Polycystic ovary ------> infertility, amenorrhea, hirsutism. Seen in obese women.
* TESTICULAR FEMINIZATION SYNDROME: Insensitivity to Testosterone. Male Psuedohermaphroditism
o Complete female external genatalia, incompletely developed vagina, rudimentary uterus.
PULMONARY
* KARTAGENER'S SYNDROME: Situs Inversus (lateral transposition of lungs) resulting from chronic sinusitis and bronchiectasis.
* HAMMAN-RICH SYNDROME: Interstitial fibrosis of the lung.
* MIDDLE-LOBE SYNDROME: Chronic pneumonitis and atalectasis of middle lobe of right lung.
* CHURG-STRAUSS SYNDROME: Allergic Granulomatous Angiitis: Asthma, fever, eosinophilia.
INFECTIOUS
* FITZ-HUGH-CURTIS SYNDROME: Gonococcal Periphepatitis in woman, as a complication of Gonorrhea.
* GUILLAIN-BARRE SYNDROME: Infectious Polyneuritis of unknown cause.
* HUNT'S SYNDROME: Herpe's Zoster infection of Facial Nerve (CN VII) and Geniculate Ganglion ------> facial palsy.
o Zoster of ear
* PARINAUD'S SYNDROME: Preauricular lymph node enlargement on the same side as conjunctivitis.
* REYE'S SYNDROME: Loss of consciousness and seizures in kids, after a viral infection treated by aspirin.
* REITER'S SYNDROME: Symptom cluster. Etiology is thought to be Chlamydial or post-chlamydial.
o Urethritis
o Skin lesions like karatoderma blenorrhagicum
o Also can see fatty liver or liver necrosis.
* SCALDED SKIN SYNDROME: S. Aureus toxic epidermal necrolysis.
* STEVENS-JOHNSON SYNDROME: Erythema Multiforme complication.
o Large areas of skin slough, including mouth and anogenital membranes.
o Mucous membranes: stomatitis, urethritis, conjunctivitis.
o Headache, fever, malaise.
* TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME: Caused by superabsorbent tampons. Infection with Staph Aureus and subsequent toxicity of exotoxin TSST ------> systemic anaphylaxis.
o Fever, vomiting, diarrhea
o Red rash followed by desquamation
* WATERHOUSE-FRIEDRICHSON SYNDROME: Meningeococcal Meningitis ------> DIC, hemorrhagic infarct of adrenal glands ------> fulminant adrenal failure.
o Vomiting, diarrhea.
o Extensive purpura, cyanosis, circulatory collapse.
RENAL
* BARTTER'S SYNDROME: Juxtaglomerular Cell Hyperplasia ------> secondary symptoms:
o Hyperaldosteronism, Hypokalemic Alkalosis, elevated renin and angiotensin
o No hypertension.
o Compare to Conn's Syndrome
* FANCONI'S SYNDROME Type II: Renal aminoaciduria, glycosuria, hypophosphaturia, cysteine deposition, rickets.
* THORN'S SYNDROME: Salt-losing nephritis.
NEUROLOGICAL
* CARPAL-TUNNEL SYNDROME: Compression of Median Nerve through the Carpal Tunnel ------> pain and parasthesia over distribution of Median N.
* FROIN'S SYNDROME: Block in CSF flow ------> xanthochromia (yellow discoloration) of CSF.
* ACUTE-BRAIN SYNDROME: Delirium, confusion, disorientation, developing suddenly in a person that was previously psychologically normal.
* GERSTMANN'S SYNDROME: Lesion between occipital area and angular gyrus ------> symptoms:
o Finger agnosia, Agraphia, acalculia
o Right-left disorientation
* HORNER'S SYNDROME: Loss or lesion of cervical sympathetic ganglion ------>
o Ptosis, miosis, anhydrosis
o Enophthalmos (caved in eyes)
* KORSAKOFF SYNDROME: Loss of short-term memory in chronic alcoholism, caused by degeneration of mamillary bodies.
* RILEY-DAY SYNDROME: Familial dysautonomia.
GASTROINTESTINAL
* MALLORY-WEISS SYNDROME: Laceration of lower end of esophagus from vomiting ------> hematemesis. Often seen in alcoholics.
* MALABSORPTION SYNDROME: Impaired absorption of dietary substance ------> diarrhea, weakness, weight loss, or symptoms from specific deficiencies.
* BARRETT SYNDROME: Chronic peptic ulcer of the lower esophagus, resulting in metaplasia of esophageal columnar epithelium ------> squamous epithelium.
* ZOLLINGER-ELLISON SYNDROME: Gastrin-secreting tumor in pancreas ------> Severe peptic ulcers, gastric hyperacidity.
* PLUMMER-VINSON SYNDROME: Esophageal Webs, leading to dysphagis and atrophy of papillae of tongue.
o Also see hypochromic anemia, splenomegaly.
RETICULOENDOTHELIAL, HEMATOLOGIC
* BANTI'S SYNDROME: Chronic Congestive Splenomegaly with anemia, caused by either Portal Hypertension or Splenic Vein Thrombosis.
* BUDD-CHIARI SYNDROME:
o ACUTE: Hepatic Vein Thrombosis ------> Massive ascites and dramatic death.
o CHRONIC: Gradual hepatomegaly, portal hypertension, nausea, vomiting, edema, ulimately death.
* DUBIN-JOHNSON SYNDROME: Defect in excretion of conjugated bilirubin ------> recurrent mild jaundice. Buildup of direct builirubin in blood.
* CHIDIAK-HIGASHI SYNDROME: Abnormalities in leukocytes with large inclusions.
* CRUVEILHIER-BAUMGARTEN SYNDROME: Symptoms cluster:
o Venous hum and thrill
* FELTY'S SYNDROME: Rheumatoid Arthritis with splenomegaly, leukopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia.
* LOFFLER'S SYNDROME: Eosinophilia with transient infiltrates in lungs.
* PARINAUD'S SYNDROME: Preauricular lymph node enlargement on the same side as conjunctivitis.
UNCATEGORIZED
* YELLOW-NAIL SYNDROME: Stop growth of nails ------> increased convexity, thickening, and yellowing of nails.
o Found in Lymphedema, bronchitis, chronic bronchiectasis.
* COSTOCHONDRAL SYNDROME: Pain in chest with tenderness over one or more costochondral junctions.
o Similar to Tietze's Syndrome but no specific inflammation.
* TIETZE'S SYNDROME: Costochondritis. Swelling and tenderness of the costal cartilege.
* MIKULICZ'S SYNDROME: Salivary and lacrimal enlargement as seen in several diseases:
o Sarcoidosis
o Somnolence
o Erythrocytosis
* RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME: Need to stretch legs at night before going to sleep; twitch in legs causing insomnia.
* STRAIGHT BACK SYNDROME: Loss of normal kyphosis of thoracic spine ------>
o Straight spine
o Widened cardiac silouhette on x-ray
* SJ?REN'S SYNDROME: Autoimmune complex
o Keratoconjuctivitis Sicca (dry eyes and mouth)
o Dryness of Mucous membranes
o Telangiectasias in face
GENETIC DISORDERS.......................
Disease Category Pathogenesis / Heredity Pathology, Cardinal Symptoms
Cystic Fibrosis Autosomal Recessive. CFTR gene defect on Chrom 7 ------> No Cl- transport and failure to hydrate mucous secretions (no NaCl transport) ------> excessively viscous mucoid exocrine secretions Meconium ileus (caused by thick, mucoid meconium), respiratory bronchiectasis, Pseudomonas pneumonia, pancreatic insufficiency, hypertonic (high Cl- concentration) sweat.
Fanconi Anemia Autosomal Recessive congenital pancytopenia. Normocytic anemia with neutropenia.
Short stature, microcephaly, hypogenitalism, strabismus, anomalies of the thumbs, radii, and kidneys, mental retardation, and microphthalmia.
Hartnup's Disease Autosomal Recessive. Defect in GI uptake of neutral amino acids ------> malabsorption of tryptophan (niacin precursor) ------> niacin deficiency among other things. Pellagra-like syndrome (diarrhea, dementia, dermatitis), light-sensitive skin rash, temporary cerebellar ataxia.
Kartagener's Syndrome Autosomal Recessive. Defect in dynein arms ------> lost motility of cilia Recurrent sinopulmonary infections (due to impaired ciliary tract). Situs inversus, due to impaired ciliary motion during embryogenesis: lateral transposition of lungs, abdominal and thoracic viscera are on opposite sides of the body as normal. Possible dextrocardia, male sterility.
Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency Autosomal Recessive. Pyruvate Dehydrogenase deficiency ------> buildup of lactate and pyruvate ------> lactic acidosis. Neurologic defects.
Treatment: Increase intake of ketogenic nutrients (leucine, lysine) ------> increase formation of Acetyl-CoA from other sources.
Xeroderma Pigmentosum Autosomal Recessive. Defect in DNA repair, inability to repair thymine dimers resulting from UV-light exposure ------> excessive skin damage and skin cancer. Dry skin, melanomas, pre-malignant lesions, other cancers. Ophthalmic and neurologic abnormalities.
Familial Hypercholesterolemia Autosomal Dominant Disorders A group of inherited diseases associated with hypercholestrolemia. Heterozygous: accelerated atherosclerosis. Homozygous: accelerated atherosclerosis, MI by age 35, xanthomas.
Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (Osler-Weber-Rendu Syndrome) Autosomal Dominant Disorders Autosomal Dominant. Telangiectasias of skin and mucous membranes.
Hereditary Spherocytosis Autosomal Dominant Disorders Autosomal Dominant. Band-3 deficiency in RBC membrane ------> spherical shape to cells. Other RBC structural enzyme deficiencies can cause it, too. Sequestration of spherocytes in spleen ------> hemolytic anemia.
Huntington's Disease Autosomal Dominant Disorders Autosomal Dominant, 100% penetrance.
Genetic defect on Chrom 4 ------> atrophy of caudate nuclei, putamen, frontal cortex.
Progressive dementia with onset in adulthood, choreiform movements, athetosis.
Marfan's Syndrome Autosomal Dominant Disorders Autosomal Dominant. Fibrillin deficiency ------> faulty scaffolding in connective tissue (elastin has no anchor). Arachnodactyly, dissecting aortic aneurysms, ectopia lentis (subluxation of lens), mitral valve prolapse.
Neurofibromatosis (Von Recklinghausen Disease) Autosomal Dominant Disorders Autosomal Dominant. NF1 gene defect (no GTPase protein) ------> dysregulation of Ras tumor-suppressor protein. Multiple neurofibromas (Caf� au Lait spots) which may become malignant, Lisch nodules (pigmented hamartomas of the iris).
Increased risk for tumors: pheochromocytoma, Wilms tumor, Rhabdomyosarcoma, leukemias.
Tuberous Sclerosis Autosomal Dominant Disorders Autosomal Dominant. Tubers (glial nodules), seizures, mental retardation. Associated with adenoma sebaceum (facial lesion), myocardial rhabdomyomas, renal angiomyolipomas.
Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome Autosomal Dominant Disorders Autosomal Dominant, short arm of chromosome 3. Same genetic region is associated with incidence of renal cell carcinoma. (1) Hemangioblastomas of cerebellum, medulla, or retina, (2) adenomas, (3) cysts in visceral organs. High risk for renal cell carcinoma.
Congenital Fructose Intolerance Carbohydrate Metabolism Defect Autosomal Recessive. Aldolase B deficiency ------> buildup of Fructose-1-Phosphate in tissues ------> inhibit glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. Severe hypoglycemia. Treatment: Remove fructose from diet.
Galactosemia Carbohydrate Metabolism Defect Autosomal Recessive. Inability to convert galactose to glucose ------> accumulation of galactose in many tissues.
(1) Classic form: Galactose-1-phosphate Uridyltransferase deficiency.
(2) Rarer form: Galactokinase deficiency.
Failure to thrive, infantile cataracts, mental retardation. Progressive hepatic failure, cirrhosis, death.
Galactokinase-deficiency: infantile cataracts are prominent.
Treatment: in either case, remove galactose from diet.
Angelman Syndrome Chromosomal Deletion of part of short arm of chromosome 15, maternal copy. An example of genomic imprinting. Mental retardation, ataxic gait, seizures. Inappropriate laughter.
Cri du Chat Syndrome Chromosomal 5p-, deletion of the long arm of chromosome 5. "Cry of the cat." Severe mental retardation, microcephaly, cat-like cry. Low birth-weight, round-face, hypertelorism (wide-set eyes), low-set ears, epicanthal folds.
Down Syndrome
(Trisomy 21)
Chromosomal Trisomy 21, with risk increasing with maternal age. Familial form (no age-associated risk) is translocation t(21,x) in a minority of cases. Most common cause of mental retardation. Will see epicanthal folds, simian crease, brushfield spots in eyes. Associated syndromes: congenital heart disease, leukemia, premature Alzheimer's disease (same morphological changes).
Edward's Syndrome
(Trisomy 18)
Chromosomal Trisomy 18 Mental retardation, micrognathia, rocker-bottom feet, congenital heart disease, flexion deformities of fingers. Death by 1 year old.
Patau's Syndrome
(Trisomy 13)
Chromosomal Trisomy 13 Mental retardation, microphthalmia, cleft lip and palate, polydactyly, rocker-bottom feet, congenital heart disease. Similar to and more severe than Edward's Syndrome. Death by 1 year old.
Prader-Willi Syndrome Chromosomal Deletion of part of short arm of chromosome 15, paternal copy. An example of genomic imprinting. Mental retardation, short stature, hypotonia, obesity and huge appetite after infancy. Small hands and feet, hypogonadism.
Fragile-X Syndrome Chromosomal
Sex chromosome
Progressively longer tandem repeats on the long arm of the X-chromosome. The longer the number of repeats, the worse the syndrome. Tandem repeats tend to accumulate through generations. Second most common cause of mental retardation next to Down Syndrome. Macro-orchidism (enlarged testes) in males.
Klinefelter's Syndrome (XXY) Chromosomal
Sex chromosome
Non-disjunction of the sex chromosome during Anaphase I of meiosis ------> Trisomy (47,XXY) Hypogonadism, tall stature, gynecomastia. Mild mental retardation. Usually not diagnosed until after puberty. One Barr body seen on buccal smear.
Turner's Syndrome (XO) Chromosomal
Sex chromosome
Non-disjunction of the sex chromosome during Anaphase I of meiosis ------> Monosomy (45,X) Streak gonads, primary amenorrhea, webbed neck, short stature, coarctation of Aorta, infantile genitalia. No mental retardation. No Barr bodies visible on buccal smear.
XXX Syndrome Chromosomal
Sex chromosome
Trisomy (47,XXX) and other multiple X-chromosome abnormalities. Usually phenotypically normal. May see menstrual abnormalities or mild mental retardation in some cases.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Connective Tissue disease Various defects in collagen synthesis.
* Type-I: Autosomal dominant, mildest form.
* Type-IV: autosomal dominant. Defect in reticular collagen (type-III)
* Type-VI: autosomal-recessive.
* Type-VII: Defect in collagen type I
* Type-IX: X-linked recessive
Laxity of joints, hyperextensibility of skin, poor wound healing, aneurysms.
* Type-I: Diaphragmatic hernia. Common, normal life-expectancy.
* Type-IV: Ecchymoses, arterial rupture. Dangerous due to rupture aneurysms.
* Type-VI: Retinal detachment, corneal rupture
Osteogenesis Imperfecta
Connective tissue disease Defects in Collagen Type I formation. Multiple fractures after birth, blue sclerae, thin skin, progressive deafness in some types (due to abnormal middle ear ossicles).
Type-I is most common; Type-II is most severe; Type-IV is mildest form.
Cori's Disease
(Glycogen Storage Disease Type III)
Glycogen Storage Disease Autosomal Recessive. Debranching enzyme deficiency (can only break down linear chains of glycogen, not at branch points) ------> accumulate glycogen in liver, heart, skeletal muscle. Stunted growth, hepatomegaly, hypoglycemia.
McArdle's Disease
(Glycogen Storage Disease Type V)
Glycogen Storage Disease Autosomal Recessive. muscle phosphorylase deficiency (cannot utilize glycogen in skeletal muscle) ------> accumulation of glycogen in skeletal muscle. Muscle cramps, muscle weakness, easy fatigability. Myoglobinuria with strenuous exercise.
Pompe's Disease
(Glycogen Storage Disease Type II)
Glycogen Storage Disease Autosomal Recessive. alpha-1,4-Glucosidase deficiency (cannot break down glycogen) ------> accumulate glycogen in liver, heart, skeletal muscle. Cardiomegaly, hepatomegaly, and systemic findings, leading to early death.
Von Gierke's Disease
(Glycogen Storage Disease Type I)
Glycogen Storage Disease Autosomal Recessive. Glucose-6-Phosphatase deficiency (cannot break down glycogen) ------> accumulate glycogen in liver and kidney. Severe fasting hypoglycemia, hepatomegaly from lots of glycogen in liver.
Hemophilia A (Factor VIII Deficiency) Hemophilia X-Linked Recessive. Factor VIII deficiency Hemorrhage, hematuria, hemarthroses. Prolonged PTT.
Hemophilia B (Factor IX Deficiency) Hemophilia X-Linked Recessive. Factor IX deficiency. Milder than Hemophilia A. Hemorrhage, hematuria, hemarthroses. Prolonged PTT.
Von Willebrand Disease Hemophilia Autosomal dominant and recessive varieties. Von Willebrand Factor deficiency ------> defect in initial formation of platelet plugs, and shorter half-life of Factor VIII in blood. Hemorrhage, similar to hemophilia.
Type-I: Most mild. Type-II: Intermediate. Type-III: most severe, with recessive inheritance (complete absence).
Ataxia-Telangiectasia Immune deficiency
Combined Deficiency
Autosomal Recessive. Unknown. Numerous chromosomal breaks and elevated AFP is found. Symptomatic by age 2 years. Cerebellar ataxia, telangiectasia (enlarged capillaries of face and skin), B and T-Cell deficiencies, IgA deficiency.
Ch�diak-Higashi Syndrome Immune deficiency
Phagocyte Deficiency
Defect in polymerization of microtubules in neutrophils ------> failure in neutrophil migration and phagocytosis. Also results in failure in lysosomal function in neutrophils. Recurrent pyogenic infections, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus.
Chronic Granulomatous Disease Immune deficiency
Phagocyte Deficiency
X-Linked (usually) NADPH Oxidase deficiency ------> no formation of peroxides and superoxides ------> no oxidative burst in phagocytes. Failure of phagocytes leads to susceptibility to infections, especially Staph Aureus and Aspergillus spp. B and T cells usually remain normal.
Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis Immune deficiency
T-Cell Deficiency
T-Cell deficiency specific to Candida. Selective recurrent Candida infections. Treat with anti-fungal drugs.
Job's Syndrome Immune deficiency
Phagocyte Deficiency
A failure to produce gamma-Interferon by T-Helper cells, leading to an increase in TH2 cells (no negative feedback) ------> excessively high levels of IgE. High histamine levels, eosinophilia. Recurrent cold (non-inflammatory) Staphylococcal abscesses (resulting from high histamine), eczema.
Selective IgA Deficiency Immune deficiency
B-Cell Deficiency
IgA deficiency may be due to a failure of heavy-chain gene switching. The most common congenital immune deficiency. There also exists selective IgM and IgG deficiencies, but they are less common.
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) Immune deficiency
Combined Deficiency
Autosomal Recessive. Adenosine Deaminase deficiency ------> accumulation of dATP ------> inhibit ribonucleotide reductase ------> decrease in DNA precursors Severe deficiency in both humoral and cellular immunity, due to impaired DNA synthesis. Bone marrow transplant may be helpful in treatment.
Thymic Aplasia (DiGeorge Syndrome) Immune deficiency
T-Cell Deficiency
Failure of development of the 3rd and 4th Pharyngeal Pouches ------> agenesis of the thymus and parathyroid glands. T-Cell deficiency from no thymus. Hypocalcemic tetany from primary parathyroid deficiency.
Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Immune deficiency
Combined Deficiency
Inability to mount initial IgM response to the capsular polysaccharides of pyogenic bacteria. In infancy, recurrent pyogenic infections, eczema, thrombocytopenia, excessive bleeding. IgG levels remain normal.
X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia (Bruton's Disease) Immune deficiency
B-Cell Deficiency
X-Linked. Mutation in gene coding for tyrosine kinase causes failure of Pre-B cells to differentiate into B-Cells. Recurrent pyogenic infections after 6 months (when maternal antibodies wear off). Can treat with polyspecific gamma globulin preparations.
Fabry's Disease Lysosomal Storage Disease X-Linked Recessive. alpha-Galactosidase A deficiency ------> buildup of ceramide trihexoside in body tissues. Angiokeratomas (skin lesions) over lower trunk, fever, severe burning pain in extremities, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular involvement.
Gaucher's Disease Lysosomal Storage Disease Autosomal Recessive. Glucocerebrosidase deficiency ------> accumulation of glucocerebrosides (gangliosides, sphingolipids) in lysosomes throughout the body.
* Type-I: Adult form. 80% of cases, retain partial activity. Hepatosplenomegaly, erosion of femoral head, mild anemia. Normal lifespan with treatment.
* Type-II: Infantile form. Severe CNS involvement. Death before age 1.
* Type-III: Juvenile form. Onset in early childhood, involving both CNS and viscera, but less severe than Type II.
Niemann-Pick Lipidosis
Lysosomal Storage Disease Autosomal Recessive. Sphingomyelinase deficiency ------> accumulation of sphingomyelin in phagocytes. Sphingomyelin-containing foamy histiocytes in reticuloendo-thelial system and spleen. Hepatosplenomegaly, anemia, fever, sometimes CNS deterioration. Death by age 3.
Hunter's Syndrome Lysosomal Storage Disease X-Linked Recessive. L-iduronosulfate sulfatase deficiency ------> buildup of mucopolysaccharides (heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate) Similar to but less severe than Hurler Syndrome. Hepatosplenomegaly, micrognathia, retinal degeneration, joint stiffness, mild retardation, cardiac lesions.
Hurler's Syndrome Lysosomal Storage Disease Autosomal Recessive. alpha-L-iduronidase deficiency ------> accumulation of mucopolysaccharides (heparan sulfate, dermatan sulfate) in heart, brain, liver, other organs. Gargoyle-like facies, progressive mental deterioration, stubby fingers, death by age 10. Similar to Hunter's Syndrome.
Tay-Sachs Disease Lysosomal Storage Disease Autosomal Recessive. Hexosaminidase A deficiency ------> accumulation of GM2 ganglioside in neurons. CNS degeneration, retardation, cherry red-spot of macula, blindness (amaurosis). Death before age 4.
Albinism Nitrogen Metabolism Defect Autosomal Recessive. Tyrosinase deficiency ------> inability to synthesize melanin from tyrosine. Can result from a lack of migration of neural crest cells. Depigmentation, pink eyes, increased risk of skin cancer.
Alkaptonuria Nitrogen Metabolism Defect Autosomal Recessive. Homogentisic Oxidase deficiency (inability to metabolize Phe and Tyr) ------> buildup and urinary excretion of homogentisic acid. Urine turns dark and black on standing, ochronosis (dark pigmentation of fibrous and cartilage tissues), ochronotic arthritis, cardiac valve involvement. Disease is generally benign.
Homocystinuria Nitrogen Metabolism Defect Autosomal Recessive. Cystathionine synthase defect (either deficiency, or lost affinity for pyridoxine, Vit. B6) ------> buildup of homocystine and deficiency of cysteine. Mental retardation, ectopia lentis, sparse blond hair, genu valgum, failure to thrive, thromboembolic episodes, fatty changes of liver.
Treatment: Cysteine supplementation, give excess pyridoxine to compensate for lost pyridoxine affinity.
Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome Nitrogen Metabolism Defect X-Linked Recessive. Hypoxanthine-Guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) deficiency ------> no salvage pathway for purine re-synthesis ------> buildup of purine metabolites Hyperuricemia (gout), mental retardation, self-mutilation (autistic behavior), choreoathetosis, spasticity.
Maple Syrup Urine Disease Nitrogen Metabolism Defect Autosomal Recessive. Deficiency of branched chain keto-acid decarboxylase ------> no degradation of branched-chain amino acids ------> buildup of isoleucine, valine, leucine. Severe CNS defects, mental retardation, death. Person smells like maple syrup or burnt sugar. Treatment: remove the amino acids from diet.
Phenylketonuria (PKU) Nitrogen Metabolism Defect Autosomal Recessive. Phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency (cannot break down Phe nor make Tyr) ------> buildup of phenylalanine, phenyl ketones (phenylacetate, phenyl lactate, phenylpyruvate) in body tissues and CNS. Symptoms result from accumulation of phenylalanine itself. Mental deterioration, hypopigmentation (blond hair and blue eyes), mousy body odor (from phenylacetic acid in urine and sweat).
Treatment: remove phenylalanine from diet.
Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Deficiency RBC Disease X-Linked Recessive. Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency ------> no hexose monophosphate shunt ------> deficiency in NADPH ------> inability to maintain glutathione in reduced form, in RBC's Susceptibility to oxidative damage to RBC's, leading to hemolytic anemia. Can be elicited by drugs (primaquine, sulfonamides, aspirin), fava beans (favism). More prevalent in blacks.
Glycolytic enzyme deficiencies RBC Disease Autosomal Recessive. Defect in hexokinase, glucose-phosphate isomerase, aldolase, triose-phosphate isomerase, phosphate-glycerate kinase, or enolase. Any enzyme in glycolysis pathway. Hemolytic anemia results from any defect in the glycolysis pathway, as RBC's depend on glycolysis for energy.
Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD) Renal Autosomal Recessive. Numerous, diffuse bilateral cysts formed in the collecting ducts. Associated with hepatic fibrosis.
Bartter's Syndrome Renal Juxtaglomerular Cell Hyperplasia, leading to primary hyper-reninemia. Elevated renin and aldosterone, hypokalemic alkalosis. No hypertension.
Fanconi's Syndrome Type I
(Child-onset cystinosis)
Renal Autosomal Recessive. Deficient resorption in proximal tubules. (1) Cystine deposition throughout body, cystinuria. (2) Defective tubular resorption leads to amino-aciduria, polyuria, glycosuria, chronic acidosis; Hypophosphatemia and Vitamin-D-resistant Rickets.
Fanconi's Syndrome II
(Adult-onset)
Renal Autosomal Recessive. Defective resorption in proximal tubules. Similar to Fanconi Syndrome Type I, but without the cystinosis. Adult onset osteomalacia, amino-aciduria, polyuria, glycosuria.
Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) Renal
Autosomal Dominant Disorders
Autosomal Dominant. Numerous, disparate, heterogenous renal cysts occurring bilaterally. Onset in adult life. Associated with liver cysts.
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Classic Radiology Signs-----------
These classic signs are listed in alphabetical order and can be found listed in various texts. The list here is a compilation from Dr. Smoger, S. Quazi, and from Michael E. Mulligan's Classic Radiologic Signs: An Atlas and History, available through the Department. Images of the listed signs can be found in the text.
Apple Core lesion —signifies annular carcinomas of the colon—looks like an apple core or napkin ring(see below) due to circumferential narrowing of the lumen, noted on contrast studies.
Bamboo Spine —fused spinal segments with their syndesmophytes look, on radiographs, similar to bamboo stalks—classically associated with ankylosing spondylitis.
Bird's Beak— noted on Upper GI with contrast, a dilated upper/middle esophagus with an abrupt taper to exceptionally narrowed lumen, typical of achalasia.
Boot-shaped Heart —due to RVH, the LV is lifted above the edge of the diaphragm, forming the “toe” of the boot. Classic for Tetralogy of Fallot.
Bat's Wing/Butterfly —this appearance on CXR is classically associated with CHF and resultant pulmonary edema.
Cobblestone appearance— this sign is produced on barium studies due to ulcerative pockets, usually in the terminal ileum, indicative of Crohn's.
Codman's Triangle —a triangle on plain film of extremities that signifies reactive bone, classically associated with osteosarcoma, or other infectious/hemorrhagic process that causes periosteal elevation.
Coin lesion— solitary pulmonary nodule; may be cancer or granuloma.
Cookie Cutter lesions— metastatic lesions to bone cortex, or Paget's.
Crescent sign— classic sign of avascular necrosis, femoral head.
Egg-on-a-string— a large, ovoid-shaped heart on newborn CXR, classically signifying complete transposition of the great vessels with intact ventricular septum.
Ground glass— a “white-out” on CXR, usually PCP pneumonia or ARDS.
Hampton's Hump— a peripheral triangle, usually near pleural edges, classically PE.
Honeycomb lung— used to describe any pathologic process that causes radiographic appearance of multiple small, thick-walled cystic spaces; e.g. pulmonary fibrosis.
Lead pipe sign— classic narrowing of bowel lumen, with loss of haustra—UC.
Napkin Ring sign— see Apple core lesion above; pathology identical, but lumen more narrowed.
Onion-skinning —layered look of periosteum in Ewing's Sarcoma.
Rachitic Rosary —this is a “string of beads” appearance on x-ray, a thickening of costochondral margins that is noted in Ricketts(Vit. D Deficiency).
Sail sign —fat pad noted on plain film, indicative of shoulder disclocation.
Scotty dog(collar) —on posterior oblique, the lumbar vertebrae look like a Scottish terrier. The neck is the pars interarticularis, and a break(a collar) noted there indicates spondylolysis.
String sign —thin, slightly irregular shadow in narrowed lumen of ileum, suggestive of Crohn's.
Silhouette sign —obliteration of cardiovascular silhouette due to adjacent disease, ie pneumonia, TB, etc.
Stepladder appearance —distended bowel loops, often indicative of obstruction, usually SBO.
Sunburst appearance—“clouds, clumps, and consolidated rays” of tissue emanating from bone cortex, or within bony structures, indicative of osteosarcoma.
Thumb(print) sign —on lateral c-spine, an enlarged epiglottis appears as a “thumb”—epiglottitis.
Westermark's sign —abrupt end to a pulmonary vessel, signifying oligemia or PE.
Cortical Ring Sign (Rotary subluxation)
Cotton Wool Sign (Paget's Disease)
Crescent Sign (Avascular Necrosis)
Crowded Carpal Sign (Volar perilunar dislocation)
Cupids Bow Contour (Normal spine)
Dagger Sign (Ankylosing Spondylitis)
Deep lateral femoral notch sign (ACL tear)
Double PCL Sign (Bucket-handle tear of the menisci)
Drooping Shoulder Sign (Inferior subluxation of the shoulder)
Elbow Fat Pad Sign (Elbow effusion)
Fallen Fragment Sign (Unicameral bone cyst)
FBI Sign (Lipohemarthrosis)
Fluid Fluid Level (Aneurysmal bone cyst)
Fragment-in-Notch Sign (Bucket-handle tear of the menisci)
H Vertebra (Sickle cell anemia)
Hair on End (Hemolytic anemia)
Half Moon Sign (Absent in posterior dislocation of the shoulder)
Heel Pad Sign (Acromegaly)
Hill-Sachs Sign (Anterior shoulder dislocation)
Incomplete ring sign (Spondylolysis)
Intravertebral Vacuum Cleft (Avascular Necrosis)
Inverted Napoleon Hat Sign (Spondylolisthesis)
Ivory Phalanx Sign (Psoriasis)
Ivory Vertebra Sign (Metastases, Paget's , Lymphoma)
Lateral Capsular Sign (ACL tear - Segond fracture)
Medial capsular sign (Reverse Segond Injury) (Reverse segond injury)
Metacarpal Sign (Short 4th Metacarpal)
Pedestal Sign (Loosening prosthesis)
Pneumoarthrogram Sign (Normal - No joint effusion)
Pronator Sign (Wrist Fracture)
Reverse Hill Sachs (Posterior shoulder dislocation)
Rim Sign (Posterior shoulder dislocation)
Rugger Jersey Sign (Chronic renal failure)
Sail Sign (Elbow effusion)
Step-Off Vertebral Body Sign (Sickle cell, Gaucher's Disease)
Swan Neck Deformity Sign (Rheumatoid arthritis)
Tear Drop Sign (Ankle effusion)
Terry Thomas Sign (Scapholunate dissociation)
Tooth Sign (Enthesopathy)
Trough Line (Posterior shoulder dislocation)
Tumbling Bullet Sign (Post traumatic bone cyst)
Vacuum Phenomenon (Degenerative disk disease)
Search Signs in Musculoskeletal Radiology
Recent Changes
Terry Thomas Sign (Scapholunate dissociation)
Medial capsular sign (Reverse Segond Injury) (Reverse segond injury)
Lateral Capsular Sign (ACL tear - Segond fracture)
Segond Fracture (ACL rupture)
SCALY SIGNS IN dermatology -------------------
Auspitz sign
Heinrich Auspitz (1835-1886) was the early star among Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra's pupils. But this sign was already described by number of authors including Hebra, Robert Willan and Daniel Turner. However, the Auspitz phenomenon is eponymously linked to him because his extraordinary treatise on general pathology and therapeutics of the skin was translated into English in 1885 and thereby constituted an early harbinger of central European dermatopathology.[3]
When the scales are completely scraped off, the stratum mucosum (basement membrane) is exposed and is seen as a moist red surface (membrane of Bulkeley) through which dilated capillaries at the tip of elongated dermal papillae are torn, leading to multiple bleeding points [Figure - 1]. This is a characteristic feature of psoriasis and is known as Auspitz sign. It is attributed to parakeratosis, suprapapillary thinning of the stratum malphighii, elongation of dermal papillae and dilatation and tortuosity of the papillary capillaries.
However, Auspitz sign is not sensitive or specific for psoriasis.[4] Not sensitive, because in one study, out of 234 patients it was seen in 41 patients of psoriasis. Also it is not seen in inverse psoriasis; pustular, erythrodermic psoriasis; guttate psoriasis. Not specific because it is also seen in nonpsoriatic scaling disorders, including Darier's disease and actinic keratosis.
Carpet tack sign (cat's tongue sign, tin tack sign)[5]
In DLE, characteristic lesions are well-defined erythematous plaques with partially adherent scales entering a patulous follicle. When the scale is removed, its undersurface shows horny plugs that had occupied follicles. This is called the carpet tack or tintack sign.
However, carpet tack sign is not diagnostic of DLE. It is also seen in seborrheic dermatitis and pemphigus foliaceous. But in DLE, on removal of scale, bleeding may be seen due to adherent scales unlike in pemphigus foliaceous/seborrheic dermatitis, where the scales are loose.
Scratch sign (coup d'ongle sign, besnier's sign, stroke of the nail)
Pityriasis versicolor is characterized by asymptomatic hypopigmented or hyperpigmented macules and patches and produces fine scales (branny/furfuraceous). Often the scale is not visible. An important diagnostic clue may be the loosing of barely perceptible scale with a fingernail, which is called as the scratch sign [Figure - 2]. This sign may be negative if patient has taken recent bath or in case of treated lesion, in which case, only hypopigmentation persists.
Scaling is the common finding in disorders characterized by scaling (squamous) papules, plaques and patches, which are often termed papulosquamous. Scale is usually white or light tan and flakes off rather easily. This should be distinguished from crust, which is dried serum and debris on the skin surface. The distinction between a scale and a crust is important because the differential diagnosis is entirely different for the two.[6]
Types of scale Top
Collarette scale
Describes the fine, peripherally attached and centrally detached scale at the edge of salmon-colored patch/plaque. Examples: Pityriasis rosea, subsiding lesions of furuncle, miliaria, erythema nodosum, etc.
Furfuraceous scale (Latin furfur - bran)
Describes fine and loose scales that are not conspicuous and made visible by scratching (scratch sign). Example: Pityriasis versicolor.
Ichthyosiform scale
Describes large, polygonal scales - as in fish scales. Example: Ichthyosis vulgaris.
Micaceous scale (Silvery)
Describes a silvery, white, parakeratotic, lamellated scale. Silvery white appearance is due to reflection of light at the air-keratin interface between the layers of scale. Example: Psoriasis vulgaris.
Greasy scale
Describes loose, moist, yellow-brown oily scaling, especially perifollicular, on seborrheic areas. Example: Seborrheic dermatitis. N.B.: In Darier's disease greasy, dirty, warty excrescences are distinctly papular with crusts; besides, associated nail changes, palmar pits and cobble stoning can be seen.
Trailing scale
Describes annular erythema with advancing flat or elevated border and trailing scale at the inner border with central area flattening and fading. Lesions occur on trunk and especially, buttocks, inner pages . Example: Erythema annularis centrifugum.
Wafer like scale
Thin adherent mica-like scale attached at the center of a lichenoid firm reddish brown papule and free at the periphery. Example: Pityriasis lichenoides chronica. In clear cell acanthoma, wafer-like scale is seen adherent at the periphery, which leaves a moist or bleeding surface when removed.
Double-edged scale
Describes erythematous, exfoliating or scaly, annular or polycyclic, flat patch with an incomplete advancing double edge of peeling scale. Example: Ichthyosis linearis circumflexa (ILC). [Netherton syndrome=ILC + hair abnormality + atopic diathesis]
Cornflake sign/scale
Sometimes used for scale crust of pemphigus foliaceous. Cornflake sign seen in Flegel's disease is characterized by 2-3 mm keratotic scaly papules with discrete irregular margins. The scale separates from many lesions, leaving a non-exudative red base.
Scales in erythoderma
Depending on the stage of erythroderma - acute or chronic - scales can be large plate-like sheets in acute stage or fine and bran-like in chronic stage.
Hystrix-like scale
Porcupine spine describes muddy brown or gray color scaling over verrucous lesion, either generalized or nevoid, commonly affecting extensor aspects of the limbs, truncal areas to variable degrees. Example: Ichthyosis hystrix.
Mauserung desquamation
Describes circumscribed patchy scaling with focal desquamation or moulting of scale that Siemens called mauserung, seen at the flexures and acral sites, especially the dorsal hands and feet. Example: Ichthyosis bullosa of Siemens (mild variant of BIE).
Carapace-like scale
Described as white or gray, small, flaky or branny and semi-adherent scale with turned-up edges, seen on extensor surfaces of the arms and lower legs and characteristically spares the flexural creases. Sometimes fine scales have 'pasted-on appearance.' Example: Ichthyosis vulgaris.
Coat of armor
The affected infant is encased in a rigid, taut, yellow-brown adherent skin, a hyperkeratotic coat of armor covering the whole body. Example: Harlequin ichthyosis.
Plate-like scale (Armor plate)
Described as large, polygonal, thick, rigid, dark brown or gray firmly adherent scales, which appear to be arranged in a mosaic pattern but tend to be largest over the lower extremities, where it may give an appearance of dry riverbed. Example: Lamellar ichthyosis.
Corrugated/Ridged scale
In bullous ichthyosiform erythroderma, as erythroderma and blistering tendencies diminish, the characteristic gray waxy scale progresses. Yellow-brown, waxy, ridged or corrugated scale builds up in skin creases, namely, anterior neck, flexures, abdominal wall, infra-gluteal folds and scalp.
Latent desquamation
Scale formation can sometimes be observed only after scratching the lesion - may be found in the early stages of pityriasis rosea as well as in pityriasis versicolor, parapsoriasis and psoriasis.
Oyster-like scale
Large heaped-up scale accumulation in psoriasis is described as ostraceous or oyster-like scale.
Sandpaper-like
In actinic keratosis, the firmly adherent, dry, rough and often yellow or brown colored scales have a gritty feel like sandpaper and the scales are better appreciated by skin palpation.
Accurate clinical diagnosis is based on vigilant observation for morphology and pattern of lesions and elicitation of clinical signs. In the coming years, more and more such clinical signs are likely to improve diagnostic acumen of dermatologists.
Eponymous Surgical signs, tests and syndromes
Afferent loop syndrome Occurs after Billroth II procedure. The duodenum and jejunum proximal to the gastrojejunostomy become chronically obstructed. The symptoms are usaually very vague. CT is probably the most sensitive form of imaging.
Allen's test The is a test of the colaterral circulation in the hand. The patient is asked to squeeze the hand into a fist, thereby draining the hand of blood. The radial and ulnar arteries are both compressed in the wrist and one released. The palm flushes pink confirming arterial flow in the released artery. This is then repeated on the other side. The main use is pre-CABG where a radial artery harvest is anticipated.
Battle's sign Ecchymosses behind the ear over the mastiod (thanks to Rajat Thakur for the correction) cf Panda eyes Periorbital ecchymoses, occuring in base of skull fractures.
Beck's triad The triad of cardiac tamponade. Hypotension, juggluar venous distension , muffled heart sounds.
Boerhaave's syndrome Spontaneous oesophageal rupture, often wrongly described as traumatic rupture.
Charcot's triad The classic three signs seen in ascending cholangitis. Right upper quadrant pain, fever with rigors in the presence of jaundice. Actually only seen in about a quarter of patients. See also Reynolds' pentad
Chvostek's sign Elicited in hypocalcaemia. The facial muscles twitch when the examiner taps on the facial nerve. Look particularly at the corner of the mouth. See also Trousseau's sign
Courvoisier's law "If, in the presence of jaundice, a mass is present in the right upper quadrant, the jaundice is unlikely to be due to stones." So the alternative causes of head of pancreas carcinoma is more likely.
Cullen's sign Bruising around the umbilicus secondary to retroperitoneal bleeding. E.g. ruptured AAA or haemorrhagic pancreatitis. See also Grey Turners Sign
Cushing's triad A sign of increased intra-cranialpressure. *** CHECK Hypertension*** with bradycardia and irregular respiration
Dumping syndrome
This is really "Gastric Dumping Syndrome" and refers to the rapid emptying of the stomach into the jejunum. It is split into early and late. Early dumping occurs whilst a patient is eating or just after, whereas late dumping occurs a few hours afterwards. The rapid dumping of undigested food causes excessive stimulation of the pancreas and insulin production often resulting in hypoglycaemic episodes.
Common causes are post gastric surgery such as gastrectomy, but it occasionally occurs after cholecystectomy.
Fox's sign Just like Cullen's and Grey Turner's this is a sign of retroperitoneal bleeding. It was George Fox that described the infra-inguinal brusing.
Grey Turner's sign Brusing in the flanks is seen from bleeding in the retro-peritoneum. Usually associated with acute pancreatitis. Grey Turner himself was an English surgeon born in 1877, gaining his fellowship to the RCSEng in 1903.
Hamman's sign A rarely found sign of oesophageal perforation (see also Boerhaave's). A crunching heart sound on auscultation of the chest. It is heard in synchrony with heart sounds as opposed to respiration. Actually, represents mediastinal air.
Homan's sign This is an indicator of deep vein thrombosis. It is named after an American physician called Thomas Homan. He described passive dorsiflexion of the foot causing pain in the calf in patient that had DVTs. The test has fallen out of favour however, due to the small risk of dis-lodging the thombosis!
Kehr's sign Kehr's sign is an example of refered pain. Irritation of the diaphragm by intra-peritoneal pathology (e.g. blood) causes acute pain in the shoulder tip. Classically, a positive left Kehr's sign is caused by a ruptured spleen.
Leriche's syndrome Seen in iliac occlusive disease. - Buttock claudication - Buttock atrophy - Impotence
May-Thurner syndrome A DVT of the left ilio-femoral vein caused by compression of the overlying RIGHT iliac artery or aortic bification. Doesn't happen on the right as the vein takes a more direct course back to the IVC.
McBurney's point McBurney's point refers to the location of the base of the appendix. It lies one third of the way along an imaginary line drawn from the anterior superior iliac spine to the umbilicus. An important landmark when performing an open appendicectomy.
McBurney's sign The sign refers to tenderness at McBurney's point being an indicator of appendicitis.
Milroy's disease Primary familial lymphoedema. Autosomally inherited.
Mirizzi's syndrome
Refers to obstructive jaundice caused by a stone impacting on Hartman's Pouch. It is graded I - IV. One being no fistula and then increasing degrees of fistula formation graded by comparison to CBD size.
Murphy's sign A positive finding in acute cholecystitis. Palpation under the right costal margin whilst asking the patient to breathe in causes pain as the inflammed gallbaldder connects with the palpating hand.
Ogilvie's syndrome Colonic pseudo-obstruction.
Peutz-Jegher's syndrome This is characterised by multiple hamartogenous polyps of the gastrointestinal tract and muco-cutaneous pigmentation primarilty of the lips, genitals, feet and hands. It is an autosomal dominant condition and these patients have a increased risk of developing cancer of the lung, ovary, pancreas and breast.
Plummer-Vinson syndrome Also known as Paterson-Brown-Kelly syndrome. It is associated with long term iron deficiency anaemia. Oesophageal webs form causing dysphagia.
Reynolds' Pentad The three findings of Charcot's triad for ascending cholangitis plus septic shock and confusion. Indicative of very serious cholangitis.
Rovsing's sign This is a sign of appendicitis. Palpation in the left lower quadrant results in pain in the right lower quadrant.
Scarpa's fascia This is the deep layer of superficial membranous or lamellar abdominal fascia around edge of the superficial inguinal ring.
Sister Mary Joseph's nodule This is a metastatic lesion in the umbilicus from an intra-peritoneal malignancy. Sometimes mis-quoted as a lymph node. Classically described as being from a gastric or ovarian malignancy but can also be from colonic or pancreatic cancer
Saint's Triad The triad of diverticular disease, gallstones and hiatus hernia appearing together and is known as Saint's triad. Remembered by the mnemonic DGH as in the common things you will see in a District General Hospital
Stemmer sign A sign found in lymphoedema. The clinician can not pinch a fold of skin on the dorsum of the second toe and is due the skin becoming inelastic.
Tietze's syndrome Tietze's syndrome is the eponym for costochondritis. An inflammation of the cartilage between the ribs and the sternum. It should be considered in the differential diagnosis for chest pain.
Trousseau's sign Carpopedal spasm occurring with blood flow occlusion in hypocalcaemia. See also Chvostek's sign
Virchow's node A left supraclavicular node from metastatic tumour. Usually gastric. Apparently, Virchow found one on himself.
Virchow's triad
Virchow' triad is a tribute to one Rudolf Virchow. He carried out some work that eludued to pulmonary emboli being caused by thrombosis in the veins of extremeties and list a multitude of factors that cause thrombosis but never actually named a triad.
Regardless the triad attributed to him of:
* Changes in the constituents of blood
* Changes in the vessel wall
* Changes in the flow of blood
as contributors to the formation of thrombosis acts as a useful aide memoir.
ent eponyms.................
BOCCA'S SIGN - Absence of post cricoid crackle(Muir's crackle) in Ca post cricoid
BROWN SIGN—blanching of redness on increasing pressure more than systemic pressure see in glomus jugulare
BOYCE SIGN - Laryngocoele-Gurgling sound on compression of external laryngocoele with reduction of swelling
DODD’S SIGN/CRESCENT SIGN - X-ray finding-Crescent of air between the mass and posterior pharyngeal wall. positive in AC ployp Negative in Angiofibroma
FURSTENBERGERS SIGN-This is seen when nasopharyngeal cyst is communicating intracranially,there is enlargement of the cyst on crying and upon compression of jugular vein.
HITSELBERGER'S SIGN - In Acaustic neuroma- loss of sensation in the ear canal suppllied by Arnold's nerve( branch of Vagus nerve to ear )
HOLMAN MILLER SIGN, ANTRAL SIGN-
it is seen in angiofibroma,the tumor pushes forward on the posterior wall of the maxillary sinus..
HONDOUSA SIGN--X-ray finding in Angiofibroma
indicating infratemporal fossa involvement characterised by widening of gap between ramus of mandible and maxillary body.
HENNEBERT SIGN- false fistula sign( cong.syphilis, Meniere's,)
IRWIN MOORE’S SIGN-------- positive sueeze test in chronic tonsillitis
LIGHT HOUSE SIGN--- seeping out of secretions in acute OTITIS media
LYRE'S SIGN - splaying of carotid vessels in carotid body tumor
MILIAN’S EAR SIGN- Erysipelas can spread to pinna(cuticular affection), where as cellulitis cannot.
PHELP'S SIGN - loss of crust of bone between carotid canal and jugular canal in glomus jugulare
RACOON SIGN-Indicate subgaleal hemorrhage,and not necessarly base of skull #
STEEPLE SIGN- X-ray finding in Acute Laryngo tracheo bronchitis
STANKIEWICK'S SIGN - indicate orbital injury during FESS. fat protrude in to nasl cavity on compression of eye ball from ouside
THUMB SIGN --X-ray finding A/c epiglottitis
TRAGUS SIGN- EXTERNAL OTITIS , Pain on pressing Tragus
TEA POT SIGN is seen in CSF rhinorrhoea..
WOODS SIGN----- palpable jugulodigastric lymphnodes
optha eponyms.....................
3 C's of congenital toxoplasmosis: convulsions, chrioretinitis & intracranial calcification...
Amaurotic cat's eye reflex: yellowish white mass seen through fixed dilated pupil in metastatic forms & those cases of endophthalmitis with deep infections where posterior segment is first involved...
Amsler's sign: filiform haemorrhage which develop with anterior chamber paracentasis 180 degree awa from the puncture site.. mostly d/t presence of fine radial twig-like vessels in the chamber angle in Fuch's heterochronic cyclitis...
APMPPE: Acute Posterior Multifocal Placoid Pigment Epitheliopathy: a rare idiopathic disease typically affecting both eyes of a young-adult... 50% have a prodromal influenza-like illness a/w erythema nodosum... initial symptom being subacute u/l impairment of central vision f/b involvement of the fellow eye a few days later... typical lesion being deep placoid cream coloured or grey-white areas involving the postequatorial retina & posterior pole... no effective treatment...
Behcet's disease: an idiopathic multisystem disease typically affecting young men from the eastern Mediterranian region & Japan, HLA-B51 positive... The basic lesion being obliterative vasculitis c/b abnormal circulating immune comlexes... The 4 major features being- a. recurrent oral ulceration(almost all) b. genital ulceration(90%) c. uveitis(70%)(recurrent, b/l nongranulomatous) d. skin lesions(erythema multiforme)... no satisfactory treatment, corticosteroids & chlorambucil...
Birdshot retinochoroidopathy (vitiligenous retinochoroiditis): a rare idiopathic bilateral chronic multifocal choroidopathy & vasculopathy typically affecting healthy middle-aged individuals positive for HLA-A29, more in women... c/b numerous flat creamy-yellow spots d/t focal chorioretinal hypopigmentation resembling the pattern of 'bird-shot scatter from a shotgun'... vitreous floaters or blurring of central cision d/t macular oedema are the initial symptoms... Steroids tried unsatisfactorily...
Bruch's membrane: basal lamina of choroid...
Busacca's nodules: iris nodules on peripheral part of anterior surface of iris near collarette in granulomatous uveitis, larger but less common then Koeppe's nodules...
Callender's microscopic classification of uveal melanomas: i) Spindle A melanoma ii) Spindle B melanoma iii) Fascicular melanoma iv) Epithelioid cell melanoma v) Mixed call melanoma vi) Necrotic melanoma
Candle wax exudates or candle wax drippings: periphlebitic nodules d/t perivascular accumulation of granulomatous tissue in severe periphlebitis(vasculitis)... seen in sarcoidosis...
Choroideremia: X-linked recessive choroidal dystrophy affecting only males... presents within 1st 5-10 years of life with defective night vision...
Collar-stud tumour: circumscribed malignant melanoma of choroid which ruptures through the Bruch's membrane...
Cotton-balls or snow-balls: vitreous opacities d/t small gelatinous exudates...characterisitically in pars planitis...also seen in sarcoidosis & candidiasis...
Cotton-ball or puff-ball colonies: in case of ocular candiidiasis, small retinal lesions enlarge & extend into the vitreous gel giving rise to floating white colonies...
Dalen-Fuch's nodules: small deep yellow-white spots scattered through out both fundi in sympathetic uveitis...formed d/t proliferation of the pigment epithelium of the iris, ciliary body & choroid asociated with invasion by the lymphocytes & epithelioid cells...
Diktyoma: medulloepithelioma, a rare congenital tumour arising from the non-pigmented epithelium of the ciliary body...
Double circulation: demonstration of large blood vessels within a small tumour (eg, choroidal melanoma) on fluorescein angiography indicating that it is probably malignant...
Duke Elder's aetiological classification og uveitis: i) infective uveitis ii) allergic uveitis iii) toxic uveitis iv) traumatic uveitis v) uveitis associated with non-infective systemic diseases vi) idiopathic uveitis
Eale's disease: an idiopathic peripheral periphlebitis typically affecting both eyes of a young male... presenting feature being sudden blurring of vision d/t vitreous haemorrhage... unsatisfactory treatment, laser panretinal photocoagulation & pars plana vitrectomy...
Fuch's uveitis syndrome(Fuch's heterochromic cyclitis): a chronic non-granulomatous anterior uveitis typically affecting one eye of a middle-aged adult...
Gyrate atrophy of choroid: autosomal recessive disease d/t in \born error of ornithine ketoacid aminotransferase activity... a/w increased levels of ornithine in plasma, urine, CSF & aqueous humour...begins in 1st decade with symptoms of night blindness... Treatment is massive supplemental doses of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) & diet low in proteins & arginine...
Heerfordt's syndrome (uveoparotid fever): in sarcoidosis, c/b b/l granulomatous panuveitis, painful ebnlargement of parotid glands, cranial nerve palsies, skin rashes, fever & malaise...
Histo pots: atrophic spots consisting of roundish, slightly irregular yellowish-white lesions measuring b/w 0.2-0.7 DD seen un presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome...
Haller's layer: layer of large vessels in the stroma of choroid...
Hutchinson's sign: those with a vesicular eruption on the tip of the nose from involvement of external nasal branch of the nasociliary nerve are at particular risk of HZO...
Iridodialysis: detachment of iris from its root at the ciliary body following trauma c/b D-shaped pupil & a black biconvex area seen at periphery...
Iridoschisis: b/l atrophy of iris occurring as a senile degeneration in patients over 65 years of age... also occur following iris trauma... c/b a cleft b/w the anterior & the posterior stroma of the iris...
Iris pearls: small glistening lesions composed of lepra bacilli within histiocytes present at the pupillary margin, pathognomonic of lepromatous leprosy...
Jensen's choroiditis: juxtacaecal or juxtapapillary choroiditis typicallly occurring in young persons... oval in shape as an exudation close to & about the same size as the disc...c/b sector-shaped defect in field of vision...
Kimura, Thygeson & Hogan grading of vitreous activity with D/O:
0 no opacities
+ few scattered fine & corase opacities with a vlear view of the fundus
++ scatterd fine & coarse opacities with fundus details somewhat obscured
+++ many opacities with marked blurring of the fundus
++++ dense opacities with no view of the fundus
Koeppe nodules: iris nodules at pupillary border in granulomatous uveitis, smaller than Busacca nodules..
Kveim-Slitzbach test: saline suspension of sarcoid tissue obtained from spleen of the patient with active sarcoidosis is introduced intradermally, mostly on anterior aspects of legs, which is biopsied 4 weeks later & shows non-caseating granuloma... Positive in 80% of patients with sarcoidosis...
Lander's sign: preretinal nodules in sarcoidosis are typically discrete, grey-white, located inferiorly & anterior to the equator...
Macular histospot: atrophic macular star in presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome...
Masquerade syndrome: Retinoblastoma, iris melanoma, reticulum call sarcoma, leukaemia, lymphoma, histiocytic cell sarcoma etc may present with C/F of uveitis...
Mutton fat' KPs: Large thick fluffy lardaceous KPs with greasy or waxy appearance, composed of clusters of epithelioid cells & mononuclear macrophages, characteristically in granulomatous uveitis...
Nodular lepromata: yellow globular polymorphic single masses in leprosy, less common than iris pearls...
Nussenblatt grading of vitreous activity by I/O:
++++ optic nerve head obscured
+++ optic nerve head visible but borders blurred
++ better visualization of retinal blood vessels
+ better definition of optic nerve head & retinal blood vessels
+- blurring of retinal nerve fibre striations
0 nerve fibre striations well defined
Posner-Schlossman syndrome (glaucomatocyclitic crisis): c/b recurrent attacks, usually unilateral, of secondary open-angle glaucoma with mild anterior uveitis typically affecting young adults, 40% with HLA-Bw54... IOP is elevated severely (40-60 mm Hg) for b/w a few hours to several days..pain is rare... white eye(no congestion)... dilated pupil...
Pseudoretinitis pigmentosa: secondary choroidal degeneration following inflammatory lesions of the fundus... c/b scattered area of chorioretinal atrophy & pigment clumping resembling retinitis pigmentosa ophthalmoscopically...
Reiter's syndrome: A triad of urethritis, conjunctivitis & seroegative arthritis, in 20% of the cases there is acute u/l iridocyclitis...
Rubeosis iridis: Iris neovascularization common in chronic anterior uveitis, Fuch's uveitis syndrome...
Sabin-Feldman dye test: for toxoplasmosis, based on the fact that live organisms exposed to normal serum take up methylene blue, whereas those exposed to serum containing antitoxoplasma antibodies fail to take up the dye...
Sattler's layer: layer of medium vessels in the stroma of the choroid...
Seafan neovascularization: peripheral neovascularization, a complication of periphlebitis, common in sarcoidosis...
Sentinal vessels: dilated episcleral vessels in same quadrant as the ciliary body melanoma...
Serpigenous (geographical) choroidopathy: a rare idiopathic recurrent disease of retinal pigment epithelium & choriocapillaries typically affecting bilaterally in patinets b/w 4th & 6th decades...
Snowbanking: a grey-white plaque involving the inferior pars plana which can be seen only with I/O... The hallmark of pars planitis...
Still's disease: juvenile rheumatoid arthritis with hepatosplenomegaly & other systemic features...
String of pearls: Several cotton-ball colonies in candidiasis join together by opalescent strands...
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome: an idiopathic multisystem disorder typically affecing pigmented individuals, esp. HLA-B22, DR4 & Dw15 in Japanese patients... At least 3 of the 4 must be oresent for diagnosis: a. cutaneous signs (alopecia, poliosis, vitiligo) b. neurological signs (neurological irritation, encephalopathy, auditory symptoms, CSF lymphocytosis) c. anterior uveitis(granulomatous) d. posterior uveitis...treatment is topical, periocular & systemic steroids...
Widow defect: destruction of RPE in choroidal melanoma gives rise to hyperfluorescence from increased background choroidal fluorescence in fluorescein angiography...
Wood's classification of non-suppurative uveitis: i) non-granulomatous uveitis ii) granulomayous uveitis
3-step test: for diagnosis of superior oblique palsy... 1. perform the cover-uncover test in the primary position to identify the side of the hyperdeviation. 2. Observe an increase in hyperdeviation with gaze to the opposite side. 3. Document an increase in the hyperdeviation with the head tilted to the same side by performing the Bleischowsky test...
Argyll-Robertson pupil: light-near dissociation (absent reaction to light, present to near stimulus), small, frequently irregular pupils... dilate poorly with mydriatic... the hallmark of neurosyphilis...
Benedikt's syndrome: c/b ipsilateral 3rd nerve palsy, contralateral ataxia & flapping tremor...
Catford drum: for optokinetic nystagmus in small children...useful for visual acuity in them...
Central scotoma: scotoma involving only fixation... typically in optic neuritis, also ischaemic & compressive optic nerve lesions...
Centrocaecal scotoma: scotoma extending from fixation to the blindspot... typically in toxic optic neuropathies & Leber's optic neuropathy...
Champagne cork appearance: in chronic papilloedema the optic disc gives appearance of the dome of a champagne cork...
Ciliospinal centre of Budge: the first neurone of the sympathetic nerve supply to the eye terminates here...
City university colour vision test: a spectroscopic test where a central coloured plate is to be matched to its closest hue from four surrounding colour plates...
Congruity: the tendency for an incomplete homonymus hemianopia to be symmetrical in the two visual fields...
De Morsier's syndrome (septo-optic dysplasia): bilateral optic nerve hypoplasia, absence of the septum pellucidum & agenesis of the corpus callosum... only a single anterior ventricle on CT scanning...
Dorello's canal: the 6th cranial nerve passes through it under the petroclinoid ligament to enter the cavernous sinus...
Double-floor sign: in pituitary adenoma, one of the earliest radiological signs is erosion of the dorsum sellae. the sella then becomes enlarged & the asymmetrical erosion of its floor gives rise to this sign...
Double-ring sign: in optic nerve hypoplasia, a small grey optic disc surrounded by a yellow halo of hypopigmentation d/t a concentric choroidal & retinal pigment pigment epithelial abnormality is seen...
Downbeat nystagmus: fast phase downwards... pathognomonic of a lesion involving the cervicomedullary junction at the foramen magnum...
Edridge-Green lantern: the most popular for the lantern test...
Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test: a spectroscopic test in which subject has to arrange the coloured chips in ascending order. The colour vision is judged by the error score, i.e. greater the score poorer the colour vision...
Finger-mimicking test: a modification of the finger-counting test in which the patient is asked to hold up the same number of fingers as tehe examiner... useful in toddlers & aphasic patients...
Foster-Kennedy syndrome: pressure optic atrophy on the side of lesion & papilloedema on the other side d/t increased ICP... d/t olfactory or sphenoidal meningiomata & orbital surface of fronral lobe tumours...
Foville's syndrome: caused by a lseion in the dorsal pons... c/b ipsilateral 6th nerve pasy combined with a gaze palsy, ipsilateral facial weakness, ipsilateral facial analgesia, ipsilateral Horner's syndrome & ipsilateral deafness...
Gradenigo's syndrome: c/b 6th nerve palsy, facial weakness, deafness & severe pain in the distribution of the 1st division of the trigeminal nerve...
Hardy-Rand-Rittler plates: same principle as Ishihera's plates...
Hayreh's theory: papilloedema ddevelops as a result of stasis of axoplasm in the prelaminar region of optic disc, d/r an alteration in the pressure gradient across the lamina cribrosa...
Hemianopia: a complete defect involving one half of the visual fiels...
Holmes-Adie tonic pupil: c/b affected pupil larger, extremely poor or absent reaction to light, very slow & tonic reaction to near stimulus... frequently accommodation is slow & verniform movements of the iris border... constriction of pupil with 2.5% mecholyl or 0.125% pilocarpine.. typically in women in 3rd & 4th decades... a/w absent tendon reflexes...
Holmgren's wools test: the usbject is asked to make a series of colour-matches from a selection of skeins of coloured wools...
Horner's syndrome (oculosympathetic palsy): caused by a total or partial interruption of the sympathetic chain anywhere alonmg its course from the hypothalamus to the eye c/b moderate degree of ptosis, elevation of the lower lid, apparent enophthalmos, variable miosis which is more marked in dimn illumination, diminished sweating on the ipsilateral part of the face, heterochromia & increase in the amplitude of accommodation...
Hummelsheim procedure: a procedure in which the lateral halves the superior & inferior rectus muscles are disinserted from their origins & attached to the superior & inferior margins of the scleral insertions of the paretic lateral rectus muscle in 6th nerve palsy...
Ishihera's plates: pseudo-isochromatic chrts for screening of colour blindness...
J-shaped sella sign: in a glioma of the optic nerve at its junction with the chiasm, there is enlarged sella turcica with typical undercutting of the anterior clinoids & erosion of the anterior aspect of the sella gicing rise to this sign...
Jensen's modification of Hummelsheim procedure: spitting of the superior, lateral & inferior rectus muscles lengthwise & then tying the lateral half of the superior rectus muscle to the superior half of the lateral rectus muscle & tying the lateral half of the inferior rectus muscle to the inferior half of the lateral rectus muscle with non-absorbable sutures...
Junctional scotoma: an ipsilateral central scotoma & a contralateral upper temporal field defect... d/t a tumour compressing the junction of the chiasm & optic nerve that interfers with the anterior knee of Wilbrand consisting of a loop of the contralateral inferonasal fibres...
Kearns-Sayre syndrome: a triad of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, pigmentary retinopathy & heart block that may cause sudden death... manifested before 20 years of age usually... a/w short stature, cerebellar ataxia, deafness, mental retardation & delayed puberty...
Leber's idiopathic stellate maculopathy: the least common form of optic neuritis having all the features of optic neuritis plus a macular star...
Leber's optic neuropathy: a rare hereditary disorder affecting mostly young males... c/b acute painless progressive & permanent monocular visual loss followed by involvement of the other eye within weeks or months...c/b telangiectatic microangiopathy in the acute stage
Marcus-Gunn pupil: caused by an optic nerve lesion that is not severe enough to cause an absence of light perception... detected by swinging flash light test...
Meningioma en plaque: affects the greater & lessser wings of the sphenoid bone... the most common to involve the orbit secondarily...
Millard-Gubbler syndrome: caused by lesion in ventral pons... c/b contralateral hemiplegia in addition to variable signs of a doral pontine lesion...
Morning glory syndrome: a dysplastic coloboma of the optic disc which resembles the morning glory flower... the optic nerve head appears enlarged & excavated & contains persistent hyaloid remnants within its base & the blood vessels emerge from the rim of the excavation in a radial pattern like the spokes of a wheel...
Nagel's anomaloscope: the observer is asked to mix red & green colour in such a proportion that the mixture should match the given yellow coloured disc... The judgement about the defect is made from the relative amount of red & green colours & the brightness setting used by the observer...
Oculopharyngeal dystrophy: c/b chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, involvement of pharyngeal muscles, wasting of the temporalis muscle...
Parinaud's syndrome: midbrain lesions involving tectum, e.g. pinealoma, pupil larger, may be eccentric, impairment of upward gaze from damage to the vertical gaze centre & convergence-retraction nystagmus...
Periodic alternating nystagmus: a jerk nystagmus that undergoes rhythmic changes in amplitude & direction... usually d/t vascular or demyelinating brainstem disease...
Photobia: optic atrophy...
Pie in the sky: superior quadrantic hemianopia d/t lesion in temporal lobe...
Pie on the floor: inferior quadrantic hemianopia d/t lesion in parietal lobe involving only the anterior parietal part of the optic radiation...
Plerocephalic papilloedema: non-inflammatory oedema of the optic disc with increased ICP...
Positive OKN sign: if the optomotor pathways in the posterior hemispheres are damaged, the optokinetic nystagmus(OKN) response will be diminished when the targets are rotated towards the side of the lesion (away from the hemianopia)...In most cases, the combination of a homonymus hemianopia & OKN asymmetry suggests a parietal lobe lesion, often a neoplasm...
Pseudo Foster-Kennedy syndrome: u/l papilloedema a/w increased ICP & a pre-existing optic atrophy on the other side...
Pseudo-Graefe phenomenon: elevation of the upper eyelid with attempted adduction or depression d/t aberrant regeneration following traumatic or aneurysmal 3rd nerve palsy...
Pseudo-isochromatic charts: there are patterns of coloured & grey dots which reveal one pattern to the normal individuals & another to the colour deficients... a quick methois of screening colour blinds from the normals...
Pseudopapilloedema: elevation of the disc similar to papilloedema in conditions such as optic disc drusen, hypermetropia, persistent hyaloid tissue...
Pseudo tumour cerebri (benign intracranial hypertension): common in young obese women... c/b chronic headache & bilateral papilloedema...
Pulfrich's phenomenon: in optic neuritis, depth perception, particularly for the moving object is impaired...
Purkinje shift: in dim light (scotopic visiov) all colours are seen as grey...
See-saw nystagmus of Maddox: c/b one eye rising & intorting & while the other eye falling & extorting... when accompanied by bitemporal hemianopia, it is usually caused by a chiasmal lesion...
Scotoma: an absolute or relative area of depressed visual funciton surrounded by normal vision... a positive scotoma 'obstructs' a part of the visual field typical of macular lesions... a negative scotoma produces a 'hole' in the visual field typical of optic nerve lesions...
Spasmus mutans: c/b asymmetrical pendular fine rapid horizontal (may be vertical or rotatory also) nystagmus, abnormal head position & head nodding... develops b/w 4-12 months of life & clears prior to 3 yrs...
The lantern test: the subject has to name the various colours shown to him by a lantern & the judgemant is made by the mistake he makes...
Tolosa-Hunt syndrome: acute inflammation of the cavernous sinus or superior orbital fissure which produces a painful ophthalmoplegia...
Twitch sign of Cogan: in myasthenia gravis, on making the patient rapidly redirect his gaze from downward to the primary position when the upper eyelid will be seen to twitch upward & then slowly resettle to its ptotic position...
Uhthoff's phenomenon: impairment of cision with increased body temperature in optic neuritis...
Upbeat nystagmus: the fast phase is upwards... common cause is drug intoxication like phenytoin, also posterior fossa lesions...
Vintage: in papilloedema that has been present for several months, the acute haemorrhagic & exudative components resolve & the optic nerve head takes the appearance of a champagne cork...
Weber's syndrome: c/b ipsilateral 3rd nerve palsy & contralateral hemiplegia...
Wernicke's hemianopic pupil: in lesion of optic tract, ipsilateral direct & contralateral consensual light reflex is absent when t\light is thrown on the temporal half of the retina of the affected side & nasal half of the opposite side & present with reversal of the sides...
Wernicke's reaction: contralateral hemianopic pupillary reaction in lesion of optic tract...
more of optha..........
Hruby-Irvine-Gass syndrome (is the development
of cystoid macular edema following intracapsular cataract extraction with incarceration of the vitreous body in the wound).
Terson’s syndrome (subarachnoid hemorrhage, increase in intraocular pressure, acutely impaired drainage of blood from the eye, dilation and rupture of retinal vessels, retinal and vitreous hemorrhage).
Parinaud’s Oculoglandular Syndrome
Causes: Tumors such as pineal gland tumors that selectively damage fibers
between the pretectal nuclei and the Edinger-Westphal nucleus.
Diagnostic considerations:
- Fixed dilated pupils that do not respond to light.
- Normal near reflex.
- Limited upward gaze (due to damage to the vertical gaze center) and retraction nystagmus.
Weill-Marchesani syndrome: symptoms
include short stature and brachydactyly.
& lens is abnormally round and often
too small; lens is usually eccentric
and displaced inferiorly.
Marfan’s syndrome: characterized by arachnodactyly, long limbs, and laxness of joints.
& lens is abnormally round; lens displacement
is usually superior andtemporal; zonule fibers are elongatedbut frequently intact
Gregg’s syndrome
involving lens opacity, an open ductus arteriosus, and sensorineural hearing loss
Stevens-Johnsonsyndrome(erythema multiforme)
Chronic Allergic, membranousconjunctivitis with blisteringand increasingsymblepharon; often
the skin is alsoinvolved.
as a reaction to medications (generally an antibiotic); lifethreatening
treatment:
- Bland ointment therapy (such as Bepanthen)
- Rarely cortisone eye ointment
- Clean conjunctiva of fibrin daily
- Lysis of symblepharon
Mikulicz’s syndrome:Bilateral chronic inflammation of the lacrimal and salivary glands
Chiasm syndrome: Heteronymous bilateral temporal hemianopsia with decreased visual
acuity and unilateral or bilateral optic nerve atrophy
Tolosa–Hunt syndrome: painfultotal ophthalmoplegia produced by an idiopathic granuloma at the apex of the orbit.
Retraction syndrome (special form of abducent nerve palsy):
Causes: Retraction syndrome is a congenital unilateral motility disturbance
resulting from a lesion to the abducent nerve acquired during pregnancy.
Effects: The lateral rectus is no longer supplied by the abducent nerve but by fibers from the oculomotor nerve that belong the medial rectus. This has several consequences. As in abducent nerve palsy, abduction is limited and
slight esotropia is usually present. In contrast to abducent nerve palsy, the globe recedes into the orbital cavity when adduction is attempted. This narrowsthe palpebral fissure. This retraction of the globe in attempted adductionresults from the simultaneous outward and inward pull of two antagonists on the globe because they are supplied by the same nerve (oculomotor nerve).
A rare disorder most probably d/t alcohol-related nutritional deficiency.
C/b disorientation, personality & intellectual deterioration, hallucinations, epilepsy, dysarthria, ataxia & spastic limb paralysis.
Holiday Heart
Atrial or ventricular arrhythmias, especially paroxysmal tachycardia, after drinking a binge of alcohol in individuals showing no other evidence of heart disease.
Hemp insanity (cannabis psychosis)
Acute schizophreniform disorder with disorientation & confusion
Good prognosis.
Lethargy, apathy, loss of interest, anergia, reduced drive & lack of ambition d/t chronic cannabis use.
Van Gogh syndrome
Dramatic self-mutilation occurring in schizophrenia.
Pfropf schizophrenia
A syndrome of schizophrenia occurring in presence of mental retardation.
Oneiroid schizophrenia
A subtype of schizophrenia with acute onset, clouding of consciousness, disorientation, dream-like states & perceptual disturbances with rapid shifting.
Alice in Wonderland syndrome
Perceptual distortion of shape, size, colour& reciprocal position of objects. seen with schizophrenia, migraine
PAD syndrome
Commoner in women 20-40 years.
C/b diffuse anxiety, multiple phobias, panic attacks, depersonalization, derealization & depressive features.
Othello syndrome (conjugal paranoia)
A psychosis in which the content of delusions is predominantly jealousy (infidelity) involving spouse.
Clerambault’s syndrome (erotomania)
A psychosis in which the content of delusions is erotic.
Most often in women with erotic conviction that a person with higher status is in love with the patient.
Kadinsky-Clerambault’s syndrome
A syndrome of mental automatism
Folie a deux
Induced delusional disorder c/b sharing of delusions b/w 2 persons.
So is folie a trios, folie a quatre, folie a famille…
Capgras’ syndrome (delusion of doubles)
C/b delusional conviction that other persons in environment are not their real selves but are their own doubles.
There are 4 types
1. Typical Capgras’ syndrome(illusion des sosies)- pt sees a familiar person as a stranger who is imposing as the familiar person.
2. Illusion de Fregoli pt falsely identifies strangers as familiar persons.
3. Syndrome of subjective doubles pt’s own self is perceived as being replaced by a double.
4. Intermetamorphosis pt’s misidentification is complete including both external appearance & personality.
Fregoli’s phenomenon
Delusion that a persecutor is taking on a variety of faces like an actor.
Cotard’s syndrome
Delusion that one has lost everything- possessions, strength & even bodily organs such as heart.
Seen in severe depression where pt has extreme nihilistic delusion (e.g. may think that his bowels are rotting and he will never pass stools again)
Ganser’s syndrome (hysterical pseudodementia)
Commonly found in prison inmates.
C/b vorbeireden- approximate answers- person understands nature of questions but answers wrong.
La-Belle-Indifference
Lack of concern towards symptoms despite apparent severity of disability produces.
Seen in pts with conversion & dissociation disorder(hysteria).
Briquet’s syndrome (Somatisation disorder)
A chronic or recurrent illness with either a dramatic or complicated medical history.
A pt with at least 25 unexplained medical symptoms for a diagnosis or with 20-25 unexplained symptoms for a probable diagnosis.
Munchausen syndrome (Factitious disorder, Polysurgis, Professional patients, Hospital hoboes, Hospital addiction)
Pt repeatedly simulates or fakes diseases for sole purpose of obtaining medical attention.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy
Pt intentionally produces physical signs & symptoms in another person who is under pt’s care.
Ekbom syndrome (Restless Legs syndrome)
Pt experiences extremely uncomfortable feeling in leg muscles during walking.
Asso with insomnia.
De Lange syndrome (Amsterdam dwarfism)
Some Culture-Bound Syndromes are as follows
Dhat syndrome
A culture-bound syndrome prevalent in Indian subcontinent.
C/b complaint of passage of ‘dhat’ in urine.
Multiple somatic symptoms.
May be anxiety, depression or sexual dysfunction associated.
Koro
Prevalent in Asia including India.
Affected male pt believes that his penis is shrinking & may disappear into his abdominal wall & he may die.
Females affected infrequently, believing that their breasts & vulva are shrinking.
Amok
Prevalent in South-East Asia.
C/b sudden, unprovoked episode of rage in which affected person runs about & indiscriminately injures or kills any person who in encountered on the way.
Latah (Startle reaction)
Prevalent in South-East Asia & Japan.
More in women, c/b automatic obedience, echolalia & echopraxia.
Windigo (Wihtigo)
Prevalent in native American Indians.
Pt believes that he has been transformed into a wihtigo, a cannibal monster, occurring especially during times of starvation.
Shinkeishitsu
A defense syndrome, mainly of anxiety but with obsessive features occurring in young Japanese thrown into a modern industrial society for which they are not equipped. They feel inadequate, lost & unloved.
Susto
Occurs in Latin America.
Pt believes that his body is entered by a magical substance & that he is altered. It takes on a delusional quality.
Piblokto (Arctic Hysteria)
Occurs in Askimos.
Often female, who screams & tears off her clothes, throw herself on ice in extremely cold conditions.
She may imitate the cry of a bird or an animal.
The episode lasting for 1-2 hours, f/b amnesia of events.
Power
Soft spot.
Achilles' tendon
The tendon of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the leg – connects the calf muscles to the heel.
Adams' arc
Arc-shaped line from trochanter minor to the lower margin of the neck of the femur.
Amussat's fold
Abnormal folds of the urethral mucous membrane at the level of the seminal colliculus.
Amussat's valves
The spiral valves of the cystic duct.
Andernach's ossicles
Small bones found in cranial sutures.
Andersch' ganglion
The petrosal ganglion of the glasopharyngeal nerve was previously called
Andersch' ganglion.
Aneurysm of sinus of Valsalva
A thin-walled tubular outpouching usually in the right or noncoronary sinus
Angle of Louis (Louis' angle)
The angle formed at the junction of the manubrium and the body of the sternum.
Angulus Ludovici (Louis' angle)
The angle formed at the junction of the manubrium and the body of the sternum.
Aqueduct of Falloppio (Fallopian canal)
The facial canal. The facial nerve passes through this canal in the temporal bone.
Arantius' duct
The ductus venosus.
Arnold's canal
A passage of the petrous portion of the temporal bone for the auricular branch of the vagus.
Arnold's ganglion
The otic or auricular ganglion.
Aschoff's organ
The first cervical vertebra by which the head articulates with the occipital bone.
Auerbach's plexus
The myenteric plexus.
Bandl's ring
The ring muscle at the border of the uterus corpus and the uterus isthmus, which is developed more pronouncedly during delivery.
Bandl's ring of contraction (Bandl's ring)
The ring muscle at the border of the uterus corpus and the uterus isthmus, which is developed more pronouncedly during delivery.
Bernard's canal (Claude bernard)
Ductus pancreaticus accesorius. An accessory pancreatic duct.
Bernard's glandular layer (Claude Bernard)
Inner layer of cells lining acinis of pancreas.
Billroth's cords
The splenic cords found in the red pulp between the sinusoids.
Billroth's paths (Billroth's cords)
The splenic cords found in the red pulp between the sinusoids.
Billroth's ways (Billroth's cords)
The splenic cords found in the red pulp between the sinusoids.
Blumenbach's clivus
Sloping part of sphenoid bone behind posterior clinoid processes.
Blumenbach's process
Occipital angle of parietal lobe.
Broca's basilar angle (Broca's angle)
Occipital angle of parietal lobe.
Broca's facial angle (Broca's angle)
Occipital angle of parietal lobe.
Cavum Meckelli (Meckel's space)
The cavity, or cleft, between two layers of dura over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that encloses the roots of the trigeminal nerve and the trigeminal ganglion.
Cloquet's canal
A vestige of the embryonal A. hyolidea.
Cloquet's gland (Rosenmüller-Cloquet gland)
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Cloquet's node (Rosenmüller-Cloquet gland)
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Colles' fascia
Inner layer of superficial fascia – Scarpa’s fascia – of perineum.
Columns of Morgagni (Morgagni's columns)
The vertical folds in the rectum.
Cooper's fascia
One of the coverings of the spermatic cord.
Cooper's stripes
Fibrous feature between lig. collaterale radiale and u. ulnare at the distal
end.
Cooper's suspensory ligaments (Cooper's ligament)
Cotunnius' aquaduct
The aqueduct of the inner ear.
Cotunnius' columns
The columns in the osseous spiral lamina of the cochlea.
Douglas' cul-de-sac
Peritoneal space formed by deflection of the peritoneum.
Douglas' fold
A fold of peritoneum forming the lateral boundary of Douglas' pouch.
Douglas' pouch (Douglas' cul-de-sac)
Peritoneal space formed by deflection of the peritoneum.
Douglas' space (Douglas' cul-de-sac)
Peritoneal space formed by deflection of the peritoneum.
Ducts of Luschka (Luschka's ducts)
Small, glandlike tubular structures in the wall of the gallbladder adjacent to the liver, especially in the part covered with peritoneum.
Ehrenritter's ganglion
The superior ganglion of the glossopharyngeal nerve.
Fallopian arch (Fallopian ligament)
A fibrous band forming the thickened lower border of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle between the anterosuperior spine of the ilium and the
pubic tubercle.
The facial canal. The facial nerve passes through this canal in the temporal bone.
Fallopian ligament
A fibrous band forming the thickened lower border of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle between the anterosuperior spine of the ilium and the
pubic tubercle.
Fallopian tube
One of the tubes or ducts leading on either side from the upper or outer extremity of the ovary to the fundus of the uterus.
Fleece of Stilling
Meshwork of white fibres that surrounds the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum.
Fontana's canal (Schlemm's canal)
The canal of the sclero-corneal junction.
Fontana's spaces
Irregularly shaped endothelium-lined spaces between the processus of ligamentum pectinatum of the iris.
Foramina of Luschka (Luschka's foramen)
The Foramen of 4th ventricle. One of the two lateral openings draining the fourth ventricle into the subarachnoid space at the cerebellopontine angle.
Gartner's canal (Gartner's duct)
An occasionally occurring small duct lying parallel to the uterine tube, extending from the epoöphoron through the broad ligament to the vagina.
Gartner's duct
An occasionally occurring small duct lying parallel to the uterine tube, extending from the epoöphoron through the broad ligament to the vagina.
Gasser's ganglion
The large sensory ganglion of the trigeminal nerve.
Gasserian ganglion (Gasser's ganglion)
The large sensory ganglion of the trigeminal nerve.
Giraldé's organ
A vestige of the wolffian body at posterior side of the testicle.
Glisson's capsule
The outer capsule of connective fibrous tissue, surrounding the liver, the intrahepatic branches of vena portae, arteria hepatica, and the bile duct.
Golgi's apparatus
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Golgi's apparatus of the cell (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Golgi's complex (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory
proteins.
Golgi's internal reticulum (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Gowers' bundle (Gowers' tract)
A pit along the external portion of the false vocal corda.
Hilton's white line (Hilton's line)
A white line at the junction of the skin of the perineum and anal mucosa, said to be palpable.
Holmgren-Golgi canals (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Hunter's canal (John Hunter)
Canalis adductorius. The adductor canal.
Islands of Reil
The insula of the cerebral cortex.
Kobelt's tubules
Remnants of Wolffian ducts in the paroöphoron.
Krause's bone (Wilhelm Krause)
The second ossification centre in the growing acetabulum at the junction of
the ilium, ischium, and pubis.
Krause's ligament (Karl Friedrich Theodor Krause)
The transverse perineal ligament
Canal in the fetal sphenoid bone.
Landzert's fossa
A fossa formed by two peritoneal folds, lateral to the forth segment of the duodenum and behind the inferior mesenteric vein and ascending left colic artery.
Le Cat's gulf
The hollow of the bulbous portion of the urethra.
Leydig's gland
A portion of the mesonephros in vertebrates, of which the secretions are thought to stimulate the movement of spermatozoa.
Lieberkühn's crypts (Lieberkühn's glands)
Simple tubular glands which open into the intestine, present in the mucous membrane of the small and large intestines.
Lieberkühn's follicles (Lieberkühn's glands)
Simple tubular glands which open into the intestine, present in the mucous membrane of the small and large intestines.
Lieberkühn's glands
Simple tubular glands which open into the intestine, present in the mucous membrane of the small and large intestines.
Louis' angle
The angle formed at the junction of the manubrium and the body of the sternum.
Luschka's ducts
Small, glandlike tubular structures in the wall of the gallbladder adjacent to the liver, especially in the part covered with peritoneum.
Luschka's foramen
The Foramen of 4th ventricle. One of the two lateral openings draining the fourth ventricle into the subarachnoid space at the cerebellopontine angle.
Meckel's band (Meckel's ligament)
Portion of the anterior ligament of the malleus that extends from the base of the anterior process through the petrotympanic fissure.
Meckel's cartilage
A cartilaginous bar about which the mandible develops.
Meckel's cavity (Meckel's space)
The cavity, or cleft, between two layers of dura over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that encloses the roots of the trigeminal nerve and the trigeminal ganglion.
Meckel's diverticulum
Diverticulum of the ileum derived from the unobliterated yolk stalk.
Meckel's ganglion
The sphenopalatine ganglion or the second division of the trigeminal nerve.
Meckel's ligament
Portion of the anterior ligament of the malleus that extends from the base of the anterior process through the petrotympanic fissure.
Meckel's space
The cavity, or cleft, between two layers of dura over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that encloses the roots of the trigeminal nerve and the trigeminal ganglion.
Meckel’s cave (Meckel's space)
The cavity, or cleft, between two layers of dura over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that encloses the roots of the trigeminal nerve and the trigeminal ganglion.
Ménard-Shenton line (Shenton's line)
A radiographic line formed by the top of the obturator foramen and the inner side of the neck of the femur.
Ménard-Shenton-Makkas line (Shenton's line)
A radiographic line formed by the top of the obturator foramen and the inner side of the neck of the femur.
Morgagni's caruncle
The appendix of the testis.
Morgagni's foramen
Right-sided fissure between pars sternalis and Pars costalis in the diaphragm.
Morgagni's lacunas
The orifices of the mucous glands of the male urethre.
Morgagni's sinus
Refers to the space between the upper border of the levator veli palateni and the base of the skull.
Morgagni's ventricle
Lateral pouch in the vestibulum laryngis between the Ligamentum vestibulare and the vocal cord.
Morgagni’s fissure (Morgagni's foramen)
Right-sided fissure between pars sternalis and Pars costalis in the diaphragm.
Morgagni’s hydatid (Morgagni's cyst)
The appendix of the testis.
Nageotte's place
A section of the posterior root of the spinal marrow.
Ollier's layer
The inner layer of the periosteum, closest to the bone.
Poupart's inguinal ligament (Fallopian ligament)
A fibrous band forming the thickened lower border of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle between the anterosuperior spine of the ilium and the
pubic tubercle.
Poupart's ligament (Fallopian ligament)
A fibrous band forming the thickened lower border of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle between the anterosuperior spine of the ilium and the
pubic tubercle.
Ducts of the sublingual glands.
Rivinus' notch
The tympanic notch in the upper part of the tympanic portion of the temporal bone.
Rivinus’ incisure (Rivinus' notch)
The tympanic notch in the upper part of the tympanic portion of the temporal bone.
Rosenmüller's body (Rosenmüller's organ)
A rudimentary structure located in the mesosalpix.
Rosenmüller's cavity (Rosenmüller's fossa)
The lateral pharyngeal recess.
The palpebral portion of the lacrimal gland.
Rosenmüller's gland (Rosenmüller-Cloquet gland)
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Rosenmüller's node (Rosenmüller-Cloquet gland)
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Rosenmüller's organ
A rudimentary structure located in the mesosalpix.
Rosenmüller's recess (Rosenmüller's fossa)
The lateral pharyngeal recess.
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Ruysch's muscle
A circular muscle in the fundus uteri.
Ruysch's tube
A minute tubular cavity opening in the nasal septum.
Schlemm's canal
The canal of the sclero-corneal junction.
Schultze's comma
Fasciculus interfascicularis - descending posterior root threads between the Goll's string and the Burdach's string. .
Shenton's line
A radiographic line formed by the top of the obturator foramen and the inner side of the neck of the femur.
Skene's ducts
Paraurethral ducts.
Skene's glands
Numerous mucous glands in the wall of the female urethra, localised so that their openings are just inside the urinary meatus.
Skene's tubules
Embryonic urethral glands.
Spiegel's line
A slight groove which is the line of abdomen lying parallel to the median line and marking the lateral margin of the rectus abdominis muscle.
Spiegel's lobe
The caudate lobe of the liver.
Spigelian line (Spiegel's line)
A slight groove which is the line of abdomen lying parallel to the median line and marking the lateral margin of the rectus abdominis muscle.
Stensen's foramina
Incisive foramina of the hard palate, transmitting anterior branches of the descending palatine vessels.
Stilling's canal
A minute canal running through the vitreous from the discus nervi optici to the lens.
Treves' bloodless fold
Bloodless fold of Treves. An ileocecal fold of peritoneum associated with the appendix.
Tuba fallopiana (Fallopian tube)
One of the tubes or ducts leading on either side from the upper or outer extremity of the ovary to the fundus of the uterus.
Tuba Falloppii (Fallopian tube)
One of the tubes or ducts leading on either side from the upper or outer extremity of the ovary to the fundus of the uterus.
Valsalva's antrum
A cavity in the petrous portion of the temporal bone.
Valsalva's ligaments
Ligaments that attach the auricle to the side of the head.
Valsalva's muscle
A band of vertical muscular fibres on the outer surface of the tragus of the ear, innervated by the temporal branch of the facial nerve.
Volkmann's canals (Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann)
Vascular channels in compact bone carrying the blood vessels from the periosteum.
von Recklinghausen's canals
The lymph canaliculi.
Wenckebach's bundle
The median bundle of the conductive system of the heart leading to the atrioventricular node (Tawara's node).
Wharton's duct
The duct of the submandibular salivary gland opening into the mouth at side of the frenum linguae.
Wharton's jelly
A gelatinous intercellular substance which is the primitive mucoid connective tissue of the umbilical cord.
Willis' cords
Fibrous cords crossing the superior longitudinal sinus transversely.
Wolffian body (Caspar Friedrich Wolff)
An embryonic organ on each side of the vertebral column.
Wolffian canal (Wolffian duct (Caspar Friedrich Wolff))
The embryonic duct of the mesonephros, from mesonephros to cloaca.
Wolffian duct (Caspar Friedrich Wolff)
The embryonic duct of the mesonephros, from mesonephros to cloaca.
Wolffian tubules (Kobelt's tubules)
Remnants of Wolffian ducts in the paroöphoron.
Zenker's diverticulum
Abel's bacillus (Abel-Löwenberg bacteria)
Gram negative, immotile, encapsulated rods of the species Klebsiella.
Abel-Löwenberg bacteria
Gram negative, immotile, encapsulated rods of the species Klebsiella.
Achalme's bacillus
Bacillus discovered by Achalme in 1891.
Achorion schoenleinii (Schönlein's tricophyton)
A rare form of Trichophyton; a fungus which is the cause of favus.
Aertrycke bacillus
Bacille du genre Salmonella, agent de certains empoisonnements d'origin alimentaire.
Anderson's dermacentor
Tick transferring Rocky Mountains spotted fever and tularemia.
Andrews' syndrome
A form of pustulosis palmoplantaris in which there is also a focal infection.
Andrews’ bacterid (Andrews' syndrome)
A form of pustulosis palmoplantaris in which there is also a focal infection.
Andrews’ disease (Andrews' syndrome)
A form of pustulosis palmoplantaris in which there is also a focal infection.
Andrews’ pustulous bacterid (Andrews' syndrome)
A form of pustulosis palmoplantaris in which there is also a focal infection.
Aujeszky's disease virus
A herpesvirus causing pseudorabies in swine.
Australian Murray Valleu virus
Arbovirus.
Babesia
A genus of the order Haemosporidia that consists of parasites - intra-cellular non-pigmented sporozoa - found in the blood of cattle, sheep, horses, dogs, and other vertebrate animals.
Babesiosis
A rare, often severe, and sometimes fatal disease of man caused by an intraerythrocytic protozoan, Babesia microti, and perhaps other Babesia species.
Baird-Parker medium
Agar for isolation and counting of coagulase-positive staphylococcus in foodstuff.
Baldwin-Gardner-Willis operation
A phenomen relating to tubercle bacilluses.
Bancroft's filariasis
A filarial infection caused by Wucheria bancrofti.
Bang's bacillus
Brucella abortus Bang and Fusobacterium necrophorum.
Bargen's bacillus
A diplostreptococcus which is specific in ulcerative colitis.
Bedsonia
A chronic disease, occurring in two forms, caused by the fungus Sporothrix schencki.
Brill's disease
An infectious rickettsial disease transmitted by the human louse or a flea and characterized by fever, a transient rash, and falling blood pressure.
Brill-Zinsser disease (Brill's disease)
An infectious rickettsial disease transmitted by the human louse or a flea and characterized by fever, a transient rash, and falling blood pressure.
Brocq's phagadena geometricum
Chronic skin ulcers due to mixed bacterial infection.
Brucella
A nonmotile, aerobic, gram-negative genus of bacteria.
Cullen’s postoperative serpiginosus ulceration (Brocq's phagadena geometricum)
Chronic skin ulcers due to mixed bacterial infection.
d'Alessandro-Comes test
A biochemical test for differentiating between species and families in the genus Enterobacteriacae.
de Almeida's disease (Lutz-Splendore-de Almeida disease)
A blastomycosis caused by the fungus Paracoccidioides (Blastomyces) brasiliensis.
Diplo-bacille de Morax (French) (Morax-Axenfeld bacillus)
The cause of Morax-Axenfeld conjunctivitis.
Diplococcus Morax-Axenfeld (Morax-Axenfeld bacillus)
The cause of Morax-Axenfeld conjunctivitis.
Ducrey's test (Ito-Reenstierna test)
Intracutaneous injection of a killed culture of Ducrey-Krefting bacillus for diagnosis of chancroid.
Ducrey-Krefting bacillus
The cause of the chancroid or soft chancre
Ducrey’s bacillus (Ducrey-Krefting bacillus)
The cause of the chancroid or soft chancre
Ehrlichia bovis
Rickettsia in dogs causes a pancytopenia, particularly thrombocytopenia.
Ehrlichia ovina
Ricekktsia-like organism occurring in sheep.
Ehrlichia phagocytophilia
Ricekktsia causing a fever condition (tick-borne fever) in cattle and sheep.
Ehrlich’s psittaci (Levinthal-Lillie-Coles bodies)
Virus in the genus Miyagawanella in the Chlamydiaceae family.
Eijkman's test
A test to determine whether coliform bacteria come from from warm-blooded animals.
Escherichia
A genus of gram negative, rod-shaped, facultatively aerobic intestinal bacteria belonging to the family of Enterobacteriaceae, tribe Eschericheae.
Escherichia coli - E. coli
The ubiquitous colon bacillus. Short, plump, gram-negative, non-spore forming motile bacilli almost constantly present in the alimentary canal of man and other animals.
Gilbert's syndrome 2
Chronic pyemic colibacillosis caused by coli bacteria.
Golgi's reproduction cyclus
Sexless reproduction of malaria parasites. Boring stuff.
Gougerot-Houwer-Sjögren syndrome (Sjögren's syndrome (Henrik Samuel Conrad Sjögren))
Sicca syndrome. A chronic autoimmune disease characterised by keratoconjunctivitis sicca and many other symptoms.
Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome (Sjögren's syndrome (Henrik Samuel Conrad Sjögren))
Sicca syndrome. A chronic autoimmune disease characterised by keratoconjunctivitis sicca and many other symptoms.
Gram's solution
A solution used for Gram's stain.
Gram's stain
The best known and most widely used bacteriological staining method, it is almost always the first test performed for the identification of bacteria.
Gram’s method (Gram's stain)
The best known and most widely used bacteriological staining method, it is almost always the first test performed for the identification of bacteria.
Griesinger's disease II
A tropical disease which usually appears in barefoot workers operating in damp soil.
Gruber-Widal reaction (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal)
Serological agglutination test for typhoid fever.
Hansen's bacillus
Destruction or dissolution of bacteria
Ito-Reenstierna test
Intracutaneous injection of a killed culture of Ducrey-Krefting bacillus for diagnosis of chancroid.
Jennerian vaccination
A procedure using cowpox matter to prevent smallpox.
Landouzy typho bacillosis
A mycobacterial sepsis with a violent – foudroyant - course.
Levinea
A genus of bacteria of gram negative rods in the family Enterobacteriaceae.
Levinthal's agar
A solid nutritious substrate for cultivating demanding microorganisms.
Levinthal-Lillie-Coles bodies
Virus in the genus Miyagawanella in the Chlamydiaceae family.
Lutz' disease (Lutz-Splendore-de Almeida disease)
A blastomycosis caused by the fungus Paracoccidioides (Blastomyces) brasiliensis.
Lutz-Splendore-de Almeida disease
A blastomycosis caused by the fungus Paracoccidioides (Blastomyces) brasiliensis.
Meleney's synergistic gangrene
A postoperative gangrene with a chronic enlarging ulcer due to infection with microaerophilic streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus.
Meleney’s undermining burrowing ulcer (Brocq's phagadena geometricum)
Chronic skin ulcers due to mixed bacterial infection.
Morax-Axenfeld bacillus
The cause of Morax-Axenfeld conjunctivitis.
Moraxella
Genus of bacteria sometimes confused with Neissera.
Moraxella lacunata (Morax-Axenfeld bacillus)
The cause of Morax-Axenfeld conjunctivitis.
Neisser's diplococcus
Any disease caused by infestation with bacteria of genus Salmonella.
Schenck's disease
A chronic disease, occurring in two forms, caused by the fungus Sporothrix schencki.
Schönlein's tricophyton
A rare form of Trichophyton; a fungus which is the cause of favus.
Semmelweis' method
Disinfection of the hands of the obstetrician or midwife with chloride or lime, as well as clean bedsheaths for the patient, in order to prevent puerperal fever.
Sjögren's disease (Karl Gustaf Torsten Sjögren) (Sjögren's syndrome (Henrik Samuel Conrad Sjögren))
Sicca syndrome. A chronic autoimmune disease characterised by keratoconjunctivitis sicca and many other symptoms.
Sjögren's syndrome (Henrik Samuel Conrad Sjögren)
Sicca syndrome. A chronic autoimmune disease characterised by keratoconjunctivitis sicca and many other symptoms.
Sphryanura osleri
A trematode worm found in the gills of a newt.
Trichophyton schoenleinii (Schönlein's tricophyton)
A rare form of Trichophyton; a fungus which is the cause of favus.
Typhobazillose Landouzy (German) (Landouzy typho bacillosis)
A mycobacterial sepsis with a violent – foudroyant - course.
Unna-Ducrey bacillus (Ducrey-Krefting bacillus)
The cause of the chancroid or soft chancre
von Mikulicz-Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome (Sjögren's syndrome (Henrik Samuel Conrad Sjögren))
Sicca syndrome. A chronic autoimmune disease characterised by keratoconjunctivitis sicca and many other symptoms.
Warthin and Starry method
A technique for identifying spirocheates in tissue.
Wassermann's antibody
Antibody evoked during syphilitic infections.
Widal’s reaction (Gruber-Widal reaction (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
Serological agglutination test for typhoid fever.
Widal’s test (Gruber-Widal reaction (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
Serological agglutination test for typhoid fever.
Yersin's serum
An antitoxic serum for the plague.
Yersinia
A genus of gram-negative, rod-shaped and non-motile bacteria in the family of Enterobacteriacae.
Yersinia enterocolitica
A species of large coccobacilli that are pathogenic for man.
Yersinia pestis
The causative agent of plague.
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
A gram-negative coccoid or ovoid organism that may cause acute mesenterial lymphadenitis in humans and pseudotuberculosis in birds and rodents.
Yersinia-arthritis
A disease of joints – acute mono- or oligoarthritis – caused by Yersinia enterocolitica or Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.
Yersinosis
A collective term for infections with yersinia.
Yersin’s bacillus (Yersinia pestis)
The causative agent of plague.
ADRENAL SYNDROMES
Friderichsen's syndrome (Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome)
Acute adrenal insufficiency due to massive haemorrhage into the adrenal gland, caused by malignant form of meningitis.
Friderichsen-Waterhouse syndrome (Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome)
Acute adrenal insufficiency due to massive haemorrhage into the adrenal gland, caused by malignant form of meningitis.
Friderichsen-Waterhouse-Bamatter syndrome (Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome)
Acute adrenal insufficiency due to massive haemorrhage into the adrenal gland, caused by malignant form of meningitis.
Marchand rest (Marchand's adrenals)
Small collections of accessory adrenal tissue in the broad ligament of the uterus in the testes.
Marchand's adrenals
Small collections of accessory adrenal tissue in the broad ligament of the uterus in the testes.
Marchand-Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome (Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome)
Acute adrenal insufficiency due to massive haemorrhage into the adrenal gland, caused by malignant form of meningitis.
Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome
Acute adrenal insufficiency due to massive haemorrhage into the adrenal gland, caused by malignant form of meningitis.
ADRENOGENITAL SYNDROMES
Apert-Cushing syndrome (Cushing's syndrome I)
Glucocorticoid excess syndrome in which the hypersecretion of glucocorticoids is secondary to hypersecretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from the pituitary.
Apert-Gallais syndrome (Cushing's syndrome I)
Glucocorticoid excess syndrome in which the hypersecretion of glucocorticoids is secondary to hypersecretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from the pituitary.
Crooke-Apert-Gallais syndrome (Cushing's syndrome I)
Glucocorticoid excess syndrome in which the hypersecretion of glucocorticoids is secondary to hypersecretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from the pituitary.
Cushing's syndrome I
Glucocorticoid excess syndrome in which the hypersecretion of glucocorticoids is secondary to hypersecretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from the pituitary.
Cushing’s basophilism (Cushing's syndrome I)
Glucocorticoid excess syndrome in which the hypersecretion of glucocorticoids is secondary to hypersecretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from the pituitary.
Cushing’s disease (Cushing's syndrome I)
Glucocorticoid excess syndrome in which the hypersecretion of glucocorticoids is secondary to hypersecretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from the pituitary.
De Crecchio's syndrome (Fibiger-Debré von Gierke syndrome)
Adrenogenital syndrome of salt loss. An inborn error of metabolism characterized by a deficiency of enzymes involved in the production of adrenocorticosteroid hormones.
Fibiger-Debré syndrome (Fibiger-Debré von Gierke syndrome)
Adrenogenital syndrome of salt loss. An inborn error of metabolism characterized by a deficiency of enzymes involved in the production of adrenocorticosteroid hormones.
Fibiger-Debré von Gierke syndrome
Adrenogenital syndrome of salt loss. An inborn error of metabolism characterized by a deficiency of enzymes involved in the production of adrenocorticosteroid hormones.
Gallais' syndrome (Fibiger-Debré von Gierke syndrome)
Adrenogenital syndrome of salt loss. An inborn error of metabolism characterized by a deficiency of enzymes involved in the production of adrenocorticosteroid hormones.
Gallais’ syndrome (Cushing's syndrome I)
Glucocorticoid excess syndrome in which the hypersecretion of glucocorticoids is secondary to hypersecretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from the pituitary.
Itsenko-Cushing syndrome (Cushing's syndrome I)
Glucocorticoid excess syndrome in which the hypersecretion of glucocorticoids is secondary to hypersecretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from the pituitary.
Pirie’s syndrome (Fibiger-Debré von Gierke syndrome)
Adrenogenital syndrome of salt loss. An inborn error of metabolism characterized by a deficiency of enzymes involved in the production of adrenocorticosteroid hormones.
Wilkins' disease (Fibiger-Debré von Gierke syndrome)
Adrenogenital syndrome of salt loss. An inborn error of metabolism characterized by a deficiency of enzymes involved in the production of adrenocorticosteroid hormones.
NAMED AGARS AND MEDIA
Agar for isolation and counting of coagulase-positive staphylococcus in foodstuff.
Nickerson's medium (Nickerson's selective agar)
A substrate for culturing and demonstrating Candida.
Nickerson's selective agar
A substrate for culturing and demonstrating Candida.
AGING SYNDROMES
Bamatter's syndrome
A rare developmental disturbance of connective tissue with too early aging processes of the skin and generalised osteopenia, also characterized by growth retardation, hyperlaxity, atrophy, and predisposition to fractures.
Bamatter-Franceschetti-Klein-Sierro-syndrome (Bamatter's syndrome)
A rare developmental disturbance of connective tissue with too early aging processes of the skin and generalised osteopenia, also characterized by growth retardation, hyperlaxity, atrophy, and predisposition to fractures.
Gilford’s syndrome (Hutchinson-Gilford disease)
A very rare disease of premature aging in young children, characterized mainly by a birdlike, "wizened old man" facial appearance, premature bodily ageing (progeria) and dwarfism.
Hutchinson-Gilford disease
A very rare disease of premature aging in young children, characterized mainly by a birdlike, "wizened old man" facial appearance, premature bodily ageing (progeria) and dwarfism.
Hutchinson-Gilford progeria (Hutchinson-Gilford disease)
A very rare disease of premature aging in young children, characterized mainly by a birdlike, "wizened old man" facial appearance, premature bodily ageing (progeria) and dwarfism.
Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome (Hutchinson-Gilford disease)
A very rare disease of premature aging in young children, characterized mainly by a birdlike, "wizened old man" facial appearance, premature bodily ageing (progeria) and dwarfism.
Souques-Charcot syndrome (a variant of this syndrome) (Hutchinson-Gilford disease)
A very rare disease of premature aging in young children, characterized mainly by a birdlike, "wizened old man" facial appearance, premature bodily ageing (progeria) and dwarfism.
Adams-Victor-Mancall syndrome (Raymond Delacy Adams)
Progressive facial and tongue weakness, speech and deglutition impairment in alcoholic or nutritionally deprived patients.
Cirrhose alcoolo-tuberculeuse de Hutinel et Sabourin (French) (Hutinel and Sabourin's alcoholic-tuberculous cirrhosis)
Hypertrophic fatty cirrhosis the liver of alcoholic or tuberculous origin.
Hutinel and Sabourin's alcoholic-tuberculous cirrhosis
Hypertrophic fatty cirrhosis the liver of alcoholic or tuberculous origin.
Korsakoff's disease (Korsakoff's psychosis and syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by a severe memory defect, especially for recent event, for which the patient compensates by confabulation
Korsakoff's psychosis and syndrome
A syndrome characterized by a severe memory defect, especially for recent event, for which the patient compensates by confabulation
Korsakoff’s psychosis (Korsakoff's psychosis and syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by a severe memory defect, especially for recent event, for which the patient compensates by confabulation
Korsakoff’s symptom complex (Korsakoff's psychosis and syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by a severe memory defect, especially for recent event, for which the patient compensates by confabulation
Laënnec's cirrhosis
Cirrhosis of the liver - without jaundice - seen in chronic alcoholism and malnutrition.
Laënnec’s syndrome (Laënnec's cirrhosis)
Cirrhosis of the liver - without jaundice - seen in chronic alcoholism and malnutrition.
Late cortical cerebellar atrophy of Marie, Foix and Alajouanine (Marie-Foix-Alajouanine syndrome)
Ataxia of the cerebellum in advanced age. Frequently due to abuse of alcohol.
Marie-Foix-Alajouanine syndrome
Ataxia of the cerebellum in advanced age. Frequently due to abuse of alcohol.
Meynert’s amentia (Korsakoff's psychosis and syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by a severe memory defect, especially for recent event, for which the patient compensates by confabulation
Morel's disease (Saunders-Sutton syndrome)
A not commonly used term for an acute form of alcohol withdrawal syndrome occurring in chronic alcoholic patients.
Morel's sclerosis
A variety of alcoholic encephalopathy.
Morgagni-Laënnec syndrome/cirrhosis (Laënnec's cirrhosis)
Cirrhosis of the liver - without jaundice - seen in chronic alcoholism and malnutrition.
Quinquaud's phenomenon or sign
A peculiar form of finger tremor with a sideways finger movement from the intercossei.
Saunders-Sutton syndrome
A not commonly used term for an acute form of alcohol withdrawal syndrome occurring in chronic alcoholic patients.
Wernicke-Korsakoff disease
An association of Gayet-Wernicke and Korsakoff syndromes.
Wernicke-Korsakoff symptom complex (Wernicke-Korsakoff disease)
An association of Gayet-Wernicke and Korsakoff syndromes.
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (Wernicke-Korsakoff disease)
An association of Gayet-Wernicke and Korsakoff syndromes.
Zieve's syndrome
Symptom complex occurring in patient with excessive consumption of alcohol, characterised by haemolytic anaemia, severe hyperlipoproriteinaemia, transient jaundice, and abdominal pain.
ALLERGIES AND ASTHMA
A phenomenon in allergology.
Heberden-Willan disease (Schönlein-Henoch purpura)
A form of anaphylactoid (allergic) or non-thrombopenic purpura which is the most common connective-tissue disorder in children.
Henoch disease (Schönlein-Henoch purpura)
A form of anaphylactoid (allergic) or non-thrombopenic purpura which is the most common connective-tissue disorder in children.
Henoch-Schönlein syndrome (Schönlein-Henoch purpura)
A form of anaphylactoid (allergic) or non-thrombopenic purpura which is the most common connective-tissue disorder in children.
Hines-Bannick
An allergic syndrome with profuse sweating followed by recurrent crises of hypothermia.
Königstein-Urbach reaction (Urbach-Königstein method)
Diagnostic procedure for demonstrating antibodies in allergics.
Laënnec's pearls
Obsolete term for round gelatinous masses seen in asthmatic sputum.
Naegeli-de Quervain-Stalder "Autotransplantationsmethode" (auto transplant method). (Naegeli-de Quervain-Stalder test)
A method for demonstrating cell-combined allergic antibodies.
Naegeli-de Quervain-Stalder test
A method for demonstrating cell-combined allergic antibodies.
Richet's phenomenon (Theobald Smith's phenomenon)
An allergic hypersensitivity reaction of the body to a foreign protein or drug.
Richet's phenomenon
The sometimes fatal reaction by a sensitized individual to a second injection of an antigen.
Samter's syndrome
A syndrome in asthmatic and allergic diseases characterised by the triad of bronchial asthma, vasomotor rhinitis, and intolerance to aspirin and aspirin-like medications.
Schönlein purpura (Schönlein-Henoch purpura)
A form of anaphylactoid (allergic) or non-thrombopenic purpura which is the most common connective-tissue disorder in children.
Schönlein's disease
An allergic or anaphylactic purpura occurring in individuals, especially children, with drug sensitivities, serum sickness, and other allergic disorders.
Schönlein-Henoch disease (Schönlein-Henoch purpura)
A form of anaphylactoid (allergic) or non-thrombopenic purpura which is the most common connective-tissue disorder in children.
Schönlein-Henoch purpura
A form of anaphylactoid (allergic) or non-thrombopenic purpura which is the most common connective-tissue disorder in children.
Schönlein-Henoch syndrome (Schönlein-Henoch purpura)
A form of anaphylactoid (allergic) or non-thrombopenic purpura which is the most common connective-tissue disorder in children.
Theobald Smith's phenomenon
An allergic hypersensitivity reaction of the body to a foreign protein or drug.
Theobald Smith's phenomenon (Richet's phenomenon)
The sometimes fatal reaction by a sensitized individual to a second injection of an antigen.
Urbach-Königstein method
Diagnostic procedure for demonstrating antibodies in allergics.
Urbach-Königstein reaction (Urbach-Königstein method)
Diagnostic procedure for demonstrating antibodies in allergics.
Widal's syndrome (M. Fernand Widal) (Samter's syndrome)
A syndrome in asthmatic and allergic diseases characterised by the triad of bronchial asthma, vasomotor rhinitis, and intolerance to aspirin and aspirin-like medications.
Widal-Abrami-Lermoyez triad (M. Fernand Widal) (Samter's syndrome)
A syndrome in asthmatic and allergic diseases characterised by the triad of bronchial asthma, vasomotor rhinitis, and intolerance to aspirin and aspirin-like medications.
Widal-Lermoyez syndrome (M. Fernand Widal) (Samter's syndrome)
A syndrome in asthmatic and allergic diseases characterised by the triad of bronchial asthma, vasomotor rhinitis, and intolerance to aspirin and aspirin-like medications.
Willis' disease II
Andrade’s paramyeloidosis (Wohlwill-Andrade syndrome)
A hereditary form of amyloidosis characterized by predominantly neurological symptoms.
Andrade’s syndrome (Wohlwill-Andrade syndrome)
A hereditary form of amyloidosis characterized by predominantly neurological symptoms.
Andrade’s type of heritable polyneuropathy (Wohlwill-Andrade syndrome)
A hereditary form of amyloidosis characterized by predominantly neurological symptoms.
Corino de Andrade syndrome (Wohlwill-Andrade syndrome)
A hereditary form of amyloidosis characterized by predominantly neurological symptoms.
Königstein-Lubarsch syndrome (Lubarsch-Pick syndrome (Ludwig Pick))
A rare syndrome characterized by the association of macroglossia with systematized amyloidosis of the skin and skeletal muscles.
Königstein-Lubarsch systematized, primitive amyloidosis (Lubarsch-Pick syndrome (Ludwig Pick))
A rare syndrome characterized by the association of macroglossia with systematized amyloidosis of the skin and skeletal muscles.
Lubarsch-Königstein amyloidosis (Lubarsch-Pick syndrome (Ludwig Pick))
A rare syndrome characterized by the association of macroglossia with systematized amyloidosis of the skin and skeletal muscles.
Lubarsch-Königstein disease (Lubarsch-Pick syndrome (Ludwig Pick))
A rare syndrome characterized by the association of macroglossia with systematized amyloidosis of the skin and skeletal muscles.
Lubarsch-Pick syndrome (Ludwig Pick)
A rare syndrome characterized by the association of macroglossia with systematized amyloidosis of the skin and skeletal muscles.
Wohlwill-Andrade syndrome
A hereditary form of amyloidosis characterized by predominantly neurological symptoms.
Wohlwill-Corino Andrade syndrome (Wohlwill-Andrade syndrome)
A hereditary form of amyloidosis characterized by predominantly neurological symptoms.
ANATOMY ANATOMY ANATOMY ANATOMY !!!!!
The insula of the cerebral cortex.
Achilles' heel
Soft spot.
Achilles' tendon
The tendon of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the leg – connects the calf muscles to the heel.
Adams' arc
Arc-shaped line from trochanter minor to the lower margin of the neck of the femur.
Amussat's fold
Abnormal folds of the urethral mucous membrane at the level of the seminal colliculus.
Amussat's valves
The spiral valves of the cystic duct.
Andernach's ossicles
Small bones found in cranial sutures.
Andersch' ganglion
The petrosal ganglion of the glasopharyngeal nerve was previously called Andersch' ganglion.
Aneurysm of sinus of Valsalva
A thin-walled tubular outpouching usually in the right or noncoronary sinus
Angle of Louis (Louis' angle)
The angle formed at the junction of the manubrium and the body of the sternum.
Angulus Ludovici (Louis' angle)
The angle formed at the junction of the manubrium and the body of the sternum.
Aqueduct of Falloppio (Fallopian canal)
The facial canal. The facial nerve passes through this canal in the temporal bone.
Arantius' duct
The ductus venosus.
Arnold's canal
A passage of the petrous portion of the temporal bone for the auricular branch of the vagus.
Arnold's ganglion
The otic or auricular ganglion.
Aschoff's organ
The first cervical vertebra by which the head articulates with the occipital bone.
Auerbach's plexus
The myenteric plexus.
Bandl's ring
The ring muscle at the border of the uterus corpus and the uterus isthmus, which is developed more pronouncedly during delivery.
Bandl's ring of contraction (Bandl's ring)
The ring muscle at the border of the uterus corpus and the uterus isthmus, which is developed more pronouncedly during delivery.
Bernard's canal (Claude bernard)
Ductus pancreaticus accesorius. An accessory pancreatic duct.
Bernard's glandular layer (Claude Bernard)
Inner layer of cells lining acinis of pancreas.
Billroth's cords
The splenic cords found in the red pulp between the sinusoids.
Billroth's paths (Billroth's cords)
The splenic cords found in the red pulp between the sinusoids.
Billroth's ways (Billroth's cords)
The splenic cords found in the red pulp between the sinusoids.
Blumenbach's clivus
Sloping part of sphenoid bone behind posterior clinoid processes.
Blumenbach's process
Occipital angle of parietal lobe.
Broca's basilar angle (Broca's angle)
Occipital angle of parietal lobe.
Broca's facial angle (Broca's angle)
Occipital angle of parietal lobe.
Cavum Meckelli (Meckel's space)
The cavity, or cleft, between two layers of dura over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that encloses the roots of the trigeminal nerve and the trigeminal ganglion.
Cloquet's canal
A vestige of the embryonal A. hyolidea.
Cloquet's gland (Rosenmüller-Cloquet gland)
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Cloquet's node (Rosenmüller-Cloquet gland)
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Colles' fascia
Inner layer of superficial fascia – Scarpa’s fascia – of perineum.
Columns of Morgagni (Morgagni's columns)
The vertical folds in the rectum.
Cooper's fascia
One of the coverings of the spermatic cord.
Cooper's ligament
A strong aponeurotic lateral continuation of the lacunar ligament along the pectineal line of the pubis.
Cooper's stripes
Fibrous feature between lig. collaterale radiale and u. ulnare at the distal end.
Cotunnius' aquaduct
The aqueduct of the inner ear.
Cotunnius' columns
The columns in the osseous spiral lamina of the cochlea.
Douglas' cul-de-sac
Peritoneal space formed by deflection of the peritoneum.
Douglas' fold
A fold of peritoneum forming the lateral boundary of Douglas' pouch.
Douglas' pouch (Douglas' cul-de-sac)
Peritoneal space formed by deflection of the peritoneum.
Douglas' space (Douglas' cul-de-sac)
Peritoneal space formed by deflection of the peritoneum.
Ducts of Luschka (Luschka's ducts)
Small, glandlike tubular structures in the wall of the gallbladder adjacent to the liver, especially in the part covered with peritoneum.
Ehrenritter's ganglion
The superior ganglion of the glossopharyngeal nerve.
Fallopian arch (Fallopian ligament)
A fibrous band forming the thickened lower border of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle between the anterosuperior spine of the ilium and the pubic tubercle.
Fallopian canal
The facial canal. The facial nerve passes through this canal in the temporal bone.
Fallopian ligament
A fibrous band forming the thickened lower border of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle between the anterosuperior spine of the ilium and the pubic tubercle.
Fallopian tube
One of the tubes or ducts leading on either side from the upper or outer extremity of the ovary to the fundus of the uterus.
Fleece of Stilling
Meshwork of white fibres that surrounds the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum.
Fontana's canal (Schlemm's canal)
The canal of the sclero-corneal junction.
Fontana's spaces
Irregularly shaped endothelium-lined spaces between the processus of ligamentum pectinatum of the iris.
Foramina of Luschka (Luschka's foramen)
The Foramen of 4th ventricle. One of the two lateral openings draining the fourth ventricle into the subarachnoid space at the cerebellopontine angle.
Gartner's canal (Gartner's duct)
An occasionally occurring small duct lying parallel to the uterine tube, extending from the epoöphoron through the broad ligament to the vagina.
Gartner's duct
An occasionally occurring small duct lying parallel to the uterine tube, extending from the epoöphoron through the broad ligament to the vagina.
Gasser's ganglion
The large sensory ganglion of the trigeminal nerve.
Gasserian ganglion (Gasser's ganglion)
The large sensory ganglion of the trigeminal nerve.
Giraldé's organ
A vestige of the wolffian body at posterior side of the testicle.
Glisson's capsule
The outer capsule of connective fibrous tissue, surrounding the liver, the intrahepatic branches of vena portae, arteria hepatica, and the bile duct.
Golgi's apparatus
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Golgi's apparatus of the cell (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Golgi's complex (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Golgi's internal reticulum (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Gowers' bundle (Gowers' tract)
A pit along the external portion of the false vocal corda.
Hilton's white line (Hilton's line)
A white line at the junction of the skin of the perineum and anal mucosa, said to be palpable.
Holmgren-Golgi canals (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Hunter's canal (John Hunter)
Canalis adductorius. The adductor canal.
Islands of Reil
The insula of the cerebral cortex.
Key-Retzius foramina (Luschka's foramen)
The Foramen of 4th ventricle. One of the two lateral openings draining the fourth ventricle into the subarachnoid space at the cerebellopontine angle.
Kobelt's tubules
Remnants of Wolffian ducts in the paroöphoron.
Krause's bone (Wilhelm Krause)
The second ossification centre in the growing acetabulum at the junction of the ilium, ischium, and pubis.
Krause's ligament (Karl Friedrich Theodor Krause)
The transverse perineal ligament
Canal in the fetal sphenoid bone.
Landzert's fossa
A fossa formed by two peritoneal folds, lateral to the forth segment of the duodenum and behind the inferior mesenteric vein and ascending left colic artery.
Le Cat's gulf
The hollow of the bulbous portion of the urethra.
Leydig's gland
A portion of the mesonephros in vertebrates, of which the secretions are thought to stimulate the movement of spermatozoa.
Lieberkühn's crypts (Lieberkühn's glands)
Simple tubular glands which open into the intestine, present in the mucous membrane of the small and large intestines.
Lieberkühn's follicles (Lieberkühn's glands)
Simple tubular glands which open into the intestine, present in the mucous membrane of the small and large intestines.
Lieberkühn's glands
Simple tubular glands which open into the intestine, present in the mucous membrane of the small and large intestines.
Louis' angle
The angle formed at the junction of the manubrium and the body of the sternum.
Luschka's ducts
Small, glandlike tubular structures in the wall of the gallbladder adjacent to the liver, especially in the part covered with peritoneum.
Luschka's foramen
The Foramen of 4th ventricle. One of the two lateral openings draining the fourth ventricle into the subarachnoid space at the cerebellopontine angle.
Meckel's band (Meckel's ligament)
Portion of the anterior ligament of the malleus that extends from the base of the anterior process through the petrotympanic fissure.
Meckel's cartilage
A cartilaginous bar about which the mandible develops.
Meckel's cavity (Meckel's space)
The cavity, or cleft, between two layers of dura over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that encloses the roots of the trigeminal nerve and the trigeminal ganglion.
Meckel's diverticulum
Diverticulum of the ileum derived from the unobliterated yolk stalk.
Meckel's ganglion
The sphenopalatine ganglion or the second division of the trigeminal nerve.
Meckel's ligament
Portion of the anterior ligament of the malleus that extends from the base of the anterior process through the petrotympanic fissure.
Meckel's space
The cavity, or cleft, between two layers of dura over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that encloses the roots of the trigeminal nerve and the trigeminal ganglion.
Meckel’s cave (Meckel's space)
The cavity, or cleft, between two layers of dura over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that encloses the roots of the trigeminal nerve and the trigeminal ganglion.
Ménard-Shenton line (Shenton's line)
A radiographic line formed by the top of the obturator foramen and the inner side of the neck of the femur.
Ménard-Shenton-Makkas line (Shenton's line)
A radiographic line formed by the top of the obturator foramen and the inner side of the neck of the femur.
Morgagni's caruncle
The appendix of the testis.
Morgagni's foramen
Right-sided fissure between pars sternalis and Pars costalis in the diaphragm.
Morgagni's lacunas
The orifices of the mucous glands of the male urethre.
Morgagni's sinus
Refers to the space between the upper border of the levator veli palateni and the base of the skull.
Morgagni's ventricle
Lateral pouch in the vestibulum laryngis between the Ligamentum vestibulare and the vocal cord.
Morgagni’s fissure (Morgagni's foramen)
Right-sided fissure between pars sternalis and Pars costalis in the diaphragm.
Morgagni’s hydatid (Morgagni's cyst)
The appendix of the testis.
Nageotte's place
A section of the posterior root of the spinal marrow.
Ollier's layer
The inner layer of the periosteum, closest to the bone.
Poupart's inguinal ligament (Fallopian ligament)
A fibrous band forming the thickened lower border of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle between the anterosuperior spine of the ilium and the pubic tubercle.
Poupart's ligament (Fallopian ligament)
A fibrous band forming the thickened lower border of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle between the anterosuperior spine of the ilium and the pubic tubercle.
Rivinus' canals
Ducts of the sublingual glands.
Rivinus' notch
The tympanic notch in the upper part of the tympanic portion of the temporal bone.
Rivinus’ incisure (Rivinus' notch)
The tympanic notch in the upper part of the tympanic portion of the temporal bone.
Rosenmüller's body (Rosenmüller's organ)
A rudimentary structure located in the mesosalpix.
Rosenmüller's cavity (Rosenmüller's fossa)
The lateral pharyngeal recess.
The palpebral portion of the lacrimal gland.
Rosenmüller's gland (Rosenmüller-Cloquet gland)
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Rosenmüller's node (Rosenmüller-Cloquet gland)
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Rosenmüller's organ
A rudimentary structure located in the mesosalpix.
Rosenmüller's recess (Rosenmüller's fossa)
The lateral pharyngeal recess.
Small inguinal lymphatic nodes located in or adjacent to the femoral canal.
Ruysch's muscle
A circular muscle in the fundus uteri.
Ruysch's tube
A minute tubular cavity opening in the nasal septum.
Schlemm's canal
The canal of the sclero-corneal junction.
Schultze's comma
Fasciculus interfascicularis - descending posterior root threads between the Goll's string and the Burdach's string. .
Shenton's line
A radiographic line formed by the top of the obturator foramen and the inner side of the neck of the femur.
Skene's ducts
Paraurethral ducts.
Skene's glands
Numerous mucous glands in the wall of the female urethra, localised so that their openings are just inside the urinary meatus.
Skene's tubules
Embryonic urethral glands.
Spiegel's line
A slight groove which is the line of abdomen lying parallel to the median line and marking the lateral margin of the rectus abdominis muscle.
Spiegel's lobe
The caudate lobe of the liver.
Spigelian line (Spiegel's line)
A slight groove which is the line of abdomen lying parallel to the median line and marking the lateral margin of the rectus abdominis muscle.
Stensen's duct
Incisive foramina of the hard palate, transmitting anterior branches of the descending palatine vessels.
Stensen's veins
A minute canal running through the vitreous from the discus nervi optici to the lens.
Treves' bloodless fold
Bloodless fold of Treves. An ileocecal fold of peritoneum associated with the appendix.
Tuba fallopiana (Fallopian tube)
One of the tubes or ducts leading on either side from the upper or outer extremity of the ovary to the fundus of the uterus.
Tuba Falloppii (Fallopian tube)
One of the tubes or ducts leading on either side from the upper or outer extremity of the ovary to the fundus of the uterus.
Valsalva's antrum
A cavity in the petrous portion of the temporal bone.
Valsalva's ligaments
Ligaments that attach the auricle to the side of the head.
Valsalva's muscle
A band of vertical muscular fibres on the outer surface of the tragus of the ear, innervated by the temporal branch of the facial nerve.
Volkmann's canals (Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann)
Vascular channels in compact bone carrying the blood vessels from the periosteum.
von Recklinghausen's canals
The lymph canaliculi.
Wenckebach's bundle
The median bundle of the conductive system of the heart leading to the atrioventricular node (Tawara's node).
Wharton's duct
The duct of the submandibular salivary gland opening into the mouth at side of the frenum linguae.
Wharton's jelly
A gelatinous intercellular substance which is the primitive mucoid connective tissue of the umbilical cord.
Willis' cords
Fibrous cords crossing the superior longitudinal sinus transversely.
Wolffian body (Caspar Friedrich Wolff)
An embryonic organ on each side of the vertebral column.
Wolffian canal (Wolffian duct (Caspar Friedrich Wolff))
The embryonic duct of the mesonephros, from mesonephros to cloaca.
Wolffian duct (Caspar Friedrich Wolff)
The embryonic duct of the mesonephros, from mesonephros to cloaca.
Wolffian tubules (Kobelt's tubules)
Remnants of Wolffian ducts in the paroöphoron.
Zenker's diverticulum
Diverticulum of the mucous membrane of the oesophagus through a defect in the wall of oesophagus.
ANDROGYNOUS SYNDROMES
This syndrome of complete testicular feminization is the commonest form of male pseudohermaphroditism.
Goldberg-Maxwell syndrome (de Quervain's syndrome)
This syndrome of complete testicular feminization is the commonest form of male pseudohermaphroditism.
Goldberg-Maxwell-Morris syndrome (de Quervain's syndrome)
This syndrome of complete testicular feminization is the commonest form of male pseudohermaphroditism.
Goldberg-Morris syndrome (de Quervain's syndrome)
This syndrome of complete testicular feminization is the commonest form of male pseudohermaphroditism.
Morris’ syndrome (de Quervain's syndrome)
This syndrome of complete testicular feminization is the commonest form of male pseudohermaphroditism.
BIOCHEMISTRY
A reliable biological method for demonstration and standardisation of progesteron.
Clauberg's test (Clauberg's method)
A reliable biological method for demonstration and standardisation of progesteron.
Cori cycle
Phases in the metabolism of carbohydrate.
Cori ester
Glucose-1-phosphate (phosphate bound to a specific carbon atom on the glucose molecule).
Krebs' cycle
A complicated series of reactions in the body involving the oxidative metabolism of pyruvic acid and liberation of energy.
Krebs-Henseleit cycle
Ornithine citrulline arginine urea cycle.
Michaelis' constant (Michaelis-Menten constant)
The substrate concentration in moles/l at which an enzyme reaction proceeds at half its maximal rate.
Michaelis-Menten constant
The substrate concentration in moles/l at which an enzyme reaction proceeds at half its maximal rate.
Michaelis-Menten hypothesis
A general explanation of the velocity and gross mechanism of enzyme-catalysed reactions.
Michaelis-Menten mechanism for the catalysis of biological chemical reactions (Michaelis-Menten hypothesis)
A general explanation of the velocity and gross mechanism of enzyme-catalysed reactions.
Szent-Györgyi-Krebs cycle (Krebs' cycle)
A complicated series of reactions in the body involving the oxidative metabolism of pyruvic acid and liberation of energy.
HEMATOLOGY !!!!!!
Abotutuo (African name) (Herrick's syndrome)
Sickle cell anaemia.
Abrami's disease (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Abrami's syndrome (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Addison's anaemia (Addison-Biermer disease)
Historic term for pernicious anaemia or megaloblastic anaemia, secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency.
Addison-Biermer anaemia (Addison-Biermer disease)
Historic term for pernicious anaemia or megaloblastic anaemia, secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency.
Addison-Biermer disease
Historic term for pernicious anaemia or megaloblastic anaemia, secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency.
Albright's anaemia
Anaemia seen in advanced hyperparathyroidism.
Alder's bodies (Alder-Reilly bodies)
Granular inclusions in polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Alder-Reilly bodies
Granular inclusions in polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Alexander's syndrome (Benjamin Alexander)
A congenital disorder of both sexes with onset in childhood or adult life. Like haemophilia but less severe.
Anémie, maladie ou syndrome de Dresbach (French) (Dresbach's anaemia)
A haematological disorder characterized by the presence of elliptical erythrocytes in the blood.
Arakawa's syndrome II
A congenital syndrome of tetrahydrofolate methyltransferase deficiency.
Arakwa-Highashi syndrome
Uracil-uric refractory anaemia with peroxidase negative neutrophils and megaloblastic bone marrow.
Arnason's syndrome
Amyloid cerebral deposits.
Ashby's techniques
A differential agglutination method which is used to determine survival rates of red blood cells in the human body.
Astrup's micro method
An indirect method for measuring the acid-base status of the blood.
Astrup's thrombin inhibitor
Astrup’s microapparatus (Astrup's micro method)
An indirect method for measuring the acid-base status of the blood.
Auberger's blood group
Blood group with the antigen Aua.
Bamberger's albuminuria
Albuminuria occurring in later stages of severe anaemia.
Bandler's syndrome
Intestinal haemangiomatosis with mucocutaneous pigmentation.
Banti's disease
A syndrome of anaemia, congestive splenic enlargement, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, gasterointestinal hemorrhages, portal cirrhosis, obstruction of splenic, portal, or intrahepatic veins and ultimately cirrhosis of liver.
Banti's syndrome (Banti's disease)
A syndrome of anaemia, congestive splenic enlargement, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, gasterointestinal hemorrhages, portal cirrhosis, obstruction of splenic, portal, or intrahepatic veins and ultimately cirrhosis of liver.
Banti-Senator disease (Banti's disease)
A syndrome of anaemia, congestive splenic enlargement, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, gasterointestinal hemorrhages, portal cirrhosis, obstruction of splenic, portal, or intrahepatic veins and ultimately cirrhosis of liver.
Bernard's syndrome (Jean Bernard)
A familial and congenital bleeding disorder characterised by giant platelets and thrombocytopenia.
Biermer-Ehrlich anaemia (Addison-Biermer disease)
Historic term for pernicious anaemia or megaloblastic anaemia, secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency.
Cathic’s syndrome (Heinz' bodies congenital haemolytic anaemia)
Haemolytic anaemia of infancy associated with the finding of Heinz’ bodies in the red cells.
Chauffard’s syndrome (Minkowski-Chauffard disease)
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Christmas disease
A form of haemophilia caused by deficiency of Christmas’ factor.
Christmas' factor
A thromboplastin activator which is necessary for normal coagulation.
Chwechweechwe (African name) (Herrick's syndrome)
Sickle cell anaemia.
Cooley's anaemia
A lethal anaemia resulting from inheritance of a recessive trait responsible for interference with the rate of haemoglobin synthesis.
Cooley's anaemia II
Cooley's name has been attached to atype of anaemia which he described shortly before his death, but no further description have been found.
Cooley's anaemia syndrome (Cooley's anaemia)
A lethal anaemia resulting from inheritance of a recessive trait responsible for interference with the rate of haemoglobin synthesis.
Cooley's disease (Cooley's anaemia)
A lethal anaemia resulting from inheritance of a recessive trait responsible for interference with the rate of haemoglobin synthesis.
Cooley's syndrome (Cooley's anaemia)
A lethal anaemia resulting from inheritance of a recessive trait responsible for interference with the rate of haemoglobin synthesis.
Cooley's trait
Thalassaemia minor.
Cooley-Lee syndrome (Cooley's anaemia)
A lethal anaemia resulting from inheritance of a recessive trait responsible for interference with the rate of haemoglobin synthesis.
Crosby's syndrome
A no longer commonly used term for a hereditary, non-spherocytic haemolytic anaemia caused by enzyme disorders, hemoglobinopathies, or defects in membrane structure.
Crosby's syndrome (misnomer) (Zuelzer-Kaplan syndrome II)
Haemoglobin C thalassaemia; thalassaemia-haemoglobin C disease.
Crosby's test
A diagnostic test for demonstrating the nocturnal paroxysmal heamoglobinuria.
Dameshek's syndrome (Cooley's anaemia)
A lethal anaemia resulting from inheritance of a recessive trait responsible for interference with the rate of haemoglobin synthesis.
Debrie’s familial haemolytic disease (Minkowski-Chauffard disease)
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Di Guglielmo's disease
A syndrome of unknown origin characterised by enormous numbers of nucleated red cells appearing in the bone marrow and blood.
Di Guglielmo's syndrome (Di Guglielmo's disease)
A syndrome of unknown origin characterised by enormous numbers of nucleated red cells appearing in the bone marrow and blood.
Di Guglielmo’s disease II (Mortensen's syndrome)
Obsolete, no longer used term for essential thrombocythaemia, a haematological disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time and splenomegaly, with excessive bleeding after minor trauma and at surgery.
Di Guglielmo’s syndrome (Mortensen's syndrome)
Obsolete, no longer used term for essential thrombocythaemia, a haematological disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time and splenomegaly, with excessive bleeding after minor trauma and at surgery.
Dresbach's anaemia
A haematological disorder characterized by the presence of elliptical erythrocytes in the blood.
Dresbach's disease (Dresbach's anaemia)
A haematological disorder characterized by the presence of elliptical erythrocytes in the blood.
Dresbach's syndrome (Dresbach's anaemia)
A haematological disorder characterized by the presence of elliptical erythrocytes in the blood.
Dreyfus-Dausset-Widal syndrome (Lederer-Brill disease)
Obsolete term for an autoimmune haemolytic aneamia with extremely variable clinical features.
Dreyfus-Dausset-Widal syndrome (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Dyke-Young anaemia
An acquired form of chronic immunohaemolytic macrocytic haemolytic anaemia with increased erythrocyte fragility.
Dyke-Young syndrome (Lederer-Brill disease)
Obsolete term for an autoimmune haemolytic aneamia with extremely variable clinical features.
Dyke-Young syndrome (chronic macrocytic type) (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Döhle's bodies
Light blue-gray, basophilic, leukocute inclusions in the periphery of neutrophils (in the cytoplasm of neutrophil granulocytes), 1-3 µ in diameter.
Edelmann's anaemia (Edelmann's syndrome I)
A form of chronic infectious anaemia.
Edelmann's syndrome I
A form of chronic infectious anaemia.
Ehrlich hämoglobinämische Innenkörper (German) (Heinz' bodies)
Small irregular, deep purple granules in red blood cells due to damage of the haemoglobin molecules.
Ehrlich Innenkörper (German) (Heinz' bodies)
Small irregular, deep purple granules in red blood cells due to damage of the haemoglobin molecules.
Ehrlich's bodies (Heinz' bodies)
Small irregular, deep purple granules in red blood cells due to damage of the haemoglobin molecules.
Ehrlich's finger test
In vivo test for demonstrating a haemolysis caused by biphasic cold haemolysins (Donath-Landsteiner antibodies).
Epstein's syndrome (Mortensen's syndrome)
Obsolete, no longer used term for essential thrombocythaemia, a haematological disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time and splenomegaly, with excessive bleeding after minor trauma and at surgery.
Epstein-Goedel syndrome (Mortensen's syndrome)
Obsolete, no longer used term for essential thrombocythaemia, a haematological disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time and splenomegaly, with excessive bleeding after minor trauma and at surgery.
Faber's anaemia
A form of aneamia caused by deficient intake, absorption, or metabolism of iron.
Faber’s syndrome (Faber's anaemia)
A form of aneamia caused by deficient intake, absorption, or metabolism of iron.
Facteur plasmatique de Haserick (French) (Haserick's factor)
Thermolabile antinuclear (anti DNS) antibodies occurring in Lupus erythematodes.
Glanzmann's syndrome (Glanzmann's thrombastenia)
A rare congenital abnormality of blood platelets, characterized by easy bruising and excessive bleeding after trauma and epistaxis.
Glanzmann's thrombastenia
A rare congenital abnormality of blood platelets, characterized by easy bruising and excessive bleeding after trauma and epistaxis.
Glanzmann-Nägeli syndrome (Glanzmann's thrombastenia)
A rare congenital abnormality of blood platelets, characterized by easy bruising and excessive bleeding after trauma and epistaxis.
Greppi-Micheli-Rietti syndrome (Rietti-Greppi-Micheli syndrome)
A no longer commonly used term for heterozygous thalassaemia.
Gänsslen's disease
A familial form of constitutional leukopenia.
Gänsslen's syndrome (Gänsslen's disease)
A familial form of constitutional leukopenia.
Gänsslen's syndrome (Minkowski-Chauffard disease)
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Gänsslen's syndrome II
Syndrome characterized by a severe degree of metabolic bone change associated with familial haemolytic anaemia.
Gänsslen-Erb acholuric jaundice syndrome (Minkowski-Chauffard disease)
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Gänsslen-Erb syndrome (Minkowski-Chauffard disease)
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Ham's test
The definitive test for diagnosing paroxysmal nocturnal heamoglobinuria (PNH).
Ham-Dacie acidified serum test (Ham's test)
The definitive test for diagnosing paroxysmal nocturnal heamoglobinuria (PNH).
Ham-Dacie test (Ham's test)
The definitive test for diagnosing paroxysmal nocturnal heamoglobinuria (PNH).
Hamburger's phenomenon
Thermolabile antinuclear (anti DNS) antibodies occurring in Lupus erythematodes.
Haserick's test or plasma test
Only French description available
Hayem's anaemia (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Hayem's chamber
Chamber for blood platelet counting.
Hayem's icterus (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Hayem's solution
A diluting fluid for blood used in counting erythrocytes.
Hayem-Faber syndrome (Faber's anaemia)
A form of aneamia caused by deficient intake, absorption, or metabolism of iron.
Hayem-Sahli haemocytometer
A microscope used for determining the number of platelets in a stated volume of blood.
Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal)
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Hayem-Widal syndrome (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Hayem-Widal-Loutit syndrome (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Hayem-Widal-Loutit syndrome (Lederer-Brill disease)
Obsolete term for an autoimmune haemolytic aneamia with extremely variable clinical features.
Hegglin’s anomaly (May-Hegglin anomaly)
A cytoplasmic leukocyte anomaly characterized by the presence Döhle or Amato bodies (2-5 µ) in neutrophils and eosinophils, thrombocytopenia, and giant blood platelets.
Hegglin’s syndrome (May-Hegglin anomaly)
A cytoplasmic leukocyte anomaly characterized by the presence Döhle or Amato bodies (2-5 µ) in neutrophils and eosinophils, thrombocytopenia, and giant blood platelets.
Heinz bodies-congenital haemolytic anaemia syndrome (Heinz' bodies congenital haemolytic anaemia)
Haemolytic anaemia of infancy associated with the finding of Heinz’ bodies in the red cells.
Heinz' bodies
Small irregular, deep purple granules in red blood cells due to damage of the haemoglobin molecules.
Heinz' bodies congenital haemolytic anaemia
Haemolytic anaemia of infancy associated with the finding of Heinz’ bodies in the red cells.
Heinz' body anaemia (Heinz' bodies congenital haemolytic anaemia)
Haemolytic anaemia of infancy associated with the finding of Heinz’ bodies in the red cells.
Heinz-Ehrlich bodies (Heinz' bodies)
Small irregular, deep purple granules in red blood cells due to damage of the haemoglobin molecules.
Hermansky's syndrome (Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome)
A hereditary platelet defect resulting in a bleeding tendency, albinism and lung disease.
Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome
A hereditary platelet defect resulting in a bleeding tendency, albinism and lung disease.
Herrick's syndrome
Sickle cell anaemia.
Howell-Gram method
Method of determining the coagulation time of blood: citrate plasma in small vitrios is kept at 37º C in transparent Dewar vessel.
Hunter-Addison anaemia (Addison-Biermer disease)
Historic term for pernicious anaemia or megaloblastic anaemia, secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency.
Hutinel-Tixier syndrome (Tixier's syndrome)
An obsolete term for a fulminating haemolytic crisis in debilitated or malnourished newborns.
Kaznelson’s syndrome (Faber's anaemia)
A form of aneamia caused by deficient intake, absorption, or metabolism of iron.
Kelly's syndrome (Plummer-Vinson syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by an iron-deficiency anaemia, atrophic changes in the buccal, glossopharyngeal, and oesophageal mucous membranes, koilonycha (spoon-shaped finger nails), and dysphagia.
Knud Faber’s syndrome (Faber's anaemia)
A form of aneamia caused by deficient intake, absorption, or metabolism of iron.
Korovnikov's disease (Korovnikov's syndrome)
A special form of Banti's disease characterised by splenomegaly with subthrombocytosis and gastrointestinal haemorrhage.
Korovnikov's syndrome
A special form of Banti's disease characterised by splenomegaly with subthrombocytosis and gastrointestinal haemorrhage.
Lebert's essential anaemia (Addison-Biermer disease)
Historic term for pernicious anaemia or megaloblastic anaemia, secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency.
Lederer acute anaemia (Lederer's anaemia)
An acute, transient type of Lederer-Brill disease. A form of acute haemolytic anaemia of infectious origin, with rapid onset and recovery in children.
Lederer's anaemia
An acute, transient type of Lederer-Brill disease. A form of acute haemolytic anaemia of infectious origin, with rapid onset and recovery in children.
Lederer-Brill disease
Obsolete term for an autoimmune haemolytic aneamia with extremely variable clinical features.
Lederer-Brill syndrome (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Lederer’s anaemia (acute transient type) (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Lederer’s disease (Lederer-Brill disease)
Obsolete term for an autoimmune haemolytic aneamia with extremely variable clinical features.
Lee and White method
Acanthocytosis with neurologic disease, choreoacanthocytosis, neuroacanthocytosis.
Loutit's syndrome
Jaundice and haemolytic anaemia associated with hyperbilirubunaemia.
Löffler's endocarditis
A very rare form of endocarditis associated with a highly increased number of eosinophilic granulocytes in the blood.
Löffler's endomyocarditis (Löffler's endocarditis)
A very rare form of endocarditis associated with a highly increased number of eosinophilic granulocytes in the blood.
Löffler’s fibroblastic endocarditis (Löffler's endocarditis)
A very rare form of endocarditis associated with a highly increased number of eosinophilic granulocytes in the blood.
Løffler’s syndrome (Löffler's endocarditis)
A very rare form of endocarditis associated with a highly increased number of eosinophilic granulocytes in the blood.
May-Hegglin anomaly
A cytoplasmic leukocyte anomaly characterized by the presence Döhle or Amato bodies (2-5 µ) in neutrophils and eosinophils, thrombocytopenia, and giant blood platelets.
May-Hegglin syndrome (May-Hegglin anomaly)
A cytoplasmic leukocyte anomaly characterized by the presence Döhle or Amato bodies (2-5 µ) in neutrophils and eosinophils, thrombocytopenia, and giant blood platelets.
Micheli-Rietti syndrome (Rietti-Greppi-Micheli syndrome)
A no longer commonly used term for heterozygous thalassaemia.
Minkowski-Chauffard disease
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Minkowski-Chauffard haemolytic jaundice (Minkowski-Chauffard disease)
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Minkowski-Chauffard-Gänsslen syndrome (Minkowski-Chauffard disease)
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Morbus Minkowski-Chauffard (Minkowski-Chauffard disease)
Congenital haemolytical anaemia presenting with spherocytosis, splenomegaly and varying degrees of anaemia and ikterus.
Mortensen's syndrome
Obsolete, no longer used term for essential thrombocythaemia, a haematological disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time and splenomegaly, with excessive bleeding after minor trauma and at surgery.
Mortensen’s disease (Mortensen's syndrome)
Obsolete, no longer used term for essential thrombocythaemia, a haematological disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time and splenomegaly, with excessive bleeding after minor trauma and at surgery.
Neumann's cells (Franz Ernst Christian Neumann)
Nucleated, stained cells in the bone marrow in which red blood corpuscles originate.
nuiduidui (Herrick's syndrome)
Nuiduidui (African name) (Herrick's syndrome)
Sickle cell anaemia.
Nwiiwii (African name) (Herrick's syndrome)
Sickle cell anaemia.
Nygaard-Brown syndrome (George Elgie Brown)
A syndrome of arterial occlusion with reduced bleeding and coagulation time.
Nägeli syndrome II (Glanzmann's thrombastenia)
A rare congenital abnormality of blood platelets, characterized by easy bruising and excessive bleeding after trauma and epistaxis.
Osler's disease (Vaquez' disease)
A relatively rare chronic disease of the blood in which the red cells are increased in number. The spleen becomes enlarged, and the face is a deep red rather than truly cyanotic.
Osler-Vaquez disease (Vaquez' disease)
A relatively rare chronic disease of the blood in which the red cells are increased in number. The spleen becomes enlarged, and the face is a deep red rather than truly cyanotic.
Pagon's syndrome
Congenital anaemia with ataxia, clonus, and positive Babinski sign.
Paterson-Brown-Kelly syndrome (Plummer-Vinson syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by an iron-deficiency anaemia, atrophic changes in the buccal, glossopharyngeal, and oesophageal mucous membranes, koilonycha (spoon-shaped finger nails), and dysphagia.
Paterson-Kelly syndrome (Plummer-Vinson syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by an iron-deficiency anaemia, atrophic changes in the buccal, glossopharyngeal, and oesophageal mucous membranes, koilonycha (spoon-shaped finger nails), and dysphagia.
Paterson’s syndrome (Plummer-Vinson syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by an iron-deficiency anaemia, atrophic changes in the buccal, glossopharyngeal, and oesophageal mucous membranes, koilonycha (spoon-shaped finger nails), and dysphagia.
Plummer-Vinson syndrome
A syndrome characterized by an iron-deficiency anaemia, atrophic changes in the buccal, glossopharyngeal, and oesophageal mucous membranes, koilonycha (spoon-shaped finger nails), and dysphagia.
Rabe-Salomon syndrome
A familial blood-clotting disorder that manifests from birth with bleeding from umbilical cord.
Révol's syndrome (Glanzmann's thrombastenia)
A rare congenital abnormality of blood platelets, characterized by easy bruising and excessive bleeding after trauma and epistaxis.
Revol’s disease (Mortensen's syndrome)
Obsolete, no longer used term for essential thrombocythaemia, a haematological disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time and splenomegaly, with excessive bleeding after minor trauma and at surgery.
Revol’s syndrome (Mortensen's syndrome)
Obsolete, no longer used term for essential thrombocythaemia, a haematological disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding time and splenomegaly, with excessive bleeding after minor trauma and at surgery.
Rietti's disease (Rietti-Greppi-Micheli syndrome)
A no longer commonly used term for heterozygous thalassaemia.
Rietti-Greppi-Micheli syndrome
A no longer commonly used term for heterozygous thalassaemia.
Rietti-Greppi-Micheli syndrome II
This term has been used to designate a group of the hereditary haemopathic syndromes.
Rundles-Falls syndrome
A hereditary form of familial sideroblastic anaemia, occurring in males.
Sahli's apparatus
Instrument used in Sahli's method for determination of haemoglobin.
Sahli's method I
One of the original techniques for measuring haemoglobin calorimetrically, with a haemometer.
Sahli’s tube (Sahli's apparatus)
Instrument used in Sahli's method for determination of haemoglobin.
Salomon’s syndrome (Eugen Salomon) (Rabe-Salomon syndrome)
A familial blood-clotting disorder that manifests from birth with bleeding from umbilical cord.
Schilling's classification and haemogram
A differential count of the leukocytes, in which the polymorphonuclear neutrophil cells are divided into four categories according to number and arrangement of the nuclei in the cells.
Schilling's type of leukaemia
Monocytic leukaemia without any morphological components resembling a myelocytic origin.
Schilling’s leukaemia (Schilling's type of leukaemia)
Monocytic leukaemia without any morphological components resembling a myelocytic origin.
Senator syndrome (Banti's disease)
A syndrome of anaemia, congestive splenic enlargement, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, gasterointestinal hemorrhages, portal cirrhosis, obstruction of splenic, portal, or intrahepatic veins and ultimately cirrhosis of liver.
Silvestroni-Bianco anaemia
No longer used term for heterozygotous thalassaemia.
Silvestroni-Bianco syndrome (Silvestroni-Bianco anaemia)
No longer used term for heterozygotous thalassaemia.
Soulier-Boffa syndrome
Repeated spontaneous abortions in women with circulatory antithromboplastin anticoagulant and thrombosis.
Tixier's syndrome
An obsolete term for a fulminating haemolytic crisis in debilitated or malnourished newborns.
Trousseau's syndrome (Nygaard-Brown syndrome (George Elgie Brown))
A syndrome of arterial occlusion with reduced bleeding and coagulation time.
Vaques-Osler arythremia (Vaquez' disease)
A relatively rare chronic disease of the blood in which the red cells are increased in number. The spleen becomes enlarged, and the face is a deep red rather than truly cyanotic.
Vaquez' disease
A relatively rare chronic disease of the blood in which the red cells are increased in number. The spleen becomes enlarged, and the face is a deep red rather than truly cyanotic.
Vaquez' polycythaemia (Vaquez' disease)
A relatively rare chronic disease of the blood in which the red cells are increased in number. The spleen becomes enlarged, and the face is a deep red rather than truly cyanotic.
Vaquez-Osler disease (Vaquez' disease)
A relatively rare chronic disease of the blood in which the red cells are increased in number. The spleen becomes enlarged, and the face is a deep red rather than truly cyanotic.
Waldenström-Kjellberg syndrome (Plummer-Vinson syndrome)
A syndrome characterized by an iron-deficiency anaemia, atrophic changes in the buccal, glossopharyngeal, and oesophageal mucous membranes, koilonycha (spoon-shaped finger nails), and dysphagia.
Widal Probe (German). (Widal's haemoclastic crisis (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A leukocyte phenomenon.
Widal's disease (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Widal's haemoclastic crisis (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal)
A leukocyte phenomenon.
Widal, Abrami and Brulé haemolytic icterus (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Widal-Ravaut disease (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Widal’s syndrome (Hayem-Widal disease (Georges Fernand Isidore Widal))
A now obsolete term for a haematological disorder clinically characterised by decreased red blood count, spherocytosis, icterus, and splenomegaly.
Witebsky-substances
Substances specific for ABO blood-groups extracted from horse and pig stomachs.
Witts’ anaemia (Faber's anaemia)
A form of aneamia caused by deficient intake, absorption, or metabolism of iron.
Witts’ syndrome (Faber's anaemia)
A form of aneamia caused by deficient intake, absorption, or metabolism of iron.
Zuelzer's syndrome
An association of eosinophilia, leukocytosis, and hypergammaglobulinemia.
Zuelzer-Kaplan syndrome I (Crosby's syndrome)
A no longer commonly used term for a hereditary, non-spherocytic haemolytic anaemia caused by enzyme disorders, hemoglobinopathies, or defects in membrane structure.
Zuelzer-Kaplan syndrome II
Haemoglobin C thalassaemia; thalassaemia-haemoglobin C disease.
Zuelzer-Ogden syndrome
A megaloblastic anaemia with a superimposed infection and deficiency of vitamin C, observed in children.
GRANULES, METABOLISM, BODIES,ETC
Inheritable anomaly with disturbance of the polysaccharid metabolism.
Alder's bodies (Alder-Reilly bodies)
Granular inclusions in polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Alder's syndrome (Alder-Reilly anomaly)
Inheritable anomaly with disturbance of the polysaccharid metabolism.
Alder-Reilly anomaly
Inheritable anomaly with disturbance of the polysaccharid metabolism.
Alder-Reilly bodies
Granular inclusions in polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Altmann-Schridde granules
Characteristic, tiny fuchsinophilic granulations occurring in lymphocytes near the nucleus.
Arantius's nodule
A small nodule at the centre of each of the aortic valve cusps.
Aschoff's cells
Large cells with basophilic cytoplasm and a large vesicular nucleus often multinucleated.
Aschoff's nodules (Aschoff-Geipel bodies)
Granuloma in the myocardium specific for rheumatic fever.
Aschoff-Fraenkel-Fahr bodies (Aschoff-Geipel bodies)
Granuloma in the myocardium specific for rheumatic fever.
Aschoff-Geipel bodies
Granuloma in the myocardium specific for rheumatic fever.
Aschoff-Geipel nodules (Aschoff-Geipel bodies)
Granuloma in the myocardium specific for rheumatic fever.
Aschoff-Puhl exogenous reinfection (Puhl's reinfection)
A pathological-anatomical-immunological conception in the doctrine of tuberculosis.
Aschoff-Puhl reinfection (Puhl's reinfection)
A pathological-anatomical-immunological conception in the doctrine of tuberculosis.
Aschoff-Talalaev bodies (Aschoff-Geipel bodies)
Granuloma in the myocardium specific for rheumatic fever.
Aschoff’s bodies (Aschoff-Geipel bodies)
Granuloma in the myocardium specific for rheumatic fever.
Ashby's techniques
A differential agglutination method which is used to determine survival rates of red blood cells in the human body.
Auer rods (Auer's bodies)
Rod or crystalline shaped inclusions. Cell organelles present in the cytoplasm of myeloblasts, myelocytes, and monoblasts.
Auer's bodies
Rod or crystalline shaped inclusions. Cell organelles present in the cytoplasm of myeloblasts, myelocytes, and monoblasts.
Auerbach's nodes
Auerbachsche Knöpfe (German) (Auerbach's nodes)
Nodes
Baker's cyst
Hernia-like cysts in synovial membranes, especially of the knee joints, produced by synovial fluid escaping from a joint through a natural channel or thorugh a hernial opening in the synovial membrane.
Balbiani's body (Balbiani's vesicles)
Cytoplasmatic inclusions, special formations in the yolks of young ovules.
Balbiani's vesicles
Cytoplasmatic inclusions, special formations in the yolks of young ovules.
Barr's body
Mass of condensed sex chromatin in the nuclei of normal female somatic cells due to inactive X chromosome.
Barr's test
A buccal smear test for investigation of the existence of Barr's body.
Becher's cells
Mucus-producing glandular cells in the epitelium of the gastrointestinal tract and in the respiratory passage.
Bence Jones' cylinders (Lallemand's bodies)
Obsolete term for small, cylindrical gelatinous bodies sometimes observed in seminal fluid.
Bergmann's cells
Macro glia cells in the Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellum.
Birbeck's granules
A small tennis racket-shaped, cross-striated membrane bound granule with characteristic periodicity on electron microscopy, first reported in Langerhans's cells of the epidermis.
Bouchard's nodes
Nodes similar to, but less common than Heberden’s nodes.
Büngner's cell cordons
A cordon shaped structure of Schwann cells and elements of the perineurium
Cabot's ring (Cabot's ring bodies)
Delicate threadlike inclusions seen in the peripheral blood of some patients with severe/megaloblastic anaemia.
Cabot's ring bodies
Delicate threadlike inclusions seen in the peripheral blood of some patients with severe/megaloblastic anaemia.
Cabot-Schleip rings (Cabot's ring bodies)
Delicate threadlike inclusions seen in the peripheral blood of some patients with severe/megaloblastic anaemia.
Castillo’s disease (Del Castillo's disease)
A form of hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism in male.
Cathic’s syndrome (Heinz' bodies congenital haemolytic anaemia)
Haemolytic anaemia of infancy associated with the finding of Heinz’ bodies in the red cells.
Clarke's body
Alveolar sarcomatous intranuclear bodies of breast.
Crescents of Giannuzzi (Heidenhain's cells)
Crescent-shaped groups of serous cells at the base or, or along the sides of, the mucous alveoli of the salivary glands, especially sublingual and submandibular.
Crooke's cells
Hyalinated, basophilic cells in the pituitary body found in Cushing’s syndrome, but also in exogenic administration of cortisol.
Crooke's granules (Crooke's cells)
Hyalinated, basophilic cells in the pituitary body found in Cushing’s syndrome, but also in exogenic administration of cortisol.
Del Castillo's disease
A form of hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism in male.
Del Castillo's syndrome (Del Castillo's disease)
A form of hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism in male.
Dorothy Reed's cells (Reed-Sternberg cells)
Giant connective tissue cells with one or two large nuclei (mirror image nuclei) which are characteristic of the lesions of Hodgkin’s disease.
Ebner's demilunes (Heidenhain's cells)
Crescent-shaped groups of serous cells at the base or, or along the sides of, the mucous alveoli of the salivary glands, especially sublingual and submandibular.
Ebner's reticulum
A network of cells in the seminiferous tubules.
Ebners Halbmonde (German) (Heidenhain's cells)
Crescent-shaped groups of serous cells at the base or, or along the sides of, the mucous alveoli of the salivary glands, especially sublingual and submandibular.
Ehrlich hämoglobinämische Innenkörper (German) (Heinz' bodies)
Small irregular, deep purple granules in red blood cells due to damage of the haemoglobin molecules.
Ehrlich Innenkörper (German) (Heinz' bodies)
Small irregular, deep purple granules in red blood cells due to damage of the haemoglobin molecules.
Ehrlich's bodies (Heinz' bodies)
Small irregular, deep purple granules in red blood cells due to damage of the haemoglobin molecules.
Ehrlich's mast cells
The globular forms sometimes occurring in the poikilocytosis of pernicious anaemia.
Erdheim-Chester disease
A rare histiocytic disorder characterised by lipoid granulomas in various parts of the body and in various organs.
Fischer's plaque (Louis Fischer)
A degenerative product of ganglion cells and amorphic breakdown products, surrounded by glia cells.
Foyers de Simon (French) (Simon's foci)
Caseous nodules in children with tuberculosis at an early stage – unilateral or bilateral – going on to calcify at the apices of the lungs.
Gartner's cyst
A term comprising various ovarial tumours that are assumed to have developed in persistent vestiges of mesonephros.
Gartner's tumour (Gartner's cyst)
A term comprising various ovarial tumours that are assumed to have developed in persistent vestiges of mesonephros.
Giannuzzi's demilunes (Heidenhain's cells)
Crescent-shaped groups of serous cells at the base or, or along the sides of, the mucous alveoli of the salivary glands, especially sublingual and submandibular.
Golgi's apparatus
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Golgi's apparatus of the cell (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Golgi's cells
Multipolar motor and sensory nerve cells in the cerebral cortex and posterior horns of spinal cord.
Golgi's complex (Golgi's apparatus)
A system of membranes in the cytoplasm of the cell making up a functional unit concerned with intracellular transport of membrane-bounded secretory proteins.
Golgi's c
BONES AND JOINTS PART-2 (M-Z)
Mackenzie's operation
A modification of Syme's amputation at the ankle joint in which the skin flap is taken from the inner side.
Maffucci-Kast syndrome (Mafucci's syndrome)
Syndrome of enchondromas (benign tumours of cartilage), associated with multiple cavernous haemangiomas.
Mafucci's syndrome
Syndrome of enchondromas (benign tumours of cartilage), associated with multiple cavernous haemangiomas.
Maladie de P. Marie et Sainton (Schauthauer-Marie-Sainton syndrome)
A fairly common osseous anomaly with a long list of symptoms.
Marfan's hypermobility syndrome
A syndrome of marfanoid habitus with hypermobility of joints and hyperextensibility of the skin far exceeding the degree usually observed in Marfan’s syndrome.
Marfan's symptom
Rachitic epiphyseal swelling of the Malleolus medialis of the lower leg.
Marie-Sainton syndrome (Schauthauer-Marie-Sainton syndrome)
A fairly common osseous anomaly with a long list of symptoms.
Maroteaux's syndrome II
Metaphyseal dysostosis limited to knees.
Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome II
A familial form of idiopathic osteolysis.
Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome III
A congenital disease of bone characterized by short-limbed dwarfism, a large skull with persistent fontanelle, and other anomalies.
Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome IV
A familial type of bone dysplasia with the principal symptoms ofshort-trunk dwarfism, back pain, pain in the hips, and limitation of joint movement.
Masters-Allen syndrome (Allen-Masters syndrome)
Laceration of the fascial layers in the broad and Mackenrodt ligaments resulting in â€universal joint†type of mobility of the cervix.
Maydl’s disease (Calvé-Legg-Perthes disease)
Disorder characterized by unilateral or bilateral aseptic necrosis of the emphysis of the head of the femur (caput femoris).
McCune-Albright syndrome (Jaffe-Lichtenstein syndrome)
A monostotic form of fibrous dysplasia of bone.
McFarland’s syndrome (Rotter-Erb syndrome)
A skeletal dysplasia combining deformities of the bones, joints, and tendons.
Melnick-Needles syndrome
A very rare syndrome of generalised bone dysplasia with stunted stature, and multiple craniofacial abnormalities.
Müller-Ribbing-Clément syndrome (Walther Müller)
A rare bone disturbance characterised by stunted stature, obliteration of the hollow bones, and premature degenerative atropathy, in particular of the hip joints.
Müller-Weiss syndrome (Walther Müller/Konrad Weiss)
Bilateral, symmetrical osteochondrosis of os naviculare pedis in adults.
Nélaton's disease (Nélaton's tumour)
A central tumour of bone.
Nélaton's syndrome
A rare hereditary syndrome characterized by sensory disorders of the lower extremities, leading to perforating ulceration of the feet and destruction of the underlying bones.
Nélaton's tumour
A central tumour of bone.
Nievergelt's syndrome
A rare, inheritable bone disease characterized by deformities of the radius, ulna, tibia, and fibula.
Nievergelt-Erb syndrome (Nievergelt's syndrome)
A rare, inheritable bone disease characterized by deformities of the radius, ulna, tibia, and fibula.
Nievergelt-Pearlman syndrome (Nievergelt's syndrome)
A rare, inheritable bone disease characterized by deformities of the radius, ulna, tibia, and fibula.
Ollier's disease
A disorder of the growing ends of bones.
Osgood-Schlatter disease
Osteochondrosis of the tuberosity of the tibia. One of the most common causes of knee pain in the adolescent.
Osteochondrose, Typ Müller-Weiss (German) (Müller-Weiss syndrome (Walther Müller/Konrad Weiss))
Bilateral, symmetrical osteochondrosis of os naviculare pedis in adults.
Paget’s quiet necrosis of bone (König's syndrome I)
A disease of the tubular bones affecting both sexes, with onset at all ages, but most commonly seen in adult males.
Panner’s syndrome I (Köhler's disease I)
An avascular necrosis of the tarsal navicular bone.
Parrot’s disease (Wegner's disease)
Pseudoparalysis due to separation of orthochondritic epiphyses occurring in infants with congenital syphilis.
Parrot’s paralysis (Wegner's disease)
Pseudoparalysis due to separation of orthochondritic epiphyses occurring in infants with congenital syphilis.
Parrot’s pseudoparalysis (Wegner's disease)
Pseudoparalysis due to separation of orthochondritic epiphyses occurring in infants with congenital syphilis.
Parrot’s syphilitic osteochondritis (Wegner's disease)
Pseudoparalysis due to separation of orthochondritic epiphyses occurring in infants with congenital syphilis.
Pearlman's syndrome (Nievergelt's syndrome)
A rare, inheritable bone disease characterized by deformities of the radius, ulna, tibia, and fibula.
Pellegrini's disease (Pellegrini-Stieda disease)
Ossification of the superior portion of the medial collateral ligament of the knee.
Pellegrini's syndrome (Pellegrini-Stieda disease)
Ossification of the superior portion of the medial collateral ligament of the knee.
Pellegrini-Stieda disease
Ossification of the superior portion of the medial collateral ligament of the knee.
Perthes-Calvé-Legg disease (Calvé-Legg-Perthes disease)
Disorder characterized by unilateral or bilateral aseptic necrosis of the emphysis of the head of the femur (caput femoris).
Perthes-Calvé-Legg-Waldenström syndrome (Calvé-Legg-Perthes disease)
Disorder characterized by unilateral or bilateral aseptic necrosis of the emphysis of the head of the femur (caput femoris).
Perthes-Jüngling cystoid osteitis (Jüngling's disease)
Perthes-Jüngling disease (Jüngling's disease)
Perthes’ disease (Calvé-Legg-Perthes disease)
Disorder characterized by unilateral or bilateral aseptic necrosis of the emphysis of the head of the femur (caput femoris).
Porak-Durante disease/syndrome (Vrolik's syndrome)
A congenital and lethal bone disease in which thick bones are abnormally brittle and subject to fractures.
Pott's fracture
A common fracture of one or both bones just above the ankle.
Pott’s syndrome I (Pott's fracture)
A common fracture of one or both bones just above the ankle.
Rainey's corpuscles
The crescent-shaped spore of a sporozoan of the order Sarcosporidia.
Recklinghausen syndrome (Recklinghausen's disease)
Inheritable disease characterized by café au lait spots combined with multiple peripheral nerve tumours and a variety of others dysplastic abnormalities of the skin, nervous system, bones, endocrine organs and blood vessels.
Recklinghausen's disease
Inheritable disease characterized by café au lait spots combined with multiple peripheral nerve tumours and a variety of others dysplastic abnormalities of the skin, nervous system, bones, endocrine organs and blood vessels.
Recklinghausen's phakomatosis (Recklinghausen's disease)
Inheritable disease characterized by café au lait spots combined with multiple peripheral nerve tumours and a variety of others dysplastic abnormalities of the skin, nervous system, bones, endocrine organs and blood vessels.
Recklinhausen neurofibromatosis (Recklinghausen's disease)
Inheritable disease characterized by café au lait spots combined with multiple peripheral nerve tumours and a variety of others dysplastic abnormalities of the skin, nervous system, bones, endocrine organs and blood vessels.
Ribbing's disease (Müller-Ribbing-Clément syndrome (Walther Müller))
A rare bone disturbance characterised by stunted stature, obliteration of the hollow bones, and premature degenerative atropathy, in particular of the hip joints.
Ribbing's syndrome or disease
Hereditary syndrome of progressive multiple diaphyseal sclerosis.
Ribbing-Müller disease (Müller-Ribbing-Clément syndrome (Walther Müller))
A rare bone disturbance characterised by stunted stature, obliteration of the hollow bones, and premature degenerative atropathy, in particular of the hip joints.
Rotter-Erb syndrome
A skeletal dysplasia combining deformities of the bones, joints, and tendons.
Scaglietti-Dagnini syndrome (Erdheim's syndrome)
Cervical spondylosis secondary to acromegaly.
Schanz' syndrome II
A syndrome comprising the combined features of the lateral sclerosis and the anterior cornual syndromes.
Schanz's syndrome 1 (Albert's disease)
Painful inflammation of the bursae located between the os calcis and the Achilles tendon with difficulty in walking.
Schauthauer-Marie-Sainton syndrome
A fairly common osseous anomaly with a long list of symptoms.
Scheuthauer-Marie syndrome (Schauthauer-Marie-Sainton syndrome)
A fairly common osseous anomaly with a long list of symptoms.
Scheuthauer’s syndrome (Schauthauer-Marie-Sainton syndrome)
A fairly common osseous anomaly with a long list of symptoms.
Schlatter-Osgood disease (Osgood-Schlatter disease)
Osteochondrosis of the tuberosity of the tibia. One of the most common causes of knee pain in the adolescent.
Schlatter’s disease (Osgood-Schlatter disease)
Osteochondrosis of the tuberosity of the tibia. One of the most common causes of knee pain in the adolescent.
Schwartz-Jampel syndrome (Oscar Schwartz)
A syndrome characterised by growth retardation, peculiar facies, skeletal anomalies, and myotonia.
Schwartz-Jampel-Aberfeld syndrome (Schwartz-Jampel syndrome (Oscar Schwartz))
A syndrome characterised by growth retardation, peculiar facies, skeletal anomalies, and myotonia.
Schwartz’ syndrome (Schwartz-Jampel syndrome (Oscar Schwartz))
A syndrome characterised by growth retardation, peculiar facies, skeletal anomalies, and myotonia.
Schüller-Christian syndrome (Hand-Schüller-Christian disease)
A rare disease of unknown cause in which lipids accumulate in the body and manifest as histiocytic granuloma in bone, particularly in the skull; the skin; and viscera, often with hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy.
Schüller-Christian-Hand disease (Hand-Schüller-Christian disease)
A rare disease of unknown cause in which lipids accumulate in the body and manifest as histiocytic granuloma in bone, particularly in the skull; the skin; and viscera, often with hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy.
Schüller’s disease (Hand-Schüller-Christian disease)
A rare disease of unknown cause in which lipids accumulate in the body and manifest as histiocytic granuloma in bone, particularly in the skull; the skin; and viscera, often with hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy.
Singleton-Merten syndrome
An extremely rare disorder characterised by calcification of the aortic arch with enlargement of the heart and dental abnormalities.
Smith-Thévenard syndrome (Nélaton's syndrome)
A rare hereditary syndrome characterized by sensory disorders of the lower extremities, leading to perforating ulceration of the feet and destruction of the underlying bones.
Stieda's fracture (Pellegrini-Stieda disease)
Ossification of the superior portion of the medial collateral ligament of the knee.
Stieda's lesion (Pellegrini-Stieda disease)
Ossification of the superior portion of the medial collateral ligament of the knee.
Stieda-Pellegrini disease (Pellegrini-Stieda disease)
Ossification of the superior portion of the medial collateral ligament of the knee.
Strasburger-Hawkins-Eldridge syndrome (Cushing's symphalangism)
A syndrome of symphalangism with fusion of the midphalangeal joints, fusion of elbow and carpal and tarsal bones; absence of the normal articular folds.
Strasburger-Hawkins-Eldridge-Hargrave-McKusick syndrome (Cushing's symphalangism)
A syndrome of symphalangism with fusion of the midphalangeal joints, fusion of elbow and carpal and tarsal bones; absence of the normal articular folds.
Syme's amputation
An amputation at the ankle with removal of the malleoli and formation of a heel flap.
Syme's operation (Syme's amputation)
An amputation at the ankle with removal of the malleoli and formation of a heel flap.
Taybi's syndrome (André's syndrome)
A syndrome of peculiar facies and osseous defect.
Thévenard's disease II (Nélaton's syndrome)
A rare hereditary syndrome characterized by sensory disorders of the lower extremities, leading to perforating ulceration of the feet and destruction of the underlying bones.
Thévenard's syndrome (Nélaton's syndrome)
A rare hereditary syndrome characterized by sensory disorders of the lower extremities, leading to perforating ulceration of the feet and destruction of the underlying bones.
Toulouse-Lautrec's disease (Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome III)
A congenital disease of bone characterized by short-limbed dwarfism, a large skull with persistent fontanelle, and other anomalies.
Trendelenburg's symptom
Sign of congenital dislocation of the hip joint.
Trendelenburg’s test (Trendelenburg's symptom)
Sign of congenital dislocation of the hip joint.
Trevor's disease
A rare congenital bone developmental disorder characterised by asymmetrical limb deformity due to localised overgrowth of cartilage.
Van Bogaert-Hozay syndrome
A Familial form of acro-osteolysis associated with a mild mental retardation, skin atrophy, facial dysmorphism, and ocular defects.
Van der Hoeve's syndrome
Osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bones syndrome, occurs in four types.
Van der Hoeve-de Kleyn syndrome (Van der Hoeve's syndrome)
Osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bones syndrome, occurs in four types.
Van der Hoeve-de Kleyn triad (Van der Hoeve's syndrome)
Osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bones syndrome, occurs in four types.
Vessel’s syndrome (Cushing's symphalangism)
A syndrome of symphalangism with fusion of the midphalangeal joints, fusion of elbow and carpal and tarsal bones; absence of the normal articular folds.
Vidal's classification
Classification of fractures of the heel.
Volkmann's canals (Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann)
Vascular channels in compact bone carrying the blood vessels from the periosteum.
Volkmann's deformity (Richard von Volkmann)
Congenital talus luxation.
Volkmann's triangle (Richard von Volkmann)
The posterolateral corner of tibia.
Volkmann’s disease (Volkmann's deformity (Richard von Volkmann))
Congenital talus luxation.
Volkmann’s syndrome I (Volkmann's deformity (Richard von Volkmann))
Congenital talus luxation.
von Recklinghausen neuropathy (Recklinghausen's disease)
Inheritable disease characterized by café au lait spots combined with multiple peripheral nerve tumours and a variety of others dysplastic abnormalities of the skin, nervous system, bones, endocrine organs and blood vessels.
von Recklinghausen's disease (Recklinghausen's disease)
Inheritable disease characterized by café au lait spots combined with multiple peripheral nerve tumours and a variety of others dysplastic abnormalities of the skin, nervous system, bones, endocrine organs and blood vessels.
von Recklinghausen’s disease of bone (Engel-von Recklinghausen syndrome)
Now mostly historical term for a generalized rarefying bone disorder with skeletal deformation, seen in advanced hyperparathyroidism.
von Recklinhausen disease II (Engel-von Recklinghausen syndrome)
Now mostly historical term for a generalized rarefying bone disorder with skeletal deformation, seen in advanced hyperparathyroidism.
von Volkmann-Sprunggelenkdeformität (German). (Volkmann's deformity (Richard von Volkmann))
Congenital talus luxation.
A syndrome of osteopathia striata and cranial sclerosis affecting both sexes.
Voorhoeve's dyschondroplasia (Voorhoeve's disease)
A syndrome of osteopathia striata and cranial sclerosis affecting both sexes.
Voorhoeve’s syndrome (Voorhoeve's disease)
A syndrome of osteopathia striata and cranial sclerosis affecting both sexes.
Vrolik's disease (Vrolik's syndrome)
A congenital and lethal bone disease in which thick bones are abnormally brittle and subject to fractures.
Vrolik's syndrome
A congenital and lethal bone disease in which thick bones are abnormally brittle and subject to fractures.
Waldenström's disease
Chronic inflammation of the head of the femur in children.
Waldenström's syndrome (Calvé-Legg-Perthes disease)
Disorder characterized by unilateral or bilateral aseptic necrosis of the emphysis of the head of the femur (caput femoris).
Wegner's disease
Pseudoparalysis due to separation of orthochondritic epiphyses occurring in infants with congenital syphilis.
Wegner's sign
The boundary line between the epiphysis and the diaphysis of the femur normally runs a straight course. In osteochondritis syphilitica it runs a wavy or jagged line.
Wegner’s osteochondritis (Wegner's disease)
Pseudoparalysis due to separation of orthochondritic epiphyses occurring in infants with congenital syphilis.
Yersinia-arthritis
A disease of joints – acute mono- or oligoarthritis – caused by Yersinia enterocolitica or Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.
BRAIN PART-1 (A-D)
The insula of the cerebral cortex.
(Cécile) Vogt's disease (Vogt-Vogt syndrome (Cécile and Oskar Vogt))
An extrapyramidal disturbance with double sided athetosis occurring in early childhood.
Adamkiewicz' artery
The largest of the medullary arteries which supply the spinal cord by anastomising with the anterior (longitudinal) spinal artery.
Adie-Critchley syndrome
A syndrome of forced grasping and groping
Alpers' disease
A rare degenerative disease of the brain, predominantly involving the grey matter.
Alzheimer's sclerosis
Degeneration of the middle and smaller cerebral blood vessels at a cellular level.
Andermann's syndrome
A familial syndrome affecting both sexes, characterized by agenesis of the corpus callosum, mental retardation, and progressive sensimotor neuropathy.
Arnason's syndrome
Amyloid cerebral deposits.
Arnold Pick’s circumscribed brain atrophy syndrome (Pick's disease (Arnold Pick))
A rare and fatal degenerative disease of the nervous system. Clinically there are major overlaps with Alzheimer's presenile dementia.
Arnold-Chiari malformation
A condition in which the inferior poles of the cerebellar hemispheres (cork-like protrusions) and the medulla oblongata protrude through the foramen magnum into the spinal canal, without displacing the lower brain stem.
Arnold-Chiary deformity (Arnold-Chiari malformation)
A condition in which the inferior poles of the cerebellar hemispheres (cork-like protrusions) and the medulla oblongata protrude through the foramen magnum into the spinal canal, without displacing the lower brain stem.
Artery of Adamkiewicz (Adamkiewicz' artery)
The largest of the medullary arteries which supply the spinal cord by anastomising with the anterior (longitudinal) spinal artery.
Babinski-Nageotte syndrome
Syndrome seen in unilateral bulbar affections with lesions of the medullobulbar transitional region.
Bailey-Cushing syndrome
A syndrome affecting both sexes with unsteadiness in balance, disturbed coordination of the body in space, walking very poor, good coordination when lying or with body well braced.
Baillarger stripes
White lines in the cortex.
Baillarger's bands (Baillarger stripes)
White lines in the cortex.
Baillarger's lines (Baillarger stripes)
White lines in the cortex.
Balo' s encephalitis (Baló's disease)
A rare disease of the brain affecting both sexes, with onset in childhood.
Baló's concentric sclerosis (Baló's disease)
A rare disease of the brain affecting both sexes, with onset in childhood.
Baló's disease
A rare disease of the brain affecting both sexes, with onset in childhood.
Balo's syndrome (Baló's disease)
A rare disease of the brain affecting both sexes, with onset in childhood.
Bannayan's syndrome
A very rare familial disease with a predilection in males. It manifests with symmetrical macrocephaly without ventricular enlargement, mild neurological dysfunction, and postnatal growth retardation.
Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba (Bannayan's syndrome)
A very rare familial disease with a predilection in males. It manifests with symmetrical macrocephaly without ventricular enlargement, mild neurological dysfunction, and postnatal growth retardation.
Bannayan-Zonana syndrome (Bannayan's syndrome)
A very rare familial disease with a predilection in males. It manifests with symmetrical macrocephaly without ventricular enlargement, mild neurological dysfunction, and postnatal growth retardation.
Bastian's aphasia (Wernicke's aphasia)
The aphasia syndrome, as described by Wernicke in 1908, consists of loss of comprehension of spoken language, loss of ability to read (silently) and write, and distortion of articulate speech. Hearing is intact.
Begbie’s syndrome (Dubini's disease)
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Berger's effect (Hans Berger) (Berger's wave (Hans Berger))
Alpha rhythm in the electroencephalogram (EEG).
Berger's rhythm (Hans Berger) (Berger's wave (Hans Berger))
Alpha rhythm in the electroencephalogram (EEG).
Berger's wave (Hans Berger)
Alpha rhythm in the electroencephalogram (EEG).
Bergeron’s chorea (Dubini's disease)
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Bergeron’s disease (Dubini's disease)
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Bickerstaff's encephalitis
A syndrome of prodromal malaise and midbrain dissturbances with almost complete suppression of all functions related to brain stem innervation.
Bickerstaff's syndrome (Bickerstaff's encephalitis)
A syndrome of prodromal malaise and midbrain dissturbances with almost complete suppression of all functions related to brain stem innervation.
Bleuler's psycho syndrome
A collective term for a variety of psychopathological and neuropsychological symptom complexes observed as a consequence of diffuse brain damages.
Bodechtel-Guttmann disease (Van Bogaert's encephalitis)
A rare, chronic and progressive encephalitis in children and adolescents, involving the white matter of the cerebrum, brain stem, cerebral cortex, thalamus, and spinal cord.
Bogaert’s encephalitis (Dawson or van Bogaert encephalitis)
Subacute sclerosing leukoencephalopathy.
Nonsuppurative localized encephalitis with changes in the cerebrospinal fluid.
Borries’ syndrome II (Quincke's meningitis)
Intracranial hypertension of unknown origin.
Broca's aphasia
A peculiar form of central language destruction. Aphasia in which the patient is able to utter only a few simple words and is unable to write, even though he knows what he wishes to say.
Broca's area
Area of the left hemisphere of the brain containing the motor speech area.
Broca's centre (Broca's area)
Area of the left hemisphere of the brain containing the motor speech area.
Broca's convolution (Broca's area)
Area of the left hemisphere of the brain containing the motor speech area.
Broca's field (Broca's area)
Area of the left hemisphere of the brain containing the motor speech area.
Brodmann area 44 (Broca's area)
Area of the left hemisphere of the brain containing the motor speech area.
Brodmann's areas
The occipital and pre-occipital area of the cerebral cortex.
Brudziñski's cheek phenomenon
A sign og meningitis.
Bruns' ataxia
Difficulty in moving the feet when they are in contact with the ground and a tendency to fall backwards, seen in frontal lobe lesions.
Bruns' syndrome
Neurological disturbance marked by violent periodic headaches, vomiting, and sudden attacks of vertigo and giddiness and sometimes falling.
Brun’s sign (Bruns' syndrome)
Neurological disturbance marked by violent periodic headaches, vomiting, and sudden attacks of vertigo and giddiness and sometimes falling.
Campus foreli
Area of hypothalamus.
Canavan's disease
A progressive, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterised by spongy changes in the white matter.
Canavan's syndrome (Canavan's disease)
A progressive, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterised by spongy changes in the white matter.
Canavan-van Bogaert-Bertrand syndrome (Canavan's disease)
A progressive, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterised by spongy changes in the white matter.
Canavan’s sclerosis (Canavan's disease)
A progressive, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterised by spongy changes in the white matter.
Céstan's paralysis (Céstan-Chenais syndrome)
A brain stem syndrome that is a clinical combination of Wallenberg’s or Avellis' syndrome and Babinski-Nageotte’s syndrome.
Cestan's syndrome (Raymon-Céstan syndrome)
Tumour of the cerebral peduncles causing speech disorders, paralysis of lateral conjugate gaze, etc.
Céstan-Chenais syndrome
A brain stem syndrome that is a clinical combination of Wallenberg’s or Avellis' syndrome and Babinski-Nageotte’s syndrome.
Charlevoix disease (Andermann's syndrome)
A familial syndrome affecting both sexes, characterized by agenesis of the corpus callosum, mental retardation, and progressive sensimotor neuropathy.
Chemke’s syndrome (Walker-Warburg syndrome)
A lethal disorder of the brain marked by hydrocephalus, cerebral agyria, retinal dysplasia and other eye abnormalities, and occasional occipital encephalocele.
Chiari deformity (Arnold-Chiari malformation)
A condition in which the inferior poles of the cerebellar hemispheres (cork-like protrusions) and the medulla oblongata protrude through the foramen magnum into the spinal canal, without displacing the lower brain stem.
Chiari malformation (Arnold-Chiari malformation)
A condition in which the inferior poles of the cerebellar hemispheres (cork-like protrusions) and the medulla oblongata protrude through the foramen magnum into the spinal canal, without displacing the lower brain stem.
Christensen's disease (Alpers' disease)
A rare degenerative disease of the brain, predominantly involving the grey matter.
Christensen-Krabbe disease (Alpers' disease)
A rare degenerative disease of the brain, predominantly involving the grey matter.
Cleland-Arnold-Chiari syndrome (Arnold-Chiari malformation)
A condition in which the inferior poles of the cerebellar hemispheres (cork-like protrusions) and the medulla oblongata protrude through the foramen magnum into the spinal canal, without displacing the lower brain stem.
Collet-Sicard syndrome
Collective term comprising infectious disorders associated with encephalitis epidemica.
Collet’s syndrome (Collet-Sicard syndrome)
Collective term comprising infectious disorders associated with encephalitis epidemica.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
A very rare, progressive syndrome of motor, sensory, and mental disturbances, involving the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and spinal cord.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease)
A very rare, progressive syndrome of motor, sensory, and mental disturbances, involving the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and spinal cord.
Cushing's effect (Cushing's law)
Increase in intracranial pressure causes compression of the cerebral blood vessels and cerebral ischemia.
Cushing's law
Increase in intracranial pressure causes compression of the cerebral blood vessels and cerebral ischemia.
Cushing's phenomenon (Cushing's law)
Increase in intracranial pressure causes compression of the cerebral blood vessels and cerebral ischemia.
Cushing's reaction (Cushing's law)
Increase in intracranial pressure causes compression of the cerebral blood vessels and cerebral ischemia.
Cushing's response (Cushing's law)
Increase in intracranial pressure causes compression of the cerebral blood vessels and cerebral ischemia.
Cushing's syndrome II
A syndrome of multiple tumours of the spinal nerve roots and auditory nerves.
Cushing's triad
Signs of increased intracranial pressure.
Cushing's ulcer (Rokitansky-Cushing ulcer)
Eponym used to indicate the gastrointestinal hemorrhagic complication arising after head injury or neurosurgery.
Dawson or van Bogaert encephalitis
Subacute sclerosing leukoencephalopathy.
Dawson’s encephalitis (Van Bogaert's encephalitis)
A rare, chronic and progressive encephalitis in children and adolescents, involving the white matter of the cerebrum, brain stem, cerebral cortex, thalamus, and spinal cord.
Dawson’s syndrome (Dawson or van Bogaert encephalitis)
Subacute sclerosing leukoencephalopathy.
de Morsier’s syndrome II (Kallmann's syndrome)
A congenital disorder of hypothalamic function and reduced pituitary gonadotropic activity with resulting association of hypogonadism, eunuchoidism and anosmia.
Dejerine’s syndrome (Holmes' syndrome II)
A disorder of space perception caused by brain injuries and characterised by the inability to localize stationary or moving object in the three planes of space.
Dimitri’s hemangiomatosis syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Divry-Van Bogaert disease (Dawson or van Bogaert encephalitis)
Subacute sclerosing leukoencephalopathy.
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Dubini's syndrome (Dubini's disease)
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Duchenne's disease
Degeneration of the posterior roots and column of the spinal cord and the brain stem.
Dyke-Davidoff-Masson sequence (Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome)
Cerebral hemiatrophy with homolateral hypertrophy of the skull and sinuses
Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome
Cerebral hemiatrophy with homolateral hypertrophy of the skull and sinuses
BRAIN PART-2 (E-J)
Fahr's disease
A rare idiopathic disease which manifests in middle age characterized by punctate areas of non-arteriosclerotic calcination in parts of the gray and dentate nuclei, particularly of smaller brain vessels.
Fahr’s intracerebral calcinosis (Fahr's disease)
A rare idiopathic disease which manifests in middle age characterized by punctate areas of non-arteriosclerotic calcination in parts of the gray and dentate nuclei, particularly of smaller brain vessels.
Fahr’s syndrome (Fahr's disease)
A rare idiopathic disease which manifests in middle age characterized by punctate areas of non-arteriosclerotic calcination in parts of the gray and dentate nuclei, particularly of smaller brain vessels.
Fanconi-Turler syndrome
A syndrome marked by cerebellar ataxia associated with uncoordinated eye movements, nystagmus, dysmetria, and mental retardation.
Fickler-Winkler syndrome
Autosomal recessive variant of the olivopontocerebellar syndrome II. It differs from the Menzel type and the Dejerine-Thomas atrophy by the the lack of involuntary movements.
Flatau-Schilder disease (Schilder's disease)
A rare, progressive and invariably fatal disease of the central nervous system characterized by adrenal atrophy and diffuse cerebral demyelination.
Flatau-Sterling syndrome
Dystonia is a neurologic syndrome characterized by involuntary, sustained, patterned, and often repetitive muscle contractions of opposing muscles causing twisting movements or abnormal postures.
Flatau’s syndrome (Redlich's syndrome)
A poorly defined form of abortive disseminated encephalomyelitis with lesions distributed throughout the brain and the spinal cord.
Foix's syndrome I
Red nucleus (anterior portion) syndrome.
Foix's syndrome II
Ophthalmoplegic disease picture originating in processes secondary to intracranial aneurysms or thrombosis of the cavernous or lateral sinuses, sometimes associated with trigeminal neuralgia.
Foix-Jefferson syndrome (Godtfredsen's syndrome)
Syndrome of trigeminal neuralgia, oculomotor paralysis, XIIth nerve paralysis and ophthalmoplegia.
Foix-Jefferson syndrome (Foix's syndrome II)
Ophthalmoplegic disease picture originating in processes secondary to intracranial aneurysms or thrombosis of the cavernous or lateral sinuses, sometimes associated with trigeminal neuralgia.
Foix’ syndrome II (Godtfredsen's syndrome)
Syndrome of trigeminal neuralgia, oculomotor paralysis, XIIth nerve paralysis and ophthalmoplegia.
Foramina of Luschka (Luschka's foramen)
The Foramen of 4th ventricle. One of the two lateral openings draining the fourth ventricle into the subarachnoid space at the cerebellopontine angle.
Forel's bodies
The fibres from tractus rubroreticulospinalis crossing tegmentum mesencephali ventral in the midline.
Foville's paresis
Condition characterized by conjugate ocular paralysis of the sixth and seventh cranial nerves, with hemiplegia on the opposite side.
Foville's peduncular syndrome (Foville's paresis)
Condition characterized by conjugate ocular paralysis of the sixth and seventh cranial nerves, with hemiplegia on the opposite side.
Foville's pontine syndrome
This syndrome, which originates from a lesion in the pons, is similar to Foville’s syndrome with the exception that only the abducens nerve is involved in the crossed paralysis, the facial nerve being unaffected.
Foville's syndrome II (Foville's pontine syndrome)
This syndrome, which originates from a lesion in the pons, is similar to Foville’s syndrome with the exception that only the abducens nerve is involved in the crossed paralysis, the facial nerve being unaffected.
Foville’s paralysis (Foville's paresis)
Condition characterized by conjugate ocular paralysis of the sixth and seventh cranial nerves, with hemiplegia on the opposite side.
Foville’s syndrome I (Foville's paresis)
Condition characterized by conjugate ocular paralysis of the sixth and seventh cranial nerves, with hemiplegia on the opposite side.
Fulton's syndrome (Adie-Critchley syndrome)
A syndrome of forced grasping and groping
Gayet's disease (Wernicke's disease)
An encephalopathy syndrome characterized by mental and ocular disorders, and ataxia.
Gayet-Wernicke encephalopathy (Wernicke's disease)
An encephalopathy syndrome characterized by mental and ocular disorders, and ataxia.
Gayet-Wernicke haemorrhagic encephalitis (Wernicke's disease)
An encephalopathy syndrome characterized by mental and ocular disorders, and ataxia.
Gayet-Wernicke syndrome (Wernicke's disease)
An encephalopathy syndrome characterized by mental and ocular disorders, and ataxia.
Gerstmann syndrome I (Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome)
A rare familial form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome.
Gerstmann syndrome II (Gerstmann's syndrome)
Gyrus angularis syndrome with right-left disorientation.
Gerstmann's syndrome
Gyrus angularis syndrome with right-left disorientation.
Gerstmann's test
A test for demonstrating a cerebellar ataxia. It is more sensitive than the Romberg’s sign, of which it is a modification.
Gerstmann-Badal syndrome (Gerstmann's syndrome)
Gyrus angularis syndrome with right-left disorientation.
Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome)
A rare familial form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome.
Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome
A rare familial form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome.
Gerstmann’s phenomenon (Gerstmann's test)
A test for demonstrating a cerebellar ataxia. It is more sensitive than the Romberg’s sign, of which it is a modification.
Gerstmann’s sign (Gerstmann's test)
A test for demonstrating a cerebellar ataxia. It is more sensitive than the Romberg’s sign, of which it is a modification.
Gilman and Barrett neuroaxonal dystrophy type I (Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome)
A very rare disease with degeneration of the globus pallidus, red nucleus, and substantia nigra of the brain. It is characterized by progressive Parkinson-like rigidity, athetotic movements, and progressive mental and emotional retardation.
Godtfredsen's disease (Godtfredsen's syndrome)
Syndrome of trigeminal neuralgia, oculomotor paralysis, XIIth nerve paralysis and ophthalmoplegia.
Godtfredsen's syndrome
Syndrome of trigeminal neuralgia, oculomotor paralysis, XIIth nerve paralysis and ophthalmoplegia.
Godtfredsen’s syndrome (Foix's syndrome II)
Ophthalmoplegic disease picture originating in processes secondary to intracranial aneurysms or thrombosis of the cavernous or lateral sinuses, sometimes associated with trigeminal neuralgia.
Greenfield’s syndrome (Scholz-Bielschowsky-Henneberg disease)
Metachromatic leukodystrophy. A collective term for a possibly rather heterogeneous group of fatal diseases with dystrophy of the white matter of the brain
Gubler-Millard syndrome (Millard-Gubler syndrome)
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Gubler’s hemiplegia (Millard-Gubler syndrome)
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Gubler’s paralysis (Millard-Gubler syndrome)
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Gubler’s syndrome (Millard-Gubler syndrome)
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Guertin's syndrome (Dubini's disease)
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Guertin’s disease (Dubini's disease)
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Hallervorden-Spatz disease (Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome)
A very rare disease with degeneration of the globus pallidus, red nucleus, and substantia nigra of the brain. It is characterized by progressive Parkinson-like rigidity, athetotic movements, and progressive mental and emotional retardation.
Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome
A very rare disease with degeneration of the globus pallidus, red nucleus, and substantia nigra of the brain. It is characterized by progressive Parkinson-like rigidity, athetotic movements, and progressive mental and emotional retardation.
Head's syndrome (Head-Holmes syndrome)
Sensory changes produced by lesions of the cerebral cortex and other parts of the brain.
Head-Holmes syndrome
Sensory changes produced by lesions of the cerebral cortex and other parts of the brain.
Heidenhain's syndrome
A rare type of presenile dementia associated with cortical blindness, ataxia, dysarthria, athetotic movements and rigidity of all four limbs.
Henneberg’s disease (Scholz-Bielschowsky-Henneberg disease)
Metachromatic leukodystrophy. A collective term for a possibly rather heterogeneous group of fatal diseases with dystrophy of the white matter of the brain
Henoch-Bergeron syndrome (Dubini's disease)
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Henoch’s disease (Dubini's disease)
No longer used term for the myoclonic form of epidemic encephalitis.
Hertwig-Megendie phenomenon (Magendie-Hertwig syndrome)
Skew deviation of the eyes associated with a cerebellar lesion.
Hertwig-Megendie sign (Magendie-Hertwig syndrome)
Skew deviation of the eyes associated with a cerebellar lesion.
Heubner's disease
Syphilitic endarteriitis obliterans of the brain
Heubner-Schilder disease (Schilder's disease)
A rare, progressive and invariably fatal disease of the central nervous system characterized by adrenal atrophy and diffuse cerebral demyelination.
Heubner-Schilder syndrome (Schilder's disease)
A rare, progressive and invariably fatal disease of the central nervous system characterized by adrenal atrophy and diffuse cerebral demyelination.
Holmes' degeneration (Holmes' syndrome I)
Inheritable disease picture with cerebellar ataxia due to a degeneration of cerebellum olivary nucleus.
Holmes' syndrome I
Inheritable disease picture with cerebellar ataxia due to a degeneration of cerebellum olivary nucleus.
Holmes' syndrome II
A disorder of space perception caused by brain injuries and characterised by the inability to localize stationary or moving object in the three planes of space.
Horton's arteritis (Horton's disease I)
A headache syndrome characterized by inflammation of the temporal and other cranial arteries.
Horton's disease I
A headache syndrome characterized by inflammation of the temporal and other cranial arteries.
Horton's giant cell arteritis (Horton's disease I)
A headache syndrome characterized by inflammation of the temporal and other cranial arteries.
Horton's temporal arteritis (Horton's disease I)
A headache syndrome characterized by inflammation of the temporal and other cranial arteries.
Horton-Gilmour disease (Horton's disease I)
A headache syndrome characterized by inflammation of the temporal and other cranial arteries.
Horton-Magath-Brown syndrome (Horton's disease I)
A headache syndrome characterized by inflammation of the temporal and other cranial arteries.
Horton’s syndrome (Horton's disease I)
A headache syndrome characterized by inflammation of the temporal and other cranial arteries.
Hunt’s ataxia (Ramsay Hunt's syndrome I)
A rare form of progressive cerebellar dyssynergia mainly characterised by intention tremor and often associated with convulsions and myoclonic epileptic jerks.
Hunt’s syndrome I (Ramsay Hunt's syndrome I)
A rare form of progressive cerebellar dyssynergia mainly characterised by intention tremor and often associated with convulsions and myoclonic epileptic jerks.
Hurst's disease
A hyperacute form of acute haemorrhagic leukoencephalitis occurring in hitherto healthy persons, usually 30 to 40 years of age.
Hutchinson-Horton-Syndrome (Horton's disease I)
A headache syndrome characterized by inflammation of the temporal and other cranial arteries.
Islands of Reil
The insula of the cerebral cortex.
Jaccoud's dissociated fever
Febrile meningitis with a slow pulse rate seen in patients with tuberculous meningitis.
Jahnke's syndrome (variant without glaucoma) (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease)
A very rare, progressive syndrome of motor, sensory, and mental disturbances, involving the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and spinal cord.
Jakob-Creutzfeldt pseudosclerosis (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease)
A very rare, progressive syndrome of motor, sensory, and mental disturbances, involving the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and spinal cord.
Jakob’s pseudosclerosis (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease)
A very rare, progressive syndrome of motor, sensory, and mental disturbances, involving the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and spinal cord.
Julien Marie-See syndrome (Marie-Sée syndrome)
A rare form of acute benign hydrocephalus in small infants, occurring within 12 hours of receiving large doses of vitamin A and D and last 24 to 48 hours.
BRAIN PART-3 (K-O)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Kallmann's syndrome
A congenital disorder of hypothalamic function and reduced pituitary gonadotropic activity with resulting association of hypogonadism, eunuchoidism and anosmia.
Kallmann-de Morsier syndrome (Kallmann's syndrome)
A congenital disorder of hypothalamic function and reduced pituitary gonadotropic activity with resulting association of hypogonadism, eunuchoidism and anosmia.
Kernig's sign
A sign in acute meningitis.
Kernig’s phenomenon (Kernig's sign)
A sign in acute meningitis.
Kernig’s symptom (Kernig's sign)
A sign in acute meningitis.
Key-Retzius foramina (Luschka's foramen)
The Foramen of 4th ventricle. One of the two lateral openings draining the fourth ventricle into the subarachnoid space at the cerebellopontine angle.
Kinnier Wilson's disease (Wilson's disease)
A chronic disease of brain and liver with progressive neurological dysfunction, due to a disturbance of copper metabolism.
Kleist's apraxia
A disturbance characterised by the inability to draw, write, or construct two- or three-dimensional geometric figures with matchsticks.
Klippel's disease
Weakness or pseudoparalysis due to generalized arthritic paralysis in elderly persons who have cerebral arteriosclerosis.
Koerber-Salus-Elschnig syndrome (Parinaud-Koerber-Salus-Elschnig syndrome)
This dorsal midbrain syndrome is a supranuclear palsy of vertical conjugate movement, most often upwards, caused by lesions of the aqueduct of Sylvius.
Kozhevnikov-Wernicke aphasia (Wernicke's aphasia)
The aphasia syndrome, as described by Wernicke in 1908, consists of loss of comprehension of spoken language, loss of ability to read (silently) and write, and distortion of articulate speech. Hearing is intact.
Krabbe's disease
An inborn neurodegenerative disorder of infancy due to the accumulation of galactocerebroside in the tissues.
Krabbe's leukodystrophy (Krabbe's disease)
An inborn neurodegenerative disorder of infancy due to the accumulation of galactocerebroside in the tissues.
Krabbe's syndrome I (Krabbe's disease)
An inborn neurodegenerative disorder of infancy due to the accumulation of galactocerebroside in the tissues.
Krabbe's syndrome II (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Kretschmer's syndrome
A collective term for a persistent vegetative state seen in patients with loss of functions of the pallium.
Landouzy-Grasset law
In focal epileptic seizures the rotation of the head and the eye movements are away from the seat of the lesion.
Late cortical cerebellar atrophy of Marie, Foix and Alajouanine (Marie-Foix-Alajouanine syndrome)
Ataxia of the cerebellum in advanced age. Frequently due to abuse of alcohol.
Lawford's syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Lawford’s meningocutaneous syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Leichtenstern's sign
A phenomenon reckoned among the indirect signs of meningitis.
Leichtenstern’s meningitis sign (Leichtenstern's sign)
A phenomenon reckoned among the indirect signs of meningitis.
Leichtenstern’s phenomenon (Leichtenstern's sign)
A phenomenon reckoned among the indirect signs of meningitis.
Leichtenstern’s phenomenon in meningitis cerebrospinalis epidemica (Leichtenstern's sign)
A phenomenon reckoned among the indirect signs of meningitis.
Lhermitte-Cornil-Quesnel syndrome
A slowly progressive pyramidopallidal degeneration.
Lhermitte-Delthil-Garnier syndrome (Lhermitte-Lévy syndrome)
A syndrome of slowly progressing paralysis after a stroke.
Lhermitte-Duclos disease (Lhermitte-Duclos syndrome)
A rare pathologic entity with progrediating, diffuse hypertrophy chiefly of the stratum granulosum of the cerebellum.
Lhermitte-Duclos syndrome
A rare pathologic entity with progrediating, diffuse hypertrophy chiefly of the stratum granulosum of the cerebellum.
Lhermitte-Lévy syndrome
A syndrome of slowly progressing paralysis after a stroke.
Lhermitte-McAlpine syndrome
A combined pyramidal and extrapyramidal tract syndrome in middle-aged and elderly persons.
Luschka's foramen
The Foramen of 4th ventricle. One of the two lateral openings draining the fourth ventricle into the subarachnoid space at the cerebellopontine angle.
Maestre de San Juan-Kallmann syndrome (Kallmann's syndrome)
A congenital disorder of hypothalamic function and reduced pituitary gonadotropic activity with resulting association of hypogonadism, eunuchoidism and anosmia.
Maestre de San Juan-Kallmann-de Morsier syndrome (Kallmann's syndrome)
A congenital disorder of hypothalamic function and reduced pituitary gonadotropic activity with resulting association of hypogonadism, eunuchoidism and anosmia.
Maestre-Kallmann-de Morsier syndrome (Kallmann's syndrome)
A congenital disorder of hypothalamic function and reduced pituitary gonadotropic activity with resulting association of hypogonadism, eunuchoidism and anosmia.
Magendie-Hertwig syndrome
Skew deviation of the eyes associated with a cerebellar lesion.
Mann's syndrome
Brain contusion accompanied by generalised coordination disorders.
Marie's ataxia
A hereditary disease of the nervous system, with cerebellar ataxia caused by bilateral cortical atrophy of the cerebellum.
Marie-Foix manoeuvre and reflex
A manipulation for exciting a flexion reflex in all joints in the lower extremities, and a sign in upper motor neurone paralysis.
Marie-Foix-Alajouanine syndrome
Ataxia of the cerebellum in advanced age. Frequently due to abuse of alcohol.
Marie-Sée syndrome
A rare form of acute benign hydrocephalus in small infants, occurring within 12 hours of receiving large doses of vitamin A and D and last 24 to 48 hours.
Marie’s syndrome I (Marie's ataxia)
A hereditary disease of the nervous system, with cerebellar ataxia caused by bilateral cortical atrophy of the cerebellum.
Mayer-Gross's syndrome (Kleist's apraxia)
A disturbance characterised by the inability to draw, write, or construct two- or three-dimensional geometric figures with matchsticks.
Mendel's Aurikularisphänomen
Clinical and quite reliable sign for base meningitis (German: Basismeningitis).
Mendel's sign (Mendel's Aurikularisphänomen)
Clinical and quite reliable sign for base meningitis (German: Basismeningitis).
Menzel's syndrome II
Olivopontocerebellar syndrome characterized by upper motor neuron and extensor plantar response.
Menzel’s syndrome (Marie's ataxia)
A hereditary disease of the nervous system, with cerebellar ataxia caused by bilateral cortical atrophy of the cerebellum.
Meynert's bundle
Fibrous tract extending from subthalamic body to base of 3rd ventricle.
Meynert's decussation
The dorsal tegmental decussation or «fountain decussation».
Meynert's fasciculus (Meynert's bundle)
Meynert's retroflex bundle (Meynert's bundle)
Meynerts Habenkreuzung (German) (Meynert's decussation)
The dorsal tegmental decussation or «fountain decussation».
Millard-Gubler syndrome
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Millard-Gubler-Foville syndrome (Millard-Gubler syndrome)
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Millard’s syndrome (Millard-Gubler syndrome)
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Miller's syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Mistichelli's crossing
Pyramidal decussation.
Mollaret's meningitis
A form of meningitis which manifests with sudden attack of fever and meningeal signs with an increased CSF pressure.
Mollaret’s syndrome (Mollaret's meningitis)
A form of meningitis which manifests with sudden attack of fever and meningeal signs with an increased CSF pressure.
Monro's foramen
The hypothalmic sulcus.
Morbus Fahr (Fahr's disease)
A rare idiopathic disease which manifests in middle age characterized by punctate areas of non-arteriosclerotic calcination in parts of the gray and dentate nuclei, particularly of smaller brain vessels.
Morel's sclerosis
A variety of alcoholic encephalopathy.
Morsier-Gauthier syndrome (Kallmann's syndrome)
A congenital disorder of hypothalamic function and reduced pituitary gonadotropic activity with resulting association of hypogonadism, eunuchoidism and anosmia.
Munch-Petersen's encephalomyelitis (Redlich's syndrome)
A poorly defined form of abortive disseminated encephalomyelitis with lesions distributed throughout the brain and the spinal cord.
Munch-Petersen's syndrome (Redlich's syndrome)
A poorly defined form of abortive disseminated encephalomyelitis with lesions distributed throughout the brain and the spinal cord.
Nevin's syndrome (Nevin-Jones disease)
Subacute encephalopathy occurring most commonly between the ages of 50 and 70 years.
Nevin-Jones disease
Subacute encephalopathy occurring most commonly between the ages of 50 and 70 years.
Nonne-Marie syndrome (Marie's ataxia)
A hereditary disease of the nervous system, with cerebellar ataxia caused by bilateral cortical atrophy of the cerebellum.
Nonne-Pierre Marie syndrome (Marie's ataxia)
A hereditary disease of the nervous system, with cerebellar ataxia caused by bilateral cortical atrophy of the cerebellum.
Nonne’s syndrome III (Quincke's meningitis)
Intracranial hypertension of unknown origin.
Nothnagel's syndrome (Bruns' syndrome)
Neurological disturbance marked by violent periodic headaches, vomiting, and sudden attacks of vertigo and giddiness and sometimes falling.
Oppenheim-Turner syndrome (Ziehen-Oppenheim syndrome)
BRAIN PART4 (P-S)
Pagon’s syndrome (Walker-Warburg syndrome)
A lethal disorder of the brain marked by hydrocephalus, cerebral agyria, retinal dysplasia and other eye abnormalities, and occasional occipital encephalocele.
Parinaud-Koerber-Salus-Elschnig syndrome
This dorsal midbrain syndrome is a supranuclear palsy of vertical conjugate movement, most often upwards, caused by lesions of the aqueduct of Sylvius.
Parinaud’s ophthalmoplegia syndrome (Parinaud-Koerber-Salus-Elschnig syndrome)
This dorsal midbrain syndrome is a supranuclear palsy of vertical conjugate movement, most often upwards, caused by lesions of the aqueduct of Sylvius.
Parinaud’s syndrome (Parinaud-Koerber-Salus-Elschnig syndrome)
This dorsal midbrain syndrome is a supranuclear palsy of vertical conjugate movement, most often upwards, caused by lesions of the aqueduct of Sylvius.
Parkes Weber-Dimitri syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Pette-Döring disease
Pette-Döring encephalitis (Pette-Döring disease)
Subacute nodular panencephalitis.
Pette-Döring encephalitis (Van Bogaert's encephalitis)
A rare, chronic and progressive encephalitis in children and adolescents, involving the white matter of the cerebrum, brain stem, cerebral cortex, thalamus, and spinal cord.
Pick visions (Arnold Pick) (Pick's disease or syndrome II (Arnold Pick))
Historical term for optical delusions in disease processes in the area of the base of the 4th ventricle.
Pick's bodies (Arnold Pick)
Unusual protein deposits in the brains of people with Pick's disease
Pick's disease (Arnold Pick)
A rare and fatal degenerative disease of the nervous system. Clinically there are major overlaps with Alzheimer's presenile dementia.
Pick's disease or syndrome II (Arnold Pick)
Historical term for optical delusions in disease processes in the area of the base of the 4th ventricle.
Pick's hallucinations (Arnold Pick) (Pick's disease or syndrome II (Arnold Pick))
Historical term for optical delusions in disease processes in the area of the base of the 4th ventricle.
Pick-Alzheimer disease (misnomer) (Arnold Pick) (Pick's disease (Arnold Pick))
A rare and fatal degenerative disease of the nervous system. Clinically there are major overlaps with Alzheimer's presenile dementia.
Pick-Wernicke syndrome (Arnold Pick) (Wernicke's aphasia)
The aphasia syndrome, as described by Wernicke in 1908, consists of loss of comprehension of spoken language, loss of ability to read (silently) and write, and distortion of articulate speech. Hearing is intact.
Pick’s syndrome (Arnold Pick) (Pick's disease (Arnold Pick))
A rare and fatal degenerative disease of the nervous system. Clinically there are major overlaps with Alzheimer's presenile dementia.
Pierre Marie's syndrome (Marie's ataxia)
A hereditary disease of the nervous system, with cerebellar ataxia caused by bilateral cortical atrophy of the cerebellum.
Prévost's law
Symptom in unilateral brain affection consisting of cerebral lesion: the head is rotated toward the diseased hemisphere.
Prévost's syndrome
Conjugated deviation of the eyes seen in unilateral brain lesions.
Quincke's meningitis
Intracranial hypertension of unknown origin.
Quincke’s syndrome (Quincke's meningitis)
Intracranial hypertension of unknown origin.
Ramsay Hunt's syndrome I
A rare form of progressive cerebellar dyssynergia mainly characterised by intention tremor and often associated with convulsions and myoclonic epileptic jerks.
Ramsay Hunt’s syndrome II (Ramsay Hunt's syndrome I)
A rare form of progressive cerebellar dyssynergia mainly characterised by intention tremor and often associated with convulsions and myoclonic epileptic jerks.
Raymon-Céstan syndrome
Tumour of the cerebral peduncles causing speech disorders, paralysis of lateral conjugate gaze, etc.
Raymond's syndrome (Raymon-Céstan syndrome)
Tumour of the cerebral peduncles causing speech disorders, paralysis of lateral conjugate gaze, etc.
Raymond's syndrome (Millard-Gubler syndrome)
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Raymond-Foville syndrome (Millard-Gubler syndrome)
A syndrome of unilateral softening of the brain tissue arising from obstruction of the blood vessels of the pons.
Raymond’s syndrome (Céstan-Chenais syndrome)
A brain stem syndrome that is a clinical combination of Wallenberg’s or Avellis' syndrome and Babinski-Nageotte’s syndrome.
Redlich's syndrome
A poorly defined form of abortive disseminated encephalomyelitis with lesions distributed throughout the brain and the spinal cord.
Redlich-Flatau syndrome (Redlich's syndrome)
A poorly defined form of abortive disseminated encephalomyelitis with lesions distributed throughout the brain and the spinal cord.
Riley-Smith syndrome (Bannayan's syndrome)
A very rare familial disease with a predilection in males. It manifests with symmetrical macrocephaly without ventricular enlargement, mild neurological dysfunction, and postnatal growth retardation.
Rokitansky-Cushing ulcer
Eponym used to indicate the gastrointestinal hemorrhagic complication arising after head injury or neurosurgery.
Roser-Braun symptom
Absence of pulsation of the dura in a trephination opening suggests an underlying tumour.
Ruvalcaba Myhre-Smith syndrome (Bannayan's syndrome)
A very rare familial disease with a predilection in males. It manifests with symmetrical macrocephaly without ventricular enlargement, mild neurological dysfunction, and postnatal growth retardation.
Saldino-Mainzer syndrome
A combination of renal dysplasia, pigment dystrophy of cornea, cerebellar ataxia, and skeletal dysplasia.
Sanger Brown's syndrome (Marie's ataxia)
A hereditary disease of the nervous system, with cerebellar ataxia caused by bilateral cortical atrophy of the cerebellum.
Schilder's disease
A rare, progressive and invariably fatal disease of the central nervous system characterized by adrenal atrophy and diffuse cerebral demyelination.
Schilder-Addison complex (probably misnomer) (Schilder's disease)
A rare, progressive and invariably fatal disease of the central nervous system characterized by adrenal atrophy and diffuse cerebral demyelination.
Schilder-Foix disease
A disease of the nervous system characterized by nonprogressive sclerotic lesions of the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres.
Schirmer's syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Scholtz’ disease (Scholz-Bielschowsky-Henneberg disease)
Metachromatic leukodystrophy. A collective term for a possibly rather heterogeneous group of fatal diseases with dystrophy of the white matter of the brain
Scholz-Bielschowsky-Henneberg disease
Metachromatic leukodystrophy. A collective term for a possibly rather heterogeneous group of fatal diseases with dystrophy of the white matter of the brain
Scholz-Bielschowsky-Henneberg syndrome (Scholz-Bielschowsky-Henneberg disease)
Metachromatic leukodystrophy. A collective term for a possibly rather heterogeneous group of fatal diseases with dystrophy of the white matter of the brain
Scholz-Greenfield syndrome (Scholz-Bielschowsky-Henneberg disease)
Metachromatic leukodystrophy. A collective term for a possibly rather heterogeneous group of fatal diseases with dystrophy of the white matter of the brain
Schut-Haymaker syndrome
A familial torsion spasm due to a lesion of the basal ganglia.
Seitelberger's disease II
A rare familial form of demyalinating disease with early onset and absence of stainable myelin.
Seitelberger’s neuroaxonal dystrophy (Seitelberger's disease II)
A rare familial form of demyalinating disease with early onset and absence of stainable myelin.
Sicard’s syndrome I (Collet-Sicard syndrome)
Collective term comprising infectious disorders associated with encephalitis epidemica.
Signorelli's sign I
Extreme tenderness on pressure on the retromandibular point in meningitis.
Stewart-Holmes sign
Rebound phenomenon seen in cerebellar disease.
Stewart-Holmes syndrome
Epileptic fits, manifested by jerking movements of one arm.
Stewart-Holmes test
An ordinary neurological test performed for the diagnosis for cerebellar disease.
Strümpell's disease I
The cerebral form of poliomyelitis.
Strümpell-Leichtenstern encephalitis
Acute hemorrhagic encephalitis affecting both sexes, but prevalent in children, and characterised by necrosis, haemorrhage, and demyelination of the white matter.
Sträussler’s disease (Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome)
A rare familial form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome.
Sträussler’s syndrome (Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome)
A rare familial form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome.
Sturge's syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Sturge-Kalischer-Weber syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Sturge-Parkes Weber-Dimitri syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Sturge-Weber syndrome
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Sturge-Weber-Krabbe syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Sturge-Weber-Thoma syndrome (Sturge-Weber syndrome)
A congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes.
Symonds’ syndrome (Quincke's meningitis)
Intracranial hypertension of unknown origin.
Syndrome de Gerstmann (French) (Gerstmann's syndrome)
Gyrus angularis syndrome with right-left disorientation.
Guest Guest
HERE IS AN ARTICLE FOR PAEDIATRIC HEAD AND NECK SYNDROMES COMMONLY ASKED IN MCQS
More than 3,000 known syndromes have been classified in humans. The evaluation and management of children with these syndromes requires the appropriate knowledge and support of multiple specialists. Otolaryngologists are often consulted in the diagnosis and management of the syndromal child. The pattern of disease in these children may often be first recognized by the astute otolaryngologist. The focus of this presentation is to identify several common syndromes affecting children, and the otolaryngologic significance of these syndromes.
Definitions
Prior to the discussion of various head and neck anomalies found in the syndromal child, a thorough understanding of various terms must be appreciated. The following terms are used in the description of anatomic variations to the norm:
* Deformation: An abnormality form, shape, or position of a part of the body resulting from mechanical forces, usually occurring late in gestation. The flattening of facial features is an example resulting from oligohydramnios.
* Malformation: A morphologic defect of an organ, part of an organ, or a larger region of the body caused by an intrinsically abnormal developmental process. Anencephaly, as an example, results from abnormal development of the brain.
* Disruption: A morphologic defect of an organ, part of an organ, or larger region of the body caused by extrinsic breakdown of, or an interference of, an originally normal developmental process. Facial clefting is a disruption resulting from amniotic bands.
* Association: A non-random occurrence in two or more individuals of multiple anomalies not known to originate from a syndrome, sequence, or disturbance of single developmental field. For example, the CHARGE association has multiple anatomic abnormalities that are not known to be related in their origin.
* Syndrome: A pattern of multiple anomalies pathogenetically related but not representing a single sequence or developmental field. Branchio-otorenal syndrome is an example that consists of branchial cleft, ear, and renal anomalies resulting from disturbances in the development of multiple organ-systems.
* Sequence: A pattern of multiple anomalies derived from a single known or presumed prior anomaly or mechanical factor. The primary abnormality of the Pierre Robin sequence is micrognathia, which results in glossoptosis. Glossoptosis contributes to cleft palate in this syndrome.
Diagnosis of the Syndromal Child
The first and usually the most critical step in the evaluation of a child with a known or suspected syndrome is a thorough history. This includes the medical history of the child as well as the family members of the child. A pedigree should be constructed to develop an understanding of the genetic attributes of the family. Information about the age and consanguinity of the parents is necessary. Exposure to known teratogens during pregnancy should be elicited.
The next step is to perform a careful physical examination, noting all minor and major abnormal features. Another important step is to compare various features of the child to the other family members. The otolaryngologic manifestations of various syndromes include anomalies of the ears, cranium, facial features, oropharynx, and neck. Audiologic evaluation is also obtained when appropriate. It is important for an otolaryngologist to acknowledge anomalous features of the entire body, and not be limited to the head and neck. This includes the skeletal structure and features of the hands and feet.
When a child is suspected to be afflicted by a syndrome, a consultation with medical genetics experts is recommended for identification of the genetic anomaly and testing for other abnormalities. Communication among the parents and all medical specialists involved is essential for the appropriate care of the syndromal child.
Otolaryngologic Concerns in the Syndromal Child
The Airway
Understanding the development of the airway and anatomic variations from normal are critical to the otolaryngologist. Newborns are obligate nasal breathers until about 4-6 weeks. Mouth breathing is a learned response. Congenital nasal obstruction or stenosis presents a life-threatening problem. Choanal atresia and midface hypoplasia may present in the neonate as respiratory distress with cyanosis. This is usually effectively initially treated with an oral airway until further surgical management is planned. Micrognathia, retrognathia, glossoptosis, and macroglossia may also significantly obstruct the airway which may be first treated by a nasal airway and prone feeding, and further with adenotonsillectomy when appropriate. A tracheotomy is indicated when other measures have not been successful. In some instance, support and growth of the child is sufficient. Mandibular osteotomies and distraction may be required for malocclusion, when growth is insufficient.
The management of the airway provides a challenge to medical personnel, and it is the responsibility of the otolaryngologist to attain and maintain an appropriate airway for a child with craniofacial anomalies. Communication with the anesthesiologist is critical when operating on a syndromal child. Evaluation of the airway includes examination of the entire airway. This may be achieved by flexible laryngoscopy, direct laryngoscopy, and tracheobronchoscopy. Stertor and the type of stridor provide clues to the level of airway obstruction.
Appropriate management of the pediatric airway requires familiarity with the instruments needed to evaluate and care for the airway. The appropriate size, length, and type of laryngoscope and bronchoscope for each case should be evaluated prior to performing direct laryngoscopy. As a general rule, all instruments should be connected and checked prior to the start of an airway case.
The otolaryngologist may be involved in the management of obstructive sleep apnea in a child with craniofacial anomalies. It is important to understand that functional anomalies contribute to the problem of airway obstruction when developing treatment strategies. Polysomnography is essential in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. Continuous positive airway pressure may be beneficial in some cases. The management of OSA may require adenotonsillectomy, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, partial tongue base resection, resection of redundant laryngeal structures, or tracheotomy.
Hearing Loss
Children with craniofacial anomalies are at risk of having or developing hearing loss. Hearing is essential for learning language and verbal communication, as well as education. Therefore, the careful evaluation of the syndromal child includes an appropriate otologic and audiologic examination. Delay in the detection of hearing loss may be very deleterious in the development of the child.
Congenital hearing loss is predominantly conductive in nature, but sensorineural hearing loss may also be involved. Congenital conductive hearing loss may be secondary to microtia, external auditory canal atresia, and ossicular deformity or fixation. In these instances, an appropriate audiologic evaluation with radiography is required prior to surgical correction. If these problems are unilateral, appropriate language development is possible if the hearing in the unaffected ear is optimized. Early detection of otitis media and administration of antibiotics or placement if ventilation tubes, when appropriate, are necessary in the normal ear. Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is common in children with craniofacial anomalies, especially cleft lip/palate, and usually is effectively treated with placement of ventilation tubes. PE tubes may be required into adolescence to prevent hearing loss and complications from ETD.
Speech Disorders
Speech disorders are common in children with craniofacial anomalies, especially in children with nasal obstruction and cleft palate. Hypernasal speech is a common finding in velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) following cleft palate repair. Speech therapy is usually sufficient; however, palatopharyngoplasty may be required for children with persistent VPI over the age of 5 years. Hyponasal speech is less common and results from nasal obstruction, which is usually surgically correctable. Hoarseness is another speech abnormality usually due to the development of vocal cord nodules in compensatory laryngeal activity. This may also result from intubation trauma.
Down Syndrome
Down syndrome is the most common syndrome known in humans. It was first described in 1866 by John Landon Down. The prevalence has been estimated as high as 1 in 700 humans. Approximately 95% of cases are due to nondisjunction of chromosome 21 in gametogenesis. The remaining cases are from unbalanced translocations. There is a high association with increased maternal age. Maternal age of 33-35 carries a 2.8 in 1,000 risk, and maternal age of greater than 44 years carries a 38 in 1,000 risk. There is a 1% risk of having a child with Down syndrome if a sibling has this syndrome. Screening methods have been developed and include ultrasonography, alfa-fetoprotein level, human chorionic gonadotropin and unconjugated estriol levels. The average life expectancy of individuals with Down syndrome is 35 years, with highest mortality early in infancy due to congenital heart defects, leukemia, and respiratory distress.
Common signs in a newborn with Down syndrome include hypotonia, poor Moro reflex, hyperextensible joints, loose skin on nape, flattened facial profile, upward slanting palpebral fissures, single palmar crease, flat occiput, and epicanthal folds. Prenatal and postnatal growth deficiency is present in almost all cases. Interestingly, in older patients, Alzheimer disease is common. This is believed to be due to an abnormality of amyloid beta-A4 precursor mapped to chromosome 21.
The craniofacial manifestations of Down syndrome include the absence of the frontal and sphenoid sinuses with maxillary sinus hypoplasia in 90% of cases, a flattened nasal bridge with relative mandibular prognathism (midface hypoplasia), small ears with overlapping helix, epicanthal folds and upward slanting palpebral fissures. Atlantoaxial instability is a common finding that must be acknowledged when manipulating the head and neck. Macroglossia with a fissured or geographic tongue is also common. Periodontal disease is found in 90% of cases with a relatively low incidence of dental caries.
The otolaryngologic concerns include airway obstruction and hearing loss. Due to midface hypoplasia, the nasopharynx and oropharynx dimensions are smaller and slight adenoid hypertrophy may result in upper airway obstruction. Obstructive sleep apnea is a very common finding ranging from 54-100% of cases and is due to a combination of anatomic and physiologic abnormalities. Hypotonia with macroglossia and midface hypoplasia contribute to the development of OSA. Polysomnography is diagnostic of OSA, and there are several management options available. Medical management including CPAP and weight loss when indicated is effective in some cases. However, surgical management is required when medical management in not effective. Adenotonsillectomy alone is a controversial approach due to hypotonia in addition to possible lymphoid hypertrophy. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and partial tongue resection are other surgical options. A tracheotomy is the most effective manner to bypass upper airway obstruction when other options have failed. It is also important to note that there is evidence of congenital mild to moderate subglottic narrowing in patients with Down syndrome. Therefore, post-extubation stridor is not an uncommon finding.
The otologic issues include a small pinna and stenotic EAC which contribute to cerumen impaction in Down syndrome patients. Conductive hearing loss may be secondary to chronic otitis media with effusion and Eustachian tube dysfunction. This may be addressed with placement of ventilation tubes. Ossicular fixation is also not uncommon, and may be surgically managed. Sensorineural hearing loss is present in relatively few cases, and is attributed to progressive ossification along outflow pathway of the basal spiral tract.
Cardiovascular anomalies in Down syndrome is present in 40% of cases and may range from ventricular septal defects, atrial septal defects, tetralogy of Fallot,and patent ductus arteriosus. Gastrointestinal involvement in 10-18% includes pyloric stenosis, duodenal atresia, and tracheoesophageal fistula. Of importance is the 20 fold higher incidence of acute lymphocytic leukemia in patients with Down syndrome compared to patients without Down syndrome. It is important to have all systemic issues addressed in the team approach to the management of Down syndrome.
Velocardiofacial Syndrome
Velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) is one of the most common syndromes involving the head and neck. The prevalence may be as high as 1 in every 4,000 births. Although patients may appear normal, they have characteristic facial structures. For these reasons, it is essential for otolaryngologists to be familiar with the facial anomalies and physiologic disturbances these patients may display. This syndrome typically has a manifestation of congenital heart disease, hypernasal speech, cleft palate, learning disabilities, and a characteristic facial appearance. An estimated 8% of cleft palate clinic patients have VCFS. The inheritance pattern is autosomal dominant with variable expressivity. In 85% of cases there is hemizygous microdeletion shared with the DiGeorge sequence at the 22q11.2 locus.
The oropharyngeal findings include structural malformations of the neck in 75% of cases, but may vary from readily apparent cleft palate (10-35%), submucous cleft (33%), occult submucous cleft and velar paresis (33%), and a hypernasal speech pattern. Malocclusion is a common finding. The tonsils and adenoids are small or aplastic in 50% and 85% of cases, respectively. Airway obstruction is not an uncommon finding and up to 50% of neonates are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. However, it is very important to avoid tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy in these patients as the obstruction does not improve after this surgery. An oropharyngeal or a nasopharyngeal airway is useful in the urgent setting. Ultimately, repair of the cleft palate or surgical management of velopharyngeal apparatus may be required.
The facial characteristics in VCFS include microcephaly, a long face with vertical maxillary excess, malar flatness, and retrusion of the mandible. The nose is usually prominent with a squared nasal root, hypoplasia of the alae, and narrow nasal passages. The philtrum is usually long with a thin upper lip. Facial asymmetry is not uncommon. In addition, 15% of cases exhibit Pierre Robin sequence and 15% with Pierre Robin have VCFS. In 35-50% of cases, the palpebral fissures may appear narrow with allergic shiners. Opthalmologic findings small optic disks, bilateral cataracts, tortuous retinal vessels, and rarely colobomas may be present. Anomalies of the ears are common and include small auricles with thickened helical rims. In 75% of cases, CHL is present and likely is due to serous otitis media and cleft palate. SNHL may be present in 8-15% of cases.
Cardiovascular anomalies are present in 75-85% cases of VCFS. Ventricular septal defects, right-sided aortic arch, aberrant subclavian artery, and Tetralogy of Fallot are common cardiac problems. Approximately 10% of infants with VCFS die as a result of congenital cardiac defects. The internal carotid arteries are medially displaced and tortuous in 25% of cases, but generally straighten with age. This should always be acknowledged prior to cleft repair.
Mild mental retardation and poor social interaction with a flat affect may be present in some individuals. Renal anomalies may be present in 35% of cases. Skeletal growth is also retarded in a large proportion of cases. Hypocalcemia and immunologic findings of T-cell dysfunction, allude to a relationship to the DiGeorge sequence in 15% of patients. Both, failure to thrive and frequent infections are present in this population.
The appropriate diagnosis and management of patients with VCFS requires a coordinated team effort of multiple specialties. The most critical factors include appropriate management of cardiac defects early in life and maintenance of good health through early childhood. Hearing and speech impediments must be appropriately managed, as well any disturbances to vision to allow for the greatest academic development. Communication between otolaryngologists, craniofacial surgeons, cardiologists, nephrologists, ophthalmologists, pediatricians, speech pathologists, teachers, and parents is essential in caring for patients with such diverse medical problems.
Branchio-Otorenal Syndrome
Branchio-otorenal syndrome (BORS) was first termed by Melnick et al in 1975. BORS has a prevalence of 1 in every 40,000 newborns and has an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern with high penetrance typically isolated to the gene at the 8q13.3 locus. The characteristics of this syndrome are most commonly branchial cleft cysts or fistulas, preauricular pits, malformed auricles, hearing loss and renal anomalies.
Branchial cleft cysts, sinuses, or fistulas are present in 50-60% of cases, predominantly found in the lower third of the neck, and are usually bilateral. Fistulas, when present, may open into the tonsillar fossa. Facial nerve paralysis and aplasia/stenosis of the lacrimal duct are not uncommon (10% and 25% of cases, respectively).
The otologic manifestations of BORS range from structural anomalies of the external ear to the inner ear. Auricular malformations are found in 30-60% of cases and vary from severe microtia to minor anomalies of the pinna. Helical or preauricular pits are present in 70-80% of cases, and rarely communicate with the tympanic cavity. Hearing loss in present in 75-95% of affected individuals, composed of conductive (30%), sensorineural (20%), and mixed hearing loss (50%). The onset of hearing loss may vary from early childhood to young adulthood. The middle ear anomalies include malformation and/or fixation of ossicles and abnormal size or structure of the tympanic cavity. In the inner ear, anomalies, although rare, include dilated vestibule and/or endolymphatic duct/sac, bulbous internal auditory canal, small semicircular canals, and hypoplastic cochlea.
The structural anomalies of the urinary system are present in 12-20% of cases. This is likely underreported as only 6% of those with renal involvement have severe symptoms. The anomalies range from renal agenesis to mild hypoplasia or abnormalities of the renal pelvis or ureters.
Appropriate diagnosis of BORS is dependent upon a thorough history and physical examination. One must keep a high index of suspicion when ear anomalies, hearing loss, neck masses/sinuses, and renal problems are encountered. Initial management includes antibiotics for infected branchial cleft sinuses/cysts and an audiogram. Profound hearing loss has been found in 1 of 200 individuals with preauricular pits. Further management includes neck CT and possibly temporal bone CT if hearing loss is present. When clinically appropriate a renal ultrasound or intravenous pyelogram may be beneficial. Genetic counseling is beneficial for families.
The treatment for branchial cleft cyst/sinus/fistula is surgical excision to prevent repeated infection and possibility of airway obstruction or dysphagia. The external ear may also be addressed surgically, from microtia repair to simple excision of preauricular pits. Ossicular chain reconstruction may be performed, when indicated, to improve hearing. Hearing aid devices are used frequently when hearing is impaired. Consultation with urologic specialists is appropriate when there is renal involvement.
Treacher Collins Syndrome
Mandibulofacial dysostosis was first described by Thomson and Toynbee in 1846-1847. The essential elements of this syndrome were later described by Treacher Collins in 1960. It is a relatively uncommon syndrome with an incidence of 1 in 50,000 births, and is an autosomal dominant disorder with variable expressivity. The gene called Treacle or TCOF1, has been mapped to the 5q32-33.1 locus. Approximately 60% of cases are from new mutations, and have an association with increased paternal age. The pathogenesis is likely derived from abnormal migration of neural crest cells into the first and second branchial arch structures. The features of this syndrome are mostly bilateral and symmetric. The characteristics include supraorbital and malar hypoplasia resulting in relatively large appearance of the nose, a narrow face with downward sloping palpebral fissures, malformed pinna, receding chin, and relatively large down-turned mouth.
In addition to malar hypoplasia and non-fused zygomatic arches, the paranasal sinuses are often hypoplastic. The mandibular components are also often hypoplastic, with a concave shape to the undersurface of the mandibular body. The angle of the mandible is also more obtuse than normal. Colobomas of the outer third of the lower eyelid and absence of the lower eyelid cilia may also be present. Cleft palate is found in 35% of cases with an additional 30-40% with palatopharyngeal incompetence.
Abnormalities of the airway include chaonal atresia resulting in respiratory distress in the newborn. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common breathing dysfunction and is frequently caused by mandibular hypoplasia that displaces the tongue posteriorly into the oropharynx. An oral airway may assist ventilation, but a tracheotomy may be performed if needed.
Otologic manifestations include a malformed pinna often misplaced toward the angle of the mandible. One third of patients with anomalous pinna have EAC atresia or ossicular abnormalities. Conductive hearing loss is common and must be addressed for normal development. It is important to recognize that intelligence is usually normal in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome.
Apert and Crouzon Syndromes
Apert and Crouzon syndromes belong to the family of syndromes with craniosynostoses. Although each is unique, they share some characteristics.
Wheaton first described the features of acrocephalosyndactyly in 1894, but Apert expanded on this syndrome in 1906. Apert syndrome is characterized by craniosynostosis, midfacial malformations, and symmetric syndactyly of the hands and feet. The prevalence of Apert syndrome is 15-16 per million newborns and contributes to 4-5% of all craniosynostoses. It has an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern, but, most cases are sporadic from new mutations associated with increased paternal age.
The coronal sutures are fused in Apert syndrome at birth, with larger than normal heal circumference. The cranial base is malformed and often asymmetric with a short anterior cranial fossa. Shallow orbits result in exophthalmos. The midface is retruded and hypoplastic in some cases, resulting in relative prognathism. The nasal bridge may be depressed and the nose is usually beaked. Hypertelorism, downward slanting palpebral fissures, proptosis, strabismus, and cleft palate are frequently associated.
In 1912, Crouzon first described the characteristics of craniofacial dysostosis. These features were craniosynostosis, maxillary hypoplasia, shallow orbits, and ocular proptosis. It is inherited in an autosomal dominant patter with one third of cases reported to be sporadic. The prevalence of Crouzon syndrome is also 15-16 per million newborns and accounts for 4.5% of all craniosynostoses.
In Crouzon syndrome fusion of cranial sutures begins during the first year of life and usually complete by 2-3 years of age. Shallow orbits with exophthalmos at birth without involvement of the hands and feet are usually diagnostic for Crouzon syndrome. Midface retrusion, relative prognathism, hypertelorism and a beaked nose are also present as in Apert syndrome.
In both syndromes, the reduced nasopharyngeal dimensions along with choanal stenosis may result in respiratory embarrassment, especially in the newborn. Obstructive sleep apnea and cor pulmonale are associated with airway compromise. In these circumstances, adenoidectomy for hypertrophic lymphoid tissue, endotracheal intubation and tracheotomy may be needed. A polysomnogram is a useful tool for determining airway compromise. Additionally, proptosis results in a high frequency of conjunctivitis and keratitis. The ears may be low set with otitis media and conductive hearing loss resulting from ETD is present in most cases. Congenital fixation of stapes footplate may also be encountered in Apert syndrome. Ventilation tube placement and stapedectomy may be performed when indicated. Fronto-orbital advancement surgery may be required to allow for growth of the brain and expansion of the cranial vault. Orthodontic attention may also be required for abnormalities of the maxillary teeth and crossbite. Cervical spine anomalies are more common in Crouzon syndrome, but may also be present in Apert syndrome.
Pierre Robin Sequence
The triad of cleft palate, micrognathia, and airway obstruction was first described by St. Hilaire in 1822, later by Fairbain in 1846, and by Shukowsky in 1911. Pierre Robin, a French stomatologist, first reported the association of micrognathia with glossoptosis in 1923. He later included cleft palate as part of this sequence. The prevalence of Pierre Robin sequence is reported to be 1 in 8,500 newborns. Children with this disorder are classified into two major categories: nonsyndromic and syndromic. Approximately 80% of cases are nonsyndromic and have the potential for normal patterns of growth and development if airway and feeding concerns are addressed early in infancy. Syndromic cases do not have as good a prognosis for growth and development in spite of early intervention. Velocardiofacial syndrome, Treacher Collins syndrome, and fetal alcohol syndrome are three of many conditions that have an association with Pierre Robin sequence.
The initiating factor in Pierre Robin sequence appears to be mandibular deficiency during fetal development. The hypoplastic and retruded mandible maintains the tongue high in the nasopharynx early in development. The high position of the tongue prevents the medial growth and fusion of the lateral palatal structures which is usually complete at 11 weeks of fetal life. Further into development, the tongue descends into a more normal position; however, at this point the palatal shelves are unable to join. This results in a U-shaped palatal cleft.
Airway obstruction is a major concern in Pierre Robin sequence. The posterior displacement of the tongue and floor of mouth due to retrognathia results in upper airway obstruction. However, airway obstruction in this disorder has anatomic and neuromuscular components. Impairment of the genioglossus and other parapharyngeal musculature are observed and predispose the airway to collapse.
The management of airway obstruction may be achieved by several methods. Prone positioning displaces the tongue anteriorly, and previously was thought to be definitive treatment for glossoptosis. Due to the inability to observe chest retractions, this method has been replaced with the use of mandibular traction devices. The placement of a nasopharyngeal airway may be the most appropriate initial method of managing the airway in infants with Pierre Robin sequence. A tube with an internal diameter of 3.0mm or 3.5mm is used and advanced 8cm or until appropriate ventilation is achieved. This provides some time to prepare for more definitive treatment. Gavage feeds via a nasogastric tube is usually recommended. In addition, tongue-lip adhesion has also been effective in the initial management of some cases. The mucosal surface of the tongue, along the floor of the mouth, over the alveolus, and onto the lower lip is denuded. The tongue is then sutured into a more anterior position. A tongue release is performed at the time of cleft palate repair. Speech is not affected with this method. In some more severe cases, tracheotomy is required when less invasive temporizing methods are unsuccessful. Mandibular distraction osteogenesis provides a definitive means to correct the bony and soft tissue involved in micrognathia. In some cases, patients exhibit catch-up growth and achieve maxillo-mandibular equilibrium without the need for mandibular corrective surgery.
Otologic concerns in Pierre Robin sequence are primarily due to conductive hearing loss secondary to chronic otitis media with effusion. Approximately 80% of patients have bilateral conductive hearing loss. Patients with abnormalities of the palate generally have anomalous anchorage of the muscles associated with the eustachian tube (tensor veli palatine and levator veli palitini). Placement of ventilation tubes is usually sufficient for management of eustachian tube dysfunction and middle ear effusion.
CHARGE Association
The acronym of C.H.A.R.G.E. was first described by Pagon et al in 1981 to identify a nonrandom collection of malformations. The true incidence of this associated is not known. The acronym stands for colobomas, heart abnormalities, atresia choanae, retardation of growth or mental development, genitourinary anomalies, and ear anomalies. In addition to these abnormalities, the head and neck anomalies manifested in this association include facial nerve palsy, pharyngoesophageal dysmotility, laryngomalacia, vocal cord paralysis, obstructive sleep, and gastroesophageal reflux. Anomalies of the temporal bones include hypoplasia of the semicircular canals and Mondini malformation.
The most urgent otolaryngologic concern in a child with this CHARGE is respiratory distress due to bilateral choanal atresia. Chonal atresia should always be included in the differential diagnosis of a newborn child with respiratory distress and cyanosis at rest, with improvement when crying. Diagnosis of chonal atresia may be established by simple auscultation of each nostril with the bell of a stethoscope, use of a mirror to observe fogging under the nostrils, passage of a 6 French nasogastric feeing tube, and direct visualization with flexible laryngoscopy. A CT is a useful radiologic study used preoperatively to determine the abnormal bony structures involved in choanal atresia. Unilateral choanal atresia usually may be managed without any interventions. Management is initially the placement of an oral airway and feeding with a McGovern nipple may be helpful in symptomatic unilateral and bilateral chonal atresia. Surgical treatment of unilateral choanal atresia may be delayed until school-aged. In bilateral cases, surgical intervention is needed earlier in infancy to prevent respiratory decompensation. A tracheotomy is usually performed prior to definitive surgical repair. There are different techiniques including trasnasal and transpalatal approaches, the use of a laser, the use of stents, and use of Mitomycin-C topically (0.3mg/cc for 2 minutes).
Otologic abnormalities
Otologic abnormalities include anomalies of the external, middle, and inner ear. Hearing loss is usually of a mixed type with a characteristic wedge-shaped audiogram. The intervention for chronic otitis media with effusion and Eustachian tube dysfunction is usually the placement of ventilation tubes. The use of amplification devices is also useful
FEW SYNDROMES THAT ARE QUITE EYE CATCHING...........
Hutchinson-Guilford Progeria Syndrome
Hutchinson-Guilford Progeria Syndrome is often referred to as progeria. This disease causes a person to age prematurely. It is generally diagnosed in children who are 18 months to two years old. Symptoms include stiff joints, dislocated hips, hair loss, aged-looking skin, strokes and heart disease. People with progeria live an average of 8 to 21 years, with heart disease being the most common cause of death. Another form of the syndrome, called Werner's syndrome, affects people in their late teen years. The average life span for people with this condition is 40 to 50 years.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a fatal brain disease that often claims the victim's life within a year of onset. It affects one out of every 1,000,000 people, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Visual disturbances, trouble with coordination, memory lapses, blindness, weakened extremities and behavior changes are the symptoms of this condition. Most people with the disease are around age 60.
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis is a rare but fatal lung disease that affects only women, typically those ages 20 to 40. It affects fewer than one out of 1 million people. Symptoms are cough, chest pain, blood-tinged sputum and trouble breathing. Treatment for this condition is possible via a lung transplant.
Nuclear Factor Kappa B Essential Modulator (NEMO)
Nuclear factor kappa B essential modulator (NEMO) is a rare condition that affects only males. This immune-system disease is so rare that it wasn't discovered until 2007. As of August 2009, only 60 children have been definitively diagnosed with the condition. Symptoms include repeated infections, delayed tooth development with teeth that are conical when they come in, fine hair, compromised skin, ocular troubles and abnormal bone growth. The only treatment for this condition is a bone-marrow transplant.
Menkes Disease
Menkes disease is a condition that affects copper metabolism. It is caused by a defective gene. A child with Menkes disease usually has normal development for the first six to eight weeks of life; however, after that point, symptoms such as a low body temperature and weak muscle tone become apparent. Additionally, the infant may have seizures and colorless, kinky hair that breaks easily. Treatment for the condition is copper supplementation. This treatment won't prolong life unless it is started shortly after birth, which is highly unlikely as there isn't any screening done at birth for the condition. Without early treatment, the child will pass away by his 10th birthday.
Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCL)
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL) is the name of a group of four rare conditions: Batten's disease, Santavuori-Haltia disease, Jansky-Bielschowsky disease and Kufs disease. Collectively, these conditions are present in two to four out of every 100,000 live births in the United States. All of these except Kufs disease are fatal. Batten's disease affects children aged 5 to 10 and results in death by the late teens or 20s. Santavuori-Haltia disease affects children 6 months to 2 years old and results in death by 5 years old. Jansky-Bielschowsky disease affects children from 2 to 4 years old and results in death generally between 8 and 12 years old. Kufs disease affects adults and isn't considered fatal. All of these conditions are characterized by progressive loss of sight and seizures that don't respond to conventional medical treatments.
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AUTO IMMUNE DISEASES
Autoimmunity plays a role in more than 80 diseases. Following are brief descriptions of some of the many diseases in which autoimmunity may be involved
Following is a list of Autoimmune Diseases. They are all caused by the immune system attacking different organs of our body. Since all these diseases have the same mechanism of action thus their treatment is essentially the same. They are treated with IVIG, steroids, plasmapheresis or other cytotoxic and immunosuppressive treatments. In our E-Book you will find the antibiotic protocols.
AUTOIMMUNE acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) A flu followed by seizures and coma, causing inflammation of the brain.(encephalitis). It is a autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune Alzheimers: A memory disorder caused by autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune alopecia areata--A disorder in which the immune system attacks the hair follicles, causing loss of hair on the scalp, face, and other parts of the body.
Autoimmune ankylosing spondylitis--A rheumatic disease that causes inflamed joints in the spine and sacroiliac (the joints that connect the spine and the pelvis) and, in some people, inflamed eyes and heart valves.
Autoimmune aneurysms and their treatment with steroids
Autoimmune arthritis--A general term for more than 100 different diseases that affect the joints. Many forms of arthritis and related conditions are believed to have an autoimmune component.
Autoimmune antiphospholipid Syndrome Causes Infertility recurrent abortions , stroke and thrombosis.
Autoimmune Addison’s Disease The Kennedy Disease
Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia
Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease Also known as Meniers Disease . (hearing loss, vertigo)
Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS)
Autoimmune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ATP) ITP was the first disease to be approved by FDA for treatment with IVIg.
Autoimmune autism or Autistic disorder Also know know as a specific entity as PANDAS. (Childhood psychiatric disorders)
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia--A condition in which immune system proteins attack the red blood cells, resulting in fewer of these oxygen-transporting cells.
Autoimmune hepatitis--A disease in which the body's immune system attacks liver cells, causing inflammation. If not stopped, inflammation can lead to cirrhosis (scarring and hardening) of the liver and eventually liver failure.
Autoimmune Oophoritis Premature Ovarian Failure causing infertility.
Autoimmune Behçet's disease--A condition characterized by sores in the mouth and on the genitals and by inflammation in parts of the eye. In some people, the disease also results in inflammation of the joints, digestive tract, brain, and spinal cord.
Autoimmune Bullous Pemphigoid Skin lesions
Autoimmune Cardiomyopathy A very simple treatment for end stage cardiac failure
Autoimmune Crohn's disease--An inflammatory disease of the small intestine or colon that causes diarrhea, cramps, and excessive weight loss.
Autoimmune Chronic Fatigue Syndrome In this condition you feel tired all the time.
Autoimmune Dermatomyositis--A rare autoimmune disease that causes patchy red rashes around the knuckles, eyes, and other parts of the body along with chronic inflammation of the muscles. It may occur along with other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus.
Autoimmune Diabetes mellitus, type 1--A condition in which the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, making it impossible for the body to use glucose (blood sugar) for energy. Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in children and young adults.
Autoimmune Epilepsy Autoimmune In epilepsy either you pass out, forget, get angry or have uncontrolled movements of the body.
Autoimmune Kawasaki's Disease A disease affecting the skin and heart in children.
Autoimmune Glomerulonephritis--Inflammation of the kidney's tiny filtering units, which in severe cases can lead to kidney failure.
Autoimmune Graves' disease--An autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormone. This causes such symptoms as nervousness, heat intolerance, heart palpitations, and unexplained weight loss.
Autoimmune Goodpasture's syndrome A autoimmune disease affecting the Lungs and Kidneys.
Autoimmune Guillain-Barré syndrome--A disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the nervous system, leading to numb, weak limbs and, in severe cases, paralysis.
Autoimmune Inflammatory bowel disease--The general name for diseases that cause inflammation in the intestine, the most common of which are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Autoimmune Lupus nephritis--Damaging inflammation of the kidneys that can occur in people with lupus. If not controlled, it may lead to total kidney failure.
Autoimmune Multiple sclerosis--A disease in which the immune system attacks the protective coating called myelin around the nerves. The damage affects the brain and/or spinal cord and interferes with the nerve pathways, causing muscular weakness, loss of coordination, and visual and speech problems.
Autoimmune Myasthenia gravis--A disease in which the immune system attacks the nerves and muscles in the neck, causing weakness and problems with seeing, chewing, and/or talking.
Autoimmune Myocarditis--Inflamed and degenerating muscle tissue of the heart that can cause chest pain and shortness of breath. This can lead to congestive heart failure.
Autoimmune Parkinson diseases. Parkinson which causes slowness and a flexed posture with tremors is a autoimmune diseases.
Autoimmune PANDAS Pediatrics autoimmune neuropsychiatry disorders
Autoimmune Pemphigus/pemphigoid--An autoimmune disease of the skin characterized by itching and blisters. (Excellent Article modified by cidpusa)
Autoimmune Pernicious anemia--A deficiency of the oxygen-carrying red blood cells that often occurs in people with autoimmune diseases of the thyroid gland.
Autoimmune Polyarteritis nodosa--An autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the small and medium-sized arteries. This leads to problems in the muscles, joints, intestines, nerves, kidney, and skin.
Autoimmune Polymyositis--A rare autoimmune disease characterized by inflamed and tender muscles throughout the body, particularly those of the shoulder and hip girdles.
Autoimmune Primary biliary cirrhosis--A disease that slowly destroys the bile ducts in the liver. When the ducts are damaged, bile (a substance that helps digest fat) builds up in the liver and damages liver tissue.
Autoimmune Psoriasis--A chronic skin disease that occurs when cells in the outer layer of the skin reproduce faster than normal and pile up on the skin's surface. This results in scaling and inflammation. An estimated 10 to 30 percent of people with psoriasis develop an associated arthritis called psoriatic arthritis.
Autoimmune Rheumatic fever--A disease that can occur following untreated streptococcus (strep) infection. It most often affects children, causing painful, inflamed joints and, in some cases, permanent damage to heart valves.
Autoimmune Rheumatoid arthritis--A disease in which the immune system is believed to attack the linings of the joints. This results in joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and destruction.
Autoimmune Sarcoidosis--A disease characterized by granulomas (small growths of blood vessels, cells, and connective tissue) that can lead to problems in the skin, lungs, eyes, joints, and muscles.
AUTOIMMUNE Scleroderma--An autoimmune disease characterized by abnormal growth of connective tissue in the skin and blood vessels. In more severe forms, connective tissue can build up in the kidneys, lungs, heart, and gastrointestinal tract, leading in some cases to organ failure.
Autoimmune sjögren's syndrome--A condition in which the immune system targets the body's moisture-producing glands, leading to dryness of the eyes, mouth, and other body tissues.
Autoimmune Systemic lupus erythematosus--An autoimmune disease, primarily of young women, that can affect many parts of the body, including the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain.
Autoimmune Thyroiditis--An inflammation of the thyroid gland that causes the gland to become underactive. This results in symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, weight gain, cold intolerance, and muscle aches.
Autoimmune Ulcerative colitis--A disease that causes ulcers in the top layers of the lining of the large intestine. This leads to abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Autoimmune Uveitis--The inflammation of structures of the inner eye, including the iris (the colored tissue that holds the lens of the eye) and the choroid plexus (a network of blood vessels around the eyeball). Uveitis occurs with some rheumatic diseases, including ankylosing spondylitis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Autoimmune Vitiligo--A disorder in which the immune system destroys pigment-making cells called melanocytes. This results in white patches of skin on different parts of the body.
Autoimmune Wegener's granulomatosis--An autoimmune disease that damages the small and medium-sized blood vessels throughout the body, resulting in disease in the lungs, upper respiratory tract, and kidneys
Autoimmune Wilsons Disease. Liver disease with slow movements, tremor,
The VA agency now recognizes "autoimmune disorders" in disability claims for PCB
exposure. There is but only one medical list
that spells out what the individual conditions
are which makes up this autoimmune disorder
list. The entire U.S. medical universe all
answers to this ONE list of autoimmune
disorders. This one list is to be used in
developing your VA service connected Comp and
Pen disability claims for military service at
Fort McClellan, Alabama. The VA agency has made
NO exclusions from this list because PCB toxic
exposure verifiedly causes these autoimmune disorders.
This list, along with what the VA has posted on their web page, is not the final word or the endall of this disease discussion regarding FMC service. I am still working in Washington to get the VA profile updated and corrected to reflect modern times and studies, including those coming from the World Health Organization.
Nonetheless, this AutoImmune Disorder list is substantial, and you will find that a LOT of us --- perhaps even the majority of us ---- are all connected medically through this list. It is here that military matches to civilian, when it comes to matching up medical cases from the Anniston and Fort McClellan region.
_____________________________________________
There are over 100 different autoimmune diseases.
Learn to recognize their symptoms and educate yourself about them.
Also, learn the cause of autoimmunity.
List of Autoimmune Diseases A-D
Achlorhydra Autoimmune Active Chronic Hepatitis
Addison's Disease
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease)
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Anti-GBM Nephritis or anti-TBM Nephritis
Antiphospholipid Syndrome
Guest Guest
Sweet's syndrome:
Acute, tender, erythematous plaques, nodes, occasionally, blisters with an annular pattern occur on the head, neck, legs, and arms, particularly the back of the hands and fingers. Fever (50%); arthralgia or arthritis (62%); eye involvement, most frequently conjunctivitis or iridocyclitis (38%); and oral aphthae (13%) are associated features.
Predominant in women of 30-50 years.
HPE shows mainly neutrophilic infiltrate without evidence of vasculitis. There's a variant called Histiocytoid Sweet syndrome which shows histiocyte-like cells.
Erythema nodosum:
EN is frequently associated with fever, malaise, and joint pain and inflammation. It presents as tender red nodules on the shins that are smooth and shiny. The nodules may occur anywhere there is fat under the skin, including the pages, arms, trunk, face, and neck. The nodules are 1–10 cm in diameter, and individual nodules may coalesce to form large areas of hardened skin. The peak incidence of EN occurs between 18–36 years of age. Women are 3-6 times more commonly affected than men. HPE shows inflammatory infiltrate with neutrophils in initial stage and lymphocytes in late stage, with histiocytes/macrophages which may coalesce to form multinucleated giant cells.
EN is characterized by tender red nodules or lumps that are usually seen on both 'shins'.
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i don't know
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Vuelta is a cycle race of which nation?
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Liquid Slider 1.1
View Vuelta a Espana Bike Tour 1 in a larger map
Exceptional Value
Watch LIVE and Ride race stages of La Vuelta a España 2016
VIP Access to stage finishes (drinks, tapas, big screen tvs at finish line), viewing areas and Stage Depart Villages
Cycle the race route as a VIP, only hours before the Pros arrive
Access to ride across the finish line on race day
Podium photos and behind the scences access - VIP status
Challenge yourself on famous category climbs including Camperona, Covadonga and Peña Cabarga
Cycle the Picos de Europa & National Parkland
Enjoy the famous sights of North Spain. Options for non cyclists to spend time exploring.
Fully supported riding by experienced guides, including Vuelta a Espana masters rider and mix of male / female guides.
Fantastic accommodation (4 star and Paradors including team hotels), food, scenery and fun on the roads of Spain
Transfers to and from Madrid included
Gallery
Itinerary
Our itinerary (See Route Map under Overview) has been selected to include all the best stages of the 2nd week, combined with some great cycling, sights and scenery of the area. The tour passes through dramatic mountain landscapes...not fogetting to stop in some great tapas and coffee bars to enjoy the area.
Being fully guided and supported (with our support vans accredited to drive along the race route), you can cycle with the group or at your own pace, or even take a rest in the van! Non cyclists also welcome.
Day 1. Madrid, Leon, Warm up ride
Friday, 26 August 2016
35km warm up ride
We meet in the capital city of Madrid (10:30 am at our centrally located hotel). This European gem of a city makes for a fantastic location to begin the tour. After an informal welcome meeting and some chilled drinks, we take a transfer out to the historic city of Leon, a famous staging post on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, stopping en route to catch today's race stage on tv in a cafe.
We set the bikes up, making sure everyone is fitted correctly, and take a short warm up ride around. Have time for a late afternoon swim before settling down to enjoy a fine group welcome dinner in the magnificent dining room. A relaxing and great way to set us up for our upcoming adventure.
Ask about option to come the day before and enjoy Madrid. Extra nights in Madrid can be booked upon request. (Note: today is a transfer of 3.5 hours so another option is to meet at the Leon hotel in the afternoon.)
Day 2. La Camperona climb, Oviedo, Asturias
100 km
After a short transfer out of the bustling city, we pick up today's race route and our first taste of La Vuelta. This stage is a great one for us to begin as the first 90kms are relatively flat - a great way to get the legs going.
However, this is La Vuelta and the most exciting Grand Tour for a reason, as the finish for us (and the peloton) is atop the incredible slopes of the category 1 La Camperona with an average gradient of 15%, with the end hitting 20%! It was last used in 2014 when the Canadian and ex-Giro d'Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal powered up to take the win, with Froome putting seconds into Contador.
After reaching the top, we will enjoy our first VIP stage finish viewing area with complimentary drinks and tapas. Plus we will have an insider's tour of the inner workings of La Vuelta. A very enjoyable way to get our breaths back as we await what will no doubt be a fantastic battle for the pros, being the first high mountain cat 1 climb of La Vuelta 2016. Being a Saturday, the fans will be out in force as we sample this incredibly picturesque area.
With the chance to descend the climb after the race has finished, we take a transfer onto our 4 star hotel in the city of Oviedo, where we will be based for the next 2 nights.
Day 3. Asturian Climbs and Alto del Naranco
90 km
Another stunning day of cycling awaits as we head out of into the green valleys that Asturias is so famous for. We ride the race route, soon heading over the first of our two category 3 climbs. This area is often used in La Vuelta and you will see why - fantastic scenery will be our constant friend today.
The climax today of stage 9 is the famed category 2 Naranco climb just on the outskirts of Oviedo. All cyclists in Asturias know this climb as it was used anually in a sportive up until a few years ago. Last used in La Vuelta 2013, Purito Rodriguez stole the show with a win on this summit. It is not a long climb (really only 6km) nor super steep (average 5.5%) but is a test as in parts it hits 10%. Being the most significant climb of the day it will be a chance for the climbers to gain some points for the blue (yes not red!) polka dot jersey of the king of the mountains competition and of course a coverted stage win.
It is a short scoot back to our team hotel in the city below. Have time to take a stroll into the tapas and wine area of Oviedo and enjoy some well earned dinner. The American actor Woody Allen classes Oviedo as his favourite European city and there is even a statue honouring him. But for us cycling fans, you are better off seeing the statue of Samuel Sanchez (Team BMC and local boy of Oviedo), honouring his Olympic Gold win in 2008!
Day 4. Lagos (Lakes) de Covadonga, Picos de Europa
90 km
After a good buffet breakfast, we head out into the scenic countryside of this magnificent area. Today is one of the highlight stages of this year's Vuelta. We will meet the race route as we head along the green northern coastline. We head over the cat 1 Alto de Fito, a climb where often there are cows roaming wild across the hillside! The top is very special with 360 views over Asturias.
However today is all about the ascent to the Lagos de Covadonga, a hors category thriller which is the most important and famous climb in Spain and many Vueltas over the last 25 years have been decided here (past winners include Pedro Delgado, Lucho Herrara, Robert Millar and Laurent Jalabert). How could we not take you to this incredible place? The national park of the Picos de Europa is a paradise of natural beauty and often voted Europeans' favourite place for walking and of course, cycling.
The local fans will be out in force and the atmosphere electric on this magical ascent. The 13 km climb has an average gradient of 7.5%, but watch for a short ramp at 15%! With cheering spectators lining the route, at the top we will have special VIP access at the stage meta (finish line). After the excitement of the stage, descend back down the mountain and we cycle to our nearby luxury Parador hotel in the pretty town of Cangas de Onis, our lodgings for the next 2 evenings. This amazing 11th century monastery hotel is a living museum, set within beautiful grounds and a riverside garden. We enjoy a group dinner in their well regarded restaurant.
Day 5. Cangas de Onis, Picos de Europa
105 km
Today is a rest day for La Vuelta, but not for us (unless you want to take a break from riding). Being in the centre of this magnificent area we thought it was the perfect opportunity to ride the roads of the coast and then up into the Picos again.
We will enjoy the really beautiful alto del Torno climb, used in La Vuelta frequently and very near to our hotel. The road winds downwards before climbing back up the gentler category 3 alto de Cabrales. The we we will offer the chance to ride to the top of the Sotres climb, a category 1 climb that was used in La Veulta 2015. The Picos are a highlight of any bike tour and the Cabrales area is itself famous for a strong blue cheese - probably not the best thing to eat before the ascent to Sotres!
In the evening, take time to explore Cangas de Onis and be amazed at her roman bridge, the symbol of Asturias. Make sure to head into a sideria (cider house) to try the regional brew and have a go at pouring the cider from high above your head as the locals do.
Day 6. Seascapes, Peña Cabarga, Cantabria
94 km
We transfer out to start the day's ride from one of the most scenic parts of Northern Spain's coastline. The seaside resorts come thick and fast, as we enjoy the views out over the beaches. We pedal along the race route of stage 11, which today has no category climbs....well at least not until the end!.
The cat 1 finish is a summit in the middle of a natural reserve called Peña Cabarga, and again is a very important and often used Vuelta climb. This has to be one of our favourite climbs due to the always brilliant atmosphere up here, and a great challenge for our last ride. The Cabarga was the scence of Chris Froome's breakthrough Grand Tour stage win 5 years ago. It is only 6km long but the views from the top to the coastline below explain the average 9% slopes that hit 19% (only for a few horrible metres!). We will have VIP access today so we can enjoy the race approaching on the big screen tvs.
After the race, we take a short transfer to our 4 star hotel in Santander, staying with a pro team. Tonight we have a final farewell meal together as we to head back to Madrid tomorrow afternoon....or continue on to Bilbao for more of La Vuelta!
Day 7. VIP Stage 12 Depart, Madrid (or onwards to Bilbao!)
Thursday, 1 September 2016
After breakfast, we head out to visit the nearby Stage Depart with VIP access, which is a great way of seeing the race behind the scenes with the riders relaxed (or stressed!), warming up and getting ready for the day´s work. Its an opportunity as well to see the multi layered organization that makes this event come together and all the work that goes into it to make it a sucess. Watch the day's sign on and enjoy the fiesta atmosphere.
From here we take an afternoon transfer south (3.5 hours) back to where it all begun in Madrid. Enjoy the amenities of our luxury 4 star hotel near to tranquil Retiro Park and take the time to explore the capital.
....or continue onto Bilbao for more VIP fun!
For those who just can´t bear to leave La Vuelta (!) we have a special Vuelta package:
Transfer to Bilbao - 1 night in the cultural city of Bilbao (accommodation and breakfast included) 4 star hotel in centre, VIP entrance to today´s stage finish and VIP Stage Depart in Bilbao for tomorrow´s stage depart! Please ask for price of extra supplement.
....and then continue onto the Pyrenees and all the way to Madrid for the finish with our VUELTA FIESTA tour package!
Combine this tour with the last week Vuelta 2 tour we head to French and Spanish Pyrenees! As well as the beautiful Costa Blanca, one of Spain's prettiest towns, Peñiscola, vibrant Valencia, the beach playground of Benidorm´s Denia, the time trial and an ending with what promises to be a special finish in Madrid.
Combined trip discount of 5% and transfers included from Bilbao to the Pyrenees on the 2nd September for this Vuelta Fiesta! - no need to go back to Madrid in the middle of the tours).
Day 8. Madrid and onwards
Friday, 2nd September 2016
Wake up in the city of Madrid have a final wander around this great European Capital.
Our hotel is near to the centre giving you access to all the sights, musuems and tourist attractions.
We say adios and wish you safe onwards travels with great memories of your VIP Vuelta adventure intact.
Trip Details
Route
Madrid, Leon, Oviedo, Asturias, Natural Parks, Cangas de Onis, Lagos de Covadonga, Sotres, Picos de Europa, Santander, Madrid (or Bilbao)
(8 days, 7 nights - 6 ride Days - VIP entrances and Stage Departs)
Accommodation
Specially chosen quality 4 star hotels
all bedrooms are en-suite
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Spain
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Dom Mintoff was prime minister of which country from 1955-8 and 71-84?
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Vuelta a España 2014: Stage 18 Results | Cyclingnews.com
Vuelta a España: Le Mével a stage animator on his birthday
Aru and then Froome jumped away near the end of the stage, with the Briton doing most of the work as he tried to gain time. Aru surged past him in sight of the line to win his second stage at the Vuelta and the third professional race of his career.
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) led his Spanish compatriots Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) over the finish line 13 seconds later after they played mind games and attacked each other instead of chasing Froome and Aru.
The stage had been marked by a long breakaway but it had been clear from the start that the move would not stay away. The end of the stage featured two climbs of the short but steep Alto Monte Castrova, with the first climb whittling down the field. The second climb sparked the day’s decisive action.
Contador retained his overall lead, but Froome is now second, at 1:19, with Valverde falling to third, 1:32 minutes behind. Rodriguez and Aru kept their fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
How it happened
There were many attacks and early breakaway attempts in the early part of the stage, which ran over 157km from A Estrada to Monte Castrova in the Galician region. But it wasn’t until 47km had sped by that the day’s group formed. Johan Le Bon (FDJ.fr) had tried several times before he successfully got away with Luis Leon Sanchez (Caja Rural) and Hubert Dupont (Ag2r-La Mondiale).
Movistar kept an eye on things and never let the gap reach the four minute mark, trying to keep it around two minutes. Things rolled along until there were about 40km of racing remaining. With two climbs – or rather, two climbs of one mountain – still to come, the field was anxious to catch the leaders.
Tinkoff-Saxo and Team Sky led the field up the climb the first time, and Le Bon was caught. Sanchez took the mountain points, and then waited for the field. Dupont and Alberto Losado (Astana), who had jumped on the climb,took over the lead but with 20km to go, they had only a handful of seconds on the field and were soon caught.
Team Sky took over, with Tinkoff-Saxo happy to let the British team do the work. It was a greatly reduced group, and Froome attacked before the last intermediate sprint. There was some confusion as to where the line actually was and he ended up only second, collecting up two bonus seconds.
With 7.5km remaining, Christophe Le Mevel (Cofidis) took off and ground his way up the early part of the climb to the finish but he was soon caught. A group around Contador pulled away and Valverde and Froome had to hurry to catch up. Contador then went again and this time all his top rivals went with him.
Katusha moved to the front to set a high pace but was unable to make Contador or the overall contenders suffer. Jerome Coppel (Cofidis) was the next to attack and the Frenchman easily got a gap but could not gain more than ten seconds.
Aru goes on the attack
Oliver Zaugg was pulling the field along for Tinkoff-Saxo and with 3.8km to go, Aru jumped away, exploding the race. He quickly caught and passed Coppel. However Cofidis didn't give up and Daniele Navarro was the next to go. Unfortunately for him, only seconds later, with just under three kilometres to go, Rodriguez attacked, taking Contador, Valverde and Froome with him.
The Briton then attacked with 2.5km to go, quickly making his way up to Aru to set an high pace that allowed him to carve out precious seconds and move Valverde out of second place. The three Spaniards gave chase, but Froome had already gained 15 seconds, with Aru sitting on his wheel for much of the time.
Rodriguez tried to jump away from Contador and Valverde but they went after him. With the final kilometre looming, the trio appeared to finally work with together rather than against one another, but the damage was done, Froome had gained enough time to mov past Valverde and reduce his gap on Contador.
Froome also wanted to win the stage and take the time 10-second time bonus but Aru went around him with a strong, aggressive kick to win. The three Spaniards came in 13 seconds later. Contador was still race leader but Froome and Aru had outfoxed them again.
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i don't know
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What 20th century musical entertainment machine derived its name from the West African word Gullah, meaning disorderly, or 'zigzag'?
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Music 345: Race, Identity, and Representation in American Music | Student Blogs and Library Exhibit Companion
Music 345: Race, Identity, and Representation in American Music
Student Blogs and Library Exhibit Companion
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“Head of Boxer”, painted by George Wesley Bellows
This week we toured the St. Olaf Flaten Art Museum and studied several objects, including this painting, “Head of Boxer” by George Wesley Bellows.
George Wesley Bellows
George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925) was an American realist painter, known for his depictions of urban life in New York City. He was an artist from the Ashcan school of art, that were a group of realist painters that wanted to challenge and be set a part from American impressionists.
Although Ashcan artists advocated for modern actualities, they were not so radical that they used their artwork for social criticism or reform. They identified with the vitality of the lower classes and illustrated the dismal aspects of urban existence. However, they themselves led middle-class lives and were influenced by New York’s restaurants, bars, theater and vaudeville. 1
Relating to other themes in our class, George Bellows was immersed in New York’s vaudeville scene around the same time of Charles Harris’ “After the Ball”, Howard and Emerson’s “Hello My Baby”, and Irving Berlin’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.”
“The Ashcan artists selectively documented an unsettling, transitional time in American culture that was marked by confidence and doubt, excitement and trepidation. Ignoring or registering only gently harsh new realities such as the problems of immigration and urban poverty, they shone a positive light on their era.”
— The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In this painting, perhaps the rough brush strokes represent the difficulties the lower classes faced in society? Perhaps the mix of light and shadow on the boxer’s forehead show the transitional time in American culture? And perhaps the sad expression of the boxer represents the doubt and trepidation of the lower classes who struggle with problems of immigration and urban poverty. George Bellows painted the realities of the lower classes he saw around him in New York City.
1 Weinberg, H. Barbara. “The Ashcan School.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ashc/hd_ashc.htm
Christopher O’Riley and Two Unidentified men- Now in St.Olaf Art Collection
gelatin silver print on paper
8 in. x 10 in. (20.32 cm x 25.4 cm)
2008.272
Gift of © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
This Photo that was showed in the collection is a photo taken by Andy Warhol, probably in early 1980s. It captured the moment when the young pianist Christopher O’riley played music for Andy Warhol and three other audiences. It would be risky to guess what O’riley was playing, but from where I stand, probably jazz. As what O’riley said when he thought of the good memory with Andy Warhol:
Interview: http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/christopher-o-riley-velvet-underground/#_
They were good friends. As what O’riley remembered, the man who introduced he to Andy Warhol was Stuart Pivar. Pivar went to a lot of auctions together with Warhol and they co-founded the New York Academy of Art. One of O’riley’s friends took him to Pivar’s house- and that was how he met Andy Warhol. O’riley often played music for Andy Warhol, Ford models, art collectors, and experts in the apartment. Taking these into account, through careful observation viewers might find out that all human figures in the photo can possibly be upper-middle class elite men, sitting in the delicate room with the art nouveau style lamp and Bouguereau-like academic painting on the wall.
Even more interesting, Christopher O’riley started to host the National Public Radio program From the Top in a way that Andy Warhol suggested- do absolute O’riley’s music. In the show, He started to do groundbreaking transcriptions of the rock band Radiohead with his own interpretations of classical music and new repertoires, and this made him famous for his piano arrangement of rock music.
As what he said in the interview:
“Dealing with music as a contemporary form and not something in a museum definitely led to my confidence to do my own things.”
Works Cited:
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/christopher-o-riley-velvet-underground/#_
by biedenbe
Frederic Remington (1861-1909) was an American painter, sculptor, illustrator, and writer (no relation to the rifle- and typewriter-makers, Eliphalet and Philo Remington). Although he studied for short periods at Yale’s School of Fine Arts as well as at the Art Students League in New York, he was a mostly self-taught artist. After a period traveling through the Dakotas, Montana, the Arizona Territory, and Texas, he had one of his drawings published in Harpers’s Weekly, leading to a long relationship with that publication as well as with The Century Illustrated and Scribner’s Magazine.
Due to Remington’s first-hand experience with the quickly-vanishing frontier, he grew renowned for his visual and textual depictions of cavalry, cowboys, Native Americans, and the American West:
Knowing about his affinity for the American West, it might at first seem odd that while painting cowboys and campfires Remington also drew this Chinese figure study:
I promise you though, this is not odd at all.
As everyone knows, America is a land of immigrants, referred to in past years as the great melting pot (now we opt for the great salad bowl, kaleidoscope, or mosaic). Beginning in the 19th century, immigrants from China came to America, especially to the West, to work as laborers for the transcontinental railroad and the mining industry. These immigrants faced fierce racial discrimination, leading to such laws as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting immigration from China for ten years, and the 1892 Geary Act, extending the prohibition for another decade. Thus the presence of Chinese immigrants in the American West would not have been uncommon, and Remington would have found many study subjects as he traveled the frontier.
“That’s interesting, but why is this post in a music history blog?”
By presenting a Chinese figure in various outfits, Remington demonstrates the Americanization of immigrants: on the left is a figure in more traditional clothing, while the figures on the right take on more and more aspects of Western culture, such as replacing the tunic with a baggy shirt and the cap with a Spanish guacho or grandee. So, by including Chinese immigrants in his oeuvre, Remington was portraying other cultures as an important piece of the American pie. In similar ways, composers like Amy Beach, Edward MacDowell, and Antonín Dvořák also sought to include other cultures as members of the American family.
Take the fifth movement of MacDowell’s Indian Suite of 1892, which pulls tunes from the Iroquois tribe:
Or listen to the Largo from Dvořák’s From the New World, which, while not directly copying songs, features original melodies similar to Native American music:
Or sample Amy Beach’s Gaelic Symphony, in which she incorporates traditional Irish-Gaelic melodies, tapping into the rich heritage of a people long part of the American fabric:
Remington and these three composers are just a few of the numerous artists who rather than exoticizing other cultures sought to portray them as an essential part of the American melting pot.
Beach, Amy. Symphony in E-minor, No. 2 “Gaelic.” American Series Vol. 1. Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Neeme Järvi. Chandos CHAN 8958. Streaming audio. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmLU1CfHcJw. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Dvořák, Antonín. Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”, Op. 95. Prague Festival Orchestra, conducted by Pavel Urbanek. LaserLight Digital 15824. Streaming audio. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TIFEQLANpw. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Foxley, W. C. “Remington, Frederic.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T071404. Accessed April 29, 2015.
MacDowell, Edward. Suite No. 2 “Indian”, Op. 48. Village Festival. Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, conducted by Charles Johnson. Albany Records TROY 224. Streaming audio. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efDZ100iJMQ. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Remington, Frederic. “A Mining Town, Wyoming.” Oil on canvas. Ca. 1898. Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredericremington/6329189165/in/set-72157649247951734. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Remington, Frederic. “Chinese Figure Study.” Ink on paper. Date unknown. Flaten Art Museum Collection. http://embark.stolaf.edu/Obj4142?sid=162&x=83&sort=9. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Remington, Frederic. “Recent Uprising Among the Bannock Indians — a Hunting Party Fording the Snake River Southwest of the Three Tetons (Mountains).” Wash on paper. Ca. 1895. Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredericremington/5042171903/in/set-72157651574818071. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Remington, Frederic. “The Broncho Buster #275.” Bronze cast. 1895. Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredericremington/5169152407/in/set-72157625248734897. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Remington, Frederic. “The Outlier.” Oil on canvas. 1909. Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredericremington/5042214861/in/set-72157649247951734. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Remington, Frederic. “Then He Grunted and Left the Room.” Wash on paper. 1894. Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredericremington/6329996698/in/set-72157651574818071. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Remington, Frederic. Untitled [possibly The Cigarette]. Oil on canvas. Ca. 1908-1909. Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredericremington/6332165260/in/set-72157649247951734. Accessed April 29, 2015.
by simonson
“Rise and Shine”
St. Olaf student, Laura Anderson, wrote in 1972 about that she met with a group of young fellows living and performing in Minneapolis. The group, previously knows as “Debb Johnson,” added several members to the group and renamed themselves “Rise and Shine.” This group had performed at St. Olaf previously. Unfortunately, Laura does not mention what music genre the group performs. However, the groups sees a future for music.
Laura reports, when she sat down with “Rise and Shine,” they arrived on the topic what is music. Laura quotes one of the band members: “The days of stoned-out boogie bands (and audiences), destruction on stage, and sloppy music are gone. People are tired of obnoxious music and egotistic performers — it’s not showmanship, it’s insanity.” Laura believes that music should consist of good musicianship. She finds loud music and quickly produced music to be disgusting. “Rise and Shine” lives to together and is constant writing and performing their own music. Their favorite groups are Shawn Phillips, the Beach Boys, and Joni Mitchell. All these uniques sounds contribute to their creative sound.
Laura’s articles shows that music, especially in the popular world, has been constantly changing, as people get bored and look for something new to entertain them. As we have seen since the 50s, music has evolved from Rock ‘n’ Roll to disco, to boy bands. Even today music seems to be evolving as people strive to create new music.
by Cash
Throughout this course we have looked at American history through the lens of music, but there is non-musical art that tells a uniquely American story. While perusing a collection of art owned by St. Olaf this work of pottery, sculpted by Steven Lucas, jumped out as an i
interesting challenge. Continuing the the trend of asking questions, what do these patterns mean? From what culture do they come from? How does it connect to American music?
In doing a little research, these patterns belong to the Native American tribe known as the Hopi. The Hopi people reside in northeastern Arizona where their ancestors thrived on a life sustained by corn, spiritual connections, and art. The artist, Steven Lucas, is a descendent of Nampeyo, the great female potter of the Hopi tribe, and is known as one of the great potters of the modern era.
So what can we pull from this pot? The colors follow a strict family of earthen tones to represent the deep connection that the Hopi people have with the land. There are also a series of patterns that are common in Hopi pottery. The first is located in the center of the image and it is known at the migration pattern. Represented by the repeating feathers, the migration pattern is for the flexibility of the Hopi people to move when demanded by the land. The second pattern present on this particular pot (on the left) is the Butterfly Maiden, which represents fertility.
So how does all of this come back to relate to American music history? Native American elements have been implemented into music for centuries and these influences varied in historical accuracy. More often then not, musical style characteristics identified as sounding Native American are primitive and quite degrading. If we take the initiative to extend our view point to ethnomusicological evidence, we see a different story. Art, in all senses, is tied together through the people’s deep connection to the earth. The same concepts that are seen in the visual art of pottery are experienced in dance as dancers focus their motions into the ground and in the incorporation of natural elements into ceremonial dress. Music also has a deep connection to the earth. Musical instruments are constructed from the land and the subject matter of many Native American songs directly involve nature or the higher powers that govern and control the earth.
I believe the take away message of this piece in particular is its connectiveness to the people and how regardless of form, art serves as an expression of culture for a group of people.
by biedenbe
If you search through St. Olaf’s Manitou Messenger, in the 1970s and 1980s, you will notice a trend: St. Olaf College loved folk music, especially the music of Michael Johnson.
He performed on campus in the spring of 1973, on May 11, 1974, on October 24, 1975, and November 20, 1981:
Michael Johnson in 1975.
Playing for large audiences in Skoglund Gymnasium and in the Women’s Gym (now Kelsey Theater), Johnson performed hits from his albums There Is a Breeze and For All You Mad Musicians (the 1975 concert) like the songs “Bluer Than Blue” and “On the Road” (1981 and 1974 concerts, respectively). The popularity of Johnson was perhaps his ability to not only perform ballads/love songs and classic folk tunes, but also jazz and classical arrangements (and rearrangements) of his own and other peoples’ music.
That’s not to say everyone desired to hear a variety of music when Johnson came to town. In 1981, Johnson shared a concert with Simon and Bard, a fusion jazz group (many people left at 10pm when the band began their set). As the Manitou Messenger article from that event relates, that whole night was a fiasco: the doors opened 30 minutes late, Eastern Airlines sent Johnson’s guitar to Atlanta, and, the greatest crime of all, Simon and Bard was supposed to play first, but instead, Johnson opened. Many diehard Michael Johnson fans arrived late only to hear the end of Johnson’s set and the entire Simon and Bard set. Oops.
Michael Johnson in 1981.
St. Olaf’s affinity for Michael Johnson and his folk music showed the college’s continued participation in the folk revival, which began in the 1940s, peaked in the 1960s, and after that began to lose steam in the face of the British Invasion and the rise of rock. It also demonstrates the tastes of Oles, perhaps the unchanging tastes of Oles: to this day, one of the most-discussed concerts is Ingrid Michaelson’s visit to St. Olaf in 2012 (Michaelson is a singer-songwriter especially associated with the indie pop/folk movement).
Folk music in general has a strong following at St. Olaf. It could be the hipster-ish aspect of campus and folk music (“Have you heard of this person? They’re SO refreshing”) or maybe it’s the more rural origins of most of our students. Whatever the reason, in both the 1970s and the 2010s, folk music is alive and well at St. Olaf College.
“Calendar: Coming.” Manitou Messenger (St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN), April 26, 1974.
Lemke, Brenda. “Johnson steps up slow start.” Manitou Messenger (St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN), December 3, 1981.
Schrader, Beth. “Johnson and Johnson, pigskins and alumni.” Manitou Messenger (St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN), October 24, 1975.
by Stephen Sweeney
While browsing St. Olaf’s Flaten Art Museum collection, I stumbled across the painting shown below, and for some reason it just caught my eye. Perhaps it was the very textured brush strokes, revealing the painter’s very deliberate actions. Maybe it was the mysterious nature of the coloring and contrast, with the shadows distorting the facial features and making it hard to get a clear grasp about what what is going on in the portrait. The title of the painting, “Head of Boxer,” gave me some clues as I started to research this painter in the hopes of uncovering the identity of whomever was being painted.
It turns out that the artist, George Wesley Bellows, was part of something called the Ashcan School of Art , a group of artists painting through realism who focused on American society in all its forms. In an online article The Art of Boxing: George Bellows , the author points out Bellows’ interest in painting boxing matches, specifically amateur boxing matches. Drawn by the intensity of the sport itself, and its rising popularity in New York, it made sense that a painter in the school of realism would be capturing these sort of events.
I couldn’t find the actual name of the boxer in this portrait, as many amateur fights were happening, and the man most likely never became famous, but searching for answers brought me through the history of boxing and provided some insight on perhaps why Bellows was capturing these fights, and what it had to do with presenting America through the light of realism.
by biedenbe
They say a picture’s worth a thousand words.
Below I have five sheet music covers, all of the same song (“Over There” by George M. Cohan) from the same years (1917-18), in arrangements published by two separate houses (William Jerome Publishing Corp. and Leo Feist, Inc.).
Embedded in these five covers is the early history of “Over There” advertising and production.
George M. Cohan claimed that on April 6, 1917, while the general public was reeling from the news of America’s declaration of war against Germany, he was humming. He couldn’t get a tune out of his head. He wrote down some lyrics and played them for his friend Joe Humphreys, a ring announcer at Madison Square Garden, and Joe said, “George, you’ve got a song.” (Scholars have declared Cohan’s tale apocryphal and now claim he wrote the song in his office on April 7, but that’s such a boring story.)
By the end of 1917, “Over There” was the #1 song of the year. By the end of the war, it had sold over 2 million copies. By 1936, Cohan was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. He definitely had a song.
The first and most famous group to perform and record the song was Billy Murray & The American Quartet, Murray appropriately being the supreme interpreter of Cohan’s music.
Eager to capitalize on the popularity of the song, sheet music was quickly produced.
The first cover from William Jerome Publishing Corp. features a portrait of Nora Bayes, famous singer and comedienne of the Vaudeville and Broadway circuits. After Cohan performed the song in her dressing room, she included it in her act, becoming one of the song’s greatest pluggers. On this patriotic red, white, and blue cover, Bayes wears a stylized military uniform reminiscent of the British Redcoats along with a hat including feathers colored in order of the French tricolor flag (…backwards), thus incorporating the the major Allies of World War I. Eagles and stars, symbols of America, surround her portrait.
The second cover (also from William Jerome Publishing Corp.) features another famous performer of the song, William J. Reilly. The U.S. Navy sailor, stationed on the battleship U.S.S. Michigan, was also a popular singer. Like the Nora Bayes cover, this one incorporates the red, white, and blue of the American flag, a famous performer, and a U.S. military connection, though, as Reilly was actually a sailor in the Navy, this cover carries a heavier political connotation by putting a face and a name to the “son of liberty,” “Yanks,” and “Johnnie” mentioned in the song.
The third cover is a copy of the previous one except for one detail: the publisher is not William Jerome, but Leo Feist, Inc. By October 1917, Jerome had sold over 440,000 copies of the song, and it was a hit feature in five New York shows (including productions at the Hippodrome and the Winter Garden). After hearing the song himself, Leo Feist offered Jerome $10,000 for the song. Jerome said no. Feist offered $15,000, $20,000, $25,000. Finally Jerome said, “it’s gotta be in cash.” After paying this high price (over $458,000 now, the highest price paid for a song at the time), Feist quickly put the piece to market, keeping the same cover and aggressively pushing the song, reportedly grossing over $30,000 in new orders within thirty days.
The fourth cover brings another American icon into the story. Norman Rockwell, a popular painter and illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post, created this painting for Life Magazine‘s January 31, 1918 issue. The picture presents four American infantrymen animatedly and excitedly singing and playing a banjo-ukelele with tents in the background. Although lacking in historical detail (would soldiers really be singing like this in an active combat zone?), the tag line above presents Feist’s pitch for the piece: “Your Song – My Song – Our Boys’ Song!” Notably, no red, white, or blue is featured on this cover.
The final cover features four soldiers holding their hats in the air and guns to their shoulders while marching across the page in an Broadway-like gesture, sketched by Henry Hutt, an American illustrator. Like the Bayes’ cover, this one features the colors of the three major Allies (Britain, France, and the U.S.), with a sideways French tricolor as the backdrop. Further emphasizing the unifying quality of the song, the tagline reads “This great world song hit now has both French and English lyrics.” Clearly Feist was marketing “Over There” as a worldwide hit. And in an age of war and patriotism, how could a true American or Frenchman NOT buy this song?
Thus through five pictures we can trace the early production of the song “Over There,” including the advertising and propaganda that furthered its reputation as a patriotic American anthem.
Cohan, George M. “Over There.” New York: Leo Feist, Inc., 1917. [Dancing soldiers cover]. Duke University Libraries Digital Collections (n1170).
Cohan, George M. “Over There.” New York: Leo Feist, Inc., 1917. [Norman Rockwell cover]. Mississippi State University Libraries (Physical ID: 32278011441759).
Cohan, George M. “Over There.” New York: Leo Feist, Inc., 1917. [William J. Reilly cover]. Duke University Libraries Digital Collections (n0967).
Cohan, George M. “Over There.” New York: William Jerome Publishing Corp., 1917. [Nora Bayes cover]. Duke University Libraries Digital Collections (n1186).
Cohan, George M. “Over There.” New York: William Jerome Publishing Corp., 1917. [William J. Reilly cover]. Johns Hopkins University, Levy Sheet Music Collection. http://jhir.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/22148.
Performing Arts Encyclopedia, s.v. “Over There.” Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 2014. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000015/default.html (accessed April 27, 2015).
Sullivan, Steve. Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 1. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2013.
by simonson
Olaf Carl Seltzer was a painter well known for his landscape paintings. At a young age, Seltzer showed talent in painting and enrolled in Danish Art School and Polytechnic Institute. However, a couple years after enrolling, his father died, and the family moved to Great Falls, Montana. Here he worked as a cowboy, painting and sketches the whole time.
His most famous works are of the Native Americans, ranchers, or wildlife depicted in the natural countryside of Montana. However, St. Olaf College Flaten Art Museum archives own a work by Olaf Carl Seltzer entitled Native American Portrait Study. This work, instead of portraying a whole landscape, only shows two Native American heads, one in the the foreground and one in the background. The head in the foreground is painted in shades of brown and the head in the background is in shades of grey.
Olaf Carl Seltzer, Native American Portray Study, watercolor on paper, 12 in x 9 in
Many of Olaf Carl Seltzer’s works containing Native Americans do not depict them in action, hunting or perhaps fishing. Usual the Native American people are riding on horses, pausing at a creek or thoughtfully looking ahead. The same goes for his Native American Portrait Study; the two men are looking off into the distance. I believe Seltzer thought of the Native American’s and poised, reverent people. Unfortunately, there is not date to this portrait, but around Seltzer’s lifetime, many thought of the Native American’s as savage people. However, I believe that Olaf Carl Seltzer’s background, moving from Copenhagen to Montana, had a significant effect on how Carl viewed these people.
* All historical background from https://www.wildlifeart.org/collection/artists/artist-olaf-carl-seltzer-330/
by nyberg
Fig. 1: Xanthus Russell Smith’s portrait of American writer Walt Whitman
Xanthus Russell Smith painted the posthumous portrait of American writer Walt Whitman in 1897, several years after Whitman’s death.1 The oil study on canvas appears to be based off of a portrait photo which was taken by photographer George C. Cox in 1887. Whitman had loved this photo so much that he titled it “The Laughing Philosopher” and sold the other portraits from the session to supplement his income.2
Whitman lived from 1819 to 1892, spending the majority of his life on the east coast, dying in Camden, New Jersey, He was an American poet, essayist and journalist and as a humanist, his works are regarded as being transitory between transcendentalism and realism with elements of each idea present. He was concerned with politics and abolitionism (although this is not necessarily based on his belief in racial equality) and was wishy washy with his endorsement of abolitionism. There has also been debate over what Whitman’s sexuality was, although this began much later after his death and there is still disagreement among biographers as to whether or not Whitman had even had sexual experiences with men (although having or lacking experience should not be the validating factor as to whether a person truly identifies a certain way).
Fig. 3: George C. Cox’s photograph portrait of Walt Whitman
It is unknown as to whether or not Xanthus Russell Smith was acquainted with Whitman or was instead an admirer of his work. Smith was known for using small brushstrokes and sharp detail. The portrait can be interpreted by many different lenses, including artistic, historical and modern perspectives.
The portrait is composed fairly symmetrically, with Whitman’s shoulders facing at an angle away from the painter and his face squared to the front. The colors of the portrait are muted and neutral, lacking color except for around the eyes, which could be interpreted as a nod towards Whitman’s interpretation of the world, beliefs and persuasions (i.e. gray).
The focal point of the portrait is definitely the eyes. The viewer is drawn to them immediately, then down Whitman’s nose to his shock-white mustache and beard. The eyes are the most lifelike piece of the portrait and along with the rest of the face are almost completely centered in the portrait. However, this positioning is not so much a surprise as it is a given that the focal point of a portrait should be the subject’s face.
The painting is divided down the center of the frame, with one side of the background lighter than the other, and on Whitman’s face, the light patterns seem to be reversed, suggesting that there were two different light sources used in the photograph Smith used or in his interpretation of it. The use of light might be a nod to Whitman’s ideas and philosophy, which went between transcendentalism and realism or to the two sides of his sexuality and the way the public perceived him. The latter interpretation would however be carried into that of the modernist lens as few writers speculated on his sexuality in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Today, Whitman’s poetry has been set to music by many composers, including the music of John Adams, Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Kurt Weill, Roger Sessions and Ned Rorem.
You can view Xanthus Russell Smith’s portrait of Walt Whitman in the Flaten Art Museum reserve collection housed in St. Olaf College’s Dittman Center.
Bibliography
1. Smith, Xanthus Russell. Walt Whitman. 1897. Oil on canvas. 17.5 in x 13.5 in. Dittman Center : Second (2) Floor : Storage Vault : 19A : Flaten Art Museum.
2. Whitman, Walt. Lafayette in Brooklyn. New York: George D. Smith, 1905.
3. Cox, George C. Walt Whitman. 1887. Photograph.
by stephens
This painting found in the St. Olaf Flaten Art Museum suggests an immense feeling of age, wisdom, and timelessness. The subject, Walt Whitman, is presented in all shades of brown and grey, most of his body in shadow and the background irrelevant.
Walt Whitman, Xanthus Russell Smith
The artist, Xanthus Russell Smith, was known to be a Civil War Painter, showcasing the battles and details of wartime. But a quick search shows that he was also an avid landscape artist, portraying the lush beauty of the New England countryside in rich detail.
New England Landscape, Xanthus Russell Smith
In fact, a closer look at the Whitman painting reveals more of the earthy tones of the artist. Whitman is not dressed for battle, but instead maybe for an introspective walk through the forest.
It is this sense of introspection that I would like to focus on. Many other art forms of the time, including MacDowell’s Woodland Sketches, also were introspective and communicated the viewpoint of the creator. Nature was a huge source of inspiration for these artists, as evident in Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road.”
“Song of the Open Road,” Walt Whitman
1
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
Nature provided the time and peace for artists to reflect upon their lives and their place in the universe. Their creations presented an individualized viewpoint of the world regardless of whether or not others understood. Smith’s painting showcases a man who knows all. And in his own particular way, Smith portrays how he sees Whitman, as all other artists share their specialized view of the world.
by smithg
John Singer Sargent, the painter in question, is American by birth. If he had elected to run for president there would be no question as to his eligibility (no one would ask for his birth certificate, certainly). Sargent, while born in America, studied in Paris, and lived most of his life in Europe. Semantics aside, it’s clear that Sargent is a Westerner and can teach us about how Western cultures interpret themselves as well as Other cultures.
Sargent’s watercolors were not his claim to fame, but he was well versed in the medium, boasting over 2,000 watercolors. Here we have his painting simply titled, Warrior.
The subject is all alone in the painting, much like a portrait, but facing away from the observer. The warrior seems to be looking off into the distance as well. The warrior has specific points of detail and other places have significantly less detail. Particularly the head and left foot sandal have a lot of detail. On the warrior’s head there is an earring, shading on the head wrap, and lighting detail on the forehead and cheek. On the sandal there is an elegantly painted feather adorning the otherwise simple footwear. A long draping cape covers most of the warrior masking one whole side, the cape is mostly implied and also seems to be translucent.
The focus on the trappings of the warrior and his figure rather than choosing to put him in action (not necessarily violence) takes him out of his context. This lack of contextualization is where I think we can find a link to music written by Americans or Westerners. Pieces such as El Salon Mexico by Aaron Copland lies in the same vein of “representative” art. While this may be exactly what the model looked like has he posed for Sargent and Copland may accurately composed Mexican music, they present their art pieces without any context. This creates issues for the those receiving the work not understanding where the work came from and what weight it carries. We’ve discussed this many times so I won’t beat it to death, but there it is.
by Wenie
On any given day, you can catch me jammin’ out to songs off the radio whether it is pop, hip-hop, rap, techno but not country (sorry!). I listen to these songs on the radio for a couple of reasons…
1. If they have a good beat and I can dance to it… then I have no problem with it the song.
2. If it is Beyoncè, I am all set.
In reality, these not the best reasons for listening to songs. But, people listen to songs for different reasons. It may be the lyrics, the artist, the genre or the emotional connections that one may have with a specific song/artist. In our society, social media plays a big part in the promotion of artists and their music. Genres such as Pop, Hip-Hop or Rap are widley listened too and are valued by the younger generations.
Pop and Hip-Hop do not have the same implications now as they did before. Hip-Hop developed out of Bronx, New York around 1970s, as minorities suffered forms of inequality and injustice. The music that they created reflected that and served as a way of expressing reality. If you were to listen to songs such as “Rapper’s Delight” (1979) or “The Message” (1982), they provide truths while also portraying black culture through song.
Fast forwarding to the 2000s, Hip-Hop continued to remain popular. But, the lyrics have become more sexualized and more and more artists have taken up this genre and have made it their own. Yes, Hip-Hop originated through the black culture but that did not mean that others could not perform this genre.
Recently, I watched a video that was created by Amandla Stenberg called “Don’t Cash Drop My Cornrows.” After watching this video, I was speechless because she addressed the complications that come between black and white rappers. She gives a good definition of both cultural appropriation and cultural exchange in terms of black culture and the rise of white rappers using black culture as part of their music. She talks about a good variety of rappers and gives examples of how their music utilizes black culture.
Here is the video:
Take the time to watch this video. As music evolves overtime, it is important that artist continue to recognize the cultural significance in which a specific genre derived from. It is not a matter of authenticity for some but it is a matter of credibility. It is okay to acknowledge how different aspects of specific cultures have influenced thier music but an artist cannot ‘claim’ another culture as their own.
by butler
William Henry Jackson was tasked with exploring and surveying the American West at a time when America was expanding and the Manifest Destiny was still at the forefront of American ideology. Over his life of 99 years, Jackson became famous for his work with photochrom, such as the photo to the left from around 1900.[1] The branding of a calf is posed as a fairly leisurely activity, as a few of the characters stand around looking at their corral of cattle and the wide open space available to them in the West. Working for the government, Jackson often took exploration trips to photograph scenery along railroad routes and with his photography of beautiful natural landmarks, he even convinced Congress to create Yellowstone National Park. With photos like these, that show a decent life on the frontier and human’s domination over nature, Jackson’s narrow lens paints a Romantic image of the west, sure to keep out the fact that many Native Americans were displaced as a result.
Just as Jackson’s work had a lot to do with the image of the West to the rest of America, composers such as Virgil Thomson and Aaron Copland composed the sounds of the Western frontier, though 30 years later and for nostalgia instead of Manifest Destiny. In Virgil Thomson’s The Plow that Broke the Plains, a film made by the Works Progress Administration in 1936, the cattle are represented by this music.[2]
Doesn’t sound similar to this music from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo from 1942?[3]
The common folk song between the two is called “Old Paint,” a paint being a spotted horse, and the song said to be a common song sung by the cowboys of the west during their night shifts of protecting the cattle. Here cowboy folk music, again excluding Native Americans, is drawn on to paint what sounds like a lackadaisical and relaxed picture of the West. This is a nostalgic, romanticized reflection of cowboy culture much like Jackson’s romantic view of the West. The extent to which this relaxed cowboy life was a reality or the authenticity with which their folk music was presented in these classical genres is debatable.
For more about early 20th century composers shaping the American West, see this NPR article.
[1] William Jackson, “Colorado-Branding Calves,” photochrom on paper, Flatten Art Museum.
[2] Virgil Thomson, writer, Virgil Thomson: The Plow That Broke the Plains, The River, Conducted by Richard Kapp, Performed by Richard Kapp, Essay, Streaming Audio, Accessed April 28, 2015. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/378497.
[3] Aaron Copland writer, Appalachian Spring/Rodeo/Fanfare for the Common Man, Conducted by Louis Lane, Recorded January 1, 1982, Telarc, 1982, Streaming Audio, Accessed April 28, 2015. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/2129722.
by simonson
Upon studying an unfamiliar culture’s music, there are many different aspects of the music that could be taken into account. Simply the notational aspects of the music can be notated, such as pitches, rhythms, dynamics, tempos. However sometimes there are extra things that a western 5-lined staff cannot display in detail, such as pitch-bending, amount of vibrato, sliding, and tone-quality. This has been a challenge for many ethnomusicologists for years.
Two transcribers produced books regarding some to their findings about Native American Song. Theodore Baker published his dissertation Über die Musik der Nordamerikanischen Wilden (On the Music of the North American Indians) in 1882 while studying in Leipzig. His book describes most of the primary characteristics of the music he witnessed, like the rhythm, singing quality, dancing, and instruments. His notations include grace-note ornaments and chromatics slides. However, Baker does not go into detail how these features fit in with the music he transcribed, nor does his commentary note what function the music plays in Native American Spiritual life.
Frances Densmore, a well known ethnomusicologist, published The American Indians and their Music in 1926. Her book contains many of the same features as Baker’s, except her transcriptions do not include any grace-notes like Baker. However, she offers far more written context on the music. She has a whole section devoted to each dance, game, and Native American life. Overall I think that Desmore captures more accurately the meaning behind the music.
When looking into another culture that is not one’s own, it is important to mention all aspects that go into music because does not just involve the print ink on the page — it involves our cultural experiences and knowledge.
by herndon
When I walked into Print Study Room in St. Olaf College’s Dittman Center, the first painting that caught my eye was this one of Walt Whitman. I was drawn to it because I recognized the subject. I can’t say I knew exactly what Whitman looked like beforehand, but I knew figure in the portrait was probably him. A wise looking older man with a beard of pure white wearing simple, earth-toned clothes–now this had to be America’s transcendental literary hero!
Xanthus Russel Smith, “Walt Whitman.” Oil on canvas, St. Olaf College Tetlie Collection.
So, I was not surprised to pull a tag from behind the frame that read “Walt Whitman;” nor was I surprised to learn that the painter, Xanthus Russel Smith, was best known for his Civil War paintings. Why? Because this painting is a portrait. Portraits are created with intent. Unlike a beautiful landscape a painter happens upon or an idea a painter wants to portray visually, a portrait exists to honor a person. They are often planned and commissioned and sometimes even created for a specific room or occasion. Portraits depict heroes. That is why it made sense that the painter of this portrait also made Civil War paintings. Smith must have been interested in portraying what heroism in America looked like 19th century, and he chose Walt Whitman to be one such example.
My second guess, if this had not been Whitman, was Charles Ives. If not America’s literary hero, perhaps it was America’s musical hero! Ives certainly would have been deemed worthy of a portrait as well. Though the style of the clothing looked a bit old, I thought it could be Ives because of the subject’s white beard and older age. Then, I realized that–though the portrait could have been Whitman or Ives because they are both figures of American heroism–the main reason I knew it was either Whitman or Ives was because the man in the portrait was old. Why are the most well-known depictions of both Whitman and Ives of them as old men?
It must be because both of them were exalted by artists of the younger generation. Beat writers like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac adopted his vagabond lifestyle and imitated his anaphoric style in their own writing. Ezra Pound said of Whitman, “he is America.” So though Whitman was writing in the 19th century, his works became very popular in the 20th century. Similarly, Ives was composing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but his works did not become popular until the mid 20th century, when composers like Henry Cowell and Aaron Copland promoted them.
Both Whitman and Ives were recognized long after their work was published and held up as examples of the American spirit. They both embodied the American tradition of individualism, originality, and self-sufficiency. Had Whitman lived in Massachusetts, he perhaps could have made it into Ives’s Concord Sonata. Passing down these American traits, like father and son, Whitman and Ives make me wonder if we have a current day example of the American artist as an old (white) man. Clint Eastwood? Or have we moved beyond this narrow definition of America (at least now we recognize that Whitman was gay!) to include American heros of different ethnicities, races, genders, sexualities, and ages? Who do we paint portraits of today?
by Wenie
Art. I am talking about the physical art: paintings, sculptures, portraits and ceramics. These types of artworks are what make museums or art collections unique. When I look at such artwork, I spend so much time trying to interpret what the artists create. There may be little information displayed about the specific piece or the artist, but honestly how many people actually read it. What I enjoy most about looking at artwork is when I am able to get lost in my own thoughts to help me make sense of the artwork that is right in front of me.
Last week, while visiting St. Olaf’s Flaten Art Museum. There was a lot of interesting artwork displayed. There was one piece of artwork that stood out.
by swansocd
The caricature of the savage Native American is all too common in the history of American Art. This is especially true in art of the American West, rife with its depictions of pioneers and cowboys fighting off Indians and the elements in the name of survival and Manifest Destiny.
Some turn of the century artists like Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926) and Frederic Remington (1861-1909) managed to rehabilitate this image, depicting ways in which Native Americans (and men in particular) could be pleasant to look at artistically. In the masculine world of the West, this primarily meant depicting them as active participants in the drama of uncharted territory. However, this also reinforced the notion that American Indians led a violent, uncivilized life.
Painting of a buffalo hunt by Frederic Remington
“For Supremacy” by Charles Russell
This serves as a marked contrast to the Native American Portrait Study by Olaf Carl Seltzer (1877-1957) in the Flaten Art Museum Collection. The first word that came to mind when I saw it was ‘dignity’; the second was ‘still’.
Seltzer lived in Great Falls, Montana from the time he was 19 until his death. From that, I inferred (with the consultation of a map of Native American tribal territories) that this study is of individuals belonging to the Blackfoot tribe. A simple google image search confirmed this suspicion, as I found numerous portraits of Blackfoot members whose hairstyles and earrings strongly resemble those in the study.
Of course I don’t mean to suggest through this analysis that the Blackfoot people or any other group of Native Americans needs a white man to recapture their dignity. But it is refreshing to see that there is at least one instance in American art of someone capturing the dignity of Native Americans authentically not through violence, but through still portraits. Even if it is just a study.
In studying the history of American music, we have seen multiple times how non-white cultures have been repeatedly misrepresented. The violence latent in portraits by Russell and Remington can be found in stereotypical musical depictions of Native Americans that rely on similarly simplistic and vulgar generalizations: I’m thinking especially of pulsing drums, war-whoops, and melodies that only use pentatonic scales.
Even recent depictions rely on the simplistic drum patterns and repetitive melodies that have been stuck to Native American’s since the beginning, even when the atmosphere isn’t as frenetic, violent, or (in the case of Peter Pan) partially sexualized.
Who then is the Seltzer of American music? In other words, is there anyone that we can point to as capturing the essence of Native Americans without cheap theatrics? Perhaps the closest is Edward MacDowell’s Indian Suite (1892), which utilizes (alleged) Native American melodies. Luke provides an excellent study of this depiction here .
The unfortunate truth remains that we are relying on inauthentic depictions of Native Americans by whites to explore Indian-ness. But isn’t to say that there aren’t any Native American composers trying to do the same; a simple YouTube search shows otherwise. Unfortunately, these composers don’t hold a firm place in the current music history curriculum. While articles like this are a start, we as musicologists must strive to support authentic depictions of Native American music while remaining critical of the Russell’s and Remington’s of American music.
by christes
After thorough investigation of Frederic Remington’s life and travels, I found no evidence of him traveling to China or studying Chinese people… So I will do my best to interpret the Chinese Figure Study that Remington drew in the late 1800s, in relation to rap music of the 1990s. The Chinese Figure Study (see below) is and ink on paper drawing of three figures, presumably Chinese men. The most striking element of the drawing is the differences in each three men. From left to right they represent a different Chinese man: the far left, a Chinese man in traditional garb, perhaps more wealthy and to the far right, a westernized Chinese cowboy who represents a lower class immigrant.
Chinese Figure Study – Frederic Remington
If my interpretation is correct, the above artwork can be compared to the hip hop music from the 80s and 90s we studied. Rap/Hip-hop culture emerged in the Bronx, New York among young African Americans. This new hip-hop movement was a musical outlet for expressing the voices of the low-income Americans. The lyrics of hip hop music is very indicative of this internal and external battle the youths were facing. Public Enemy’s song “Fight the Power” exemplifies the battle of white and black social hierarchy:
“While the Black bands sweatin’
And the rhythm rhymes rollin’
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power”
In the song, Public Enemy talks about the rights of man and that they should fight for their rights. The painting displays a sort of classifying of man by race and socio-economic value. The binding similarities of an oppressed people are illustrated in both Remington’s Chinese Figure Study and Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power.”
by alexandc
Disney’s The Jungle Book, released in 1967, was a huge box office success. The film was praised highly for its attention to voice casting as a primary identifier of character’s personality and animation. Unfortunately, it is this exact quality which creates some problematic issues.
The monkeys of the jungle are racially coded as black, a problematic choice of animal characterization, and further worsened by aural stereotypes. In their essay “The Movie You See, The Movie You Don’t,” scholars Susan Miller and Greg Rhode note that “Jungle Book frequently relies on verbal class and gender stereotyping for its “innocent” fun, displacing the visual black and white of Song of the South onto aural stereotypes.” While the animation of monkeys would clearly not be racist, specifically representing those monkeys as African American puts the innocence of intentions a little more into question.
The very lyrics and style of the song King Louis sings become quickly controversial in light of the black coded nature assigned to his character. The famous song, “I Want to Be Like You” which King Louis and the monkeys sing, is all about the desire they hold to be human. The refraining chorus states: “Ooh, ooh, oh! I wanna be like you, I wanna walk like you, talk like you, too ooh, ooh. You’ll see it’s true, ooh, ooh! An ape like me, ee, ee. Can learn to be Juoo ooh man, too ooh, ooh.” Writing an entire song about the monkeys desiring recognition as humans, and clearly coding those monkeys as black poses an incredibly racist issue in the film, highly inappropriate for a children’s animation.
Next, the issue of the black coded nature becomes further problematic by the fact that they are once again played by white actors. Just as Jim Crow in Dumbo was voiced by white actor Cliff Edwards, so King Louis is voiced by white actor Louis Prima. While it would clearly be racist to choose African American voices to present these stereotypes, it is in many ways worse to choose a white actor to play a clear racial stereotype as this is the exact premise behind blackface minstrel performances.
Even within the plot of jungle book itself, the idea of minstrelsy is promoted by the fact that Baloo dresses up in monkey attire, and proceeds to imitate and sing the same song as King Louis. Baloo, as a non-monkey, donning “monkeyface” and performing in exaggerated style, his perceived understanding of what that means, is a close parallel to blackface in which a white, dons “blackface” and proceeds to imitate a black coded performance based on offensive stereotypes.
Comparing the images of Baloo in monkey attire, with images of blackface performers, once again the similarities are disturbingly similar. The hair, large lips, cartoonish body language, Baloo is clearly putting on a blackface performance with King Louis.
The images and parallels, promotion and reinforcement of blackface minstrel performance in today’s society is still present and alive in areas many don’t realize. Perhaps more disturbing is attempting to understand how to respond to such images in our culture. It is difficult to determine the intentionality of these types of images and stereotypes present in The Jungle Book. Are the creators deliberately placing racist material in their films, or are these simply embedded structures that people promote without realizing or understanding the implications of their meaning? Would boycotting any film which presents these stereotypes prove helpful in any regard? Ultimately, the only way that a society can change is through each individual influence on it. Becoming better educated in historical traditions, mistakes, and problems can help us become more aware of them in today’s society and prevent us from incorporating them into our own productions of art, actions, or words. By understanding the history of traditions such as blackface and minstrelsy we can become more aware of their presence in films such as The Jungle Book and make better judgments and criticisms of their problematic issues and hopefully prevent the continuation of them in future films.
Works Cited:
Miller, Susan, and Greg Rode. “The Movie You See, The Movie You Don’t.” From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture.” Ed. Bell, Elizabeth, and Lynda Haas, Laura Sells. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995. 86-103. Print.
by alexandc
Disney’s feature film Dumbo, released in 1941, tells the tale of a loveable baby elephant born with unnaturally large ears which he is consequently able to use for flying. One of the scenes presented in the film presents some highly problematic material however. Halfway through the film, Dumbo runs into a group of crows who assist in motivating, encouraging, and teaching him to fly. By aid of the “magic feather” the crows give him, Dumbo is then able to return to the circus and perform a revolutionary new act which crazes the nation.
Unfortunately, the crows Dumbo runs into are presented as African Americans. The very fact that Disney chose the particular characterization of crows to display black-coded stereotypes is questionable, but to make matters even worse, their leader’s scripted name is Jim Crow. The blatant reference to the offensive term of Jim Crow, the stereotyped language given to the crows, the voice casting of African Americans as the crows they’re playing, the animator behind their creation, and the role they play in the film’s plot all pose large problems which can’t be overlooked.
“Jim Crow” is a term full of racial connotations most often associated with the Jim Crow laws of the early 1900’s. Historian C. Vann Woodward notes that while, “The origin of the term ‘Jim Crow’ applied to Negroes is lost in obscurity. Thomas D. Rice wrote a song and dance called ‘Jim Crow’ in 1832, and the term had become an adjective by 1838.” The origin and etymology of the term comes specifically from a minstrel performance by Thomas D. Rice from the early 19th century. Although the exact origins of Rice’s inspiration for the Jim Crow character are unknown, it quickly became a sensational performance phenomenon. In his book Jump Jim Crow, W. T. Lhamon Jr explores the history and characteristics of the Jim Crow craze. He states that “No other American cultural figure stirred a legacy that endures such widespread censure as well as continual appropriation.” Such a widespread cultural figure can’t be referred to without indicating the negative racial stereotypes associated with it. A visual comparison between the two characters confirms the similarities between T. D. Rice’s representation of Jim Crow in minstrelsy and the animation of Dumbo’s crows. Even the poses, dance, and body language of Dumbo is a direct tribute to the original minstrel tradition.
Having already established a problematic visual representation of Jim Crow, the song “When I See an Elephant Fly” next adds a disturbing linguistic stereotyping of African American language. The main line of the chorus uses speech reminiscent of early minstrel songs: “But I be don’ seen ‘bout ev’rythang, when I see an elephant fly” It’s interesting to note that the lyrics of this song in current Disney songbooks have changed the lyrics to “But I think I will have seen ev’rything when I see an elephant fly.” The removal of dialect from the printed sheet music seems to reflect a recognition of the racist implications to it.
The controversial visual and linguistic stereotypes presented in Dumbo’s crows are further complicated by the voice casting. Jim Crow is voiced by white actor Cliff Edwards, while the rest of the crows are voiced by the African American choir Hall Johnson. (The same chorus Disney used in the racially controversial film Song of the South.) Whether it’s more problematic to have African American actors voicing racist stereotypes or to have a white actor voice a caricature of Jim Crow is difficult to determine. To have a white actor giving a racially black coded performance, even if animated, is the same act as a blackface minstrel show. And if the animated character being performed is Jim Crow himself, what makes this any different than T. D. Rice’s own performance a century prior to Dumbo’s release?
Works Cited:
Woodward, C. Vann. The Strange Career of Jim Crow. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. Print.
Lhamon, W. T. Jr. Jump Jim Crow: Lost Plays, Lyrics, and Street Prose of the First Atlantic Popular Culture. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2003. Print.
Disney Productions: The New Illustrated Disney Songbook. New York: Abrams, 1986. Print.
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The cover of Miles Davis’ 1970 album Bitches Brew has in many ways become more iconic than the album itself.[1] Illustrated by Mati Klarwein, the mystical, Afro-centric imagery fused with psychedelic textures intensely deals with contradictory themes and ideas that were undoubtedly relevant in American political and racial culture at the time. Simultaneously, Klarwein’s contradictory images seem to capture the conflict inherent in Davis’ work throughout his career: how does a jazz giant like Davis continue to innovate without moving too far away from jazz?
The gatefold cover of Bitches Brew, illustrated by Klarwein
His answer was to explore contradictory influences even further. Bitches Brew spearheaded the jazz-rock-fusion movement, replacing numerous components of his ensemble with electronic instruments, and rejecting traditional jazz structures in favor of the looser, long-form rock style. Davis also utilized a massive, rotating group of musicians, on numerous tracks using three keyboardists, two drummers, and two bassists.
This dichotomy was inherent to reception of the album as well. While some lauded Davis’ creativity in synthesizing what was commonly viewed as two divergent forces in American music, jazz purists thought that Davis had crossed the line and had abandoned jazz altogether. Critic Bob Rusch even went so far as to say, “this to me was not great Black music, but I cynically saw it as part and parcel of the commercial crap that was beginning to choke and bastardize the catalogs of such dependable companies as Blue Note and Prestige….” [2]
Davis singlehandedly changed many conceptions of what made jazz and jazz musicians
In typical Davis fashion, his response to the jazz establishment was essentially a giant middle finger: a second electronic, jazz-rock album titled Live-Evil, released in 1971.[3] As the title suggests, it featured live recordings by Davis and his personnel at the Cellar Door music club in Washington DC, most of whom also appeared on Bitches Brew. But the “live” component made up only half of the music, the rest of which was recorded in Columbia Studios. Again, we see Davis exploring dichotomies in the later stages of his career, balancing the chaotic violence of a live performance with the hyper-controlled realm of a studio session.
The cover art (again provided by Klarwein) provides a striking realization of this strange contrast. The pregnant, yet skinny black woman on the front is a perfect foil to the pale, grotesque, bloated monster on the back. As part of the ‘reflective’ nature of the album, the upper-left corner of the back says “Selim Sevad Evil”: “Miles Davis Live” backwards. John Szwed’s biography of Davis provides some clarity as to the origins and meaning of the cover art, via a quote from Klarwein:
“I was doing the picture of the pregnant woman for the cover and the day I finished, Miles called me up and said, ‘I want a picture of life on one side and evil on the other.’ And all he mentioned was a toad. Then next to me was a copy of Time Magazine which had J. Edgar Hoover on the cover, and he just looked like a toad. I told Miles I found the toad.”[4]
Gatefold cover of Live-Evil, illustrated by Klarwein
Ironically, Live-Evil was much more well received than Bitches Brew, despite the fact that it took what critics dislike about BB to further extremes. It was lauded for its accessibility and musical purity, even though the tracks had greater levels of electronic manipulation.
But perhaps the biggest difference between the holistic art of the vinyls is the liner notes. Bitches Brew contains a lengthy, poetic assessment of the music by Ralph J. Gleason, American music critic, founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine, and cofounder of the Monterey Jazz Festival. Its an abstract piece of writing that seemingly rejects the nitpicking of other critics concerned with such subjective notions as genre:
“so be it with the music we have called jazz and which i never knew what it was because it was so many different things to so many different people each apparently contradicting the other and one day i flashed that it was music.
that’s all, and when it was great music it was great art and it didn’t have anything at all to do with labels and who says mozart is by definition better than sonny rollins and to whom.”[3]
But when one opens the centerfold of Live-evil expecting to find another passionate defense of Davis’ innovations, they instead find a series of candid pictures of Miles.
Not concerned with critics, nor legacies, these liner notes simply say “This is me.” Or perhaps, “Me is This.”
Notes: –Both Vinyls are available in Halvorson Music Library. Bitches Brew call number: M1366.D3 B5. Live-evil call number: M1366.D3 L5.
– Entire Bitches Brew liner notes by Gleason available at: http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Bitches_Brew.html
[1] Davis, Miles. Bitches Brew. Columbia, 1970. LP.
[2] Rusch, Bob. Ron Wynn, ed. All Music Guide to Jazz. AllMusic. M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov (1st ed.). San Francisco (1994): Miller Freeman Books. p. 197.
[3] Davis, Miles. Live-Evil. Columbia, 1972. LP.
[4] Szwed, John. So What: the Life of Miles Davis. Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (January 9, 2004) p. 319.
by xies
While many of these southern folk music pieces wrote by Stephen Forster presented sympathetic portrayals of African American characters, like the heartbreaking “Old Black Joe”(I mentioned in my first post), songs like “Camptown Races” and “Oh! Susanna” became linked with offensive stereotyped images of slaves, and was used in minstrel performance. Strangely, in the early and mid-twentieth century, in addition to using the songs to establish geography and time period, film scores and cartoons also began using Foster’s music as a way to negatively define a minority character’s station in life.
Although they by no means initiated the trend, film like Blazing Saddles used “Camptown Races” in a shorthand way of defining characters’ region (southern), race (african American), and personalities (hedonistic). The boss assumes his request was misunderstood. He wanted a “darky” song, like “Camptown Races.” In the film, when the boss starts to sing it, he wants to imitate a buffoon in minstrel performance with his untrained voice, awkward dance movements, and exaggerated “negro dialect”.
Cartoons like the Bugs Bunny shorts also used “Camptown Races” to strengthen the stereotype. The song was used to reinforce a drastic change in a character’s personality, or a costume change; this often happens when a character suddenly takes on blackface or even slave-like characteristics, as in Bugs Bunny’s transformation into a minstrel performer singing “Camptown Races” at the conclusion of Fresh Hare (1942). When we watch animated cartoons, how much does music shape our perception of the narrative? And why are Stephen Foster’s songs so prevalent in cartoon music in what has come to be known as animation’s golden age (1930s–1960s), especially in cartoons that depict African American slaves, blackface minstrelsy, and the South? Is it because Forster’s songs no longer deal with some exotic setting in another continent, but rather with real people in real places within the United States (Smolko, 348)?
As Daniel Goldmark says, “Minstrelsy never really died—it simply changed media.”
Work Cited:
Smolko, Joanna R. “Southern Fried Foster: Representing Race and Place through Music in Looney Tunes Cartoons.” American Music 30.3 (2012): 344-372.
by stephens
For many students at St. Olaf, the Pause is a hub for campus activities and a source of music on weekends (I may be biased as an employee…). Obviously the genres of popular music have changed, but so has the culture and environment of the room in which we choose to listen to music. Searching through old Mess articles show just how differently students spend their free time.
Article about the opening of the New Pause 1977
Currently, the Pause is a big concrete box of sharp angles and harsh corners. It just screams “nightclub,” in its vibe, and as every tour guide can tell you, it was modeled after the Minneapolis venue, First Avenue. Events in the space owe their success to the intelligent lights that spin, strobes placed behind the drum risers, huge powerful subwoofers, black lights illuminating the pit, and blinder lights that yes, blind the audience. In short, very flashy lights and loud sound are used best with DJs and for large dramatic concerts–the recent Betty Who, Matt and Kim, or Hoodie Allen.
But the old Pause was completely different. Located in the basement of Ytterboe, it was nicknamed a “Hobbit Hole” due to its small entrance and hidden feel. Articles written when the old Pause was the new Pause say that “the atmosphere of the new Pause is still quite Bohemian” (S. Crumb). Gold candles and a dark wood stage contributed to the coffeehouse vibe–which it indeed was. No pizza was served, but coffee, cheese and crackers, and yogurt (?!?). Performances consisted of many folk groups and students covering folk songs. Hall and Oates, Seal and Crofts, Joan Baez, Loggins and Messina, Cat Stevens–artists who based most of their music around a voice and a guitar, all singer/songwritters. The folk revival was in full swing.
Kenny Loggins, House at Pooh Corner
Seals and Crofts, Prelude / Windflowers
As a result, Mess articles describe performances in the Pause as “mellow” and “smooth.” Students looked for more intellectual, introspective entertainment, and the venue responded to them. Popular music can totally define architecture and design of a space.
Sources:
Muss, Solveig, “Mellow on Friday at the Pause.” From The Manitou Messenger: Volume 093, Issue 007, 08 Nov, 1979. Accessed 4/21/15. https://contentdm.stolaf.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/mess&CISOPTR=17652&REC=20
S. Crumb, “Grand Opening of New Lion’s Pause.” From The Manitou Messenger: Volume 091, Issue 003, 29 Sept. 1977. Accessed 4/21/15.
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This week we have the great opportunity to delve into the history of our community at St. Olaf by looking through the well preserved archives of the college’s student newspaper, the Manitou Messenger. The “Mess” as it is often referred to by current students captures events on campus and student news ranging from academia to athletics and yes, music. From our class discussion on American musical theater, I thought it would be interesting to look into the history of our theater department and it’s musical productions and my search yielded an article about the St. Olaf performance of Gypsy in 1987.
Gypsy, a 1959 musical with book written by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, andlyrics by Stephen Sondheim, is based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee (1914-1970). Rose Lee was an entertainer who specialized in burlesque, a style of dramatization intended to cause laughter. The musical centers of Gypsy’s mother who attempts to turn one of her daughters into a Vaudville star. Rose, Gypsy’s mother, eventually convinces her younger daughter Louise to do a striptease on stage which catapults her into fame. Louise soon becomes known as “Gypsy Rose Lee” and eventually rejects her mother’s assistance in her ascent to stardom.
Our course this semester we have talked about a wide array of political and societal issues concerning American music and musical theater is no exception. Setting a story to music and then putting that story on stage adds multiple layers for contention. Women in music has been a common point of interest for the course and Gypsy puts a controversial topic at center stage. Director Patrick Quade stated that “the production has accepted the responsibility of trying to avoid offending people” when asked about the musical’s touchy subject. The arts often provide the opportunity to push the envelope and Quade certainly took that opportunity. My favorite quotation from Professor Quade addresses the controversy directly as he states: “why are we doing a play that treats women as sexual objects?… This aspect of the musical is part of American history, and you don’t wipe out history.” For Patrick Quade, the purpose of putting on a production of the musical Gypsy was not to spark an uproar, but to spark a conversation. Examining musical theater and the progression of musicals as a form of entertainment provides a hefty amount of insight into not only the musical style of the time period, but also the issues of the era. These conflicts are preserved though the musical work and provide the unique opportunity to serve as entertainment and as an educational tool with each production.
References
Brown, Dave. “Musical Comedy “Gypsy” Opens Thursday.” Manitou Messenger, November 6, 1987, Lifestyle/Arts sec. Accessed April 21, 2015.
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Today, the majority of congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America use the most recent book of worship, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, published by Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis in 2006. Before that time, congregations mostly used the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship. 20 years prior to the release of LBW, the red Service Book and Hymnal was printed.
In the year 1971, Dale Warland, most famously known for having conducted the Dale Warland Singers in St. Paul until 2004, and Paul Manz, well-known organist in the Minneapolis area, recruited a chamber choir, and small brass ensemble to record 62 hymns representing the entirety of the church year. Recorded by Lutheran Records, it was distributed by Augsburg Publishing House in Minneapolis.
As the subtitle suggests, this record was meant for families to play in their own homes as a way of learning hymns and worshipping at home. Between each track is a 10-second band of silence so as to find each track easily.
The back of the record sleeve indexes the hymns used to outline the church year. Next to each hymn, there are two numbers. One represents the page number where the hymn can be found in Augsburg’s The Hymn-of-the-Week Songbook. The second number, preceded by “SBH” represents the hymn number of its occurrence in the 1958 Service Book and Hymnal. The inclusion of these referential numbers makes these records an accessible teaching tool. Those families that want to teach their children about classic hymns, or those that want to worship in their own home, are able to locate each hymn with ease, both on the record, and in their songbook or book of worship.
Within the record sleeve are paragraphs explaining each of the seasons and high feasts of the church year. These paragraphs give the listeners and worshippers a little context of how each hymn fits in with the corresponding season or feast.
I think this is a very fun and effective way of introducing hymns to homes. Unlike many CDs today, this record is very interactive. Given the size of these LPs, there is plenty of jacket space to provide very useful and pertinent information. What makes it more musically appealing is the fact that the musicians are not your average church musicians or church choir. Paul Manz and Dale Warland have established themselves in the organist and choral worlds as being phenomenal musicians. There is no information about who the singers are, other than “12 professional singers,” but under the direction of Dale Warland, they are superb.
As a Church Music major, this record makes me want to go out and purchase a turntable and listen to it all the time!
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How did students get their news in the 1960s? The Manitou Messenger was the main source, but events were also broadcast through KSTO, the radio station which went through several ups and downs in the past 60 years, and which now occupies the 93.1 air wave. Acting as KSTO’s assistant manager has led to my interest in the station’s history. What were the goals of the original staff, and what kind of music was broadcast? Putting together a more comprehensive history than our blog’s page is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and the Manitou Messenger seemed like a logical and reliable source. I tracked the first few years of KSTO’s history through Mess articles, and surprisingly, I found more information about the station’s managerial past than the musical catalogue. Ultimately, I found that the music and news came from the hill more than the Great Beyond. But still, culture and drama ensue! Read all about it:
KSTO’s official “History” page states that the station began broadcasting in 1957, beginning each day with “Fram! Fram! St. Olaf” and ending with “A Mighty Fortress.” The Mess began its coverage of KSTO in 1959, writing about the grand reopening of the station (songs played during the first day included selections by the Kingston Trio, the St. Olaf Choir, and “a smattering of mood music interspersed with Broadway show hits”). The paper reported that “Plans…provide for regular news broadcastings which will include information of scheduled Hill activities and side lights.”
Early broadcasts kept students posted on campus activities, but “music of the type conducive to study” was played during evenings from 6-10 pm. The radio station occasionally advertised their events in a small box entitled the “KSTO Korner” (this only stuck around for a few years, maybe due to the unfortunate name that can only be attributed to the happy-go-lucky, “gee whiz!” tone of the 50s-era Mess). What we learn, however, is that KSTO supported live campus talent through its show “The Dessert Inn”–we can only assume that some of the campus talent involved music.
KSTO underwent more changes in the early 1960s, installing a Current Carrier system that connected the station to the student dorms. Reports from the 60s are pretty sparing, although KSTO’s history page notes that the station had a weekly publication of top ten hits at the time. Large events in KSTO’s history–most notably a fire in 1970 that destroyed $3,000 worth of equipment–went unreported, but we know that debates and school sporting events were broadcast across campus.
KSTO has evolved significantly from its 1959 iteration, but there are still some similarities between the new and old station. There were budget proposals (despite the fact that the 1960 request of $125 is a far cry from our current budget), shows with student discussions, and a regular programming schedule. Interestingly enough, some of our current goals for the station–more campus involvement, a bigger focus on news, and field reporting from live events–resemble the focus back in the day. And luckily for us, the station’s connection with the Manitou Messenger is stronger now, with the paper reporting on upcoming concerts and publishing the station’s schedule every semester. We’d like to continue that partnership–even though we could potentially nix the impassioned editorials.
Sources:
“History.” KSTO 93.1 FM. Accessed April 20, 2015. http://pages.stolaf.edu/ksto/about-ksto/history/.
“Thursday Night Marks Grand Opening; Return of KSTO Station to Campus Radio.” Manitou Messenger, May 1, 1959. Accessed April 20, 2015. https://contentdm.stolaf.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/mess&CISOPTR=12656&REC=3.
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“Would you Paint All the Colored People White?”
The titular question of what the sheet music claims is “Walter Dauphin’s Great Ethiopian Song” sounds simultaneously hopeful and skeptical. One on hand it seems to be pleading to God on high to make the ‘Colored People’ white, easing their lives of trial and hierarchical suffering. On the other, it seems to be asking, “if you could, would you?”
A closer look at the text of the song affirms that the desired emotion of the song is hope, as the idea of painting them is a scheme for the speaker to do the things he’s been “dreaming” about. Presumably, becoming white would allow this individual greater freedoms previously unable to them. This seems like a truthful sentiment coming from a black person in 1893, but of course thats not really the case. The title page also says “Sung with Great Success by ‘The Eldridges’ and all the Leading Minstrels”, confirming that this was definitely a piece associated with blackface performances, though this doesn’t change the fact that this music is surprisingly and spiritually tender.
On the other end of the spectrum is “When the Black Folks Turn White”, a jaunty tune by Ragtime composer Joe Haydn (Not Franz Joseph). This 1898 composition has an extremely different tone from the Dauphin, with a text stating that God’s creation of African Americans was an accident. The ‘joy’ of the piece then, emerges from humorous impossibility of Blacks ever achieving a better life status.
While their is a hope for salvation with the coming of the millennium, it doesn’t make sense for this idea to be taken seriously with the light nature of the sheet music, especially compared the religiosity latent in Dauphin’s composition. Instead, the significance of both these pieces is that they deal with the idea not of blackface, but of whitewashing. What does this say about blackface performers that they would be willing to adopt blackface in order to sing about wishing they were white? Is it possible they were actually grateful for the life they were given based on their skin color? Or were they just rubbing it in?
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The Runaways in the 1970s.
The Runaways were one of the first all-female rock bands in the 1970s. They recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band was formed in 1975 by Joan Jett and Sandy West (rhythm guitarist/songwriter and drummer, respectively) with the help of producer Kim Fowley. After several arrangements of members, the “original” five were completed by Lita Ford on lead guitar, Cherie Currie on vocals and Jackie Fox on bass.
Best known for their single, “Cherry Bomb,” The Runaways were not well-known in the United States during the time that they were active, achieving greater success in Japan due to that single and a successful 1977 tour.
“Cherry Bomb,” inspired by Currie’s “cherry-blonde looks and name,” was written on the fly at her audition to be the lead singer of the band after she had shown up planning to sing Peggy Lee’s “Fever.” Combined with Currie’s choice to don a pink coset she bought from a small lingerie shop, the success of the song impounded as Currie’s sexual appearance added to her stage presence, increasing the appeal of the song to their audiences. The song became the Runaway’s anthem and fight song, and by blatantly using Currie’s sexuality and sexual appeal, they inspired many people to divert from societal expectations and become more daring in their dress and expression.1
In an interview for a 2010 issue of Goldmine magazine, Currie said that she is “proud of what The Runaways did [. . .] That we went from just kids in the Valley – and Huntington Beach and Long Beach – to following our dreams and standing up there for the rights of girls and women everywhere, that [showed that] hey, we can do this and we can do it as well as [men] can.”
Shortly after their tour of Japan came to a close before 1978, the band’s lineup as followers commonly know it disbanded with Currie leaving. Throughout the band’s existence, the group has had five different bassists (Micki Steele, Peggy Foster, Jackie Fox, Vicki Blue and Laurie McAllister). Three members remained relatively unchanged: Joan Jett on vocals and guitar, Lita Ford on guitar and Sandy West on drums. The “original five” appear on their first three albums together, and for the final two, West, Blue, Ford and Jett performed as a quartet. Due to disagreements over which direction the band should go in musically, the band split up in 1979.
After their breakup, each member went on to pursue their own projects. Joan Jett went on to found Blackheart Records, through which she wrote and performed music as Joan Jett and the Blackhearts as well as helping other artists with furthering their work. Currie is under contract on Jett’s Blackhearts label and spends the majority of her time chainsaw carving after spending years as a drug counselor for addicted and at-risk teens. Ford and West worked on music together for a time that did not come to much fruition and are now involved with their own projects.
The Runaways were important to the rock genre because they were one of the pioneering all-female groups in the 1970s. Continuing in the vein of all-female musical acts prior to the 1970s, The Runaways trod into the unfamiliar territory of the male-dominated rock genre, using their sexuality as a mode for making their music accessible and appearing “less threatening” to male listeners as they sang songs about female liberation and rebellion to the pulse of heavy rock. The Runaways were a truly subversive, producing music that fit into an already rebellious genre, they achieved international success in a field that was not immediately welcoming to them while deconstructing the stereotypes the rock music industry had for women breaking into the genre.
Bibliography
1. Lindblad, Peter. “The Runaways’ ‘Cherry Bomb’ gets a chainsaw.” Goldmine (10552685) 36, no. 8 (April 9, 2010): 44-46. Music Index, EBSCOhost(accessed April 21, 2015).
2. The Runaways. Cherry Bomb: Live in Japan. Concert excerpt, Japan 1977.
by Stephen Sweeney
During class last week, we focused on musical theater in the United States and its “American-ness.” I thought it would be a fun adventure to dig through some of our musical theater history at St. Olaf. Below is an article from April of 1980 in the St. Olaf school newspaper Manitou Messenger.
It caught my eye when I read the title of the musical and it was Dames at Sea. It is, indeed, a rags-to-riches story about a variety of women actresses, or the “dames” in the musical. The director of the show, mentioned here as Margerum, refers to its patriotism as a story resembles the idea of the American dream. Margerum also points out the coincidence of picking this play before “all of the war news came out,” and I’m assuming he’s speaking about the Cold War.
However, what I found to be the most exciting about this news page was the role of women in theater, and how both articles offered different viewpoints on the subject. Although the Dames at Sea story has very stereotypical love triangle (or hexagon) theme, the women are the centerpiece of the story, and provide the vessel through which the American dream is fulfilled. The article directly below this, however, offers a different view on feminism, sponsoring a theater production revolving around a woman and her “survival of the brutal sixteenth-century frontier.”
I guess I just find some pride that even in 1980 the St. Olaf community was fighting for feminism. Some people think of the Women’s Rights movement as something that happened in the late 1800’s with women’s suffrage, and then is continued today in modern feminism. However, just 4 years before this article in The Manitou Messenger was published, it was still legal for a husband to rape his wife. In 1978, just two years before this article, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed, forbidding employers to discriminate hiring, firing, or forced leave based on women’s pregnancy. Those laws were found on a women’s rights timeline site found here and the rest of the timeline can be viewed if you like. There are many more in different encyclopedias and on the web, too! With that being said, it looks like St. Olaf was just following in the footsteps of years before, continuing to keep feminism in discussion among the St. Olaf community, and I’m glad this tradition has continued.
by herndon
As evidenced by the artwork on the album cover and liner notes of this 1961 LP recording of Richard Strauss’s Salome, 1 the artists involved in making this recording aimed to create an atmosphere of exoticness, the East, and “Otherness.” On the cover, Birgit Nillson, who plays Salome, bears her teeth and pointed, red nails in a vicious, animalistic stance, and on the liner notes, the illustration focuses around the exotic peacock motif.
The opera aims to portray “Otherness” in more ways than just the visual. In terms of the libretto, as the liner notes state, “Its exotic language caresses an exposed nerve in the type of elegant audience for which it was written.” As for the music, the notes read, “Strauss enclosed Wilde’s drama in music that is . . . extraordinarily concise yet lavish in detail. Mood is everything: from the first clarinet notes one is plunged into the Byzantine night and the tension is never relaxed.” With Salome, Strauss aimed to create a comprehensive portrait of the “East” through which to portray a story of violence and immorality.
As I listened to the final scene of Salome on Halvorson Music Library’s own copy of this LP, I noticed several elements of auditory “Otherness” in the music. At the beginning of the scene, sudden crashes of brass and percussion are reminiscent of Classical era uses of the sublime to convey terrifying foreignness. Surprising keys and chromatic turns have a similar effect. Toward the end of the scene, Strauss conveys exoticism through the clarinet, whose chromatic motif evokes the Asian/North African street tradition of snake charming. As the opera ends, percussion reverberates like a gong (there may even be a gong in the second recording below) and a blaring trumpet enters unexpectedly to play the closing melody. I included a Youtube recording of the Vienna Philharmonic with Birgit Nillson 2 (similar to the LP recording I listened to) as well as a Youtube recording of Nillson at the Metropolitan Opera 3 for an American comparison. I noticed that the closing trumpet in the Met version sounded even more raw, jazz-like, and surprising than its European counterpart. Perhaps this is because, for white Americans, jazz automatically signifies a racial “Other” as well as lowbrow music.
All of these “exotic” elements are so noticeable, however, because the basic auditory backdrop of Salome is Western. The orchestra consists of European instruments (like the clarinet) that play in an “Eastern” manner instead of actual instruments from ancient Judea (southern Israel) where the opera takes place. Too, the unexpected harmonies–while used in an Orientalist manner–are not uncommon for a piece of Modern music, so they would not have been scandalous to the ear when Salome first arrived.
So how does all of this relate to American music? Let us put the music of Salome in the context of its failed opening performance at the Met in 1907. As the audience watches a high art version of Salome portraying subversive female sexuality through dance, it also hears music that evokes the “East” but ultimately asks to be taken seriously as high art. The European fabric of Strauss’s music makes it difficult for audiences to dismiss it as inferior, but the “exotic” auditory decorations are frequent enough to cause discomfort. For this reason, the music of Salome contributed to the tensions over legitimate and non-legitimate art that caused the Met audience to reject the opera.
Footnotes
1 Strauss, Richard. Strauss: Salome / Solti, Nillson, Vienna Philharmonic. Decca 000692102, 1961, LP.
2 “Richard Strauss: Salome (Solti),” Youtube video, posted by Scherzo Music, September 25, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8lug09n1VQ .
3 “Birgit Nilsson “Salome’s final Scene” Salome,” Youtube video, posted by Addiobelpassato, November 9, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU_xMlOCyqw .
Reply
It seems St. Olaf has been hesitant to embrace Jazz as a sound musical genre, especially in regard to liturgical music. In this 1968 article of the Manitou Messenger, Ms. Berglund summarized a student jazz liturgy setting performed in chapel and asks questions that point to Jazz as a potentially profane and intrusive art form for worship. “Is jazz profaned by its association with night-clubs or can it also be a song of praise?”[1]
Contrast this with an article from 1977, when The Preservation Hall Jazz Band visited St. Olaf in what the Manitou Messenger calls the “most enthusiastically received concert at St. Olaf.”[2] The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is made up of a pool of musicians that rotate over the years, but was started by Allan and Sandra Jaffe in 1961 New Orleans, who were interested in preserving the traditional jazz style free from commercial imperatives.[3] Becoming famous by touring and recording, Preservation Hall is internationally known and remains one of the popular tourist sites of New Orleans, so of course it was a big deal that they came to our humble little bubble at St. Olaf.
The writer goes on to say that “everybody has heard Dixieland jazz before, but this concert gave us all a chance to see and hear a jazz band doing it the way it was originally done. This style influenced every form of American music since 1900, from Joplin’s rags to Chicago’s rock.” Perhaps due to a lack of curriculum on jazz at St. Olaf at the time, or general lack of scholarship, the writer has a misconception that jazz influenced ragtime, when in reality the syncopated rhythms of ragtime along with the blues style are cited as the origins of jazz. In addition, to assume that the concert of 1977 was a presentation of how jazz was originally done is a pretty bold claim, considering any time a performance claims some kind of authenticity, there are certain details/styles included and excluded. These two examples suggest St. Olaf is not a little bubble, filled with scholarly prowess and immune to the world’s ideals. The stereotypes about the origins of jazz and its perceived development as a “profane” style pervade music history as well as St. Olaf history. We can’t say St. Olaf, as an academic and music institution, was above these problematic notions about Jazz then, so my question is, has much changed?
[1] Marcie Berglund, “Lent services feature Heckman’s jazz liturgy,” Manitou Messenger, March 1, 1968.
[2] Mike Stiegler, “Original Jazz Preserved for Olaf Audience,” Manitou Messenger, March 4, 1977.
[3] Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed, s.v. “Preservation Hall Jazz Band.”
2
This week two records are thrown into the cage and only one will be the victor. First up is After the Ball: A Treasury of Turn-of-the Century Popular Songs. Including songs “After the Ball”, “Good Bye, My Lady Love”, “Will You Love Me in December As You Do in May?”, and many other great hits from 1892 – 1905. These songs are all performed by soprano Joan Morris and pianist William Bolcom. The album features liner notes from Joan Morris as well.
In the other corner is Where Have We Met Before?: Forgotten Songs from Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. This record boasts tracks such as “Where Have We Met Before?”, “What Can You Say in a Love Song?”, “You Forgot Your Gloves”, and other forgettable tunes from 1931-1939 and 1944-1947. These songs are performed by all sorts of bands, small groups, and orchestras. The album is defended and presented by theorist Milton Babbit. Which of course begs the question, “Who cares if Milton Babbitt listens to unsuccessful tunes from years past?”
A serious difference between these two contenders is their (re)interpretation of the songs. In the case of Morris and Bolcom, they create a team that likely would have been familiar in the homes of first listeners. Most of these early songs success depended on sheet music sales which meant that common, untrained musicians had to like them and buy them for casual performance and entertainment. However these songs also would have been initially presented on stage for Broadway productions and had slightly larger orchestrations than voice + piano.
In contrast Where Have We Met Before? gives us original recordings that are all within a year of the publication or first performance of the song. In his liner notes, Milton Babbitt gives an overview of the history of the songs from sheet music to radio to movies and back again. Babbitt also delves into questions of genre in popular music and what it means that these songs all present similar form and style as our other contender, but either didn’t sell or did and were forgotten. Most of these songs are written by Tin Pan Alley greats Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein, among others. Babbitt argues that these songs were a victim of history, caught between favored genre and technological change.
Of course there is the ever present issue of Milton Babbitt as our liner note writer. Babbitt gives these songs meaning that they might never have had otherwise. Why present songs that were forgotten if you are a distinguished theoretical mind and professor. My personal theory is that while Babbitt was spending all of those hours in university basements composing and putting together his pieces he listened to these obscure pop songs from the 30s and 40s and found love for them. More on the point, does Babbitt give these songs undue authority? Do these songs represent something that the successful ones cannot? Do they mean more because they were written and forgotten, but Milton Babbitt says that we should listen to them?
Perhaps it is just a way to pay homage to great writers and songsters that are not appreciated fully and only remembered for a few super hits. Possibly it has something to do with a little blurb at the bottom of the page.
This could be Babbitt’s ego manifesting itself as a Tin Pan Alley fan.
by bergka
Oklahoma! the musical opened on Broadway in 1943, the first written by the Rodgers and Hammerstein duo. The musical premiered during WWII when this show was needed to provide an escape for Americans from the horrors of war. It ran on people’s nostalgia for the great American West and a time of “no conflict.” The show, interestingly, leaves out Native Americans and any hints of conflicts that actually occurred in the Midwest.
Oklahoma! centers around a cowboy named Curly, his romance farm girl Laurey, and Jud the farm hand who Laurey develops feelings for later on. It’s set in the town of Calremore, OK in 1906. Laurey and Curly represent the “wholesome American” ideal that was common in mythic story around WWII. Cleanliness and a separation from “animal nature” in humans was a critical part of this image, and it was science and technology that were seen as essential to their achievement. For example, women during this time were discouraged from nursing their babies; bottles were considered more hygienic than human tissue. “Scientifically-concocted” formal was said to be more wholesome and nutritious than breast milk. Modern was equated with wholesome and good.
By tapping into this “modern” movement, Oklahoma! became a raging success. It ran on Broadway for over 5 years. According to the Manitou Messenger, even the St. Olaf Theater Dept. put on its own production of Oklahoma! in 1962.
Recently, Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre’s 2012 made waves with its production of Oklahoma! with its choice to reflect the historical presence of African Americans in the Oklahoma territory because it amplified “one of the ugliest stereotypes in our history: an imposing black man ravaging a petite white woman and the white hero.” 1 It made “clear references to lynching…the “Dream Ballet” had a sinister, sexual tone and ended with Jud dragging Laurey away to be raped.”
Jud appears to be keeping Laurey and Curly apart in the “Dream Sequence” in 5th Ave. Theatre’s 2012 production of Oklahoma! 3
One critic wrote “Rothstein’s (the director) Oklahoma! is now the story of a crazy, sex obsessed black man … lusting violently after his white mistress, who ends up murdered at the hands of a white man, who gets off scot free after a mock trial.” 2
So what’s worse? The original Oklahoma! blatantly leaves out all minority groups to try an create this sense of nostalgia for “simpler times.” But, the 2012 Seattle version obviously reinforces horrendous stereotypes in an attempt to include African Americans in the show. Should we try to include minority groups that were originally written out of the show or try and fit them in? It seems like neither is a great option…
1 Brodeur, Nicole. “Oklahoma Seen in a New Light.” The Seattle Times. Feb 20, 2012. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nicolebrodeur/2017557140_nicole21m.html
2 Strangeways, Michael. “Oklahoma at the 5th Avenue Is a Bit Problematic.” Seattle Gay Scene. Feb 10, 2012. http://www.seattlegayscene.com/2012/02/review-oklahoma-at-the-5th-avenue-is-a-bit-problematic.html
1
“Fiorello” was the 1959 Tony Award-winning hit that had made Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick a famous Broadway duo. Their next project: turning Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye Stories into a musical that “just happened to be Jewish.” 1 Bock and Harnick had personally, for the most part, left Jewish religious observance and Yiddish behind. However, they still wanted to engage with Aleichem’s themes and historical implications with their next project.
2 In 1964, Fiddler on the Roof made its Broadway debut at the Imperial Theater, encompassing perceptions before and after WWII of Jewish identity, as well as bringing “Jewishness” into popular American culture.
Hal Prince, who was financially backing the show (and who also happened to be Jewish) made clear that he would only support the show if Jerome Robbins (who had just done West Side Story (1957)) directed. However, it was very unlikely that Robbins would want to work on the project, as he had made clear that he “didn’t want to be a Jew…he learned ballet to escape the wondrous and monstrous dance steps he feared he’d find by digging down to his Jew self.” 3
However, in 1959, Robbins had taken a trip to Poland in search of the Jewish village Rozhanka, where his father was born and he had such fond childhood memories. However, the village had been destroyed in the war, which Solomon argues is what “primed Robbins to lavish such tenderness upon the fictional Anatevka” and he agreed to direct Fiddler. 4
5 Robbins drew from shtetl histories and hosted screenings of “Laughter through Tears,” a film that depicts Jewish life in pre-revolutionary Soviet Russia for the show’s costume and set designers in hopes that they would draw ideas for the show from it. Robbins also crashed Jewish weddings with cast members in hasidic dress in Brooklyn’s Borough Park to observe the “schnapps-fuelled dancing.” He even attempted to bring Othodox social customs to the rehearsal hall by enforcing gender segregation, but his attempt only lasted a few hours before the actors rebelled!
Robbins interviewed his father about his escape from Rozhanka and modeled Yente after his memories of his Yiddish-speaking maternal grandmother, whose “Jewish backward ways he’d previously despised.” 6
7 Zero Mostel, the original Tevye complimented Robbins with his superior knowledge of Yiddish literature and Jewish customs. It was Mostel who insisted that Tevye would never neglect to kiss the mezuza when passing through the doorway of his home, and Mostel who persuaded Harnick not to cut the verse in which Tevye dreams of a synagogue seat by the Eastern Wall from “If I Were a Rich Man.”
The song was inspired by the 1902 monologue by Sholem Aleichem in Yiddish, Ven ikh bin a Rothschild (If I were a Rothschild), a reference to the wealth of the Rothschild family. The lyrics are based on passages of Aleichem’s “The Bubble Bursts,” one of his short stories.
In the first two verses, Tevye dreams of the material comfort wealth would bring to him. I see this as Tevye’s character being drawn to “mainstream American culture” that values consumerism and capitalism, especially in postwar society.
In the final verse, Tevye further considers his devotion to God, expressing his sorrow that his long working hours are preventing him from spending more time in the synagogue praying and studying the Torah. I see this as Tevye’s character further being drawn back by his Jewish roots and culture and away from the temptation of materialism.
Finally he ends by asking God if “it would spoil a vast eternal plan” if he were wealthy. I believe this is Tevye summarizing his internal identity conflict with asking God how he can balance mainstream culture with his strong faith.
1 Solomon, Alisa. Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof. New York: Picador, 2014.
6 Solomon, 2014.
7 Bock, Jerry & Harnick, Sheldon. “If I were a rich man.” Fiddler on the Roof. New York: Sunbeam Music Corp., 1964. http://mainemusicbox.library.umaine.edu/musicbox/pages/full_record.asp?id=VP_002550
1
The entry on Grove Music Online under “Cakewalk” describes an origin of the contest from slaves on plantations in the American South. Claude Conyer, the author, explains how the dance became a “strutting parade” parodying the fancy manners of the white slaveholders. In Conyer’s origin story, the first cakewalks happened around 1850 and inspired the popular comedic minstrel shows that were all the rage. However, minstrel shows were popular earlier on, beginning in the 1820s and continuing with the Virginia Minstrels’ first show in 1843.
Which came first? Did slaves dress to the nines in order to make fun of the overly glamorous plantation owners, therefore creating a political statement? Or did minstrels originate the “Zip Coon” figure, dressed to the nines as a favorite stereotype?
Does it matter?
Conyer’s simple statement is an example of the entire history of minstrel song and the misappropriation of Black Americans in minstrelsy. He goes on to describe how the dance was performed as a grand parade entrance, dancers wearing ridiculously fashionable attire and exaggerating every gesture. The accompanying music to the cakewalk often contained characteristics of early ragtime: syncopated rhythms and leaping bass lines. One example of a two-step or cakewalk piece is Kerry Mills’ “At a Georgia Camp Meeting,” composed in 1897.
——
A camp meeting took place,
by the colored race;
There were coons large and small,
lanky lean fat and tall,
At this great coon camp-meeting.
Chorus
When that band of darkies began to play
Pretty music so gay hats were then thrown away
Thought them foolish coons their necks would break
When they quit laughing and talking
And went to walking, for a big choc’late cake.
The lyrics to this piece describe a culture without substance, intelligence, or more than base desires. Every person at the gathering is labeled as a “coon,” and the “foolish coons” walk a cakewalk because no desire could be greater than a chocolate cake.
Although Sterns in Jazz Dance explains that “Negro specialists…everywhere were much in demand” (Stearns 42), it is obvious that even those attending cakewalks were only looking for material to be used as commercial gain. The endearingly simple “coon” sold seats and gained laughter and applause. But now the history of minstrelsy, more well-preserved than the history of Black culture, corrupts what we actually attribute to Black Americans.
Now that takes the cake.
Sources
Claude Conyers. “Cakewalk.” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed April 14, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2092374.
Stearns, Marshall and Jean. Jazz Dance : The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1968.
“At a Georgia Camp Meeting.” Kerry Mills. :: Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Popular Sheet Music. Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Popular Sheet Music. Web. 14 Apr. 2015. <http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/fa-spnc/id/14135/show/14129/rec/4>.
1
If you were to open the VHS vaults in many homes you would find many unique tapes. There may be some home videos, possibly last year’s Christmas special that you recorded, but almost certainly there would be a Disney film or two (or 17). The Walt Disney Company, originally known as The Disney Brothers Studio, was founded in 1923. Since its establishment, Disney has produced dozens of films that have become staples in the entertainment industry and, as Walt himself always said, “it was all started by a mouse.”
Mickey Mouse is arguably the most beloved Disney character and he got his debut performance in November of 1928 in the animated short Steamboat Willie. Steamboat Willie marks a turning point in the world of cartoon entertainment, as it was the first cartoon to use synchronized sound. This technological advance opened the door for music of the era to take a ride on a new venue and broaden its reach as a popular song of the day.
If you have not actually seen Steamboat Willie, I invite you to do so! It is truly a piece of Americana.
There are two musical selections that can be heard in Steamboat Willie: “Steamboat Bill” and “Turkey in the Straw.”
“Steamboat Bill” cover: Obtained from Duke University, Digital Collections
“Turkey in the Straw” cover: Obtained from University of California, Archive of Popular American Music
Melody from “Steamboat Bill”: Obtained from Duke University, Digital Collections
“Steamboat Bill” is the first song we hear in the animated short. Originally written by the Leighton Brothers in 1910, “Steamboat Bill” gained immense popularity in the 1910s and 1920s to the point that the movie Steamboat Bill Jr. was named after the tune. So where exactly can we hear the tune of “Steamboat Bill” in Steamboat Willie? Undoubtably the most iconic element of the short is Mickey Mouse standing at the wheel and whistling away. That tune is actually the chorus of the popular song, “Steamboat Bill!” If you’re able, whistle the tune and you’ll see it is a perfect match!
Screenshot of Steamboat Willie and the music for “Turkey in the Straw”
So what about “Turkey in the Straw?” Well our first encounter with the piece is actually in its physical form. After landing on the steamboat, Minnie Mouse drops her music which includes the famous “Turkey in the Straw” which is quick consumed by a goat. The goat is converted into a record player of sorts and a minstrel-esque performance begins, complete with a washboard and a set of pots and pans.
What is the importance here. This course pushes us to look beyond the “song and dance” if you will, and search for historical context. Mickey Mouse is a beloved character known to millions around the world who got his start in “minstrelsy”. Is he in “blackface”? Not exactly, but in examining his actions it is pretty clear that he is, in fact, performing in the minstrel tradition. “Turkey in the Straw” is a song historically know for being a part of minstrelsy and the instrumentation and exaggerated movements of his performance reinforce the tradition.
1
After Salome’s “Dance of the Seven Veils” hit the United States in 1907 in Strauss’s opera, an outbreak of “Salomania” occurred in which many songs and dances in the popular sphere took on a Salome theme. By 1908, vaudeville and burlesque shows were full of different Salomes, from “When Miss Patricia Salome Did Her Funny Little Oo La Palmoe” to “My Sunburned Salome” to “The Dusky Salome.” What all of these representations of Salome have in common is the fact that none of them are authentic to the opera’s portrayal of Salome and none of them try to be. The writers of such songs capitalized on inauthenticity, giving audiences exaggerated, drag-like performances of stock characters so far from reality that audiences could enjoy them. 1
One stock character used for Salome was the white, American girl-gone-wild, and another was the overly ambitious African American woman performer. 2 “The Dusky Salome” (lyrics below; listen here 3 ) portrays the latter:
The fair Evaline was a ragtime queen
with a manner sentimental;
But she sighed for a chance at a classical dance
with a movement oriental.
When lovesick coons with ragtime tunes
sang, “Babe, you’ve got to show me,”
She’d answer, “Bill, you bet I will,
I’m going to dance Salome.
Oh, oh me, that’ll show me, For
CHORUS: [the music shifts to ragtime]
I want a coon who can spoon to the tune of Salome.
I’ll make him giggle with a brand new wiggle that’ll show me;
In a truly oriental style,
With a necklace and a dreamy smile
I’ll dance to the coon who can spoon to the tune of Salome.
One musical coon said tonight I’ll spoon
where the fair Salome lingers.
When she danced ’round the place he just covered his face
but he looked right thro’ his fingers.
He sighed “It’s grand my heart and hand
I’d give to see you do it,”
She only said: “Give me your head
I’ll dance Salome to it,”
I’ll woo it, that’ll do it. For 4
“The Dusky Salome” parodies that idea that Salome could be used to bridge the gap from low art to high art and from blackness to whiteness. This idea is ironic because Salome’s dance in Strauss’s opera is not traditional high art–it contains the exoticized sexuality more typical of popular music and usually required of African American women. Ultimately, the song reinforces the idea that sexuality, foreignness, and blackness belong to low art, not high.
What’s more, the song’s mixing of musical genres, use of “oriental” sounding lower neighbors (m. 16), and use of stock-characters (including the pejorative c–n character popular in minstrelsy) verifies popular song as a place of cheap thrills and commodification. The cover of the sheet music for the book in which “The Dusky Salome” appears explains it all with a male actor playing Hamlet but holding the head of John the Baptist as Salome does when she kisses it. The intent of this odd melange is obviously humor based on inauthenticity, not edification, which was reserved for the classical sphere.
To conclude, songs like “The Dusky Salome” served to maintain the distinction between lowbrow music and highbrow music, perpetuating a binary system that kept sexuality and “otherness” at the bottom and edification and whiteness at the top.
Footnotes
1 Larry Hamberlin, “Visions of Salome: The Femme Fatale in American Popular Songs before 1920,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 59/3 Fall 2006, pp. 631-696.
2 Ibid.
3 Jerome, Benjamin, Edward Madden, and Maude Raymond. The Dusky Salome. Recorded August 2, 1909. Victor, 1909, Streaming Audio. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/1586
4 Jerome, Benjamin and Edward Madden. “The Dusky Salome.” In Eddie Foy in Mr. Hamlet of Broadway. New York: Trebuhs, 1908.
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Have you ever noticed that many ragtime tunes sound the same? Listen to the following two clips for their similar harmonic motion/progressions, the similarity in rhythmic syncopation/complexity, and form. Each have a general intro and short repeated sections, which unless you have become very familiar with the tune are very hard to remember.
The Felicity Rag:
The Ragtime Goblin Man:
How is it possible that publishing companies could sell something so similar sounding and make it popular? It is clear that the Felicity Rag’s cover draws on minstrel like, simian caricatures, while the Ragtime Goblin Man has an enticing cover with a devil-like character controlling two musicians who according to the lyrics will get caught by the goblin and be made to join his ragtime band. Even thought the tunes’ striking similarity make them seem unmarketable, they have been made unique and sensationalized by their evocative front cover art and titles/lyrics. Publishers, composers, and artists who could appeal to the popularity of minstrelsy, the exotic, or the romantic, had successful marketing strategies for popular music. On one hand, it is problematic to have popular tunes, that “represent” different meanings, sound the same because there is a whole lot more complexity to music across cultural/racial/imaginative boundaries. On the other hand, it would be inappropriate to put a minor mode or augmented second in the ragtime tune that is named for Jewish culture or another Other as was done in Schultzmeier Rag, a Yiddish novelty.
Now, thinking about today’s popular music, with similar harmonic progressions, rhythmic variations, and subjects, the marketing strategies really haven’t changed that much. When you think about the image sold with the music, whether it is the caricatured lifestyle of a celebrity, or the sensational lyrics, today’s popular music continues these successful marketing strategies at the expense of perpetuating problematic stereotypes.
1
As the composer of such quintessentially American songs such as “God Bless America” “White Christmas” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, Irving Berlin’s music can be quickly defined as American music. In spite of his exceptional ability to capture the spirit of America, he was born in Belarus formerly the Soviet Union (although his family emigrated to the United States when he was five).
Irving Berlin composed ballads, dance numbers, novelty tunes and love songs that defined American popular song. Later in life, Berlin was credited to being a songwriter who reflected the feeling of the crowd. In saying this, Berlin could capture that common American talk and made those words and feelings into poetry and music that was simple and graceful and easy to understand and connect to.
Berlin wrote his first song “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” in 1911 later receiving great acclaim and eventually selling over one million copies of sheet music.
Not only acclaimed for his brilliant compositional style, Berlin was also attributed to his skillful ability to write his own text. In each piece his words could relate to any listener and earned a generally high approval of any work that he did. Over five decades Irving Berlin was able to keep up with the trending styles and wrote music and lyrics for close to 1,000 songs during his lifetime.
Through the myriad of genres and audiences to which he contributed, Irving Berlin assimilated into the American culture for which he was one of the primary providers. In 1988 at Carnegie Hall, famous musicians speakers and fans gathered to commemorate Berlin’s works on his 100th birthday. Irving Berlin lived to be 101.
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“Irving Berlin’s Alexander’s Ragtime Band.” Irving Berlin’s Alexander’s Ragtime Band. :: Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Popular Sheet Music. Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Popular Sheet Music. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://contentdm.baylor.edu/cdm/ref/collection/fa-spnc/id/18342>.
“IRVING BERLIN’S 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION .28.” YouTube. YouTube. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uV4frZIkIQ&feature=player_embedded>.
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American composer and performer, Edwin Pearce Christy, was an influential person in the history of Minstrelsy and theater in American history. His career in minstrelsy began in New York in the 1840s and from there he became a sensation. He and six other performers performed around the country in black-face and eventually he began composing his own minstrel songs and sketches. In 1855 he retired as a performer, but he continued to be involved in the theater as he managed his original group Christy’s Minstrels. This early form of minstrelsy was surely racist and prejudice, as slavery was still legal in the southern states. Here are a few examples of his work (note the cherubs are in black face surrounding Christy’s portrait… narcissistic racism at its’ finest.):
The tune in the image above, “Happy Are We Darkies So Gay” is yet another false portrayal of the African American sentiment. Slaves were not happy to be enslaved, and the minstrel shows went out of their way to satirically demonstrate a falsehood among white audiences that African American individuals liked doing menial work on plantations. Stephen Foster, a colleague of Christy but more well-known, created similar portrayals of plantation life through music and sketches. However, Foster was perhaps more admirable in that he sought to ‘eliminate objectionable lyrics’ that didn’t serve any purpose but to degrade that African American race. This was either a tactic to gain more supporters, thus a social and political move to further his career or maybe he truly had a kind(er) heart.
Fun fact: Christy committed suicide during the American Civil War for fear of money troubles…
Bibliography:
Saunders, Steven. “The Social Agenda of Stephen Foster’s Plantation Melodies.” American Music 30.3 (2012): 275-89. JSTOR. University of Illinois Press. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Christy, Edwin Pearce. “Happy Are We Darkies So Gay.” New York : Jaques and Brother: 1847. The Mills Music Library Digital Collection. http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WebZ/FETCH?sessionid=01-64337-741693744:recno=1:resultset=1:format=F:next=html/nffull.html:bad=error/badfetch.html&entityimageSize=x
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Almost all of us know the melody of “Turkey in the Straw,” whether singing it at summer camp when we were kids or singing along with The Wiggles before school. The song “Zip Coon” is also based off of same melody and was most popular in the 1830’s and 40’s when it was sung in minstrel shows to depict the “coon” stereotype. Despite its controversial racist lyrics, the melody is catchy and works well for dancing.
When minstrelsy was becoming popular, so were the tunes that were being performed. What better way for people to enjoy these famous songs but to dance to them as well? One of the popular dance forms during the 1840’s was the quadrille, which is related to square dancing today. It contained six parts and four couples would dance in a square formation. This composition features six popular tunes from minstrel shows, including “Zip Coon” and “Jim Crow,” and uses these tunes as the six parts of the quadrille. The cover features depictions of many famous minstrel show stereotypes.
[1]
By the 1920’s, slavery was abolished with the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 following the American Civil War. However, segregation remained strongly prevalent throughout the United States. The mindset of white supremacy among non-African American citizens pervaded even into their music. In this arrangement of “Turkey in the Straw” by Otto Bonnell and arranged by Calvin Groom, the cover of the sheet music features an African American man playing a banjo.
[2]
Or so it seems.
Upon closer inspection, the depiction of the man is clearly referencing blackface. When compared with the cover of “The Crow Quadrilles,” the large eyes and clown-like red lips are a means of hearkening back to the “good old days” of minstrelsy. The man is also missing teeth and his hands have an animalistic quality to them, characterizing the African American as less than human.
[2]
The tune of “Turkey in the Straw” is set as an innocuous foxtrot in this arrangement with no racial implications. However, with the cover depicting African Americans in such a condescending fashion, it is clear the intent of the music is to invoke a feeling of nostalgia to a time when white men owned slaves. In that case, this piece is not any less offensive today than “The Crow Quadrilles.” Instead of titling it “Turkey in the Straw,” it may have just as well been labeled as a foxtrot based on “Zip Coon.”
1. Ashley, Robert. “The Crow Quadrilles.” New York City, NY: C.T. Geslain, 1845. http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15037coll1/id/6875.
2. Bonnell, Otto. “Turkey in the Straw.” Arr. by Calvin Grooms. New York City, NY: Leo Feist Inc., 1921. http://digital.library.msstate.edu/cdm/ref/collection/SheetMusic/id/24823.
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Henry T. Finck wrote in Century Illustrated Magazine about Edward MacDowell’s success in creating an American sound that is a “mixture of all that is best in European types, transformed by our climate into something resembling the spirit of American literature.” In fact Edward MacDowell has become well known as the writer of the 10 Woodland Sketches, including tunes such as “To a Wild Rose.”
Finck was specifically speaking of MacDowell’s Second Suite commonly known as the Indian Suite. As Finck points out, “the introduction has almost a Wagner touch thematically, but it is note for note Indian.” However, when have you listened to any type of Native American music and thought it sounded like Wagner? Even though MacDowell’s piece sounds western to our ears, MacDowell was trying to create a savage piece. However, The fact of the matter is that Edward MacDowell used the transcriptions of Native American by Theodore Baker entitled On the Music of the North American Indians. These tunes have been written down on a western staff using western notational conventions. As you may know, Western staff notation can only speak in notes and rhythms but fails to represent all the subtle dips and bends in pitch.
Yes, I would agree that Edward MacDowell’s Indian Suite is a note-for-note representation of Theodore Baker’s transcription, but I believe that it cannot be considered note-for-note Native American. Native American music’s style is so distinctive from Western style that I think it is impossible from western music to properly represent all the Native American music has to offer.
All Quotations from:
Finck, Henry T. “AN AMERICAN COMPOSER: EDWARD A. MACDOWELL.” Century Illustrated Magazine (1881-1906) LIII, no. 3 (01, 1897): 448. http://search.proquest.com/docview/125517908?accountid=351.
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Much of the success of The Jazz Singer in 1927 is due to the massive popularity of the star Al Jolson. Regular concert goers and musical theater fans were familiar with Jolson who performed to sold-out audiences at the Winter Garden theater on Broadway. Jolson began performing in blackface make-up early in his career when he realized that it made him even more popular. [1] Most of the music featured in the film is either traditional Jewish music such as Kaddish and Kol Nidre, or popular music of the time.
The popular music comes from successful writers Paul Dresser, Lewis Muir, Irving Berlin, and Walter Donaldson, among others. The popular music is all written and published before the filming of The Jazz Singer. Jolson often graces the covers of these published tunes, illustrating just how public he was in the music that he performed. While the movie plot follows the course of an aspiring minstrel singer, it basically functions as a minstrel show on film. This makes sense of course, but also falls to the problems with minstrel shows. Even more, the popularity of the movie comes from the popularity of Jolson and the music he has already made popular.
The movie is an attempt to gain as much publicity as possible by including several popular songs and a most popular actor, Jolson. Using the minstrel techniques to gain popularity ignores where they come from and places them on a stage which legitimized blackface as a way to confront discrimination on all accounts.
[1] Oberfirst, Robert. Al Jolson: You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet. (London: Barnes & Co., 1980), 61-80.
Sheet Music Consortium
Library of Congress
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Bebop was a jazz form birthed from a revolt against popularized commercial music. As such, it was bound to have backlash and evoke strong reactions among the listeners. While researching this topic, I didn’t expect to find what I did: throughout decades of this music being around, the reactions have been somewhat… racist. And the racist remarks coincidentally point to the Chinese. See for yourself, as the article below shows a conversation at the U.N. which was published in the New York Times October of 1953.
This article aims to point out the bias of the Chinese interpreter at the U.N. discussion. As the English representative used the work “bepop” which was a cognate in 4 of the 5 languages present. However, the Chinese interpreter translated “bepop” to “vulgar music.” So why is this strange? Well on the front page regarding Bepop in the book Music in the Modern Age, there’s a quotation from Louis Armstrong as he disparagingly referred to Bepop as “Chinese music.” This is pretty funny, isn’t it? After all, the Chinese representative would probably disagree with Louis, unless he thinks Chinese music is vulgar.
A modern band today known as The Far Eastside Band even includes this quotation in their liner notes, calling out Louis on his lack of knowledge on the subject. They Proclaim something that Armstrong would never imagine: how American jazz could integrate the American greats like Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman with Asian instrumentation and improvisation. Those liner notes can be found here and they introduce their new album “Caverns.”
So why did I decide to write my post about this? I think the article really struck me and resonated when reading Armstrong’s quotation because this is not the first time in history it has happened. We have associated Eastern music with something that is different and, often, strange. Bepop was a strange form of jazz, and it was easy for listeners to describe it as Chinese with a negative connotation, labeling it strange and foreign, and perhaps unpleasant to listen to. Unfortunately, this trend has not disappeared, as film scorers often use pentatonic scales to invoke the environment of Eastern lands or foreign places, tying down that scale to just that one location. Even the soundtrack of Bug’s Life is ridden with this, and it won many music awards. I just think we as viewers and listeners need to be conscious of how we associate certain sounds with certain cultures, being careful to see music as an open connection where cultures and individuals can influence one another, not a stagnant and reliable sound to be scrutinized.
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Joan Baez with her guitar
The 1960s were a decade of political development and social unrest. American folk music became a method of conveying political ideas and protest, and the singer-songwriter fell into the important role as the purveyor and curator of civil disobedience. This style of folk music was adopted by college students who saw it as a meaningful vehicle for bringing about positive, humane change to the world. “Like Zen Buddhism and organic foods, folk music swept the colleges as a hip fad. Indeed, since the 1930s folk music had a close connection to the radical left in America (especially communists and socialists), and had increasingly been taken seriously by folklore scholars as a guide to past social mores.”
The prevalence of protest folk did not exist without criticism. Folk purists believed that protest songs were “pretentious, portentous and ponderous” and that folk-protest writers were “political hacks who wouldn’t recognize either folk music or folk style if it were walking along beside them in a peace march.”
Joan Baez was a folk singer-songwriter who made a name for herself in the 1960s (and then on) performing folk ballads. As the social and political climate heated up in the United States and around the world, Baez became a civil rights and universal nonviolence activist. “As the child of a decade of agitation, her attitudes and life-style evolved so smoothly that she seemed not to have changed at all. Joan blended into the protest tradition, into pacifism, into activism, into a publicized marriage and motherhood, into a vicarious martyrdom, . . . and finally into a national symbol for nonviolence.”1 She had a very appealing voice, which served her well in attracting audiences to her music.
Joan Baez wrote many songs of political and social protest, utilizing her distinct voice that became associated with the folk singer-songwriter genre. Saigon Bride is one of the songs she wrote, which appears on her 1967 album Joan. The following are the lyrics to Saigon Bride:
Farewell my wistful Saigon bride
I’m going out to stem the tide
A tide that never saw the seas
It flows through jungles, round the trees
Some say it’s yellow, some say red
It will not matter when we’re dead
How many dead men will it take
To build a dike that will not break?
How many children must we kill
Before we make the waves stand still?
Though miracles come high today
We have the wherewithal to pay
It takes them off the streets you know
To places they would never go alone
It gives them useful trades
The lucky boys are even paid
Men die to build their Pharoah’s tombs
And still and still the teeming wombs
How many men to conquer Mars
How many dead to reach the stars?
Farewell my wistful Saigon bride
I’m going out to stem the tide
A tide that never saw the seas
It flows through jungles, round the trees
Some say it’s yellow, some say red
It will not matter when we’re dead
Starting out on a local scale in California, Baez ended up playing at the Newport Folk Festival in 1960 and then signing onto Vanguard Records for the next 12 years. Baez played many shows internationally and during the Vietnam War, she began playing internationally, including a show in Tokyo, Japan in January 1967. At this show, the translator later admitted that he left out all of Baez’s political comments after being instructed to do so by a man who identified himself as a CIA agent.
Instead of interpreting her subtle antiwar sentiments in Saigon Bride, the interpreter told the audience that it was a song about the Vietnam War. It is interesting to see how time and again, governments have feared the strength of a song or piece of art. Instead of listening to something and learning about its meaning and background, we are told to move past that and consume something topically or refrain from interpreting and consuming it altogether.
Joan Baez is one of the first recognized folk protest singer-songwriters and someone who has really affected the style of political song today. With singer-songwriters pioneering the political song, it has moved through rock, country, to rap and hip hop. Political protest today takes its form in many ways and the efficacy of that art is dependent on the audience it reaches out to.
1. Rodnitzky, Jerome L. Minstrels of the dawn : the folk-protest singer as a cultural hero. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1976. x-87. Print.
2. Baez, Joan. Saigon Bride. Joan, CD, 1967.
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Zero Mostel and ensemble in the original Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof (1964) 1
After World War II, American Jews felt an increase in security and prosperity. There was a general decline in anti-semitism and an increase in political power. In parallel, many Jews pushed to assimilate economically, culturally, and symbolically in America. 2 In the making of the 1964 musical, initially investors, particularly Jewish investors, feared the show would be considered “too ethnic,” meaning “too Jewish.” Later, with Rosie O’Donnell starring in the 2004 Broadway revival, it wasn’t Jewish enough. 3
The story focuses on Tevye and his attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions, while outside influences encroach upon his family’s lives. He is forced to cope with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters, who marry for love instead of following the matchmaker, Yente’s choice. Each daughter’s husband moves further away from the customs of Tevye’s faith and the edict the Tsar has made that evicts Jews from their village.
I find this storyline to be perfect for a postwar hit in line with the recreating of Jewish identity. Jews in America are no longer concerned with security and genocide, and therefore must come to terms with their faith–often questioning God, their faith, Jewish law as is seen in Tevye’s character.
I think this is clearly seen by the opening song, Tradition, which explains the traditional roles and social classes in Anatevka and the villagers trying to continue their traditions and keep their society running as the world around them changes. This echoes the real-life struggle to reshape Jewish identity in the postwar era in America.
In an interview with the original Tevye, Zero Mostel, he describes Tevye as “universal…he has no nationality, because he symbolizes the underprivelaged in every country– no matter what adversary he meets, he just puffs up his chest and goes on.” 4 Even in Barbara Isenberg’s Tradition!: The Highly Improbable, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World’s Most Beloved Musical, she writes
“Fiddler has become a sort of tabula rasa for terrorism, repression, and prejudice that seems eternally pertinent. Warning that “horrible things are happening all over the land” could apply to Nazi Germany, Vietnam, or Iraq as much as to pre-revolutionary Russia…If you are running a theater and you want to make money, Fiddler is a shoe-in: It’s a show people always want to see.” It’s a little like saying diamonds are pretty because they sparkle.” 5
There seems to be quite a debate between Fiddler being too Jewish by creating a story centering around Jews so soon after World War II. But also and I think more so, that Fiddler isn’t Jewish enough because Jews (like the investors) wanted to tame the Jewishness of the show in order to appeal to a wide audience. Ultimately, the goal any Broadway is to sell tickets and fill seats. Perhaps though in the process of selling seats and appeasing a wide audience, much of Sholem Aleichem’s original story may have been misinterpreted and/or misrepresented.
1 http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=1894114&imageID=psnypl_the_5222&word=Fiddler%20on%20the%20Roof&s=1¬word=&d=&c=&f=&k=1&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&sort=&total=13&num=0&imgs=20&pNum=&pos=7
2 Ciment, James. “The Meaning of Jewishness.” Postwar America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History. New York: Routledge, 2015
3 Isenberg, Barbara. Too Jewish?: The Making of Fiddler on the Roof. Los Angeles: St. Martin’s Press, 2014
4 Stang, Joanne. “At Home With Tevye.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Oct 04, 1964. http://search.proquest.com/docview/115569663?accountid=351.
5 Isenberg, Barbara. Too Jewish?: The Making of Fiddler on the Roof. Los Angeles: St. Martin’s Press, 2014
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The World’s Columbian Exposition, commonly known as the Chicago World’s Fair, of 1893 served as a turning point for America in many ways. The fair brought almost 1/3 of the country to see a Chicago reborn out of the ashes of the Great Fire of 1871, a shining White City representing the beautiful, though definitely idealized, America. As the world came to see the fair, many dignitaries and VIPs also visited.
Quinn Chapel, Chicago, IL.
In his mid-70s, the orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass was one of these VIPs. His visit to Chicago elicited a reception in his honor at the Quinn Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The program welcomed men and women of all races to celebrate and honor the achievements of the Hon. Mr. Douglass by presenting on topics like “Why our ministers love him,” “From a business standpoint,” “The mothers of the race,” etc. Between the presentations and speeches (many notably by African American speakers), the assembly joined in the singing of songs and hymns.
The reception’s organizers knew the power of music to connect people. Hymns especially unite the Christian faith together, reminding how similar people really are, no matter the color of their skin or their eyes, or the amount of money they have (“Amazing Grace” immediately comes to mind). One of the hymns sung at the event strikes me as especially poignant, “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” by Rev. John Fawcett, the pastor at a small church in Wainsgate, England, in the 18th century:
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.
We share each other’s woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.
This glorious hope revives
Our courage by the way;
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.
From sorrow, toil and pain,
And sin, we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity.
I can only imagine the power of that moment, races coming together to sing a message of unity and hope, praying for the future of love and friendship to come soon and free all from toil and pain. As modern-day musicians, we must remember that the ability of music to proclaim messages calling for social change makes it the responsibility of musicians to write about, compose, and trumpet messages like this one. Sometimes we need a reminder, for as Frederick Douglass, calling for the end of lynch law, said in his final remarks, “What [Americans] needed was a higher Christianity, one that is not ashamed of any of God’s children.” We still need that higher Christianity today.
“The Douglass Reception: An Exceptional Affair in Many Respects–Something of the Programme and Certain Participants.” Cleveland Gazette. December 9, 1893. http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:EANX&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=12DB0E0CC3A99F40&svc_dat=HistArchive:ahnpdoc&req_dat=102FE1F6CA316FA2.
Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church, 2401 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il0843.sheet.00006a/ (accessed April 7, 2015).
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On the week of her 100th birthday, Billie Holiday’s influence on American music is clear. Her style, tone, and storytelling abilities paved the way for a strong vocal jazz tradition. As the narrator in the Creative Arts Television’s 1959 documentary “Portrait of Billie” puts it: “Today, if you sing jazz and you’re a woman, you sing Billie Holiday. There’s no other way to do it. She wrote the text.” The way that women, or any performers, choose to interpret that text, is just as important as Holiday’s original recordings.
Cassandra Wilson has put considerable thought into interpretation. The jazz vocalist, who has been lauded for “embracing a wide range of American music,” has taken on the Billie Holiday songbook as her latest tribute project. She will perform the collection of rearrangements, entitled “Coming Forth by Day,” on April 8th at the Kennedy Center; the vocals will be accompanied by rocker Nick Cave’s rhythm section. When discussing the album in an NPR interview, she stressed that her goal was to avoid cliches and reinvent the songs. In her words, “I couldn’t wait…to do some wild and crazy things to it.”
When reading the NPR article, I was initially struck by Wilson’s desire to sing the music so differently. With some tribute projects (see most classic rock tribute acts, for example), the goal is often to mimic the original artist as much as possible. But with jazz, change is necessary. Wilson comments: “It’s beyond improper–it’s considered rude, in jazz, to imitate someone. So for me to do a tribute to Billie Holiday and imitate her style or her context would be almost insulting.”
I immediately thought about quoting, or using another artist’s melody in a piece. This is common practice in jazz, but in the context of another song, the quoted melody hardly ever has the same tone. Wilson will change the music, but her main focus is on changing the context. Her rendition of “Don’t Explain,” a song about a cheating lover, will have a more empowered perspective, as opposed to being told from a victim’s viewpoint. In today’s context, the song should sound fresh, free from cliches, and open to interpretation.
The latter half of “Portrait of Billie” does some quoting of its own. At the 19-minute mark, the documentary features a modern dance set to Holiday’s music. Carmen De Lavallade plays a woman who becomes an iteration of Holiday; she’s soon joined by John Butler, who represents Billie’s various struggles in life–her abusive relationships, her troubles with alcohol and drug abuse. The dance was choreographed the year of Billie’s death; at the time, she had recently passed away at the age of 44. While the dance is a fine artistic representation of her life, it does seem somewhat dated. I’d like to see what it would become in the hands of a modern-day choreographer. Would the dance be as allegorical? What songs would be used instead? Or would covers of Billie’s songs, like Wilson’s reinvented ones, replace the original recordings?
http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/394420
If listeners find all this requoting offensive, it’s important to remember that Holiday herself didn’t stick to the original material. According to the documentary, early publishers mistrusted Holiday’s tendency to play with the melodies and change the text–essentially, putting an improvisational spin on jazz that was as scandalous then as it is celebrated now. As a rising star, she claimed to be influenced by Bessie Smith’s voice and Louis Armstrong’s style of trumpet playing. She didn’t copy them exactly, but they served as her biggest inspirations. Quoting and changing the music in this context is not disrespectful–in fact, it’s the highest form of tribute a musician can pay.
Sources:
“Cassandra Wilson ‘Couldn’t Wait’ To Reinvent The Billie Holiday Songbook.” NPR. April 5, 2015. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.npr.org/2015/04/05/397321378/cassandra-wilson-couldnt-wait-to-reinvent-the-billie-holiday-songbook.
Portrait of Billie. Performed by Carmen De Lavvallade, John Butler. U.S.: Creative Arts Television, 1959. Film. Found on Alexander Street Press. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/jazz.
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A few scholars had pointed out that Copland’s music in 1930s-40s was somehow associated with the idea of Pan Americanism. During the promotion of “Good Neighbor Policy” time, not only did Copland serve the government in an official capacity, but he published on Latin American music and composed Latin-American–style works such as El Salon Mexico.
Audiences are pretty sure that Copland’s deep interest in Latin America music absolutely went beyond the “Good Neighbor policy”, but I personally think that Pan Americanist aesthetic ideology actually influenced Copland’s way of composing. Some Argentine critics also pointed out that Copland’s interest in Latin America was largely motivated by his leftist politics, and that this ideology, moreover, permeates the very scores of his Latin- American–themed compositions (Crist 2003). They insisted that various forces had aligned to promote U.S folklore as an emblem of progressive politics.
However, Copland did care about his audience and the music public. It is said that in his memoirs, Copland claimed El Salon Mexico had “started the ball rolling toward the popular success and wide audience I had only just begun to think about.”
Crist, Elizabeth B. “Aaron Copland and the popular front.” (2003): 409-465.
To attract the public attention (or promote the belief of Pan Americanism), Copland tried new approaches in his composition. El Salon Mexico uses an abstract ideal of musical logic in favor of a rhapsodic form that emphasizes rhetorical coherence more than structural design. In addition, this one-movement orchestral fantasy features a new accentuation of melody. As the first of Copland’s works to make extensive use of folk song, this composition captures the spirit of the eponymous dance hall by quoting traditional Mexican tunes and evoking such popular musical. For example, it shows how Mexico rhythmic developments are free and always in transition.
Copland, Aaron. “The Story behind My El Salón México.” Tempo, No. 4 (1939):2-4
I would think that during Copland’s time, he promoted folklore to Latin American composers while cultivating accessible folkloric elements in his own music- and all these qualities also valued by the government committees on which he served.
Crist, Elizabeth B. “Aaron Copland and the popular front.” (2003): 409-465.
Copland, Aaron. “The Story behind My El Salón México.” Tempo, No. 4 (1939):2-4
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Album cover for Ella Fitzgerald’s 1960 album, Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife, which contains her legendary performance of “How High the Moon”
In the late 1950s and 1960s, as the Civil Rights Movement took precedence in American politics, critics began to view music through the lens of race. Jazz was a frequent subject of scrutiny because of its history as an African American art form commonly performed by white musicians. Until this era, jazz was considered a “colorblind” art form, but as racial tensions rose, it became impossible to ignore the racial implications that came with the performance of jazz. 1
Almena Lomax, a civil rights activist and journalist for the African American newspaper, the Los Angeles Tribune, criticizes Ella Fitzgerald for her acquiescent attitude toward white producers in a 1960 article. Lomax asks, “how come once she is on it [a television program] and the magic of her name has been used to snare viewers, she is given the lesser roles . . . and why does she continue to sit still for such patronizing treatment?” According to Lomax, Fitzgerald had the ideal voice to sing Gershwin, but at a recent all-Gershwin program, Fitzgerald was relegated to sing “only the ‘virtuoso’ numbers–in the tradition of the Negro showing his ‘extra heel,’ or his sixth finger, or his tail, or whatever it is that stamps him as something else but human.” Lomax goes on to compare Fitzgerald’s rendition of “How High the Moon” to such Uncle Tom-like behavior: 2
We cannot be sure of what rendition Lomax is referring to as the “last time” Fitzgerald sang “How High the Moon.” Fitzgerald first recorded the song in 1956 on her album Lullabies of Birdland, and another performance of it was recorded in 1958 at Mister Kelly’s, but the recording was not released until 2007. So Lomax is either referring to the Lullabies of Birdland version or a performance she heard live. She is not, however, referring to the famous Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife recording of “How High the Moon” because that concert did not occur until February 13, 1960, about a month after this article was published.
Assuming Lomax was using the Lullabies of Birdland recording as her reference, I am wondering if Lomax may have had different thoughts about the implications of “How High the Moon” after hearing the Ella in Berlin recording. You can hear the transformation Fitzgerald’s interpretation underwent between 1956 and 1960 by listening to the links below:
Lullabies of Birdland (1956) 3
Ella in Berlin (1960) 4
In the earlier recording (which Lomax may have been referring to), one could feasibly make the argument that Fitzgerald’s scatting merely serves to please white audiences. She begins the song politely, moves into the expected scatting section using her bag of tricks, and then closes nicely in a little over three minutes. By contrast, the later recording carries a markedly more defiant tone. Taking nearly seven minutes, but a much faster tempo, Fitzgerald sings with an almost frightening virtuosity. As she transitions into the scatting section, her voice becomes brassy and her tone almost exasperated on the words:
We’re singing it
Because you ask for it
So we’re swinging it just for you
As her scatting progresses, she sings, “I guess these people wonder what I’m singing” but continues to scat at the same pace, showing that she does not care if the audience keeps up or not. Her scat includes low, exasperated sounds that make it clear she is not singing to please. She also quotes a number of songs, including “Ornithology” by saxophonist Charlie Parker, aligning herself with the bebop direction of jazz. Toward the end of the song, she seems to put on an affected operatic tone that arpeggiates the tune excessively, followed by a low “hng” sound imitating the sound of an instrument. She moves so quickly through these polarized styles that the effect is shocking more than it is impressive or pleasing to the ear.
So while Lomax is wise to be skeptical of Fitzgerald’s exclusive use of virtuosity in comparison to white performers, she could not yet know that Fitzgerald would reclaim this virtuosic style for herself in Berlin. On a final note, in is significant to consider the history of the song “How High the Moon.” Written by white broadway songwriters Lewis and Hamilton and first popularized by white singing duo Les Paul and Mary Ford, “How High the Moon” was in fact transformed into its scatting glory by Ella Fitzgerald. Rather than letting the song own her, she owned it.
Footnotes
1 Monson, Ingrid T. Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call out to Jazz and Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
2 Lomax, Almena. “Notes for Showfolks,” Los Angeles Tribune (Los Angeles, CA), Aug. 1, 1960, accessed April 7, 2015 http://phw02.newsbank.com/cache/ean/fullsize/pl_004062015_2134_46699_913.pdf
3 Fitzgerald, Ella, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, Sy Oliver, Gordon Jenkins, Benny Carter, André Previn, and Bob Haggart, performers. Ella: The Legendary Decca Recordings. Recorded August 29, 1995. GRP Records, 1995, Streaming Audio. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/715022.
4 Fitzgerald, Ella, Paul Smith, Jim Hall, Wilfred Middlebrooks, and Gus Johnson, performers. The Complete Ella In Berlin: Mack The Knife. Recorded August 17, 1993. GRP Records, 1993, Streaming Audio. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/691638.
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Many people write epitaphs, either for themselves or in honor of the death of another person. They are usually short texts meant to be inscribed on tombstones. Rarely does someone write a jazz composition that is over 4000 measures long and takes more than two hours to perform for their epitaph. To my knowledge, Charles Mingus has been the only person to create a jazz piece of such epic proportions.
Attempting to record the piece for the first time, however, was fraught with problems from the beginning. First developed in 1962, Mingus conceived this project as a “live workshop” with a big band for newly composed music. The plan was for him to write the music and record it with a live audience at The Town Hall in New York City. Thanks to United Artists Records, the deadline for the music was rescheduled five weeks earlier than originally planned. Mingus not only pushed himself to the limit, but the musicians as well, unleashing his notorious wrath upon them if he was not satisfied. As a result, the musicians were tense and fearful and the music was still being passed around during the live show. The Town Hall concert was so disastrous that Mingus never looked at the score again for the rest of his life.
In 1988, almost 10 years after his death, musicologist Andrew Homzy discovered the four foot high score for Epitaph. The first full-length recording was appropriately recorded after Mingus’ death and the 31 piece orchestra was conducted by Gunther Schuller at the Lincoln Center in 1989. Finally, Mingus’ magnum opus was fully realized.
[1]
The importance of this work could not be understated. As a review from the New Yorker stated, “It marks the first advance in the composition of large-scale jazz works since Duke Ellington’s 1943 Black, Brown and Beige” [2] . Even more than 50 years after its completion, the piece still stands certainly as one of Mingus’ most difficult works. However, it is difficult to classify it as predominantly jazz or classical. Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige as well as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue are considered jazz symphonies, primarily classical compositions with jazz influences. Epitaph transcends this and becomes an integration of the jazz and classical forms rather than a work that contains influences of the other. As The Boston Phoenix appropriately states, “It’s uncategorizable. It has nothing to do anymore with ‘jazz’ or ‘classical’ music, or anything. It’s just Mingus” [3] .
1. “NPR Presents Charles Mingus’ ‘Epitaph.'” Chicago Metro News, Sept. 30, 1989. http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com (Accessed April 6).
2. Balliett, Whitney. “Jazz: Mingus Regained.” The New Yorker, August 21, 1989. http://mingusmingusmingus.com/mingus-bands/epitaph (Accessed April 6).
3. The Boston Phoenix. http://mingusmingusmingus.com/mingus-bands/epitaph (Accessed April 6.)
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I’m certain that if I asked the class if they’d ever heard to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, not many would recognize the name. Tharpe grew up a gospel singer, both of her parents preachers, but what set Tharpe apart and probably what kept her from reaching the fame of the Arethas and the Ellas was her Rock ‘n Roll influence. Tharpe struggled to find a place as a successful musician while remaining a devout religious woman. Her inability to claim a single genre and run with it made Rosetta so remarkable, yet it is what kept her from reaching the top. Her unique guitar style along with her gospel like vocals made her a sensation, but her audience wasn’t one that could follow her as she wore too many hats. In an article in the New York Amsterdam News writes of Tharpe’s bounce back and forth between singer and church-goer.
The author, Jay J. Aye detailed her flip-flop between nightclubs and church and wrote, “Earlier this year after she [Tharpe] announced she was through with night clubs and would sing only in churches… Now, it looks as if the night club bug has stung Sister Tharpe again.” One wonders if Tharpe felt pressured by the music industry to go outside of the church, or whether her familial ties to the church held her back from truly reaching her full potentials as a Rock ‘n Roll singer with a gospel edge. Tharpe’s performing medium, while varied and inconsistent, was one she must’ve grappled with and one that music historians must take into account when studying her interesting and unique career.
Bibliography
Aye, Jay J. “Claims Sister Tharpe Torn between Church, Cabaret.” New York Amsterdam News (1943-1961), Dec 28, 1946, City edition. http://search.proquest.com/docview/225952495?accountid=351.
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In Freedom Sounds, Ingrid Monson discusses how many jazz artists of the 50s and 60s were idolized as icons of the Civil Rights movement. Cats like Hawkins, Coltrane, and Parker were given nicknames like “Bird” and were then lauded as the free, independent individuals many Black Americans wished to be.
The genre of vocalese is one such example of the sycophantic nature of many musical colleagues of the bebop jazzers. Perhaps the originator of vocalese in 1940, Eddie Jefferson recorded many jazz hits such as Coleman Hawkins’ “Body and Soul.” In the recording , Jefferson matches exactly Hawkins’ phrases but with added words.
The very first line of the track attributes the song to Hawkins. “Don’t you know he is the king of saxophones? Yes indeed he is….Hawkins is his name.” Vocalese is an entirely different approach to jazz music than the bop stars of the era. Instead of beginning with a “head” and trusting to the improvisatory skills of the musicians to solo over the chords, Jefferson obviously spent a lot of time carefully listening to Hawkins’ style and choosing the perfect words to correspond to the fragments of melody. This genre of jazz is a great honor to the original performers, as it carefully matches their original solos while providing lyrics detailing their talents as well as contributing some important history.
Later on, The Manhattan Transfer recorded the same track, using Jefferson’s words, but in a four-part harmony.
This recording travels even further from the improvisatory nature of bebop. The close harmonies necessitate prior arrangements. But the group kept the sycophantic nature of vocalese, changing some lyrics to include attributions to Eddie Jefferson instead of Jefferson’s original praise of Hawkins. They continue the evolution of vocal jazz while still keeping many of the same characteristics.
Then along came Eddie Jefferson
He sang the melody like Hawkins played it
He sang it true, he sang it blue
Made words for it too
The Manhattan Transfer exemplifies the sound of another earlier popular vocalese group: Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. A trio, the group was successful for their tight harmonies and accessible imitation of jazz instrumental artists. One of their most commercially successful tracks, “Four Brothers,” was based on the Woody Herman orchestra’s hit of the same title.
Hendricks’ lyrics feature very instrument-specific verbs. As in the vocalese style, much is based upon the original instruments. “Blowin’ that horn” is sung often, as if in their imitation, the singers are becoming instruments themselves.
Vocalese was a way for vocalists to enter the musically complex bebop scene while still remaining commercially relevant. Popular vocal groups followed the trend of lauding musicians like Hawkins and Coltrane while still exhibiting their own significant talents in imitation and lyrics, a front not accessible by instrumentalists.
Sources:
(I’ve included youtube clips for convenience, but original recordings are from Alexander Street Press.)
Herman, Woody, performer. Woody Herman & His Orchestra 1956. Recorded February 20, 2000. Storyville, 2000, Streaming Audio. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/982437.
Jefferson, Eddie, James Moody, Dave Burns, Barry Doyle Harris, Steve Davis, and Bill English, performers. Eddie Jefferson: Body and Soul. Recorded January 1, 1991. Prestige, 1991, Streaming Audio. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/543821
Lambert, Dave, John Carl Hendricks, Annie Ross, Freddie Green, Eddie Jones, Sonny Payne, and Nat Pierce, performers. Sing A Song Of Basie. Recorded March 13, 2001. Universal Classics & Jazz, 2001, Streaming Audio. Accessed April 7, 2015. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/690250.
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Count Basie, a famed jazz pianist and jazz orchestra leader, wrote a tune called “A Study in Brown.” It sounds like the average big band tune, with ample time for piano solos. We can only make inferences about Basie’s reason for that title and tune, such as the fact that jazz’s roots are in improvisation styles popular in African American bands of New Orleans, African rhythms, and the blues. When Duke Ellington wrote “Black, Brown, and Beige” in 1943, the connections and program were more obvious because places in the music clearly imitated the sound of hammers, African American spirituals, and included some lyrics. Listen to how “A Study in Brown” is more elusive to a statement like Ellington’s. [1]
While the song was not Basie’s most popular and the intent behind Basie’s song is unknown, a few people have covered it. Below is a recording of Larry Clinton and his Orchestra in a recording from 1945. Notice, how the sound is smoother, less swung (except for the solo), and slower. Besides being a primarily white group, does the performance add another layer of meaning to the song? [2]
Furthermore, The Manhattan Transfer has made it popular by adding these lyrics.
[Intro:]
Picture this: Rhythm n’ happiness
Souls in bliss ‘n havin’ fun
(Oh no)
If you can’t there’s nothin’ to it
(Oh no)
I’m thinkin’ I have t’ paint you one
[Verse:]
I’m gonna paint a sepia panorama
So full of life the painting will come alive
Bathed in blues ‘n full of drama
An’ all the swing they needed so they’d survive
I’ll add some tans an’ yellow ocher
Such soul! So full of rhythm
An’ then some orange t’ tone up the black a bit
My goal is to be with ’em
Purple haze t’ lull the smoker
What swing! What syncopation
An cherry red t’ loosen the back a bit
That thing captured a nation
An’ then a mere patina of subtle green
Get down with me – you’ll dig my study in brown
To lighten up the purple n’ tone it down
Get down with me – tell about it all over town
A dancing glow to highlight the subtle scene
Get down with me – Dig how I’m paintin’ the town
An’ there you’ll have a study in brown
My study in brown
Oh yeah, brown is the pigment
Well, git down!
Oh yeah, that’s what cha’ really meant
Clown!
Oh yeah, that’s some study
We’re puttin’ down “A Study In Brown”
Coda: (That’s why we’re callin’ it, “A Study In Brown!”)
Git brown!
Oh yeah, brown is the pigment
N’ git down!
Oh yeah, that’s what cha’ really meant
Clown!
Oh yeah, that’s some study
Dig what I mean! It’s in the scene
Guitar solo
That’s my scene rhythm n’dancin’
(Rhythm-A-Ning)
You can add real romancin’
(Yep!)
That’s the way I like it
Why’ start real thin, then put some color in
(Rhythm-A-Ning)
Fuschia hues blended with subtones
(Rhythm-A-Ning)
Spread them blues, blarin’ trombones
(Yep!)
Just the way I like it
A dab or two, that’s how to do it.
Why’ talkin’ loud, hope people hear why’
Hey dad! Mama’s gonn git ‘cha soon as you git home!
That’s the ticket
But where’d why’fin’ th’ wicket?
Certainly, this adds a layer of meaning, and perhaps not a good layer….On one hand, performing covers gives the music more recognition and audiences. However, the lines add a meaning that wasn’t present in the original song, with words that insinuate a certain situation that brown is “bathed in blues and full of drama…all the swing they needed so they would survive.” The lyrics are a white perception of a black musical lifestyle, and the instrumentation, primarily vocal imitation of instruments, has a much different sound and connotation than the original. Additionally, as Dai Griffiths says in his chapter on cover songs and identity, when comparing white and black performances of a song we can’t “underestimate the asymmetry of power between black and white.” [3] We have to ask questions of power and exploitation when considering the Clinton and Manhattan Transfer covers of a Count Basie song. So, can covers be valuable? Perhaps we can’t go as far to say that they shouldn’t be allowed, but then how can we add layers of meaning with covers without exploiting/wrongly appropriating? How can we communicate the complexity of covers to the average person who will listen to the Manhattan Transfer cover and not even know Count Basie?
[1] Count Basie, performer, One Note Samba, Recorded May 11, 2009, Synergie OMP, 2009, Streaming Audio, Accessed April 6, 2015, http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/1019835.
[2] This Is Larry Clinton, Recorded June 1, 2010, Hallmark, 2010, Streaming Audio, Accessed April 6, 2015, http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/li_upc_5050457974817.
[3] Dai Griffiths, “Cover versions and the sound of identity in motion,” In Popular Music Studies, edited by David Hesmondhalgh and Keith Negus, 51-64, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
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Crawford notes that the representation of women in jazz music was primarily restricted to vocal performance and singing. That being said, the contribution by these female performers was quite significant and one wonders how the nature of jazz could have been enhanced if more contributions existed of female composers or instrumentalists in the genre.
Sarah Vaughan has been hailed as a revolutionary vocal performer whose vast range of both vocal technique and emotional quality created a new standard of jazz performers. Even within the same piece, Sarah Vaughan’s style can change drastically as seen in her recording of “My Favorite Things”
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While the beginning displays an incredible lyrical and smooth quality to it, the last half of her performance contrasts this with a much crisper consonants, harsher vowels, and an improvisatory, drawn out rhythmic quality.
Entirely other music techniques can be seen in her performance of “Nobody Else But Me” which possess much more of the style of the last half of “My Favorite Things.” Long, held-out alto notes create a power and confidence in her voice steering away from the more soft, sensual or sultry sound of other vocal jazz music.
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The question of women’s role in jazz music can raise interesting questions of how the genre of jazz might have been different if more women composers had been represented. It is also interesting to contemplate how the genre may have changed, if at all, if it had possessed more female composers and more male vocal performers.
Sources: https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/903038
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Us Americans love our musical stars. In fact, many people idolize them so much so that what they say and do can have a significant impact. If Taylor Swift is seen wearing a certain dress one week, the next week it is sold out from every Forever 21 in the nation. Likewise, if Adam Levine gets a new hairstyle, every other young adult male will be making an appointment to their local Great Clips to rock the new do. Okay, so maybe shifting one’s physical appearance isn’t what you would call significant, but what about political opinions? Many artists choose not to share their views in fear of influencing their fans, but that certainly doesn’t stop some musicians from offering up endorsements. In the most recent presidential elections, music stars such as Rodney Atkins and the Zac Brown Band sent their support to Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the form of new songs and live performances. 1 Musical celebrities hold a fair amount of clout in society and, for some, are not afraid to use it.
Louis Armstrong is still a beloved American musical figure for his soulful trumpet playing and unique blues and jazz sound who was also lucky enough to bridge the color gap with his music. Adored by both white and black audience members, Armstrong had it all as a performer of the era, and he was able to shake the world with his influence.
Little Rock Nine – LIFE.com
After the Supreme Court’s ruling that segregated schools was unconstitutional in the 1954 court case Brown vs. Board of Education, nine african-american students (later dubbed “The Little Rock Nine”) were refused entry in to the previously white Central High School in Little Rock, AK by the governor at the time, Orville Faubus. It wasn’t until the involvement of President Eisenhower did the students finally overcome their first of many hurdles by physically entering the building. 2 The events surrounding the Little Rock Nine sparked media attention across the nation, but it not only reached American citizens everywhere, but also a number of famous celebrities including Louis Armstrong.
Armstrong was furious at the discrimination faced by the Little Rock Nine and did not hold back. In what was described as having the “explosive effect of an H-bomb” 3 , called out both Governor Faubus and President Eisenhower for their poor leadership. Armstrong was also quick to call off his government-sponsored tour to Russia, stating that these instances have adverse affects on U.S. relations with other countries and that when he was asked “What is wrong with you country”, he wouldn’t know what to say. 4 Louis Armstrong stood by his beliefs and with his national image, was able to cause a noticeable impact. Some believe that it was Armstrong’s “verbal explosives” that expedited the whole process. 5 Even if this is not the case, however, he did spark a bit of a push back among his peers. An article published in the Chicago Defender, a black newspaper, displayed that many many other african-american celebrities agreed with Armstrong’s thoughts. Singer Lena Horne and baseball legend Jackie Robinson are just two of the multiple black stars that took a stand with Louis Armstrong to show the power of what a little clout can do. 6
References:
1 Lee, Kristen. “Country Music’s Biggest Stars Singing Mitt Praises .” NY Daily News. August 27, 2012. Accessed April 6, 2015.
2 Wallace, Vaughn. “Little Rock Nine: Photos of a Civil Rights Triumph in Arkansas, 1957 | LIFE | TIME.com.” LIFE. 2014. Accessed April 6, 2015.
3 “Ole ‘Satchmo’ Shook the World.” The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967), Oct 05, 1957. http://search.proquest.com/docview/492966958?accountid=351.
4 “Satch Blows Up Over Ark. Crisis.” Daily Defender (Daily Edition) (1956-1960), Sep 19, 1957. http://search.proquest.com/docview/493670599?accountid=351.
5 “Ole ‘Satchmo’ Shook the World.” The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967), Oct 05, 1957. http://search.proquest.com/docview/492966958?accountid=351.
6 “Back Satchmo’s Blasts at Ike, Gov. Faubus.” Daily Defender (Daily Edition) (1956-1960), Sep 24, 1957. http://search.proquest.com/docview/493577546?accountid=351.
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When Charlie Parker died on March 12, 1955, he left a massive void in the world of jazz. While tragic, it was inevitable: a long battle with heroin addiction had threatened his life in the past. Though he didn’t invent the genre, he was widely considered to be one of the “fathers of bebop” who had galvanized the transformation of Duke Ellington’s “specialized jungle rhythm” into the virtuosic, intellectual, and cutthroat style of post-war jazz.[1]
Charlie ‘Yardbird’ Parker (1920-1955)
Less than a month after his death, the national edition of the Chicago Defender suggested that Parker’s passing also signaled the end of bebop. The article claimed that without ‘Yardbird’ Parker “time and wear may render [bebop] worthless commercially.”[1]
While this concern may seem legitimate in the face of tremendous loss, modern hindsight rejects the notion that death can halt the development of musical style, particularly when that development stems from a genius. Parker, aside from being responsible for the partial transformation of musical sound, was also responsible for the transformation of musical thought. He revolutionized the way jazz musicians though about harmonic approaches to improvisation. He also drastically increased the use of contrafact composition (composing over existing harmonic material), expanding the framework in which jazz musicians could operate and providing a model for how they could develop their musical chops.
For all of the praise that the Chicago Defender heaps on ‘Yardbird’ for his contributions to jazz, they neglect to mention why this was his nickname. The answer is provided in another national edition five years later:
[2]
The anonymous author describes a person that, trapped within the gritty and difficult world of the inner-city, finds consolation in thinking about Bird and memorializing him through graffiti. For him, Bird (Parker himself as well as the nickname) symbolizes the ability to know “the freedom inside his head that allowed him to dream- and fly up, out and away” from the challenging circumstances of his life.[2] The author invokes the name of Dadelus, the Greek man who dreamt to fly away from his prison cell via his own ingenuity. Dadelus serves as a parallel to Bird, who used his innovative music to fly away the past and change the landscape of jazz, becoming a mythological figure in his own right.
With these two articles together, it almost seems as though the latter serves as a direct answer to the former. Bird’s music will not die because people’s dreams will not die. And as long as people continue to dream, the creativity and passion of Bird will be memorialized in both stone and flesh. The connection of flight and dreams as they relate to Parker remained relevant into the 1960s, as jazz musicians reacted to the development of the civil rights movement. As Bird did before them, they used their own perspectives to mold jazz into an expression of freedom. Bird and his music lived on, and will continue to as long as musicians continue to dream.
[1] Special. 1955. “Death of ‘Yardbird’ Parker may Affect Bebop’s Fight to ‘Live’.” The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967), Mar 26, 6. http://search.proquest.com/docview/492930917?accountid=351.
[2] F.L.B. 1960. “Bird Lives.” Daily Defender (Daily Edition) (1956-1960), Apr 04, 1. http://search.proquest.com/docview/493786203?accountid=351.
Controversy
First, a short history of Porgy and Bess.
The original “Highlights from Porgy and Bess” album, featuring cover art entirely at odds with the featured vocalists, white Met Opera stars Lawrence Tibbett and Helen Jepson.
In fall 1935, the galleries of Carnegie Hall rang for over four hours (including two intermissions) with the music of George Gershwin and the lyrics of DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. The private concert performance was of a new project, a grand experiment combining jazz, blues, spirituals, arias, and recitatives in a work that Gershwin described as a “folk opera,” Porgy and Bess, based on the novel Porgy by Heyward. The show became problematic for many reasons: though technically an opera featuring trained opera singers, it played according to Broadway’s schedule; the composer Gershwin had never written anything of such magnitude; while the production featured an all-black cast telling an African-American story, the author/librettist Heyward was white; the entire production crew from the director down to the stagehands to the violinists in the pit was white. In fact, the “official cast album” was recorded just days after the opera’s Broadway opening. It featured not the show’s original African-American leads, Todd Duncan and Anne Brown, as the titular Porgy and Bess, but white Metropolitan Opera stars Lawrence Tibbett and Helen Jepson, who sat in on the last few rehearsals before opening night to learn the music. Producers felt the album would be more palatable to wide audiences and therefore sell better. (Sidebar: black performers were not allowed at the Met. Duncan and Brown did finally collaborate on a Porgy and Bess album in 1940/42.)
The original Catfish Row as seen at Broadway’s Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) in 1935. Photo from the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at the New York Public Library Digital Gallery.
Controversy continued to surround the show: the performers protested the racial segregation at their Washington, D.C., venue, the National Theatre. Thanks especially to the efforts of Todd Duncan (Porgy), Porgy and Bess played to the National Theatre’s first integrated audience. Many more stories could be told.
Let’s fast-forward a decade to 1943, when Warner Brothers was hard at work on their fictionalized biopic of George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue. Like most biopics, the storyline stretched the truth, creating two fictional romances for George, and served more as an homage to Gershwin than an accurate portrayal of his life, allowing the opportunity for full performances of Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F, “I Got Rhythm,” “Swanee,” and many more Gershwin hits.
Slow Progress
One of those other hits was “Summertime.” Judging by producers’ earlier resistance to recording an African-American Bess, one might expect the producers to opt again for a white star. But they did not ask Helen Jepson to sing. They called in Anne Brown, the original Bess, to reprise her role.
But progress seems to be a slow journey. As Alyce Key relates in an article for the Los Angeles Tribune in 1943 (this third incarnation of the paper was an African-American paper started by Almena Lomax praised for its fearless reporting), Miss Brown’s appearance in Hollywood was “shrouded in . . . more secrecy” than the WWII meetings of FDR and Churchill in Tehran, Potsdam, and Yalta:
Alyce Key’s article from the Los Angeles Tribune, September 6, 1943.
Fun fact: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, $10,000 in 1943 is equal to $135,677.46 for one song. For comparison, Jennifer Lawrence got $500,000 for starring in The Hunger Games. The whole movie. $10,000 in 1943 was–and is–a lot of money for 3:40 of screen time.
As Alyce Key points out, people care. Gershwin cared enough to spend almost a decade working on Porgy and Bess. Todd Duncan cared enough to protest segregation at the National Theatre. The producers of Rhapsody in Blue cared enough to give Anne Brown a generous salary, but not enough to announce her involvement.
Progress, but slow progress. Maybe we just don’t care enough.
Hop on over to YouTube to check out Anne Brown’s reenacted performance of “Summertime”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxGMWfC7tm8.
“Key Notes by Alyce Key.” Los Angeles Tribune, Sep 6, 1943. America’s Historical Newspapers, SQN: 12A55C9DAF0E8A10.
Schwartz, Charles. Gershwin: His Life and Music. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1973.
Reply
Amy Beach (September 5, 1867–December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist. She was primarily self-taught in composition and was the first successful female composer of large works as well as the first president of the Society of American WomenComposers. She worked to further the works of young composers and was also known as “Mrs. H. H. A. Beach” at many of her concert piano performances.
This is the cover of a manuscript being held in the Amy Cheney Beach Collection, which is housed in the Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections of the University of Missouri – Kansas City.
Amy Beach’s Variations on Balkan Themes, op. 60 was one of many great works she composed for piano. Based on songs “of unknown origin” collected by Reverend and Mrs. William W. Sleeper during their time living as missionaries in the Balkan region, the variations play upon “O Maiko Moya,” “Stara Planina,” and “Nasadil e Dado,” among other Balkan folk tunes. (Beach did not collect any of the folksongs her works were based on.) The variations employ switches between different themes to make up their complex texture.
The following is a loose translation of the text of “O Maiko Moya,” which is the first theme introduced in the work. Although there is no text to be sung or read with this work (this is a piano work, after all) this is important to the structure of the work and is suggestive of the overall tone of the variations and the cultural background that they were based on.
“O my poor country, to thy sons so dear,
Why art thou weeping, why this sadness drear?
Alas! thou raven, messenger of woe,
Over those fresh grave moanest thou so?”
The different folk songs do not all have to deal with Balkan nationalistic pride, rather, some texts relate to the mountains, or a story of a grandfather planting a small garden. As is the case in any piece written as a theme with variations, the variations gradually move away from the original motivic elements and provide new context for different themes.
In her analysis of Beach’s Variations on Balkan Themes, Dr. Adrienne Fried Block suggested that Beach borrowed from Beethoven’s tonal scheme for his Six Variations, op. 34. Beethoven’s Variations was one of the pieces that Beach regularly performed in her solo piano performances and one of the few variations that she regularly played throughout her career. It makes sense then, that this piece had such an effect on her own music. The Balkan Themes were in minor, which affected the tonal adjustments she made to the piece and prevented her from using Beethoven’s Variations structure exactly as it is (it should be noted that the speculation that Beach borrowed from Beethoven is a part of Dr. Block’s correspondence to a E. Douglas Bomberger).
Overall, Beach’s Variations are lively, yet melancholy in mood. Beach was known to incorporate romanticism and delayed resolution into her work, later on moving away from tonality. It is no surprise that Beach has been declared the first successful American female composer of large-scale music, although I think it would be interesting to explore the published music of other female composers and try to understand where they “fell short” of the success of their male counterparts, causing America to have to wait until the late 1800s for a female composer of Beach’s accomplishment.
Beach, Amy. Variations on Balkan Themes, op. 60. Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1906. http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/0/0f/IMSLP08550-Beach_-_Op.60__Variations_on_Balkan_Themes.pdf.
Beach, Amy. Variations on Balkan Themes, op. 60. Performed by Virginia Eskin. Composed 1904.
Bomberger, E. Douglas, and Adrienne Fried Block. “On Beach’s Variations on Balkan Themes, op. 60.” American Music 11, no. 3 (1993): 368-71. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3052509.
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Today many listeners of classical music are familiar with the music or at least the name of Amy Beach. A prodigy from a very young age who came to fame through her virtuosic piano performances made her lasting mark in her compositions. Her life was defined by her gender because women, especially those of Beach’s social standing, were not to support themselves. Even though her parents were distinctly aware of Amy’s talents, they stuck with the status quo plan for young women of the time: some formal schooling, lessons in the arts, and marriage. [1]
In her article published in many women’s magazines in the early 1900s she does not fault her family for so obviously holding her back when she had so much to do in music. Rather she saw her mother’s education style as a way to ease the young prodigy into music without becoming overwhelmed. Beach’s article almost exclusively focuses on the relationship between Amy and her mother, as well as her career as a performer and composer. [2]
Beach’s success as a musician almost depends on this sort of frame that women were expected to live in. There is no doubt that Beach could have done amazing things if afforded the right to a fancy musical education that men had available to them. However, her affluent family history and unique life story allowed (or forced) her to stand out among other women. I mention forced because Amy hardly had any choice in her study of music or the path it would take. [3]
Beach had the opportunity to become a self-taught musician after her little formal training because she did not have the duties of a domestic wife like many other women. After her husband’s death in 1910 she was able to take many tours of Europe and make her name even larger.
All of these facts make for a confusing picture of Amy Beach. On one hand we have a woman who is a prisoner in her time where women aren’t allowed to study music at high levels and must submit their wills to their parents and husbands. On the other hand we have Beach as a child prodigy who has led the way for other women composers after her and succeeded because of her circumstances, but could have thrived even more in a more accepting culture.
[1] Adrienne Fried Block, Amy Beach: Passionate Victorian, (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 1998), 298.
[2] Judith Tick ed., Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 323-327.
[3] Walter S. Jenkins, The Remarkable Mrs. Beach, American Composer, (Warren: Harmonie Park Press, 1994), 66-68.
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When I was searching for Charles Ives correspondence in our music library, I came across a book called Charles E. Ives: Memos. It is a collection, constructed by John Kirkpatrick from Yale University, of previously unpublished loose leaf writings of Charles Ives. Some were initially handwritten by Ives himself, while others were written in shorthand by his secretary, Miss Florence Martin, and edited by him later. After his death in 1954, these loose leafs were collated and organized by when they were written, and ultimately published in this book. As with any correspondence collection, it does not include every single “memo” Ives ever wrote; it is believed this collection includes approximately three-fifths of his loose leaf writing.
The book is in three main parts: “Pretext,” “Scrapbook,” and “Memories.” While it looks as if each section is written in prose, that may not necessarily be the case. Kirkpatrick took the time to mark each piece, sometimes a paragraph or a few sentences, with identifying information revealing where those words came from. “Pretext” focuses on Ives’ aims, his views on music, critics, and criticism. “Scrapbook” reveals the composer’s notes on his own music. “Memories” provides the reader with biographical and autobiographical information.
Below, I have included the pages from “Scrapbook” of Ives’ Second Piano Sonata, since we are studying this piece in class (number 30). Ives provides insight as to how each of the four movements came to fruition. He reveals that he never really came up with an ending for the first movement, “Emerson,” or developed one way to play it. For the second movement, “Hawthorne,” Ives describes the cluster chords on page 25 of the score, how to play them and what effect they are supposed to have on the listener. In his words about the third, “The Alcotts,” and fourth movements, “Thoreau,” Ives reveals that he had intentions of expanding his orchestration to include organ, strings, woodwinds, etc. Some of the material from the fourth movement came directly out of a string quartet Ives had been working on but never finished.
Kirkpatrick, J., ed. Charles E. Ives: Memos. New York: W. W. Norton &, 1972. 78-79.
Kirkpatrick, J., ed. Charles E. Ives: Memos. New York: W. W. Norton &, 1972. 80-81.
Kirkpatrick, J., ed. Charles E. Ives: Memos. New York: W. W. Norton &, 1972. 82-83.
These notes by the composer about his or her own pieces are eye opening, especially to the performer. They are very insightful and allow the performer to get into the mindset of the composer, and learn more about exactly what the composer meant when he or she wrote the piece.
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The day after the premiere of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess at the Colonial Theatre in New York City, a review of the performance appeared in the New York Times that would both articulate the positive aspects of the opera while also aptly summarizing its importance to American music. A portion of the opening paragraph reads:
“An audience which assembled, uncertain whether they should find a heavy operatic work or something more resembling musical comedy, discovered a form of entertainment which stands midway between the two. The immediate response was one of enthusiasm that grew rather than diminished as the evening progressed.” [1]
In other words, Porgy and Bess was an immediate hit because it successfully bridged the gap between the styles of European grand opera and American musical theater in the style of tin-pan alley. By extension, Gershwin was cementing his reputation as the quintessential American composer: a perfect combination of elite artist and regular American. While this synthesis may appear to be a contradiction, there are a number of descriptions in this and other contemporaneous reviews that support this statement.
A scene from the original Broadway projection of “Porgy and Bess”.
From the New York Amsterdam News:
“The first act represents George Gershwin’s most serious writing. It is Gershwin struggling for a greater expression, endeavoring to transcend into the world of great music. Contrapuntally speaking, he does. This is evident in the crap game fugue.” [2]
The author (Allen Gilbert) goes on to compare Gershwin to “Brahms, Bach, or Beethoven” for his clarity of theme in symphonic writing, effectively lifting him into a pantheon of greatness. Yet, Gilbert goes on to call the second act a “let down”, describing it as a musical side-show that more resembles a smorgasbord of primitive American music (hot jazz, broadway ballads, negro spirituals) than it does the work of a grand master. He attributes to Gershwin a false quote suggesting that opera is for the “masses” but that they cannot understand it if it’s not dumbed down for them.
But it is the third act that truly shows Gershwin’s greatness, a “gathering together of the parts” that utilizes both ends of the spectrum without compromising on beauty and emotional power. It is with this in mind that the author crowns Gershwin as the “practical idealist”.
While this is a deserving title for the young composer, we can see quite clearly how mind-numbingly kitschy this is, yet another example of American determinism seeking out the next great musical representative for the U.S. of A. This is especially frustrating when we consider the most problematic yet simultaneously inspiring aspect of the work and its initial performances: its nearly all-Black cast. While the New York Times review emphasizes this historic achievement (even including it in the subtitle), the New York Amsterdam review doesn’t even mention it. The first lauds each cast member and the “characterizing detail” given to a normally inhuman and primitive setting; the latter lauds only Gershwin and his ability to humanize to black music without mention of the African Americans involved.
I don’t mean to suggest that Gershwin is responsible for this discrepancy, but it is worth remembering that in the evolving world of American art music in the early 1900s, Porgy and Bess may have been more akin to minstrelsy than to grand opera for many white audiences. Though an article in the Chicago Defender less than a month later claims that “race music is dignified” by Porgy and Bess, this primarily African-American viewpoint doesn’t necessarily reflect a popular perspective of the work. [3] While Gershwin’s “idealistic” genius and his roster of memorable songs is undoubtedly responsible for the works success, it is fascinating to see how the “practical” matters of the performances may have been ignored.
[1] Special to The New York Times. “Gershwin’s Opera Makes Boston Hit.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Oct 01, 1935. http://search.proquest.com/docview/101340968?accountid=351.
[2] Allen, Gilbert. “George Gershwin, Practical Idealist.” The New York Amsterdam News (1922-1938), Nov 16, 1935. http://search.proquest.com/docview/226210087?accountid=351.
[3] McMillan, Alan. “‘Porgy and Bess’ Scores on Broadway.” The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967), Oct 19, 1935. http://search.proquest.com/docview/492522466?accountid=351.
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When Czech composer Antonín Dvořák came to the United States near the end of 1892, he was met with welcoming arms in the musical community. With a salary at the National Conservatory of about 3 times that of a U.S. Senator, it’s fairly easy to see he was wanted in America. 1 There is some evidence of his popularity in some personal correspondence to Dvořák which I found in Dvořák and His World while perusing the Halvorson Music Library at St. Olaf College. 2
Among the letters sent to him are those written by amateur musicians, requesting feedback on scores, thanking him for his compositions, and asking for rights to perform his published works. However, digging through the letters, I found some rather interesting ones. One group of letters that caught my attention was by that of an Auguste Roebbelen of the New York Philharmonic Society. He requested that the orchestra perform his newest work, the “New World Symphony” that year (1893) in December. 2 A letter on January first of 1894 confirmed that they did receive permission, and he says that the concert
“was epochal in its character, for it was the first production of a new work, by one of the greatest composers, written in America, embodying the sentiment and romance derived from a residence in America and a study of its native tone-expressions.”
These “native tone-expressions” link back to an earlier letter in this volume sent to Dvořák by a music critic and writer Henry Krehbiel. Thanking him for the permission to do the notes on his symphony, and providing him with “3 more Negro songs from Kentucky” in case Dvořák wished to use them while working on his new quartet and quintet. This interested me, and I followed the rabbit hole further, tracking down the original notes that Krehbiel wrote on the premier of the New World Symphony.
On December 15, 1893
Krehbiel wrote an extensive analysis and explanation of The New World Symphony in the daily publication of the New-York Tribune. In the article, he seems to capture words that Dvořák had said to him during their interview, noting that the melody of the second movement Largo is inspired by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha. His article even mentions the work of Alice Fletcher, who worked on transcribing and notating Native American music in the later 1800’s. All in all, it’s amazing to see what sort of influences other people could have on Dvořák or the music he composed. Letters from an orchestral society allowed them to play piece of his that hadn’t been published yet. The request for writing notes by Krehbiel gave him an interview which eventually led to my knowledge of what inspired Dvořák for a small portion of his symphony. These letters set the stage for what we now know of Dvořák: a man who took melodies from truly American tradition, whether positive or negative, and insisted that they be used for the core of American music. Continue reading →
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According to some jazz scholars, a racialized barrier between the black, “authentic” extended jazz compositions of Duke Ellington and the white, “inauthentic” symphonic jazz of Gershwin has emerged in critical and scholarly accounts of these traditions. However, when Ellington rearranged Rhapsody in blue, these barriers were considered to become more complex and permeable.
“Whites Cannot Play Real Jazz”- this is not only the title of a newspaper article (Pittsburgh Courier) in 1923, but inclined the idea that “in Whites’ performance, there is little real substance to black art in itself, that it is mainly a figment of white people’s racially twisted imagination.(Gerard, 101)”
Bañagale, Ryan Raul. “Rewriting the Narrative One Arrangement at a Time: Duke Ellington and Rhapsody in Blue.” Jazz Perspectives 6.1-2 (2012): 5-27.
Duke Ellington’s arrangements performed in 1925 and 1932 tried to remove long-held assumptions that the Rhapsody in blue was the provenience of white bands and provide insight into Ellington’s own development of concertized jazz. With a belief that “a soloist should be given absolute freedom,” Ellington might be one of the “angry African-American avant-garde jazz artists” that tried to point out white composers who have made money out of spontaneity and primitiveness of African- American art fail to see the skill and calculation of the Black composers/performers(Gerard, 98). In his 1932 arrangement of Rhapsody, he increased the large saxophone section into four, instead of using clarinets, hoping to achieve more complex harmonies and timbral. He also wanted to recall a social dance tradition instead of letting audiences sit on concert hall chairs. Except of an improvised piano solo, his arrangement can be played with a steady, danceable tempo (Raul, 105).
Here is a reconding of Ellington’s latest arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue:
http://ezproxy.stolaf.edu/login?url=https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/be|recorded_track|li_isrc_884385543143USESK0602247
However, would it be possible that Duke Ellington misunderstood intentions of some White composers? Chick Corea once said:
Gerard, Charley. Jazz in Black and White: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Jazz Community. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1998. Print.
Thus some of White composers’ interests in jazz were primarily aesthetic, since their music does not play a part in establishing a group’s social cohesion, as African-American music does for Black culture. Whites have a strong interest in expanding the technical aspects of jazz by introducing elements from modern classical music. At the same time, it would be rigorous that a successful performance of music that has jazz elements requires that all of its traditional ingredients be present in order for it to be considered authentic. Thus I personally won’t agree that in transforming jazz into “fine art”, composers/performers sought to transform/affirm their racial status in order to “distant” blackness.
Works Cited:
Bañagale, Ryan R. Arranging Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue and the Creation of an American Icon. , 2014. Print.
Bañagale, Ryan Raul. “Rewriting the Narrative One Arrangement at a Time: Duke Ellington and Rhapsody in Blue.” Jazz Perspectives 6.1-2 (2012): 5-27.
Gerard, Charley. Jazz in Black and White: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Jazz Community. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1998. Print.
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In June of 1921, Aaron Copland sailed to Paris, France to study music composition at the Palais de Fontainebleau. He gained much knowledge and experience with the help of his instructors Paul Vidal and Nadia Boulanger, as well as meeting new comrades like Harold Clurman. These individuals were formative in the early stages of Copland’s composing career and thus left an immense impact on his life and music. During his time in Paris, Copland had a great correspondence with his parents back in the United States.
Copland in early 1920s
One particularly amazing written account of Copland’s early success in Paris is in a letter he wrote to his parents. Merely three months into his stay in Paris, Copland had an opportunity that excited him more than ‘any debut in Carnegie Hall ever could.’ The following shows a portion of his letter to his parents:
(Selected correspondence of Aaron copland, p. 39)
Copland’s gained great success in Paris very early on in his stay. In the next letter to his parents, he writes of another great victory–he sells his first composition to one of the biggest publishing companies in all of Paris. Copland writes to his parents with a delightful voice, comfortable expressing his unadulterated joy with his loved ones. Readers are lucky to be able to get such a glimpse into an intimate exchange of letters from a composer to his parents. Copland has left such a mark on music history in America, and to be able to read more closely at the details of the beginning of his career is unique and very telling of what he was experiencing in the moment.
At the end of his letter about selling his composition, with a charming tone Copland signs off saying, “So, we have a composer in the Copland family, it seems. Who says there are no more miracles. Lovingly, Aaron.” (Copland, p. 41)
Bibliography:
Copland, Aaron. Selected Correspondence of Aaron Copland. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press, 2006. Accessed March 23, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.
Image found at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/media/loc.natlib.copland.phot0020/ver01/0001.tif/225
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Probably the most famous story of the Ives family is that of George Ives directing two town bands to walk towards each other in an aural experiment of clashing proportions. Whether or not this story is true, it does tell how George inspired a desire to experiment in his son, as well as the tradition of band music that comes from the late nineteenth century.
As an adult, Charles Ives became involved in insurance, but remains one of the most prolific American composers of the 20th century. Much of this acclaim comes from the innovation of his compositions as they experimented with key, quotations, melody, and rhythm.
In 1918 Ives became ill with some sort of heart disease. As Ives grew sicker, he tried harder to reach the American musical communities by sending out his works to composers and musicians. Many recipients thanked him generously for the free scores he sent, but likely did not read through the pieces–or if they did, might have been put-off by the strange and new work. This is why John Philip Sousa’s reply is one of the best.
“1 June 1923, John Philip Sousa to Charles Ives
My Dear Mr. Ives:
Permit me to thank you for your kindness in sending me your volume of 114 Songs of which you are the composer. Some of the songs are most startling to a man educated by the harmonic methods of our forefathers.
Yours Sincerely,
John Philip Sousa”
Sousa’s comment is neither positive nor negative, but reflects the sentiment of a man confronted with something entirely new. As a composer steeped in the tradition of bandmasters such as Sousa, Ives must have been honored that Sousa took the time to read his work. Band music played such a prominent role in the Ives household as George led the town bands himself and probably chose many Sousa marches to direct. The satisfaction of knowing Sousa was impressed by Ives’ work reflects his life desire to write his father’s work. To Charles, Sousa probably represented a bit of George with his marches. Gaining the attention of the famous march composer must have been like receiving the approval of George Ives himself.
Burkholder, J. Peter. “Charles Ives and His World.” Princeton University Press, Princeton 1996.
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“It’s not unlawful to sing or play any kind of music in the United States of America, no matter how good or bad it sounds. Jazz is based on the sound of our native heritage. It is an American idiom with African roots-a trunk of soul with limbs reaching in every direction, to the frigid North, the exotic East, the miserable, swampy South, and the swinging Wild West.” [1]
Left- Duke Ellington’s autobiography; Right- Mercer Ellington’s memoir of his father
This passage from Duke Ellington’s autobiography, Music is my Mistress, hints at his plain writing style and his lifetime success in jazz. Ellington wrote his biography for the celebration of his 70th birthday in 1973, but its intent is not entirely clear. While he has a few revelations on music, God, and his Sacred conventions, to share, most of the book is spent listing the unique experiences he had and the many people that he worked with or that influenced him, all of whom are described as “good guys.” As Eileen Southern said in her book review in The Black Perspective in Music, “a great deal of essential data is missing…nowhere in the book is a hint of the pain Ellington must have experienced.” [2]
In contrast, his son Mercer Ellington wrote a memoir of his father that painted a much different picture of his life. Perhaps tainted by his experience of not seeing much of his father, Mercer summarizes some of the moments when Ellington was sidelined because of his race, such as when Ellington wrote Black, Beige, and Tan as a parallel and critique to African American history and received a patronizing response from critics or the many moments that Ellington had to prove his bands’ worth in comparison and competition with white jazz bands.
Perhaps the fact that Ellington left out the more bleak and tough moments of his life shows his view on protesting racial issues. Mercer quotes his father, “’I think a statement of social protest in the theater should be made without saying it.’” [3] His piece, Black Beige and Tan, and his 1963 cover of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue have undertones of critique on white appropriation of jazz by the virtuosity, styles, and stories that he implements, but they have to be inferred. Arguably, these conflicting accounts also show Ellington contributing to the white narrative of jazz. Ellington’s success was not only because of his talent as a musician and bandleader, but he did not outwardly fight the racist structures controlling his profession. Since his autobiography was published at a time when Ellington was celebrated by white audiences as a successful American jazz musicians, it makes sense that he chose to leave his African American experience out.
[1] Edward Kennedy Ellington, Music is my Mistress, (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1973), 436.
[2] Eileen Southern, “Reviewed Work: Music is My Mistress,” The Black Perspective in Music, 2, no. 2 (1974): 211-212.
[3] Mercer Ellington, Duke Ellington in Person: An Intimate Memoir, (Boston: Hougton Mifflin Company, 1978), 94.
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Anyone who has taken Music History alongside the Norton Anthology knows Henry Cowell as the composer of the epically stated The Banshee. However, The Banshee is not the only Irish mythological topic that inspired his music as noted by Dr. Charles Pease, writer of the “As I See It” column in the Evening News, published in San Jose, California in 1922. [1] This column does not specify which piece he heard, so I did some extra research to find out which piece is most likely.
The volume of The Evening News was published three years before Cowell’s The Banshee was premiered. I found another piece written in 1912, entitled The Tides of Manaunaum: No. 1 of “Three Irish Legends.” This piece accurately fulfills all the descriptions found in Dr. Charles Pease’s article; it is based on Irish myths, voices “the crashing movements of the incredible forces and masses conveyed in strange ‘chord-clusters’, and includes “the old Dorian modes developed perhaps five or six centuries before Christ.” However, just because this piece includes chord clusters and the Dorian mode, does this piece really show a “World Closer to God?” [2]
The edition published in American Piano Classics selected by Joseph Smith includes the story according to John Varian:
Manaunaum was the god of motion, and long before the creation he sent forth tremendous tides, which swept to and fro through the universe, and rhythmically moved the particles and materials of which the gods were later to make the suns and the worlds. [3]
Yes, the low clusters the show the crashing tides against the shore created by the “god of motion” and the Dorian mode points back ancient Greece. But does this music really transcend over all other music the godly cosmos of another world? The ideas of chord clusters had been around as Igor Stravinsky used dissonant clusters in his music, and composers had been looking back to the Greeks for some time. Henry Cowell is just another development in the scope of music.
[1] Dr. Charles Pease, “As I See It: Cowell’s Cosmic Music World Close to God,” Evening News vol. 78 no. 73 (09-25-1922) : 6.
[2] Ibidem.
[3] Henry Cowell, “The Tides of Manaunaum,” in Americn Piano Classics: 39 Works by Gottschalk, Griffes, Gershwin, Copland, and Others, ed. Joseph Smith (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2001), 44.
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El Salon Mexico was a highly labored over composition Copland was particularly enthusiastic about writing. Spending over two years on its composition, Copland was in correspondence with Mexican composer Carlos Chavez years before its actual premiere in the Fall of 1937. The correspondence between Copland and Chavez reveals Copland’s strong interest in the pieces reception critically both in terms of popularity but also particularly centered on the acceptance of it as Mexican music.
Copland’s enthusiasm for the piece can be seen in his letter two years before its premiere in a letter from August 28th, 1935:
“Just now I am finishing up the orchestration of El Salon Mexico which I wrote you about last summer. What it would sound like in Mexico I can’t imagine, but everyone here for whom I have played it seems to think it is very gay and amusing!”
This quote reveals both the excitement Copland felt and also his concern over the piece’s reception in Mexico. This concern is more strongly articulated in other letters he wrote to Chavez during the piece’s composition. In October 1934 he wrote that:
“I am terribly afraid of what you will say of he Salon Mexico – perhaps it is not Mexican at all and I would look so foolish. But in America del Norte it may sound Mexican!”
Anxious to hear about the reception of the piece, Copland asked explicitly for Chavez to pass on that information to him in 1937 after he sent the piece to be performed. He writes:
“I hope the Festival will be a big success. Also, that you’ll enjoy working on the Salon Mexico. Be sure to have Armando send me all the reviews – even those of Senor Pollares!”
The correspondence between Copland and Chavez provides a fascinating insight into the concerns and enthusiasm that Copland had over the piece and shows that Copland himself was very consciously thinking about the issues of race and musical representation during the composition of his piece. Some interesting questions to ask would be whether or not Copland ought to be writing pieces which he worries are “authentic” only to an audience they do not belong to. Is it reinforcing racial stereotypes if the culture wildly raving the piece as “Mexican” is America? Is Copland advocating the writing of stereotyped pieces? Or is he trying to authentically capture and represent what might constitute as “Mexican music?” Would doing so be a respectful celebration or appropriation of Mexican music? Is Copland’s correspondence with Chavez reveal a genuine desire to please Mexican audiences or to market to American audiences? These are all questions without answers, because that’s what this class is about.
Works Cited:
Kostelanetz, Richard. Aaron Copland: A Reader. Great Britain: Routledge, 2004. Print.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.copland.phot0005/default.html
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When Gershwin wrote “I Got Rhythm” for the 1930’s musical Girl Crazy, he couldn’t have known what effect he had on the direction of jazz for years to come. The chord progressions and simple rhythm changes presented in “I Got Rhythm” have become second nature in the most common harmonic structure of jazz.
It was 1930, and the Gershwin brothers were working on the score of Girl Crazy, their next Broadway show. The chorus of the song, based on a syncopated four-note figure, was cast in standard 32-bar AABA form with a two-bar tag. Of the seventeen lines in the lyrics of its chorus, thirteen are set to the same four-note figure, a rhythmic cell that hits only one of the four strong beats in the two bars it covers.
For Ira (George’s brother and lyricist), “rhythm” in this song was tied up with aggressive, accented, syncopated groupings of beats. Together the music and lyrics would create a catchy tune that would become something so great in very little time.
Within ten days of the opening of Girl Crazy on the 14th, three significant recordings of “I Got Rhythm” were made.
“On the 20th, Freddie Rich, conductor of the CBS Radio Orchestra, recorded it with a group under his own name. On the 23d, Red Nichols and His Five Pennies—all thirteen of them, and including Goodman, Krupa, Miller, and other members of the Girl Crazy pit band, plus vocalist Dick Robertson—made their own version. And on the 24th, one of New York’s best black bands, Luis Russell and His Orchestra, recorded another version. Each can be taken to represent the beginning of a different approach to Gershwin’s number: (1) “I Got Rhythm” as a song played and sung by popular performers; (2) “I Got Rhythm” as a jazz standard , a piece known and frequently played by musicians, black and white, in the jazz tradition; and (3) “I Got Rhythm” as a musical structure , a harmonic framework upon which jazz instrumentalists, especially blacks, have built new compositions.”
The endurance and progression of popularity in the jazz tradition expanded largely due to its extensive use by early bebop musicians. The chords were first used in 1930s and developed into a popular jazz standard. “I Got Rhythm” became extremely common in the ’40s and ’50s when composers listened to the song and wrote a new melody over its chord changes, thereby creating a contrafact- a new melody overlaid on a familiar harmonic structure. Gershwin’s influence in jazz music is now ubiquitous. In Robert Wyatt’s book The George Gershwin Reader,
Popular musicians like Sidney Bechet, Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker started to imitate Gershwin’s style.
1 Crawford, Richard. “George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” (1930).” The American Musical Landscape. University of California Press. 1993. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. <http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft0z09n7gx&chunk.id=d0e6504&toc.id=d0e14086&brand=ucpress>.
2 Wyatt, Robert. “George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” (1930).” The George Gershwin Reader. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. 156-172. Print.
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Copland’s Dance Symphony was written in 1925 during the height of the development of symphonic jazz.
The 1920’s in the United States welcomed a new type of distinctly American music that combined music created by African Americans and stylized it for white audiences. Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Paul Whiteman and others can be credited with popularizing this new orchestral genre.
Distinct from New Orleans and Chicago styles of jazz, orchestral jazz included new style features like polyphony instead of homophony, the general expansion of instrumentation from big bands to orchestral instruments, and a shift to pre-arranged compositions rather than collective improvisation. Paul Whiteman commissoned several composers, including Gerswhin’s Rhapsody in Blue, to write music with the instrumentation and style features of jazz, but with the scale and structure of a symphony orchestra.
“In the twenties, most of those who listened at all regarded jazz as merely an energetic background for dancers; the few who sought more profound values in the music tended to accept Paul Whiteman’s concert productions… as the only jazz worth taking seriously.” – Paul Whiteman on symphonic jazz 1
Aaron Copland was a young composer during these “golden years” for American popular music and jazz. Determined to make it as a full time composer, Copland lived in a studio apartment near Carnegie Hall in New York. He created a group with several of his younger contemporaries, including Virgil Thomson, called the “commando unit” to help promote each other and their works, but also influence each other in what the American style would be in the 20th century.
Young Aaron Copland in New York 2
The Dance Symphony is divided into three distinct sections, but there must not be any pause between movements. The first movement begins with a short slow introduction, followed by a light allegro. The tune is passed around in the woodwinds, starting in the bassoon, moving to the oboe and finally resting in the clarinet. Meanwhile, each time the tune is accompanied by soft plucked violins and harp. With each version of the tune, combos of instruments are used, like the jazz combos popular in the day. 3
The second movement is more interesting in that it layers multiple melodies on top of each other. This is a technique popularized by Charles Ives around the same time.
The third movement is more interesting still because of its characterization of violence and syncopation. It begins with a jazzy motive using chords and blue notes popular in jazz. There is an extended development of all the material similar to the standard jazz form of numerous solos over a bass line ending with “all motives blazoned forth at once.” 4
1 Hadlock, Richard. The World of Count Basie. New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1980
2 (picture of Aaron Copland in New York) http://www.pbs.org/keepingscore/copland-american-sound.html
3 Copland, Aaron, and Richard Kostelanetz. “His Own Works.” In Aaron Copland: A Reader; Selected Writings 1923-1972, 232-3. New York: Routledge, 2004.
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So how exactly did Aaron Copland meet the famed Nadia Boulanger? To be honest, it appears he never wanted to. Well, at least he didn’t think he would. In the summer of 1921, Copland sailed to France to study composition at the American Conservatory, in Fontainebleau where he was “handed over to the head composition teacher of the Paris Conservatoire, Paul Vidal… [a] solidly trained, conservative man, known to the musical world in Paris as one of the top composers of the day— certainly one of the top teachers of the day,” but as Copland put it, “had nothing to tell me that was of interest.” 1
Nadia Boulanger
So his first teacher wasn’t a roaring success. What about Nadia Boulanger? Boulanger, at the time of Copland’s arrival, taught harmony, and as a subject, he “wasn’t interested in harmony at all. It was old stuff to [him].” 2 It took a little persuading from a classmate of his, but Copland finally decided to observe what Boulanger had to offer. When asked about his first encounter, Copland stated “I don’t remember what Boulanger was doing, harmonically speaking, that was so striking. It was more the sense of warmth of the personality that was very striking— and the sense of involvement in the subject— that made it seem much more lively than I ever thought harmony could be— a sudden excitement about it all, and how it was the basis of everything when you really thought about it.” 3 Copland, was hooked.
Copland and Boulanger enjoying dinner together
Nadia Boulanger was described as being “very honest— sometimes brutally honest” yet very open-minded to what her students were doing. She was, in fact, a French woman who held herself with a “certain reserve,” but at the same time was quite “warm and friendly.” 4 After deciding to study with her, despite the fact she was a female (which was “revolutionary” to Copland) 5 the life of the young composer would never be the same. Through his relationship with Boulanger, Copland had the opportunity to meet famous composers such as Stravinsky and Poulenc and was even published by Debussy’s own publisher. 6 Nadia Boulanger opened countless doors for Copland. As Copland put it, “it was more than a student-teacher relationship.” They were also great friends.
Copland and Boulanger
References:
1 Perlis, Vivian, and Van Cleve, Libby. Composers’ Voices from Ives to Ellington : An Oral History of American Music. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press, 2005. 300.
Reply
During the Great Depression, the United States government took action to provide work for the unemployed musicians (70% of American musicians) that had been displaced by falling audience attendance in venues around the country. In 1935, the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Project Number One implemented relief for musicians with the Federal Music Project. The Federal Music Project employed musicians to perform in both concert and folk/dance settings, teach lessons, and conduct musicological research. The Works Progress Administration was the first instance of government funded music in the United States, and this shift in the way the country approached music affected both the music being made and the relationship between composers, audience members, and, as the letter below reveals, critics. 1
In the following open letter from Aaron Copland, Copland clarifies the reasons for the intended conference between critics and composers at the Yaddo Music Festival and chastises critics for failing to attend:
Though this letter dates three years prior to the implementation of Federal Project Number One, Copland was already beginning to articulate the changes that were happening in American music. By the mid-1930s, Copland himself was transitioning into his fourth stylistic period which incorporated recognizable melodies into a major-minor tonal system in an effort to garner widespread appeal. 2 Copland made the shift from abstract music to accessible music during this period because the Depression made audience appeal a significant factor in composing music. If music was to survive the Depression, it needed an audience to do so. Thus, composers like Copland sought to create music that the general public would deem valuable enough to listen to.
In Copland’s letter, he calls upon critics to play their role in the transmission of music from composer to audience. The following excerpt best captures his frustration with critics for their failure to adapt to–or even recognize the need to adapt to–the changing musical climate of the United States:
Our purpose was the thoroughly serious one of considering the relation between the American composer and the music critic of the daily press and to discover what might be done to make that relation more vital and more important than it now is . . . . [the critic] is an absolute necessity [to the composer], if only because he serves as a middle man between the public and the creative artist. . . . music critics of the daily press will soon come to realize that the position of the American composer has changed, and that he is no longer satisfied with the merely tolerant and often apathetic attitude of the press toward American music in general . . . 3
With these words, Copland is saying that the music industry can no longer afford to be neutral towards the role the audience plays. He does not ask critics to manipulate their reviews in order to purvey American music to the public (in the sense of propaganda), but he does encourage them to have more of an opinion about American music, presumably to incite discussion, curiosity, and even knowledge of American music among potential audience members. Critics were integral to garnering interest for the changing American music scene of the Depression era, and Copland calls on them–as he called upon himself–to ensure that American music would have a lasting future.
Footnotes
1 Richard Crawford,”‘The Birthright of All of Us’: Classical Music, the Mass Media, and the Depression,” in America’s Musical Life: A History (New York: Norton, 2001) 590.
2 Ibid., 587.
3 Aaron Copland, Selected Correspondence of Aaron Copland (New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press, 2006), 91.
Today, I will remain in the vein of composers and their culinary expeditions, as established by fellow author Phil Biedenbender ( Here’s his post on Mahalia Jackson and her fried chicken excursion) .
A pioneer of the “American” sound in classical music and winner of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize in music, Virgil Thomson had some serious musical chops. But did you know he also cooked gourmet lamb chops?
Virgil Thomson sharpening his knives in preparation
[1]
We know Virgil Thomson mainly through his acerbic wit revealed in his writings and musical critiques. Thomson wrote many letters to his friends and acquaintances, some criticizing music, some about special occasions, and even some advice about various topics. His prose is known for being blunt and often funny even if he was being offensive. Thomson’s curiosity was insatiable, composing for almost every genre of music and absorbing all that was new around him.
Thomson also had a passion for fine wine and dining that could only be matched by his passion for music. He once stated, “If I was going to starve, I might as well starve where the food is good.” Thomson’s dinner parties were legendary. Few people were invited since space was limited in his residence at the Hotel Chelsea in New York City, home to other greats such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. But those that were fortunate enough to attend were treated to an amazing meal and enlightening conversation. He may have been one of the most well-connected men in New York during his time, as people worldwide wanted to stay in contact with him.
Correspondence from Virgil to fellow composer, Charles Shere
[2]
As enigmatic and detached he may seem in writing and his compositions, Thomson’s love of food makes him at once more personable as well as knowledgable. People would have not gone to his parties if he was a discourteous host or did not have engaging discussions. He showed a human side of himself that people may have never thought existed through the various meals that he hosted. Even as he was getting into his 80s and 90s, Thomson never lost his vigor and remained as sarcastic as ever until his death.
[3]
I wish I could have had the pleasure of being served his pot roasted guinea pig.
1. Hodgson, Moira. 1980. “Virgil Thomson Orchestrates a Meal And Reminisces.” New York Times (1923-Current file), Oct 29. http://search.proquest.com/docview/121418217?accountid=351 (Accessed March 22).
2. Shere, Charles, and Margery Tade. Everbest Ever: Correspondence with Bay Area Friends (Berkeley, CA: Fallen Leaf Press, 1996), 30.
3. Ibid., 45-46.
3
As the folk tradition started to die out, American folk started to take flight when John and Alan Lomax recorded and collected music of the rural regions of the United State, particularly in penitentiaries. In the 1940s, artists around the country decided to takes these recorded folk songs and make their own recordings. A single vocal accompanied by a guitar became the standard folk song, and people decided to write their own songs in the “folk” style. 1
Along with this surge of new folk composers came Father Ian Mitchell, “the guitar-toting Episcopal priest…, and his wife, folk-singing star Caroline.” 2 Father Ian Mitchell composed The American Folk-Song Mass, consisting of several liturgical and some original text set to the twang of the guitar. The Chicago Defender stated that “Father Mitchel composed [The American Folk-Song Mass] because he got tired of ‘cloying, cornball, 19th Century hymns.’” 3 Later, Father Mitchell released Catholic version of his folk-song mass, incorporating the texts of the Roman Catholic Liturgy. According to the liner of the Catholic version of the mass, Father Mitchell was later commissioned to compose the Funeral Folk Mass.
According to the Chicago Defender, Father Ian Mitchell and his wife Caroline signed on to the Newport Folk Festival, best known for hosting renowned folk singers such as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell, to perform songs from their newly released album Songs of Protest and Love. However, I hardly consider Father Mitchell’s music to actually be “folk.” Father Ian Mitchell was “a city-dweller who spent three years in the wastelands of Utah,” seemingly making him more apt to folk styles. 4 All he did was take liturgical text and sing them with a different melody with a guitar accompaniment. According to Oxford Music Online, “the [folk] revival spawned a large number of singer-songwriters who accompanied themselves on the acoustic guitar but had little in common with those concerned primarily to bear witness to the tradition.” 5 I believe that Father Ian Mitchell falls into this category and his “folk-song” mass should be considered “Mass: Plus Guitar, Minus Organ.”
1 Laing, Dave. “Folk Music Revival.” Grove Music Online. www.oxfordmusiconline.com (accessed Mar. 12, 2015)
2 “Newport Folk Festival to Feature “Singing Priest”.” Chicago Daily Defender (Big Weekend Edition) (1966-1973), July 12, 1969. http://search.proquest.com/docview/493434506?accountid=351.
4 Mitchell, Ian. Rev. “The American Folk-Song Mass” F.E.L Records. Back Cover.
5 Laing, Dave. “Folk Music Revival.”
Reply
The Chicago Defender possesses a number of music reviews and articles describing contemporary performances of the time. These are a valuable resource as they give insight into the way both audiences and critics of the time received or reacted to new music, composers, and performers. Articles written within days of the performance can help distinguish between ideas or sentiments about a particular piece or composer that developed at the time, or were formed later. Reading in a newspaper article from 1959 that William Billings was “the first American composer” carries with it a different tone than a music historian much later in history ascribing this title to Billings as an after thought or reflection.
Reading that Ella Fitzgerald performed and sang William Billings February of 1959 also gives insight into the nature of performers and who was performing Billings, and to what audience they were performing to.
Similarly this article from March also describes the prevalence of Billing’s legacy and popularity. Also describing his music as “American” the attribution of Billings music possessing some type of uniquely American quality to it, is a longstanding concept that these articles demonstrate has been around for a while. Using newspaper articles of more recent history are a valuable insight into discovering the roots or at least history and prevalence of an idea.
Works Cited:
http://search.proquest.com/hnpchicagodefender/docview/493694616/22CE16733AF34886PQ/4?accountid=351
http://search.proquest.com/hnpchicagodefender/docview/493701102/22CE16733AF34886PQ/7?accountid=351
3
Folk music is one that draws many questions from American music historians. Questions like, “who owns folk music?”, “where did these tunes originate?”, and “what is a folk song?”. One perspective that is particularly interesting and comes to a strong conclusion is that the origin of American folk music is based upon African Tradition. An article in The Chicago Defender claims that from African Americans and slave music, the genre of folk emerged. The argument is that the melodies of African American music prior to the Civil war were considered true American folk songs. Some original, but also based on African traditional music. The English, French, and Spanish all brought their own style of song to the United States, so their music isn’t naturally American. Oscar Saffold wrote in his article, “There is, however, a real indisputable folk song in America, an American production, born in the hearts of slaves — expressing a part of the life of our country.” This can be argued against, saying that the music of the slaves is originally from Africa, but Saffold’s argument is moreover strong, in that the African American traditional music had a large influence on proceeding music styles such as the blues and then jazz.
During the time of the Civil Rights’ Movement, there were many protests in southern United States, to express the desires and rights of equality among people; To blur the racial lines. These protests were filled with demonstrations that used art to promote equality, and the folk song emerged as an effective protest song. This incorporated the melodies of the old slave songs, but with new words. For example:
This type of folk song is called a freedom song. It was used as a way to unite a community of people during the Civil Rights’ Movement, and was thought to communicate and express sentiments when words weren’t enough. This is tied into the work songs of slaves during the Antebellum South.
A poignant quote from the article says, “while there is no American folk song in the sense of expressing American life as a whole, still there is a folk song in America, and that is the music of the Negro” (Saffold). The roots of American folk music go deep into the history of the African American slaves of Southern American, and since, folk music has taken on many other attributes with the Folk Revival of the late 20th Century.
Bibliography
Saffold, Oscar E. “How american folk songs started.” The Chicago Defender (National edition) (1921-1967), 25 Feb. 1933. http://search.proquest.com/docview/492356076?accountid=351
“Songs seen Vital in Albany Demonstrations.” Chicago Daily Defender (Daily Edition) (1960-1973), 22 Aug. 1962. http://search.proquest.com/docview/493909703?accountid=351.
Reply
John Coltrane is known as one of the world’s most skilled saxophonists. As a jazz composer as well, his pieces fell into the bebop and hard bop jazz genres before incorporating modes and spearheading the free jazz movement. He was never one to do the same thing twice. He is also known for taking a theme or melody, stretching it out over a long period of time (sometimes as long as 45 minutes), repeating it over and over, playing it differently with each repetition.
In August of 1964, columnist for the Chicago Defender Louise Davis Stone managed to exchange a few words with Coltrane during the intermission of one of his shows. She asked him a question that was on the minds of many: whether or not the jazz genre was fading and losing the interest of many of its listeners.
Coltrane did not give a concrete answer, saying, “I don’t know whether jazz is dying or not. My records are selling well and I’m happy about that. I have no fear about my music being too way out. You are not going to find something new by doing the same thing over and over again. You add something to the old. You have to give up something to get something.”¹ Not having a firm answer can seem a bit disconcerting to some, especially to those to thoroughly enjoy the jazz genre. However, Coltrane’s comments about adding something to the old has merit. How else will an artist forge their own paths if they only cover exactly what has already been written and performed?
When Coltrane arranged “My Favorite Things,” for example ( https://play.spotify.com/track/6oVY50pmdXqLNVeK8bzomn ), he was not interested in performing it the same fashion as Mary Martin and Patricia Neway from the original Broadway performance (Sound of Music). He turned the vocal line into a solo for saxophone. The general “groove” of the song was changed as well from the original. Coltrane added new things to the old, made it his own, and gave the track a new life and spirit.
To the modern ear of the time, these alterations sounded more new age than what they were used to. That is exactly what Coltrane is not afraid of: new ideas and concepts that make the listeners’ ears perk up.
¹LOUISE, DAVIS STONE. “The Jazz Bit.” The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967), Aug 01, 1964. http://search.proquest.com/docview/493094849?accountid=351.
3
Bach and Handel had the same eye doctor (who botched both their surgeries). Brahms went to a tavern called The Red Hedgehog every day. Debussy loved cats.
Sometimes we need to be reminded that the musicians we worship did not just compose, play, or sing. They were just like us. They had lives, they had other interests, and, in Mahalia Jackson’s case, they had fried chicken.
Chicago Defender, October 31, 1970.
In 1968, Jackson, still at the height of her singing fame, started a fried chicken chain in Chicago, meant to be the black counterpart to country comedian Minnie Pearl’s own chain as well as a competitor to Colonel Sanders’s rapidly expanding Kentucky Fried Chicken. Though we now claim Jackson as part of our shared American musical heritage, the intended audience for this chain implies a more limited role for Gospel music in the 1960s. As an article in the African-American newspaper The Chicago Defender noted, the chain was “black-owned, managed and staffed and is hiring in the communities in which it operates.”
In this way, the chain was most definitely a product of the 1960s. In the midst of the Civil Rights Era, less than 15 years after the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declaring segregation in public schools to be illegal, integration was still in progress. Black and white restaurants and neighborhoods, though not legally segregated, existed (and, in fact, still exist today).
In the end, even with her name, fame, and star power, the restaurant chain was a bust. Both Minnie Pearl’s and Mahalia Jackson’s stores went out of business within a few years. A final restaurant bearing her name (Mayo’s Fried Pies and Mahalia Jackson’s Chicken in Nashville) closed in 2008.
I don’t blame Richard Crawford for not including this story in our textbook, “American Musical Life.” There’s only so much you can include, and, however much I might like to say otherwise, knowledge of Mahalia Jackson’s Glori-Fried Chicken is not essential to understand Gospel music. But stories like this one put history in context and show the humanity and depth of musicians. They are people, just like us.
Go grab some fried chicken and enjoy a performance by the Queen of Gospel.
“2d Mahalia Jackson Chicken Shack Opens.” Chicago Daily Defender (Big Weekend Edition) (1966-1973), Oct 31, 1970. http://search.proquest.com/docview/493558307?accountid=351.
Miller, Adrian. Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press. 2013.
2
An article written about the Mariposa music festival featured in Rock Magazine. 1972, Vol. 3, Issue 10
The folk music revival was carried by and largely served the young men and women who were raised to volunteer, organize civil rights protests and activist groups and work with political powers (at least at the start) to effect the change they envisioned for the world. These college-age individuals rejected commercial mass culture while they favored borrowing and adapting older music from previous generations to serve their own purposes.
During the 1970s, there was a boom in music festivals. Occurring over the span of 3-12 days, festivals became the best place to discover new artists, interact with new like-minded people and share new ideas about politics and the world. (They were also associated with drug use, but that’s not the focus of this article.) Festivals were generally grassroots efforts, organized by local communities, regionally or nationally and could have an educational focus. “The Mariposa Folk Festival in Toronto, Canada is one of the biggest in North America. [In the summer of 1972] it broke even and its organizers were happy.”1
Many different artists came to the festival to perform the music that was shaping the mentality and ethos of the college-attending generation in 1972. Old folk tunes were repurposed, given new life with new words about the ideas and emotions of the heartbroken and those downtrodden by society.2
“In 1965, a young folk singer named Joni Anderson hitchhiked to Mariposa from Calgary and in 1970 she drew 12,000 to a night concert because she was the famous Joni Mitchell … [James] Taylor was asked to Mariposa because ‘he has a lot of roots in folk’ not because he would draw people. Taylor came because he wanted to, not for the money, which amounted to $75. That is the most any performer is paid, along with his traveling and accommodation expenses. Why? Because Mariposa is an annual gathering of balladeers, not a rock festival.”
Today, we still see (or hear of) people borrowing from other musical ideas and traditions. What they borrow leads to commercial success––in the case of Amy Winehouse and Iggy Azalea . Artists borrow ideas for several reasons: they identify with some aspect of the idea or culture, to make money, necessity demands that they adapt their music to today’s pop standards by updating the sounds or affect they use, or, to make a statement. We are in a never ending cycle of cultural repetition. Everything we produce and consume will reoccur in another form some time (shortly or long after) the “original” was produced. However, the questions have not changed from the 1970s when the folk music revival was in full swing, nor from when bluegrass was in its developmental stage as a musical genre. What is the intent behind artist’s borrowing ideas from others and how many alterations must the new work undergo before it is something original? Is there a way to respectfully reproduce or change something when you yourself have not been around to experience the genesis of that idea or have little to no connection with that cultural movement, people, or idea? And what is the significance of festivals? What role do they play with the appropriation, adaptation and spread of ideas and are they important cultural hub or a temporary collection of society’s social outcasts and wannabe reshapers?
The Mariposa music festival still is around today. This year, the festival’s dates are July 3-5, 2015.
1. Musgrave, Corinne. “Mariposa: The Festival That Never Fails.” Rock, 1972 3, no. 10 (1972): 20-21.
2. Crawford, Richard. America’s Musical Life. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001.
2
Roberta Martin proved that singing was not the only role open to women in gospel music. Her work has inspired many of the gospel genre and always instilled joy and encouragement to her listeners. Let this song play as you read!
In 1933, Roberta Martin and Theodore Frye organised a male quartet with Martin as the accompanist and occasional soloist. By 1936, the group was renamed The Roberta Martin Singers. The group was one of the first featuring male and female singers and soon developed a certain style that was called ‘The Roberta Martin Sound.’ The gospel songs are composed songs but within a clearly discernable gospel performance tradition. Generally, that tradition is more reflective of folk music stylistic traits than distinct compositional techniques, but Roberta Martin’s style of arranging and performing was unique and recognizable. “‘The Roberta Martin sound’ that boasted musical accompaniment of rich harmonies and fluid runs and arpeggios along with falling melodic lines and innovative use of dissonance.” 1
Thoughts from Theodore C. Stone’s “Personality Spotlight” on Roberta Martin’s work. (Citation 2)
(Citation 2)
During the 1940’s and 1950’s music, The Roberta Martin Singers were among the best in the country and the group toured the United States and Europe. By 1947, the Roberta Martin Singers had begun their recording career and received multiple Gold Record Awards. 3
One thing that followed through the entire process was Roberta’s drive to give meaning and joy to the music. Consequently, the music the Roberta Martin created influenced many and became a staple for the Afro-American Gospel genre.
What is undoubtedly true is that Roberta and her Singers made a huge contribution to gospel music history. The Gospel sound that Roberta Martin began is everywhere. In the Anthony Heilbut book, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times, he gives Roberta the credit to the feel of the rock genre. 4
After her death on January 18, 1989, the huge turnout for her funeral was just a small sign of gospel’s hold on its followers. 6 On 15th July 1998 the United States Postal Service issued four 32 cent commemorative stamps honoring four of the queens of gospel music – Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Roberta Martin. 7 The Smithsonian was recognizing a woman who was majorly influential as a singer, pianist, composer, choral organizer, arranger, music publisher, and overall advocate for the Gospel tradition.
(Citation 8)
1 McNeil, William K., ed. Encyclopedia of American gospel music. Routledge, 2013. p. 242.
2 Stone, T. C. (1960, Jan 23). Personality spotlight. The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/492935100?accountid=351.
3 McNeil, William K., ed. Encyclopedia of American gospel music. Routledge, 2013. p. 242.
4 Heilbut, Anthony. The gospel sound: Good news and bad times. Hal Leonard Corporation, 1975. p, x.
5 Ibid, p, x.
6 Ibid, p, x.
7 McNeil, William K., ed. Encyclopedia of American gospel music. Routledge, 2013. p. 242.
8 Stone, T. C. (1960, Jan 23). Personality spotlight. The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/492935100?accountid=35.
1
There is a discussion about whether bluegrass music, a kind of music promoted and developed by Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys band from 1950s, is “authentic” folk music. According to the research I did, by the time bluegrass music had been labeled as “folk”, the hallmarks of the style (e.g. acoustic instruments, fast tempo and high tenor vocals) included many of the features that had originally made up by Monroe himself, as an “original invention”, not a subgenre of “folk” music or folk revival. However, bluegrass was adopted by the revivalists later as a type of “folk” music since revivalists subjected bluegrass to ideals of authenticity that have.
When Steve Rathe interviewed Bill Monroe in Dec. 10, 1973, Bill Monroe first told audience about “what bluegrass music is and what elements have gone into its composition”.
Ewing, Tom, ed. The Bill Monroe Reader. University of Illinois Press, 2000.
From this interview, I can see that Bill Monroe saw his music as a new production, a synthesis of genres he admired, and a way of making profits. However, at this time bluegrass music had not been ”absorbed” by folk revivalist and the best way of gaining this kind of acceptance was to characterize bluegrass as ”folk”. I assumed that it won’t be hard to see bluegrass as folk music, since it featuring much of the traditional repertoire that interested the revivalists.
For example, from the interview Bill Monroe also mentioned his reproduction of Mule Skinner Blues, which completely fit in his definition of bluegrass. I was disappointed of not being able to find an online score of this song, but I can still recognize some characteristics he mentioned in the recording.
The song uses the instrumentation of bass, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo. The rhythm, especially the syncopation featured a combination of blues songs and early 20th-century pop song, with fast-paced instrumental breakdowns. After a short entrance, Bill starts with his high-pitched, “lonesome” vocal line with four-parts harmony; and he shows his use of the folk tune “the little mule” in the second stanza. Also, he separates song verses and choruses with virtuosic instrumental soloing.
However, since bluegrass had its origins as a commercial country music in which artists performed on the Grand Ole Opry and recorded for major labels, the music couldn’t hold up as an unchanging tradition that was anti-commercial and “from the mass”. As far as I understand, putting bluegrass in folk genre was an imagined construction and lack of grounding support. Asserting membership in a genre can thus be a form of cultural affirmation, a process that Allan Moore has identified as “second person” arises when a performer succeeds in conveying the impression to the listener that the listener’s experience of life is validated.
I would love to end with what Charles Keil said about folk music:
2
When many people think of American folk music, some of the first musicians that comes to mind are Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie. Few people know of Odetta Holmes, known simply by her stage name Odetta. Her name isn’t even mentioned in the Wikipedia “American Folk Music” page! Most people know her as “The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement,” due to her influential role she played as an activist and blues/gospel musician.
Odetta in the Chicago Defender, 1964
[1]
However, Odetta started off not as a folk singer, but instead earned a music degree at Los Angeles City College. She went on to tour with a musical theater group performing “Finian’s Rainbow,” which was, fittingly, about prejudice. As she toured, she discovered that enjoyed singing in the coffeeshops late at night, infusing her music with the frustration she experienced growing up. In a 2005 National Public Radio interview, she said: ”School taught me how to count and taught me how to put a sentence together. But as far as the human spirit goes, I learned through folk music” [2] .
Cover of Ballads and Blues
[3]
Odetta released her first solo album, “Odetta Sings Ballad and Blues,” in 1956. This album would turn out to be influential for a certain Bob Dylan. He stated in a 1978 Playboy interview that “the first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta,” after listening to this album in a record store. He learned all the songs and found something “vital and personal” in her singing [4] . Not only did her music draw Bob Dylan to folk music, but she also met Joan Baez, another popular folk musician, and Baez cites Odetta as one of her primary influences as well [5] . Two of the biggest names in American folk music were influenced by a woman and social activist that would later go on to perform at the 1963 march on Washington, march with Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, sing for presidents Kennedy and Clinton, as well as perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
I think that’s pretty neat
Ad for Odetta next to an ad for Bob Dylan in the Berkeley Tribe, 1969
Odetta singing Muleskinner Blues, 1956
Bob Dylan Singing Muleskinner Blues, 1962
1.”Photo Standalone 23 — no Title.” The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967), Jan 25, 1964. 10, http://search.proquest.com/docview/493137885?accountid=351.
2. Weiner, Tim. “Odetta, Voice of Civil Rights Movement, Dies at 77.” NYTimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/arts/music/03odetta.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (Accessed March 9, 2015)
3. “Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues, Expanded CD Cover.” 1956. wikipedia.org.
4.”Playboy Interview: Bob Dylan.” http://www.interferenza.com/bcs/interw/play78.htm (Accessed March 9, 2015)
5. Baez, Joan. And a Voice to Sing With: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009, p. 43.
6.”No Title.” Berkeley Tribe (1969-1972), 1969. 22-23, http://www.rockandroll.amdigital.co.uk/Search/DocumentDetailsSearch.aspx?documentid=1065486&prevPos=1065486&vpath=searchresults&pi=1
1
Folk music is ingrained in a sense of community and expression of the common man that many young people of the 60s and early 70s found as representative of the times and themselves. Folk artists played simply–typically a voice and guitar, with perhaps a harmonica. Listeners could collectively identify with the simplicity, and would feel connected to their peers. Folk music conveyed a peaceful time of long hair, free love, and a bohemian lifestyle.
But underneath the easy-strumming guitar and speak-singing voices were lyrics against the establishments that folk artists were so against. In 1967 festival singer Tim Buckley’s song, “The Earth is Broken,” government figures are called thieves.
But soon love is broken, they’ll take you away
Oh the wars they been growing as no relief
And the old men who ruled them oh they’re just like thieves
They rob from the sunshine, oh the air ain’t so clean
Our rivers are dirty where once we could see
A smile from your lady friend looking down
Look at that river hey did you ever shiver
Well the earth is broken there is no one to save
The “Home on the Range” era of sunny skies and seldom-heard discouraging words is definitely over.
In this article from East Village underground magazine The Other, Jerry Rubin presents his account of the 1967 Newport Folk Festival. Rubin is so against the idea of paying for music that he decided to attend the festival by creating a fake press pass.
“Music concerts should be free,” he says. “Profit is pornography.” Rubin then gets himself kicked out of the festival by passing out “a copy of the free Yippie newspaper…(spiritual thoughts from our anarchist-revolutionary point of view)” to a pair of nuns. The magazines are deemed to have pornographic images themselves, and the festival cops escort Rubin out, Rubin blaming it on his hippie appearance.
What this account illustrates is the atmosphere of festivals like the Newport Folk Festival. They were attended by a variety of groups, but all came to experience the community spirit so often found in folk. In unity, concert attendees were able to band together and share ideas. In addition, the values of folk music are passed to the people. While folk music quietly discusses political issues, listeners took these complaints to heart and acted out against the closest representation of the establishment–in Rubin’s case, the festival security. The sense of community gave a feeling of strength to festival-goers which was heavily expressed in their actions.
While folk music is overall peaceful, its political undertones were strong enough to convince listeners to act out upon the messages they heard. Political events of the time period combined with the inclusive underground communities created an acceptable atmosphere of dissent and resistance.
Sources:
Rubin, Jerry. “Yippie go home!” East Village Other, Vol.3, no.3. December 15, 1967. Accessed from Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950–1975.
http://www.rockandroll.amdigital.co.uk/Contents/ImageViewer.aspx?imageid=1099190&searchmode=true&hit=first&pi=1&themeF=Civil+Rights+And+Race+Relations%7cMusic&vpath=searchresults&prevPos=1065501
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In Ava DuVernay’s 2014 film “Selma”, poetic license is taken in depicting the role gospel singer Mahalia Jackson played in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. During a moment of doubt, Martin Luther King Jr. (played by David Oyelowo) phones Jackson (portrayed by R&B singer Ledisi) and asks her to share “the Lord’s voice” with him. She answers by singing the immortal gospel classic, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”. This song was a standard at prayer meetings and Civil Rights marches, and was even performed by Jackson at King’s funeral. It was her showstopper, and the song that was requested the most from her by both King and her audiences worldwide.
At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards on February 8th, 2015, the song was performed as a prelude to a “Selma tribute”, which featured R&B artist John Legend and rapper Common performing their Academy Award Winning Song from the film titled “Glory”. However, the song was performed not by Ledisi but by the undisputed modern queen of R&B: the one and only Beyoncé.
This inspiring and powerful performance elicited wide acclaim, though some were quick to point out that a true tribute would have featured Ledisi (who was in attendance), rather than Queen Bey. Criticism escalated when it became apparent that Beyoncé herself had approached Legend and Common about performing the song, as it wasn’t originally planned to be part of the show. However, amid the accusations of self-promotion and concerns over unfair exclusion, the opportunity for an discussion regarding style was unfortunately missed.
On one hand it is easy to criticize Beyoncé’s performance if we are comparing to the historical standard set by Jackson. It is fair to say that Ledisi followed this standard in preparing for “Selma”, mimicking some of Jackson’s techniques and melodic alterations. (The album the below performance is taken from is available in the St.Olaf Music Library, call number M2198.J3 M3 [v.1])
For live video performances by Jackson, check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0a8RNdnhNo ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as1rsZenwNc
Whereas Jackson displays virtuosity in the emotional range of her voice, Beyoncé relies more on virtuosic vocal runs more akin to flashy pop music than to a traditional gospel style. The spiritual component of Jackson’s version is amplified by the seemingly extemporaneous approach to the melody by Jackson and the fluid approach to the harmonic changes by her pianist and organist. Contrastingly, aspects of Beyoncé’s version seem meticulously rehearsed, from the timing her background singers movements to her rather parodic head movements at about 2:10.
But I think the biggest discrepancy between Jackson and Beyoncé’s performance is a matter of visual and emotional, rather than musical, aesthetics. In the live performances posted above, Jackson stands alone in the middle of the barren stage, barely moving but to look up to the sky. As the text suggests, she is powerless and none but God can help her in her time of trial. Beyoncé could not be more different, not only in complete control of her own body but seemingly in control of the 12 men behind her. She even cuts off the organ at the end! While this powerful depiction of an African-American woman is inspiring, it undeniably draws away from the meaning of the song, especially in conjunction with the accusation that this was more promotional stunt than impassioned performance. When Jackson performed, she would humbly tell the audience “I’m so happy for the way you are receiving me. I love applause. But you know I’m a gospel singer and I like to hear a few ‘amens’. ” [1]
That isn’t to say that any of this is bad, or that Ledisi would have performed any better or differently than Beyoncé. No one can or should deny how impressive and moving this performance is. Ledisi herself defended Beyoncé better than anyone.
“The song, ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord,’ has been going on forever. It started with the queen, Mahalia. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin (who sang the song at Jackson’s funeral, in 1972). Then I was able to portray and sing my version of the song. And now we have Beyonce. I’m a part of history. Look at it like that, instead of looking at it as a negative. To me it’s a great, great honor to be a part of a legacy of a great song, by Thomas Dorsey.” [2]
To this point, performances by Franklin and Whitney Houston are much more radical and pop-infused than those of Jackson and Ledisi, which arguably stay truer to recorded performances by Dorsey. But perhaps this development is a good thing. The ability of musicians (and more importantly, African-American women) to freely influence this song is a great thing, and stands for what Jackson herself fought and sang for. Dr.Benjamin Mays elegy for Jackson said it best:
“One can only hope that this great and good woman will never die but that her life will inspire so many young people that she will live on throughout eternity. In this way she will become immortal.” [3]
He may as well have been speaking of the song too.
[1] Duckett, Alfred. “Mahalia Jackson Like Applause (Beg Pardon) Amens at Concerts.” The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967), Jun 01, 1957. http://search.proquest.com/docview/492918933?accountid=351.
[2] Fensterstock, Allison. “Grammys 2015: Beyonce takes on Mahalia Jackson, and Ledisi has a perfect response.” The Times-Picayune, Feb 08, 2015. http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2015/02/grammys_2015_beyonce_takes_on.html
[3] Mays, Benjamin E. “Reminiscing about Mahalia Jackson.” Chicago Daily Defender (Big Weekend Edition) (1966-1973), Feb 26, 1972. http://search.proquest.com/docview/493504320?accountid=351.
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Various front page article headings from the Chicago Defender in March of 1965.
50 years ago this month, Dr. King called hundreds of people to join him in a march from Selma, Alabama to the state’s capital in Montgomery to protest voter registration. The protestors were to gather in the small community of Selma and take the 50 mile trek to address the current governor, George Wallace, and demand change. According to The Chicago Defender and as one would expect, the march was greeted with opposition. On the day of the march in 1965, there was a “tenseness” that covered the town of Selma. City officials contacted citizens urging them to “stay away from the demonstrations” and Gov. Wallace issued an order that said the march was prohibited and that state troopers were to use “all force necessary” to stop the procession. 1 You could say things were not going well… The march was attacked with force and people were beaten and tear-gassed in the streets for fighting for their own rights.
This protest rocked the country and today serves as a key point in the civil rights movement. The effects of this march even hit close to home. James Reeb, a white man of the church and St. Olaf graduate, died in this fight for freedom on March 11, 1965, 50 years ago from this Wednesday who is being memorialized this week on campus. Why do we memorialize people and events? Well one reason would be to remember what occurred and how it has shaped the way we live today. Maybe a better question is HOW do we memorialize the events of the Selma march. Photographs and statues, plaques and books, all are great options, but what about memorializing through song?
The Smithsonian has a
unique collection of recordings in their Smithsonian Folkways collection called “Freedom Songs: Selma, Alabama” which capture the emotional content of the march. Referred to as a “Documentary Recording,” Carl Benkert set out to preserve this moment in our nation’s history through sound. The liner notes confirm that “through all the events of those days, music was an essential element” and that the music expressed “hope and sorrow” while being able to “excite and pacify.” 2 One a
article even specifically states that the police arrested “hymn-singing Negroes.”sup> 3 Songs such as “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” and “We Shall Over Come” were lead by march leaders to establish a sense of unity among the protestors and calm the participants as the marched along their path. For the full list of recordings and to listen to excerpts of these march songs, check out the Smithsonian Folkways webpage.
Or listen here:
Resources
1 Leon, Daniel. “Prepare for Today’s Big March in Selma.” Chicago Daily Defender (Daily Edition) (1960-1973), Mar 09, 1965. http://search.proquest.com/docview/494135915?accountid=351.
2 Carl Benkert. Freedom Songs: Selma, Alabama. © 1965, 12004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1965 Folkways Records. FH 5594. Compact disc.
3 Lynch, John. “Arrest 218 in Selma; Protest to Continue.” Chicago Daily Defender (Daily Edition) (1960-1973), Jan 21, 1965. http://search.proquest.com/docview/494121982?accountid=351.
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As blues gained popularity through publication and performances it became blended with other types of popular music. Blues and rock music were obvious candidates for combination, both drawing on folk instrumentation and sharing similar subjects. In Chicago, which was a hotbed of blues music when many black musicians migrated to Chicago to leave the South. Possibly the most influential musician of the blending is McKinley Morganfield AKA Muddy Waters. Waters got his start at home in Mississippi when Alan Lomax traveled there on behalf of the Library of Congress in 1941 and again in 1942. Waters was later released on the album “Down on Stovall’s Plantation” from these recordings.
This recording shows us that Muddy Waters is a legit player of the blues from the south and would be taken seriously by white audiences in the North.
In 1943, shortly after Lomax’s visit, Waters moved to Chicago in hopes of making it big as a blues musician. As Muddy Waters made his way as a blues performer he made with friends with Big Bill Broonzy who helped Waters become popular. This article from Cultural Equity highlights some of the connection between Muddy Waters and Big Bill Broonzy. Muddy Waters was put on singles in the late 40s and through the 50s in Chicago.
Waters gained popularity from recording Robert John tunes who had been on the blues mind since 1938 from the “Spirituals to Swing” concert in New York ( Here’s a short RadioLab episode about this concert and Robert Johnson, it’s great!).
Muddy Waters became very popular in Chicago and was seen as a performer who was keeping the folk in the blues and rock that he was performing. Because he had such a close connection to the south and his history there. The Defender wrote an article to this effect in 1972. Muddy Waters keeps alive an Afro-American culture
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It isn’t very often in history that we read African American views on African American music. Langston Hughes, who wrote a column for an African American newspaper called The Chicago Defender, published several articles reclaiming African American folk music after jazz, the blues, and really much of American folk music was influenced by that tradition and style. In his poetic storytelling, and sometimes angry tone, Hughes gets at an issue of American music-that it has consistently turned African American folk music tradition into popular music, entertainment, etc. and reaped the monetary benefits while casting authenticity aside.
His article titled “Slavery and Leadbelly are Gone, But the Old Songs Go Singing on,” complains that African Americans have forgotten their slave heritage. “In 1963 we will be one hundred years free. Have you forgotten that you were once a slave? Is it a memory you do not want to remember?” On one hand, singers like Leadbelly could be popular because there was a certain time distance from slavery so that musicians weren’t judged “Uncle Toms.” [1] On the other hand, there is some tension as to how the folk music out of the slave tradition should be remembered, because clearly Leadbelly’s songs that embody oppression and images of slavery remember it much differently than revivals of the blues and spirituals during the 50s and 60s.
Chicago Defender, 1954 click image for linked article [3]
In another issue, “The Influence of Negro Music On American Entertainment,” Hughes celebrates the pervasiveness of African American folk music in American music. “The Negro has influenced all of American popular song and dance, and that influence has been on the whole, joyous and sound…America’s music is soaked in our rhythms.” It is no coincidence that Langston Hughes was writing during the civil rights movement, when African Americans often re-claimed and re-defined their identity in an effort to create unity and political momentum. [2] Many of the folk musicians singing about civil rights, however, were white musicians making money off a style that used the folk idiom to appeal to the popular masses. Langston Hughes is quick to criticize this, calling into question the definition of folk music, how it is used, how it is remembered, and who has the right and responsibility to perform it.
Chicago Defender, 1953 click image for linked article [4]
[1] Richard Crawford, America’s Musical Life: A History, New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc, 2001, 746.
[2] Reebee Garofalo, “Popular Music and the Civil Rights Movement,” Rockin the Boat: mass music and mass movements, ed. Reebee Garofalo, Boston: South End Press, 1992.
[3] Langston Hughes, “Slavery and Leadbelly are Gone, but the Old Songs Go Singing On,” The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967), Sep 04, 1954, http://search.proquest.com/docview/492889401?accountid=351.
[4] Langston Hughes, “The Influence of Negro Music on American Entertainment,” Chicago Defender (National Edition),(1921-1967), Apr 25, 1953, http://search.proquest.com/docview/492962325?accountid=351.
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Who knew that Bob Dylan was in a movie? I sure didn’t, until reading this clipping from Chicago Defender‘s issue released May 23, 1973. Announcing the premier of Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, the author gives a short summary of the film and introduces the cast, which includes Bob Dylan. About the actors, he writes, “The cast is…truly noteworthy and Peckinpah acknowledges that the process of finding the right actor for the right role was painstaking work.” 1 Peckinpah was the director of the film and had experienced success in the past, and he comments on the cast of stars with newcomer Bob Dylan to the scene. He says “It pays off…with a great cast like this it’s almost gratuitous to say you’ve got a lot going for you.” 1
It appears that Peckinpah was perhaps counting on the fame of Dylan to bring the same success to this movie as others, as his acting is far from winning any academy wards in this film… and you can see for yourself.
The movie turned out to be a bust, and failed pretty miserably at the box office. According to the IMDb website, it netted only $4.5 million in contrast with Peckinpah’s 1969 film The Wild Bunch which 4 years earlier netted $10.5 million. I find it interesting that the author of the Chicago Defender article, as well as Peckinbah, make no mention of Dylan’s musical contributions to the production. After all, he provided much of the film score and music backing for the scenes, and perhaps the movie would have seen more success had it been advertised as having the music of Bob Dylan.
There was one success in the film, however, and that was the writing of Dylan’s original “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Coming towards the end of the film, this song covers the scene in which a wife watches her husband die of a gunshot wound, and the lyrics and emotion are poignant.
This song saw a lot of success outside of the film, being performed on stage by Dylan himself, and covered by many other bands. Some people forget that Dylan originally wrote the song, most often hearing covers by bands from Guns N’ Roses to even Avril Lavigne .
The final question remains: Why would Dylan even agree to be in a movie in the first place? I could see him doing the score for a film when hired, but acting was something he had never done before. I think people could use this as an example of Bob Dylan’s willingness to sell out for money. It’s been said that he started writing and performing folk music in the first place because he saw there was an audience for it in New York. After “going electric,” he revealed that he didn’t really like folk music all that much and preferred his plugged-in style. If he was willing to sell out his musical style, why not be a terrible actor for money as well?
1 “‘Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid’ premieres.” Chicago Defender. May 23, 1973. Real Times, Inc. Accessed March 8, 2015. http://search.proquest.com/hnpchicagodefender/docview/493996634/fulltextPDF/71673A8288A44921PQ/1?accountid=351
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Perhaps the biggest stars of the 1960’s Folk craze, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez captured audiences performing duets in addition to their successful solo careers. Their relationship is filled with ups and downs, each giving and taking from the other over the years. This tumultuous relationship may have its roots in their motivations for performing this music.
Concert Poster for Joan Baez and Bob Dylan 1
At first sight, Dylan describes the first time he saw Baez singing on TV while he was still in Minnesota, “I couldn’t stop looking at her, didn’t want to blink. . . . The sight of her made me sigh. All that and then there was the voice. A voice that drove out bad spirits . . . she sang in a voice straight to God. . . . Nothing she did didn’t work.” 2 Unfortunately Joan didn’t reciprocate Dylan’s admiration for him. She recalls being unfazed by what she heard when she first saw Dylan perform in 1961 at Gerde’s Folk City (a popular venue for the Greenwich village folk music scene artists in the 1960’s).
Joan Baez is originally from Staten Island, NY. Her father Albert, co-invented the electronic microscope as well as published a Physics textbook still commonly used today. Because of her father’s work in health care and with UNESCO, the family moved many times, living in towns across the U.S, as well as in England, France, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, and Iraq. Joan became involved with a variety of social causes early in her career, especially civil rights and an advocate of non violence. “Social Justice”, Baez says, “is the true core of her life looming larger than music.” 3
Joan Baez performing “Mary Hamilton” at the Newport Festival in 1960, one of her earliest performances.
In contrast, Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Hibbing, MN. Dylan began attending the University of Minnesota in 1959, only to drop out a year later and move to New York City to pay tribute to his idol, Woody Guthrie who had taken ill from Polio at the time. Dylan’s motivations for writing and performing folk music seem less rooted in social justice and more in its connection to the human spirit. At the 1965 Newport Festival Dylan walked on stage with an electric guitar in hand and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band backing him up. He was booed offstage after only three songs, at which point he returned with an acoustic guitar and a message for all the folk purists: “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” 4 Dylan was later quoted as saying he switched from Rock n Roll to Folk because “it was more of a serious type of thing. The songs are filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, much deeper feelings.”
Bob Dylan covering “This Land is Your Land” in Minneapolis in 1961 before moving to New York City to meet his idol, Woody Guthrie.
It seems that Baez felt a stronger connection with the movement surrounding the folk revival of the 1960’s, while Bob Dylan saw it as more of a form of political expression as much as a way to make his living and see his name in lights. Perhaps this difference was so decisive, that it ultimately caused their romantic as well as professional relationship to end?
1 Ehrenreich, B. (2001, May). Positively 4th street: The lives and times of joan baez, bob dylan, mimi baez farina and richard farina. Mother Jones, 26, 105. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213812109?accountid=351
2 “Joan Baez: How Sweet The Sound.” American Masters. October 14, 2009. PBS. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
3 “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum.” Bob Dylan Biography. January 1, 2015. Accessed March 9, 2015. https://rockhall.com/inductees/bob-dylan/bio/. Retrieved from Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975. http://www.rockandroll.amdigital.co.uk
2 “Joan Baez: How Sweet The Sound.” American Masters. October 14, 2009. PBS. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
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In the 1950s, several Americans who worked in the public sphere were under attack from United States Senator Joseph McCarthy during a time known as the Second Red Scare. Attempting to rid American media and entertainment of any trace of Communist sentiment, Senator McCarthy blacklisted writers, actors, and musicians who were suspected of Communist allegiance or sympathy. Anxiety over Communism lasted well into the 1960s, and one such victim of late McCarthyism was folk singer Pete Seeger in 1963. In the video below, former Governor Gordon Browning speaks at a press conference about Seeger’s suspected alliance with the “Communist Conspiracy” to warn folk music consumers of this potential “threat” to American entertainment.
Seeger’s alignment with populist / socialist sentiment and his incorporation of it into music was no secret. He had been a member of the Communist Party from 1942-1949, and he was a founding member of The Weavers, a folk group that performed songs like “Talking Union” 1 at workers strikes and other such political events until McCarthy blacklisted the group in 1953. Just two months before the 1963 press conference, Seeger released his album “We Shall Overcome” which featured songs that aimed to rally supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. That Seeger’s music was political is undeniable. 2
However, Browning brings up an interesting point when he says:
Folk singing, for hundreds of years, has been a highly respectable art, and a very wonderful form of entertainment, and now we are concerned that the Communists are moving into this field and that they are going to pervert this wonderful form of entertainment so it will satisfy their own needs. 3
Were folk revivalists, as Browning believes, using folk songs for political causes they were never meant to support, or has folk music always belonged to populist / socialist causes? In some ways, both are correct. It is certainly true that folk revival songs like “Talking Union” had more overtly political messages than traditional folk ballads like “Barbara Allen:”
Was in the merry month of May
When flowers were a-bloomin’
Sweet William on his deathbed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen
Slowly, slowly she got up
And slowly she went nigh him
And all she said when she got there
“Young man, I think you’re dying”
“O yes I’m sick and very low
And death is on me dwellin’
No better shall I ever be
If I don’t get Barbara Allen” 4
Yet, folk ballads such as “Barbara Allen” often addressed universal themes like love and played important roles in rural, often poor and oppressed communities like those in Appalachia. While traditional folk song did not always directly encourage political activism like songs of the folk revival movement did, they represented the common person. So, Browning was not mistaken in noticing the overt political messages in folk revival music that were absent in earlier folk music, but he was wrong to assume that traditional folk music did not support the same sentiments that the Leftist songs of the folk revival movement did.
Footnotes
1 “Talking Union,” Youtube video, posted by farmboy10001, December 8 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osnjAb-hoPo
2 “Seeger Pete.” In Encyclopedia of Popular Music, edited by Larkin, Colin. : Oxford University Press, 2006. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195313734.001.0001/acref-9780195313734-e-25192.
3 Gordon Browning, “Folk singers linked to alleged ‘Communist Conspiracy,’ Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975, 2:25, August 19, 1963, http://www.rockandroll.amdigital.co.uk/video/videodetails.aspx?documentId=664253&videoSearch=Pete+Seeger
4 “Ballad of America.” Barbara Allen (American Folk Song). Accessed March 8, 2015. http://www.balladofamerica.com/music/indexes/songs/barbaraallen/index.htm.
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The blues tradition started with emotion. Albert Murray, a black novelist, commented that the blues were a way for one to “[Confront, acknowledge, and contend] with the infernal absurdities and ever-impending frustrations inherent in the nature of all experience.”1 Drawing from the oral music traditions of “field hollers” and call and response, the blues had a strong presence and role of importance in black American communities starting during the Reconstruction period before segregation laws.
One of the early recordings of Alberta Hunter and Lovie Austin’s Down-hearted blues was done in 1923 2 (the YouTube recording below is from 1939). It follows the typical AABA structure the blues would follow and makes use of call and response primarily between the singer and a clarinet. One thing that can be noted is the inflections Hunter uses as she sings. Many of the accents and emotive inflections she uses in her phrasing would not be written down in the music––such as shortening a note at the end of a phrase, sliding into or between notes and adding accented vibrato to a sustained note.
The subject matter deals with the singer being unhappy in the romantic situation she’s in. Hunter specifically sings about “the man that wrecked her life,” but beyond the relationship, the man could be extended to representing her job or position in society (especially important given the time this piece was written in). In the first verse, Hunter sings that “the good book says you’ve got to reap just what you sow,” which is acceptance for the situation that she’s in––something she could have arguably had very much or very little control over to begin with.
1. Hogue, W. Lawrence. Discourse and the Other: The Production of the Afro-American Text. Durham, North Carolina, NC: Duke University Press, 1986.
2. Hunter, Alberta and Austin Love. Tennessee Ten: Down-hearted blues. Victor, 1923, audio recording, http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/9323.
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Woody Guthrie is an iconic folk singer and performer in American history. Most famously known for his performances of “This Land is Your Land,” Guthrie traveled the United States through the 40’s and 50’s singing anything from traditional folk music to anti-fascist songs about Hitler. However, I would guess that very few people would mention him as a prolific writer, or perhaps know that he wrote an autobiography (bonus points for those of you who did know).
.
This newspaper clipping (the rest of the issue found here ) comes from the Salt Lake Tribune in its May 30th, 1943 publication. The author of the article, initialed E.B.M., writes a sort of review or advertisement for Guthrie’s Bound for Glory, his autobiography published earlier that year. Acknowledging his musical prowess, she tries to draw the reader’s attention to “a book that will fascinate you, keep you awake at night.” She even goes on to call it “another of the great stories of America.” The autobiography itself details his life of travels through 44 of the United States. It tells a sad story of Guthrie starting out on his own at the age of 12 when his mother was placed in an asylum. Never resorting to begging, he painted signs or played music and sang for the money he earned. His story claims that he was even a fortune-teller in Texas at one point. E.B.M strongly points out Guthrie’s aversion to riches, quoting parts of his story when he ran away from his aunt (who led him out of the Texas dustbowl) after seeing her mansion, and how he left his $75 per week singing job in New York.
So why is this all important? The answer to that question lies in the ideals of folk music. As folk expert and Folkway Records founder Moses Asch explains, “folk means people, and this in turn means all of us, folk represents all of us.” 1 This is what connects Woody Guthrie’s music, but also importantly his story, to the rest of us people. Asch goes on to say that “folk expressions are…so identified with the people who use them that they express conscious and subconscious feelings and experiences.” 2 Guthrie’s story is that of a common man’s identity in folk — the story of a young, poor, boy who finds his life in music. Turning away (at least he claims) from fame and riches for the authenticity of folk ideals, his story can indeed represent all of us. Even without fame or riches, we can tell our own story, a book “bound” with glory.
Hollywood cinemas in mid-20th century would use blues songs as a means to articulate racial instability in the characterization of women who represented problems in terms of their sexuality, their morality, and their (lower) class status.
The song St.Louis Blues would be an example.
Composed by W. C. Handy in 1914, St. Louis Blues was first featured in black vaudeville circa 1916 by Charles Anderson. On the basis of the song’s popularity, Handy has been called “The Father of the Blues”.
The song begins with a woman’s lament for the end of the day: “I hate to see de evenin’ sun go down.” Her man has left her for another woman who had “store-bought hair” and became a temptation too great for him to ignore. Composed in G major, St. Louis Blues is a 12-bar blues that combine ragtime syncopation with “a real melody in the spiritual tradition”. Handy also addressed that features from tango music was also figured in the introduction as well as the middle strain. In the famous Marion Harris version, the tango motif was played by violins, with bassoon’s humorous staccato, creating the image of a lovesick woman, full of lovelorn sadness but still has the longing for life.
Handy writes in his autobiography:
However, did the Hollywood film production interpret the music as W.C. Handy’s interpretation? My answer would be NO- the hardness in life and love relationship was mostly lost. According to Peter Stanfield, Stella Dallas (1937) provided a good example of the complex ideological work that was often performed by blues music. Stella “decay” from a “mother” to a “sexualized” when she laying on the sofa with a sexy pose and playing St. Louis Blues on her phonograph (after seeing all these, Stella’s daughter decided to leave Stella forever). I think it is clear that the symbolic power of St. Louis Blues was shown here, by the “transgressive” female sexuality, the “blackening” of white identity, and “urban primitivism.”
I personally think it is not an occasion that the White society perceived Blues as “primitive” but “sexy” in early 20th century. Sociologist Gramsci’s idea of “culture hegemony” had to play in somewhere. White society would just love to take anything they want to take from black music- they redefined it and distorted it in order to adjust the entertainment of white people, without any further understanding of what the music actually talked about; Yet at the same time, African American musicians seemed already “accepted” the twisted impression in White society since they had to sale their music to white music dealers and singers, in order to make a living.
Sources:
Stanfield, Peter. 2002. “An Excursion into the Lower Depths: Hollywood, Urban Primitivism, and St. Louis Blues, 1929-1937”. Cinema Journal. 41, no. 2. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1225853
David Evans. “Handy, W.C..” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed March 4, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/12322.
Handy, W. C. St. Louis blues. New York: Handy Bros. Music Co., Inc., 1914.http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/lilly/devincent/LL-SDV-09808
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W.C. Handy, the Father of the Blues, in 1941.
From the 1890s to the 1910s, the world changed. A new era was sweeping the nation, the age of ragtime and the blues. As the popularity of this music skyrocketed, people all over America demanded to hear and dance to the music that before had only been available in regional enclaves like St. Louis, New Orleans, and Memphis. Sensing a money-making opportunity, musicians began to compose and play (and sell) what the public wanted to hear. The first musician to leap into commercialization of the blues was W.C. Handy, and his “Memphis Blues” is credited with inspiring the dance known as the foxtrot.
Mr. and Mrs. Castle dancing.
Meet Vernon and Irene Castle, a husband-and-wife dance team at the turn of the century. Through their hard work and numerous performances, they popularized social dancing and brought it from ballrooms into public venues. Needless to say, they were a big deal. As Handy recounts in his 1941 autobiography, Father of the Blues, their music director James Reese Europe played the slow “Memphis Blues” between faster dances (like the One-Step) to give the famous Castles a break. Falling in love with the rhythm, the couple decided to create a dance to go with the music. Following the contemporary craze of naming dances after animals (check out the Grizzly Bear, Turkey Trot, and Camel Walk), they originally called their dance the Bunny Hug but later changed the name to the foxtrot.
Maybe like me you assumed that the foxtrot has been around for a very long time. After all, the dance is included with the waltz, tango, and Viennese waltz in the American Smooth category of competitive dancing. But, like with the origins of the blues (while it is a descendent of centuries of African-American music, it is not itself an old genre), you cannot make assumptions about the history of a dance or a musical genre, lest we miss interesting connections like this one.
Armed with this knowledge, take a listen to Handy’s “Memphis Blues” and, if you know it, throw in a little foxtrot.
Click the image to listen to Morton Harvey’s 1914 recording of “Memphis Blues” at the Library of Congress’s National Jukebox.
Handy, W.C. Father of the Blues: An Autobiography. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1957.
Handy, W.C. “The Memphis Blues.” Morton Harvey, tenor. Victor 17657, 1914. Library of Congress National Jukebox, http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/117/ (accessed March 3, 2014).
Johnston, Frances Benjamin. [Irene and Vernon Castle, full-length, in dancing position]. Between 1910 and 1918. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98506505/ (accessed March 3, 2014).
Van Vechten, Carl. [Portrait of William Christopher Handy]. July 17, 1941. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004662979/ (accessed March 3, 2014).
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/4669
Originally from New Orleans, LA, the Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was recruited to Chicago in 1916 to perform at Schiller’s Cafe. There was interest in bringing a New Orleans-style band to Chicago. After a number of personnel changes, ODJB was booked to perform in New York City. Starting in January 1917, ODJB took up residency providing upbeat dancing music at Reisenweber’s Restaurant in New York City.
At the time, the center of the music recording industry was New York City and New Jersey. ODJB had earned their own following in New York and received invitations to record. In the end of February, the band recorded with Victor Talking Machine Company and recorded two sides of a 78 record under the Victor name. The song here, Dixie Jass Band One-Step, and Livery Stable Blues were the first songs released on this record.
Original Dixieland ‘Jass’ Band – Dixie Jass Band One-Step Victor 18255-A, February 26, 1917 Library of Congress National Jukebox
With the release of this record, ODJB gained immense popularity in America. The members dubbed themselves “Creators of Jazz” having given the American people their first taste of jazz with their record release. After a successful first release, the ODJB recorded more songs for a total of 25, 2-song records before the group’s disbandment in 1925.
Dixieland jazz is different than what we think of as “jazz” today. It follows the 12-bar blues model, but instead of having a dominant soloist in the foreground, each of the five players play throughout. It sounds as if each player is playing his own solo throughout the whole song. It gives a different flavor of ensemble than we are used to in today’s instrumental music.
One of the primary uses for this music was dance. The complexity of the music itself and each of the five instruments intertwining with each other parallels that of public dancing. Everyone dances to the same beat, but each person on the dance floor is dancing his or her own way. No one looks or sounds the same. The same applies to Dixieland Jazz.
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/4669
John Chilton. “Original Dixieland Jazz Band.” The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed.. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed March 2, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J339300.
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There are many disparities between the life and legacy of blues musician Robert Johnson. While he was known for playing street corners and juke joints instead of large venues, Yet he is widely (and somewhat mistakenly, according to author Elijah Wald) credited as one of the founding fathers of the genre, even earning the title, “King of the Delta Blues.” If Johnson had so little exposure during his lifetime, why is he the king of this genre?
Part of Johnson’s legacy can be accredited to the myth surrounding his success. Nearly every biography tells of a Faustian deal by which he acquired his talent. Johnson’s mentor, Son House, describes Johnson’s music pre-disappearance as a “racket” that drove the audiences “mad.” He disappeared to Arkansas for six to eight months; this is allegedly when he made his pact with the devil at the crossroads of Highway 49 and 61 in Mississippi. House of Johnson’s first concert upon returning: “When he finished, all our mouths were standing open” and, “He sold his soul to the devil to play like that.”
The belief is so intuitive to history’s representation of Robert Johnson that it’s included in his biographies as an almost indisputable fact, as evidenced in a quote from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
“Robert Johnson stands at the crossroads of American music, much as a popular folk legend has it, he once stood at a Mississippi crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for guitar playing powers.”
Some of the myth can be attributed to Johnson’s early death at 27 of unknown causes. However, the legend came to prominence after Johnson was rediscovered by white fans two decades after his death. Blues historian Pete Welding, who heard the Faust story from Son House, reported in a 1966 issue of Down Beat that it was taken quite seriously by many fans. Welding states that Johnson’s improvement as a guitarist actually spanned two years, but because of faulty reporting, there’s insufficient evidence to back it up.
Johnson certainly had the guitar “powers” to back up the claims. He’s ranked fifth in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list. Eric Clapton, who recorded a cover album commemorating Johnson’s work, called him “The greatest guitarist who ever lived.”During his time, Johnson was revered for playing in a pan-American style, with songs that resembled Chicago and St. Louis blues more than Delta music. Still, it’s important to remember that while Johnson has widely influenced American (and British) rock n’ roll after the 1950’s, he had virtually no effect on the development of the blues. Elijah Wald writes, “As far as the evolution of black music goes, Robert Johnson was an extremely minor figure…” Johnson’s Faust tale is an example about the mythically proportioned inaccuracies that are often created around the musicians and their histories. In both cases, getting to the root of the story is necessary to learning the truth behind the music.
Sources
Fricke, David. “100 Greatest Guitarists.” Rolling Stone, December 10, 2010.
“The 50 Albums That Changed Music.” The Observer, July 16, 2008.
The Search for Robert Johnson. Performed by Johnny Shines, David Honeyboy Edwards, John P. Hammond. United States: Iambic Productions, 1991. DVD.
Wald, Elijah. Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of Blues. New York City, New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
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When John and Alan Lomax visited the Louisiana State Penitentiary of Angola, Louisiana in July of 1933 they were in search of folksongs. Little did they know that they would instead come across a musical star, whose treatment of a popular prison song would transcend the boundary between folk and pop styles. The musician was Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, and the song was “Midnight Special”.
Angola, Louisiana prison compound, July 1933. Leadbelly in the foreground.
Born in the late 1880’s to the oppressive cotton fields of Louisiana, Ledbetter feared only one thing: failure. It was from this determination that he received the nickname “Lead Belly”, as he could outwork, outfight, and out-sing anyone who dared challenge him. “I wants to be the best – the king” he would say. He even went so far as to call himself “The King of the Twelve-String Guitar”, a talent that he used to exploit the Texas prison system he entered in 1917 on a thirty year sentence for assault. He famously used his musical talent to garner the attention of Texas Governor Pat Neff, who pardoned and released Ledbetter from prison in 1925.
It was in this same spirit that he was brought to the Lomax’s attention in 1933. Incarcerated once again for assault, Ledbetter sufficiently wooed the Lomax’s that they convinced Louisiana Governor O.K. Allen to pardon Ledbetter. Thereafter, he worked as John Lomax’s chauffeur and relocated to the Northeastern United States, often traveling to Washington D.C. to record for Alan Lomax and the Library of Congress.
Volume I of the LOC Lead Belly collection.
Midnight Special as it appears in “The Leadbelly Songbook”
Midnight Special by Lead Belly, Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200196310/
Volume I of the LOC collection is titled “Midnight Special”, and though it contains memorable treatments of many classic folk-tunes, the titular song is Ledbetter’s most famous and influential adaptation. Thought to originate among prisoners in the South, the refrain of the song references a passenger train of the same name, the light of which shone into cells as it passed by:
Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me, Let the Midnight Special shine her ever-loving light on me.
If the “ever-loving light” of the train landed on a prisoner, the inmates believed that man would soon be set free.
When Alan Lomax first recorded Ledbetter’s version of the song he attributed the authorship to Ledbetter. However, this is fundamentally untrue. In addition to the fact that it was a popular prison song, it had been recorded commercially by Sam Collins as the “Midnight Special Blues” in 1927. His version seems much more like an extemporaneous performance of a folk song, while Ledbetter’s is a precise arrangement of the melody, harmonic progression, and guitar accompaniment.
In this vein, it may be fair to say that Lead Belly didn’t write the song, but did ‘compose’ a version of it that achieved mass popularity and lasting influence in the public conception, as heard in versions by Creedence Clearwater Revival….
…. and ABBA.
While both versions seem to emerge from Ledbetter’s arrangement, the ABBA version is particularly notable due to its seemingly contradictory nature: why is a Swedish pop group performing an African American prison song? According to the official ABBA website, this song was performed as part of a medley of American folk songs on a charity record the group contributed to in 1975. The artists carefully selected songs that “were in the public domain as far as copyright was concerned” in order to avoid composer royalties. Despite this, the site recognizes Ledbetter’s “distinctive arrangement of the song that made it truly famous” as the inspiration for this version.
To conclude, “Midnight Special” exemplifies a major problem regarding folk music and its chronicling: differentiating between the folk song and popular versions. When do we lend credit to individuals and their renderings? How do we identify legitimate folk versions? While these questions may be difficult to answer, they ought to be considered as we examine popular reactions to folk music.
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In search of music authentic to the African-American tradition–that is, music passed down from slavery and unsullied by white influence–folk music collectors of the early 20th century made recordings at prisons and penitentiaries where music like the work song was more likely to be alive. In 1934, John Lomax recorded a group of African-American prisoners at Cummins State Farm in Gould, Arkansas singing a tune called “Rock Island Line.” You can listen to Lomax’s original 1934 recording below.
Figure 1
This recording contains evidence of the work song tradition in its call and response structure and the sound of shovels hitting the ground rhythmically. However, the polished harmonies sound closer to the music produced by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, which was based on slave music but was highly modified to fit the tastes of white audiences. Another threat to authenticity was the presence of Lomax, his recording equipment, and the cognizance of a future audience during the making of functional music. Consider this photograph of an inmate pausing briefly from work to be photographed in comparison with the following photograph of the Cummins State Farm inmates congregated to perform “Rock Island Line” for Lomax’s recording.
Figure 2
Figure 3
In the first photograph, the prison officer is amongst the inmates, and the inmates do not seem to be coordinating their work. In the second photograph, the prison officer stands apart from the group of prisoners–much like an overseer–while the prisoners swing their shovels in synchronization over a small patch of land. Are both of these representations of Arkansas prison life accurate or is the second photograph staged to look more “authentic” to the work song tradition?
In the same way, the musical categorization of “Rock Island Line” is complicated. Is it a work song as the second picture above seems to show? Is it a blues song like Lead Belly’s 1949 rendition would have us believe? Or is it an American Folk song as white artists of the 1950s, 60s, and beyond would portray? The only thing we can say conclusively is that Lomax’s recording and Lead Belly’s subsequent reworking and marketing of the song changed it into a song well known but of questionable authenticity in America’s musical history.
Footnotes
“Original 1934 John Lomax recording of ‘Rock Island Line’ by Kelly Pace and Prisoners,” Youtube video, posted by Jan Tak, September 10, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NTa7ps6sNU
“[African American convicts working at an outdoor location].” Photograph. Washington, D.C.: c1934-1950. From Library of Congress: Lomax Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007660147/resource/ (accessed March 1, 2015)
“[African American convicts working with shovels, possibly the singers of “Rock Island Line” at Cummins State Farm, Gould, Arkansas, 1934].” Photograph. Washington, D.C.: c1934. From Library of Congress: Lomax Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsc.00422/ (accessed March 1, 2015)
“leadbelly rock island line,” Youtube video, posted by Northern soul, September 23, 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iJEVOUqepo
“Lonnie Donegan – Rock Island Line (Live) 15/6/1961,” Youtube video, posted by Paul Griggs, December 29, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI4nRD-DRpk
She Sang the Blues
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I don’t know about you, but I find it so fascinating how there have been many women involved in the evolution of the blues/jazz. I mean usually we study the history of different genres of music and it is mostly men who have participated in the crafting of music. I would say that that is not the case for the blues or jazz. I mean think about it, when you drop the names Mamie Smith, Bessie Smith, Billy Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald… I immediately think of them as equivalent to all of the well-known male blues/jazz musicians. I am sure others do as well.
Taking a step back in time Bessie Smith (1894-1937) was one of the early blues vocalist who had a successful career. She traveled around the states performing blues creating a name for herself. She was called the ‘Empress of the Blues’ (Evans). When reading the article “Bessie Smith’s ‘Back-Water Blues’: the story behind the song” it was powerful to read how the song “Back-Water Blues” composed by her, made such an impact on the society around her. In this article, it spends a lot of time talking about how the text of this song relates to the Mississippi River flood. This flood impacted many black americans when it happened, but there is much irony in the fact that the song was composed and recorded before the flood actually happened (Evans).It is heart-warming to know that her artistry of composing and preforming allowed for other women to have similar experiences, especially women of color.
I found this poem called “Bessie Smith” by Sybil Kein.
“Bessie Smith” a poem.
I think this is such an interesting poem because it encompasses all that Bessie Smith conveyed through her performances of the Blues.
Here! Listen to “Back-Water Blues.”
Works Cited:
Evans, David. 2007. “Bessie Smith’s ‘Back-Water Blues’: the story behind the song.” Popular Music 26, no. 1: 97-116. Music Index, EBSCOhost (accessed March 3, 2015).
[1]
John Lomax and his son, Alan, set out for one of the most ambitious tasks attempted in American folk song history: To travel thousands of miles and collect recordings of as many songs as possible in order to preserve them in the Library of Congress’s Archive of American Folk Song. Early in their travels, they came upon a black guitarist and singer named Huddie Ledbetter. He would later be more commonly known by his nickname, “Leadbelly.” The Lomaxes were very impressed with his repertoire of folk songs as well as his virtuosic skill as a twelve-string guitarist. As a result of his four year imprisonment in the Louisiana’s Angola Prison for murder, he was cut off from hearing the popular music of the day. For the Lomaxes, he was a prime living example of the folk tradition they were seeking out and sought to bring his voice to the American public. After employing him as a driver and servant, they brought him to New York in order to record and promote his “pure folk” sound.
Leadbelly, three-quarter-length, profile, facing right, lifting car out of snow, at the home of Mary Elizabeth Barnicle, Wilton, Conn.
[2]
However, in order to make Leadbelly’s music palatable to the public, it seems some edits had to be made. Take the work song “Take This Hammer,” which can be found in the Lomaxes’ collection Our Singing Country: Folk Songs and Ballads from 1941 shown here:
“Take This Hammer” as it appears in Our Singing Country
Now compare it to the transcription found in The Leadbelly Songbook, as transcribed by Jerry Silverman in 1962 and recorded by Leadbelly in the 1940’s:
“Take This Hammer” as it appears in The Leadbelly Songbook
[4]
As you can see, the general notes and rhythms are still the same, with some added notes in Leadbelly’s performance. However, in the Leadbelly version, the controversial verses about the “captain” calling him a “nappy-headed devil” and grabbing his gun are omitted. Also, in Our Singing Country, “Take This Hammer” is considered to be a highly rhythmic song that was sung when a slave worked in a gang in order to synchronize the dropping of axes and to “…make the work go more easily by adapting its rhythm to the rhythm of a song.” (citation) In the field recording, which lacks the dropping of picks but is conveyed through the “wahs” of the men singing, the tempo is considerably slower than when Leadbelly sings it.
If the Lomaxes wanted to accurately portray the pure folk tradition in this song, they would have sent the Florida State prisoners to New York to record it how it would have been performed. But no one would have bought the record or even bothered to listen to it. Instead, they realized that in order for the dying folk tradition to be kept alive they had to bring the style into American popular music. Unlike the folk song preservers of the past, they respected the black musical tradition and wanted it to be accessible to white audiences without losing too much of its authenticity. In doing so, the Lomaxes brought folk music to the American popular music sphere and created a new musical tradition.
1. “Alan Lomax playing guitar on stage at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, N.C,” Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Lomax Collection, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lomax/item/2007660160/ (accessed 3/2/15).
2. “Leadbelly, three-quarter-length, profile, facing right, lifting car out of snow, at the home of Mary Elizabeth Barnicle, Wilton, Conn,” Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Lomax Collection, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lomax/item/2007660303/ (accessed 3/2/15).
3. John A. and Alan Lomax. Our Singing Country: Folk Songs and Ballads. (New York, Dover Publishing Inc., 2000), 380-381.
4. Moses Asch and Jerry Silverman, The Leadbelly Songbook. (London, Oak Publications, 1962), 45.
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For black Americans in the 1930s and 40s, Jim Crow laws made it impossible to forget the color of their skin, even for celebrated musicians performing in upscale venues. Lead Belly, discovered in a penitentiary, was no stranger to these racial prejudices. In a trip to Washington DC in 1937 requested by Alan Lomax, Lead Belly wrote the song “Bourgeois Blues” in response to the unfair treatment he received.
Me and my wife went all over town
And everywhere we went people turned us down
Lord, in a bourgeois town
It’s a bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around …
I tell all the colored folks to listen to me
Don’t try to find you no home in Washington, DC
‘Cause it’s a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
Prison compound in Louisiana, Lead Belly in front.
Although his life contained many of the hardships described in blues and folk songs, Lead Belly was never quite portrayed as a poor folksperson. Instead, to gain the respect due his talent, he adopted a more professional persona, working extremely hard and finding passion in every aspect of life. In an interview with PBS, Alan Lomax said that “he simply felt that he triumphed over everything” ( PBS ). In this, he left his early life in the penitentiary far behind.
Huddie Ledbetter and Martha Promise Ledbetter. Wilton, Conn., Feb. 1935.
Woody Guthrie, on the other hand, tried to embody the folky image, but never achieved it fully. He became a spokesperson for the hardships of ordinary Americans but due to his popularity was never a common man himself. And, as a white American, his persona never needed the sort of professionalism that Huddie Ledbetter needed to adopt.
Woody with his guitar.
Alan Lomax, a champion of folk music and a believer in its romanticism, spent years recording both Ledbetter and Guthrie and championing their cause as remnants of true American voices. Many Americans who listened to folk music idealized the singers as tortured souls moaning out their troubles. But while Lead Belly and Guthrie experienced the sorrows of racial prejudice, the Great Depression, and dustbowl-era America, neither one completely represented the hardworking common man so heavily lauded in the work of the Lomaxes. Their fame and status as alternative folk heroes lifted them way beyond the label of common man. Instead the common man remains in his dusty home, toiling his hours away and singing folk songs to bring up his spirits.
Sources:
Lomax, Alan. [Prison compound no. 1, Angola, Louisiana. Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) in the foreground]. Photograph. Louisiana, 1934. From Library of Congress: The Lomax Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lomax/item/2007660073/
Lomax, Alan. Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly) and Martha Promise Ledbetter, Wilton, Conn. Photograph. Connecticut, 1935. From Library of Congress: The Lomax Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lomax/item/2007660385/
Aumuller, Al. [Woody Guthrie, half-length portrait, facing slightly left, holding guitar]. 1943. From Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95503348
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Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) was an American singer-songwriter whose folk music gave voice to people’s struggles and considered his songs as his weapon in the fight against injustice and hardship among many other things.
Woody Guthrie experienced enough tragedy and hard times to inspire thousands of songs. Alongside his passion to voice his own trials, Woody became a voice for more than just himself.
Wilson, Charles Banks. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.oksenate.gov/senate_artwork/images/artwork/woody_guthrie.jpg
He crisscrossed across America and made ends meet playing guitar and singing in saloons and work camps during the Great Depression. As he would follow his insatiable wanderlust, Guthrie would absorb certain ballads and styles of the folk style he heard on the road and would write song after song that reflected the struggles and good times of the ordinary people he would meet. Listeners responded immediately to Guthrie’s heartfelt, down-to-earth style.
In the mid-1930s, The Great Depression had already swept across the nation, and a drought had hit the plains of the United States. The prairie grasses had been over-plowed and the dust that collected would sometimes blot out the sun. From his experiences in the “Dust Bowl”, Woody had realized the power that music had to capture the core of individuals and the events and places he understood.
eli.com [Photograph] Retrieved from http://eil.com/images/main/Woody-Guthrie-Dust-Bowl-Ballads-495806.jpg
“In thinking back about this time, he wrote, ‘there on the Texas plains right in the dead center of the dust bowl, with the oil boom over and the wheat blowed out and the hard-working people just stumbling about, bothered with mortgages, debts, bills, sickness, worries of every blowing kind, I seen there was plenty to make up songs about.’” 1
Behind the simple song, a rich and complex personality that Guthrie instilled, still exudes. One of his first songs to reflect what he saw happening around him became one of his most famous songs. “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know You”
1 Jackson, Mark. “Rambling Round: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie — Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song: Correspondence, 1940-1950 | Collections | Library of Congress.” Rambling Round: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie — Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song: Correspondence, 1940-1950. Library of Congress. Web. 2 Mar. 2015. <http://www.loc.gov/collections/woody-guthrie-correspondence-from-1940-to-1950/articles-and-essays/rambling-round-the-life-and-times-of-woody-guthrie/>.
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William Christopher Handy, age 67
Widely acclaimed as “the father of the Blues,” William Christopher Handy experienced humble beginnings. Handy grew up in a log cabin in Florence, Alabama to former slaves. His father, a preacher, believed that musical instruments were tools of the devil and did not support his son’s musical endeavors.
As a teenager, Handy went against his parents’ wishes and secretly saved up to purchase a cornet by picking berries and nuts and making lye soap; he then joined a local band and spent every free minute practicing it. His troubles worsened after his band Lauzetta Quartet disbanded and he spent two years in St. Louis living under a bridge, homeless.
He would later reflect on his early days saying, “You’ve got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down.”
In 1909, Handy self-published his song “Memphis Blues” while working in several clubs on Beale Street. Since then, the term “memphis blues” is used in lyrics of other tunes to describe a depressed mood.
“The Memphis Blues” is said to be based on a campaign song written by Handy for Edward Crump, a mayoral candidate in Memphis, TN and so is subtitled “Mr. Crump.”
For the 1914 recording of “Memphis Blues” by Morton Harvey, tenor, click the link below: http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/117
The song introduced his style of 12-bar blues and is credited with inspiring the foxtrot dance step by Vernon and Irene Castle, a NY dance team. When Handy moved to New York City, his hit songs “Memphis Blues” along with “Yellow Dog Blues” and “St. Louis Blues” brought Handy’s musical style to the forefront of mainstream American culture.
By moving from Tennessee to New York, Handy was able to spread the Blues to the epicenter of music during the early 20th century. His struggles during his early days allowed him to draw on his tribulations in order to create a genre of music America could call its own.
For more information on W.C. Handy’s life and music, check out this documentary!
Chenrow, Fred & Chenrow, Carol (1973). “W.C. Handy” Reading Exercises in Black History, Volume 1. Elizabethtown, PA: The Continental Press, Inc. p. 32.
Handy, W.C. “Memphis Blues. 1913.” Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University. Reproduction Number Music #725; 1-3. Web. 2 March 2015.
Van Vechten, Carl, photographer. Portrait of William Christopher Handy, 1941. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Reproduction Number LC-USZ62-42531 DLC.
Richard Crawford, America’s Musical Life: A History, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001, pp. 536-537
William Christopher Handy’s “Memphis Blues” Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov (accessed March 2, 2015).
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Letters from Woodie Guthrie to Alan Lomax on September 25, 1940 reveal many insights into the personal beliefs and character of Woodie Guthrie and help shed light into his music and philosophy behind it. As direct writing from the composer itself, it provides the least biased source available and gives Woodie Guthrie’s exact words, and a helpful context for them. Woodie Guthrie’s conviction of using music as politics can be seen in his writings here. He states that “if you see something thats wrong and needs to be fixed, and you get up and tell it just how you feel, that makes you a showman.”
He writes later that, “you cant entertain nobody unless you can do two things be yourself and forget yourself and imagine you’re helping everybody, cuss the ones that don’t like.” you, by what you do.”
His somewhat cynical view of politics comes out in another letter to the same recipient written a couple of months later. He writes that, “I am writing this [letter] on Christmas paper and I think all election speeches ought to be wrapped in gift boxes with a red and green string tied around them, and that a way we would be sure at least of a Christmas package whether there was anything in it or not.” He desires to fix things and make the world a better place and states that his purpose in voting is to fix things, “and if I dont fix it by a voting one way, I’ll vote another way, and finally, I’ll find out the right way.”
These letters of Woodie Guthrie help shed light on his passion, philosophy, and music. And as primary source material, as well as Guthrie’s own words, they can be relied on quite strongly to gain insight into Guthrie’s understanding of his life and musical career.
sources:
http://www.loc.gov/resource/afc1940004.afc1940004_036/?sp=1&st=text
http://www.loc.gov/item/afcwwgbib000038/
Reply
Luke P. Simonson
C. Handy, considered to be the founder of blues, published The Memphis Blues in 1912. The Memphis Blues was originally written without lyrics; however, the version included in A Treasury of the Blues: Complete Words and Music of 67 Great Songs from Memphis Blues to the Present Day includes lyrics, but does not disclose who wrote the lyrics. We can only assume that these lyrics were in fact written by W. C. Handy himself. Here is a recording of the Victor Military Band playing E. V. Cupero’s arrangement of The Memphis Blues in 1914. Cupero’s arrangement accurately takes every note and rhythm from A Treasury of Blues version publication.
The Memphis Blues by W. C. Handy
The Memphis Blues page 2
The Memphis Blues, page 3
The Memphis Blues, page 4
From listening and looking at the score, one can tell that this piece unfolds in three binary sections. The first section (which I will refer to as Section A) includes the AAB structure of the 12-bar blues. Section B (page 2) features an AABA form and from A Treasury of the Blues lyrics it also contains the same two bars of singing and two bars of instrumental break feel (shown below). Section C (pages 3-4) does not have the same structure as the previous sections, yet still contains the instrumental fills.
Interested in learning more about The Memphis Blues, I continued to search for more recordings. I came across Morton Harvey’s performance of the work recorded 3 months after the Victor Military Band’s. At first listen it sounded exactly the same, just with lyrics. Slowly I started to notice that the lyrics were not the same as The Treasury of Blue’s printed lyrics. Curiously, the lyrics and performers matched a copy of The Memphis Blues that I found of imslp.org . The cover of the score (found below) claims that this piece was “George A. Norton’s” only founded on the W. C. Handy’s “World Wide ‘Blue’ Note Melody.”
However, George A. Norton’s version takes out the most crucial opening A Section (see above), only including a tiny bit of the A section and tacking it on the end of the B section. As mentioned before, the A Section is 12-bar blues form. Without this section, I hardly believe that this piece can be entitled The Memphis Blues. Even the B section of A Treasury of the Blues version is marred by Norton’s lyrical arrangement, adding lyrics to the two bar instrumental interludes (see Norton page 2 and Handy page 3). I think it is a crude infringement on Handy’s blues form, changing the piece from The Memphis Blues to The Memphis Ragtime.
Reply
Jazz is a musical style native to the United States, that emerged in the early Twentieth century. Jazz was influenced from Blues music, which was established most notably by W.C. Handy in 1917. Jazz has new sound that incorporates both the African American musical stylings and the European American form of music. This hybridization of the two heritages created a unique style of music which we now call under a big genre “umbrella,” Jazz. In the Library of Congress photo archives, a photo of the reputable Sarah Vaughan was present among many photos of white jazz singers. She became popular in the late 40s and early 50s when Jazz was really hitting it’s stride as popular music, with the likes of Frank Sinatra.
Vaughan was highly influenced by the early blues style, of W.C. Handy. Handy’s invention or development of the Memphis Blues, drew on the folk style of the old southern plantation music. The emotional context of this music is heard in the vocal stylings of the renowned Sarah Vaughan. The memphis blues eventually took shape to the 12-bar blues, which also led to the development of Jazz.
While Vaughan represents a big part of the Jazz era, more commonly was the presence of white artists, such as Doris Day, Peggy Lee, and Sinatra. They emulated the sounds of a soulful Vaughan, singing on topics that go back to the days of slavery.
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/7948/autoplay/true/
“St. Louis Blues” is a great example of an old dixieland jazz band song that evolved over the years. In the recording provided in the above link, the instrumentation, while has elements of a traditional jazz band also still has southern sounds to it… likely from New Orleans. In the video below, the song is presented in a different style of blues and jazz, one that emerged later with artists like Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, and Sarah Vaughan.
Bibliography
Gottlieb, William, photographer. “Portrait of Sarah Vaughan in Café Society (Downtown).” Photograph. New York, N.Y.: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs. Aug. 1946. Online.
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/7948/autoplay/true/
wash ‘em laundry all day
Chinaman, Chinaman
smoke ‘em pipe they say OR Wants his freedom that way
He’s got a little China gal
She love him all right,
He love little China gal, too,
So he sings to her ev’ry night
Sung Fong Lou, Sung Fong Lou
Listen to those chinese blues;
Honey gal, I’m crying to you
Won’t you open that door and let me in?
China man cries, baby, won’t you let me in
Chinaman feels his habit (OR lovin’) coming on again.
She cries to him “what’s the matter with you
I got those Ipshing, Hong Kong Ockaway Chinese Blues”
Recording of Sousa’s Band playing the Chinese Blues
Written by Oscar Gardner, this song was not only published in a Treasury of the Blues by the “father of the blues,” W.C. Handy and recorded by George Gershwin, but also was, according to the critical notes by Abbe Niles, “the first and best by a white man, and had wide popularity in 1915.” [1] Niles’ notes also clarify that “Chinese Blues” falls under the category “blues-songs,” which do not follow the classical 12-bar blues form, but include songs that have any relation to the blues. “Chinese Blues” only fits the blues category in that it tells the story and emotion of the unrequited lover and there are a couple blue, or flatted notes, to the melody. We know that the early 20th century saw a trend of appropriating the blues to label any song that had ragtime rhythms, blue notes, and the longing emotion, even though the blues specifically came out of African American oppression. [2] In other words, Oscar Gardner, a white composer, tapped into the commercial blues genre in anyway he could to make money, and W.C. Handy benefitted by publishing it in his anthology of the blues.
As if this level of mis-labeling isn’t enough, the song also reflects racist stereotypes about the Chinese and their music. While the published music looks like an average ragtime or jazz arrangement, both period performances of it from the Library of Congress (Sousa’s band and Irving Kaufman) recordings emphasize an “oriental sound,” namely flutes slurring up to their notes and percussion including a gong and woodblocks. The lyrics “Sung, Fong, Lou,” though they don’t actually have a real translation in Chinese, also try to evoke the Orient. Additionally, in the lyrics depending on which version you look at, the Chinese are either washing laundry all day in order to get their freedom or suffering from an opium/other drug addiction. So, in sum “Chinese Blues” presents an example of a white composer using a genre traditional to African American oppression to subjugate the Chinese.
[1] Oscar Gardner, “Chinese Blues,” A Treasury of the Blues, ed. W.C. Handy, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1926), 184.
[2] Elijah Wald, Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues (New York: Harper Collins, 2004), Ch. 1, “What is Blues?” 1-13.
Reply
In the 20th century folk song was afforded new status as a legit musical form. Previously folk song was sidelined by other more “artful” musical forms from famous composers such as Brahms or Beethoven (even though their music did often draw on popular contemporary songs or folk songs for themes or ideas). Academics, musicians, and composers all studied folk music with new vigor when they realized folk music was something worth paying attention to. Composer Hubert Parry spoke highly of the emotional value of folk music saying it is one of “the purest products of the human mind” (Crawford, 598).
Of particular interest in the folk music festivals that were founded in the early 20th century to around the 50s or 60s. Many of these festivals still exist today in some facet and it wouldn’t be hard to hear “modern” folk music somewhere like the Newport Folk Festival.
Academics became concerned with folk music that was being performed in their time because they were concerned with their musical past disappearing and being replaced with the popular music of the age. Ironically, today we would probably consider their popular music our folk music now.
Bog Trotters Band from Virginia http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsc.00412
The best way to share music is of course performance and creating a festival where many performers and listeners come together is a great way to share and learn new things about folk music. These festivals were highly attended in the height of their popularity. For example in 1968 70,000 people paid entry for the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island (Link to article: <http://search.proquest.com/docview/118382353?accountid=351>).
Folk Festivals were a huge part of why folk music was successful and pointed to the large demand for folk music in American consciousness. Without these festivals for sharing music across regions and states folk music might have stayed in its small box without having room to grow. If there had not been a strong community around folk music it indeed would have died in the libraries no matter how meticulously it was cataloged.
“Students with Miss Jovita Gonzales, St. Mary’s Academy, San Antonio, Texas;” Lomax Collection
“Five musicians and a singer performing at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina;” Lomax Collection
At a first glance, the Lomax Collection has little to no obvious thread connecting the images. When looking at the portfolio we see a variety of individuals from different ethnic backgrounds including African Americans, Mexicans, Cajuns, and Whites. Some photos include elements portraying music in some fashion (a microphone, a musical instrument, or a description stating the individuals are musicians) but other are simply candid snapshots of life down south. It then occurred to me that it is quite possible that the lack of commonalities in the photos may have significance after all.
“Cajun girl near Crowley, La.” Lomax Collection
The Lomax Collection, which has been digitized by the Library of Congress, is a collection of 400 photographs collected by John, Alan, and Ruby Lomax as the sought out sound recordings from the American south between 1934 and ca. 1950. 1 The Lomax team was collecting these recordings for the Archive of American Folk-Song, established by the Library of Congress in 1928. The Lomax family went in search of a variety of musical examples from ballads to the blues and field hollers to work songs in settings ranging from small towns to church congregations to prison cells. 2 and along the way took snapshots of the places and people that they encountered. That is what is so unique about this collection of photographs. They almost came together by accident.
“Stavin’ Chain playing guitar and singing the ballad “Batson,” (fiddler also in shot), Lafayette, La.” Lomax Collection
The beauty of these recording journeys that John, Alan, and Ruby Lomax took is that in addition to a wealth of primary musical sources, we now have this “Southern Mosaic” of photographs that display the American South in the 1930s and 1940s. From the collection as a whole we are able to see the diversity of the South both culturally and musically. Images of Hispanic school girls sings are placed next to White bands performing at music festivals. A picture of a Cajun girl happens to share a gallery page with “Stavin’ Chain” as he jams on his guitar. These situations that appear so individualized, when put side by side, actually paint a picture for those willing to look for it. So often the history of this time period that permeates textbooks and classrooms are the negative truths about our nation’s past, but these 400 photographs that have become the Lomax collection show a unique view of how rich the South truly was.
1 “Lomax Collection.” Library of Congress. Accessed March 1, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lomax/.
2 “Southern Mosaic: The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip.” Library of Congress. Accessed March 1, 2015. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lohtml/lohome.html.
2
The men and women who stepped in chains from the slave ships were musical people who were used to expressing intense emotions, beliefs, and ideas into song. Sold into hard work, poverty and oppression in America, they turned to songs for solace, singing of hardship and with passion, a tradition that had been long familiar to their race.
Their songs summarized their beliefs of salvation, expressing in broken words the genuine spiritual realities of a world unseen, the world of Christian virtues: forgiveness, hope, faith, love, endurance, eternal life, holiness. Although, how deeply the religious spirit permeated these songs is not always forthcoming. The same is to be said about a feeling of triumph heard through the songs.
The lyrics from the song “I couldn’t hear nobody pray” are a good example of the text turning from mourning trials to an ultimate triumph.
Figure 1.
Hear “I couldn’t hear nobody pray”: http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/1798/
In spite of trials, the underlying moral and strength can be seen. King speaks of the emotion that the text in spirituals conveys saying that “however mournful and depressing the opening lines are, there is almost always a note of triumph before the song is done.”
Figure 2.
Spirituals became a solvent for a race’s healing from bitterness and pain, but also fed them with joy and determination.
Figure 1, 2: King, W. J. (1931, 05). The negro spirituals and the hebrew psalms. The Methodist Review (1885-1931), 47, 318. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/136470904?accountid=351
1
During the 1800s when it was booming in popularity within white America, black folk music was transcribed by white people interested in monetizing the replication of the music. Many anthologies chronicling black folk music were produced, transcribed by white people of educated, important stature in society, along with critiques and analyses on the subject. One of these anthologies is Reverend William Eleazar Barton’s Old Plantation Hymns: A collection of hitherto unpublished melodies of the slave and freedman, with historical and descriptive notes.
Within its cover, Barton gives an account of his “quest for quaint hymns” and the conversations he has with people along the way fo fulfill this quest.
Figure 1
His anthology contains descriptions and observations of the performance practice of black folk music characteristic to the overt white mentality of superiority of the time.
Figure 2
The issue with white Americans transcribing black folk music is that they would often transcribe one verse of a song in standard notation and then include the next verses below. This would allow for those wanting to sing the music to do so, but often fill in all of the rhythms incorrectly or without the same feeling from verse to verse.
Figure 5
Another person who was very invested in the reproduction and performance of black folk music was Reverend George H. Griffin. In his article, The Slave Music of the South, Griffin pursues his passion for black folk music in a different way, ignoring extensive analysis of the music before arguing that it is a “very rich mine to explore.”
Fig. 1, 2, 3. BARTON, William Eleazar. “Hymns of the slave and the freedman.” New England Magazine 19, (January 1899): 609-624. Readers’ Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed February 19, 2015).
Fig. 4, 5. Griffin, George H. 1885. THE SLAVE MUSIC OF THE SOUTH. The Musical Visitor, a Magazine of Musical Literature and Music (1883-1897). 02, http://search.proquest.com/docview/137490866?accountid=351 (accessed February 20, 2015).
1
Aretha Franklin is iconic. Known for her unbelievable talent as an American soul singer and songwriter from a young age, she is one of the few artists known by most generations of today’s Americans. Whether you grew up listening to Aretha as she poured out her soulful records, or just now get to appreciate her recent performances or recordings with Tony Bennett, you’ve most likely heard about or listened to this amazing performer. Her prowess as a performer catapulted her center stage, making her a symbol for the women’s and African-American movement through songs such as “Respect” among others.
However, she was not always respected as her famous song demanded, and this clipping from the New York Times in 1968 shows a more accurate real-time reaction to this rising star.
Albert Goldman, authoring this article, was no stranger to music critique and analysis. Writing epic-length books and articles about legends like Elvis and John Lennon, he commonly inspired outrage from his subject’s fans for his vulgar portrayal which saw no bounds. It seems that this article somewhat slipped under the radar, though, because the underlying themes he discussed were and are nothing new to American society. Trying to pinpoint what exactly provided the “it” factor for Aretha, what set her apart from the rest of the performers, we can already see his conclusion by looking at the title of the article. He credits her success to “the gift of being a ‘natural woman.'” He explains this as an embodiment of the full range of female emotion. Praising her ebullience and lack of self-consciousness as she sings each phrase effortlessly, he touches on the authenticity of her performance. Using her performance of Mick Jagger’s “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” as an example of what he thinks is her greatest recording to date, he dives in on the sexualization of Aretha Franklin.
He calls the song “A jubilee: a finger-popping, hip-swinging Mardi Gras strut that is the greatest proclamation of sexual fulfillment since Molly Bloom’s Soliloquy. You can watch her performance and decide for yourself whether this is an accurate description.
Goldman compares her performance to that of the original Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones, calling their take a “wry, deadpan camp, a whispered confession that impressed many listeners as a titillating put-on.” The sexuality is taken down a few notches here, and I’m uncertain his review is accurate. After all, I wouldn’t describe their 1969 performance as a “deadpan camp.”
So why is this all important? The answer lies in the fact that this was not a one-time occurrence. It’s nothing new, it has happened before, and still happens today in our pop culture. The black female body has been extremely sexualized, tracing back to Europeans’ first contact with African music dance. Dr. Thompson of St. Louis University wrote an article and dissertation on this topic, documenting the sexualization through music from the 1600’s to present day pop culture. She claimed that the European “writers transformed African dance performances into pornographic scenes for consumption and sexual enticement for a mainly white male audience.” This created a precedent for society’s view on African and African-American musical performers, stretching from traditional African dance to the new single by Beyoncé. The concept is nothing new, but that doesn’t make it right.
1
I found an interesting short article on the history of Psalmody in New England. As with anything “new,” the transition was not smooth or broadly accepted. Interestingly, there was no mention of race in this article, but more focused what the Scriptures say, gender, and points of view from ministers.
The Puritans had reservations with singing the Psalms of David with a “lively voice.” They were more interested in continuing the tradition of monotone. Other questions that the Puritans discussed were whether women should be allowed to sing with men, whether the unconverted (pagans) should be allowed to sing with church members, whether we should sing music in meter created by man, and whether it is proper to sing new music.
When Andrew Law first “introduced part song”, congregations took issue with women singing the melody, mostly in a soprano part. Some men would insist on singing the soprano part and making the women sing the tenor part. The author’s authority then references Scripture, saying that it is considered a sin to allow females to lead the singing. Puritan ministers compiled a “Bay Psalm Book” in 1640, which consisted of metered psalms but no music.
Music had gone by the wayside in the 18th century. Reverend Mr. Walter, of Roxbury, Massachusetts said that congregations would know maybe four of five tunes which “had become so mutilated, tortured and twisted that Psalm singing had become a mere disorderly noise, left to the mercy of every unskillful throat to chop, alter, twist and change according to their odd fancy, sounding like five hundred different tunes roared out at the same time…” This became the new norm for many churches. Rev. Walter later said “melody sung in time and tune was [considered] offensive.” The church preferred the old “melodious” way, as oppose to the new way, thought of as an unknown tongue.
The church much preferred the old way of lining out. Congregations felt as if they were restricted if they were given notes and a melody to sing. An anonymous writer in 1723 wrote: “Truly, I have great jealously that if we once begin to sing by note, the next thing will be to pray by rule and preach by rule, and then comes Popery!”
Source:
“EARLY CHURCH MUSIC IN NEW ENGLAND.” The Musical Visitor, a Magazine of Musical Literature and Music (1883-1897) 14, no. 11 (11, 1885): 286. http://search.proquest.com/docview/137457419?accountid=351.
Oh, brothers, don’t stay away, . . .
For my Lord says there’s room enough,
Room enough in the Heav’ns for you,
My Lord says there’s room enough,
Don’t stay away.”
Oh, the irony. As the widely acclaimed Fisk Jubilee Singers preached this message of welcome to thousands of concertgoers, yes, they themselves were met with respect and praise by audiences, but all too often they were also greeted with closed doors.
In 1872, only a year after the ensemble began touring the United States and only a few days after receiving “continuous ovation” as guests of the governor of Connecticut, they were turned out of a tavernkeeper’s hostelry. When the Jubilee Singers booked the rooms, he assumed they were a company of blackface minstrels. Upon discovering they were the real deal, not a group of white people engaged in cruel mimicry, he could no longer stomach hosting them. A scathing account of this incident appearing in the March 14, 1872, edition of New York’s The Independent mocks the “publican” tavernkeeper for showing more respect to the “burnt cork of the harlequin,” the blackface of minstrelsy, than the “pigment . . . of [the Creator’s] own hands”:
A similar incident, layered in even greater irony, occurred in Jersey City later that same year. Mr. Warner, the proprietor of the American House, a place most would assume to be welcoming to Americans of all colors, had a misspelled cable sent to the Jubilee Singers’ sponsor, the Amercian [sic] Missionary Association, saying:
After insulting the intellect of Mr. Warner and his clerk, The Independent writer rightly wrote, ” Somebody ought to teach this patriot to spell “American” a little less violently.”
In 1880, they were refused at the St. Nicholas Hotel in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, IL. The Springfield audience greeted this news with hisses and cries of “shame!”
Perhaps the greatest example of a mixed welcome occurred two years later during their visit to Washington, D.C. After they were turned out of numerous hotels in the nation’s capital, they wandered the city until midnight, when they managed to find lodging in private homes. A few days later, they were at the White House at the invitation of President Chester A. Arthur. The Singers brought the president to tears with a performance of “Steal Away to Jesus” and the Lord’s Prayer. “I have never in my life been so much moved,” said the president.
Honestly, I am disgusted with such behavior. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875, I would hope that African Americans would be treated with more respect and dignity. Instead I see a distinct laziness shown by the public. Before the war, slaves would entertain Southerners at the plantation house, performing for no money and being told where they could and couldn’t stay. After the war, freedmen would entertain Northerners at concert halls, performing for money and being told where they could and couldn’t stay.
As a culture, we seem to deal best with small changes: from plantation houses to concert halls, from no money to admission prices. We say all we want, using overblown platitudes to demonstrate our support for a cause, but we do as little as we can, avoiding actions that put any kind of strain on our time, budgets, or attitudes, even if a small change on our part could change someone else’s life. Look to the examples of the people of Springfield, President Arthur, and the writers, and go even farther: back up your words with actions. Otherwise, you’re only a hypocrite.
Sources
“THE JUBILEE SINGERS.” The Independent …Devoted to the Consideration of Politics, Social and Economic Tendencies, History, Literature, and the Arts (1848-1921) 24, no. 1215 (Mar 14, 1872): 4. http://search.proquest.com/docview/90171741?accountid=351.
“THE JUBILEE SINGERS AND THE WASHINGTON LANDLORDS.” New York Evangelist (1830-1902) 53, no. 12 (Mar 23, 1882): 2.
“THE JUBILEE SINGERS AT THE HOME AND TOMB OF LINCOLN.” Christian Union (1870-1893) 22, no. 8 (Aug 25, 1880): 156. http://search.proquest.com/docview/137032063?accountid=351.
Marsh, J. B. T. The Story of the Jubilee Singers: With Their Songs. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1876. Accessed February 23, 2015. https://archive.org/.
“President Arthur and the Jubilee Singers.” Church’s Musical Visitor (1871-1883) 11, no. 6 (03, 1882): 162. http://search.proquest.com/docview/137466484?accountid=351.http://search.proquest.com/docview/125358571?accountid=351.
2
I took an interest in “patting juba,” a form of music-making created by African Americans in the 19th century, because of the patterns, the musicality, and the songs that accompanied it. There is little information on the specific type of dance, however, and the first primary source I encountered was a racist “example” of a juba text penned by a Boston-based writer. Juba has finally gained the appreciation of historians and musicians as viable folk music, but the dance form’s history serves as a reminder of that music as a way to stereotype African American traditions.
Juba came from dances in Africa (where it was called Giouba) and Haiti (known as Djouba). Another name for the dance is Hambone. This name, which also has origins in slavery, supposedly originated from “hand-bone,” the hard part of the hand that makes the most sound.
Juba is characterized by complicated patterns (they generally involve 3-over-4 rhythms), now-obscure steps like the ‘turkey trot’ and ‘pigeon step,’ and corresponding rhymes. Arguably, the most well-known rhyme, used by juba and hambone performers alike, is called “Juba Juba:”
Juba dis and Juba dat,
and Juba killed da yellow cat,
You sift the meal and ya gimme the husk,
you bake the bread and ya gimme the crust,
you eat the meat and ya gimme the skin,
and that’s the way,
my mama’s troubles begin.
There are numerous variations to the lyrics, but the first two lines nearly always remain the same. Danny “Slapjazz” Barber explains the meaning as part of an apprenticeship project in Figure 1. He begins talking about the song at 2:02, continuing on to describe its history.
Figure 1
As was the case with slave songs, many spectators didn’t accurately record juba steps, often deeming the dances wild and immoral, or forgoing descriptions by stating that the movements were beyond words. It wasn’t until minstrel shows in the mid-1800s that juba became known to a larger white audience. Minstrelsy’s appropriated juba has a complicated relationship with the dance and its origins. Scholar Andrew Womack notes that minstrel shows hugely influenced American culture, and that the characters presented were dimensional, albeit offensive and highly stereotyped. One such character was Master Juba, played by free-born African American William Henry Lane. Lane’s character is easily one of the most recognizable personas in minstrel history, and the surname quickly evolved into a stock title for black characters. Traveling with an otherwise all-white cast, Lane performed his dance, described as a combination of juba and a jig, in America as well as Europe. He was seen as a novelty, but observers were nevertheless impressed by his skill. As The Manchester Examiner wrote:
“Surely he cannot be flesh and blood, but some special substance, or how could he turn and twine, and twist, and twirl, and hop, and jump, and kick and throw his feet with such velocity that one think they are playing hide-and seek with a flash of lightning!”
Figure 2: William Henry Lane
On the other hand, white writers commonly used juba as another opportunity for stereotyping African American dialect. In Figure 3, Frances E. Wadleigh uses slurs, an overexaggerated dialect, and offensive caricatures to showcase the “current literature” of black music.
Figure 3
In spite (or, in some cases, because) of the appropriations, juba has remained in mainstream culture. Variations of the beats and rhythms have made their way into modern music, most notably in Bo Diddley’s song, “Bo Diddley’s Beat.” Hambone has been preserved and taught as a black folk melody, particularly in the south, and the dance steps are widely seen as a precursor to the jitterbug. Though juba was used as a vehicle for stereotypes, the dance and music have become an important part of American culture, and another example of how influential the songs–both original and appropriated–have become.
Footnotes
Crawford, Richard. “”Make a Noise!”: Slave Songs and Other Black Music to the 1880s.” In America’s Musical Life: A History, 409-410. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.
Wadleigh, Frances E. “Pattom’s Juba.” Current Literature V, no. 1 (1890): 70. Accessed February 21, 2015. http://search.proquest.com/americanperiodicals/docview/124834707/797372C1C4314861PQ/1?accountid=351.
Welch, David Cranstoun. “Shave and a Haircut: Two Bits.” Perfect Sound Forever. August 1, 2008. Accessed February 19, 2015.
Womack, Andrew. “Ridicule and Wonder: The Beginnings of Minstrelsy in New York.” In Afro-Americans in New York Life & History, 94-95. 2nd ed. Vol. 36. Buffalo: Afro-Americans in New York Life & History.
1
According to the music review in The Scranton tribune, 1899, with the growing of market of black slave songs and spiritual songs, some composers (non-black) started to produce these kinds of black music. However, the critique pointed out that many of these “new productions” were obvious “fake”, by failing to use “correct” words for pop black culture. Among these new productions, the song “Old Black Joe” was one of the few successful examples that true to African American’s life.
“Old Black Joe” is a song composed by by Stephen Forster (1826–1864) and it was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1860. Foster wrote it as a synthesis of his ideals for stage and parlour ballads. The lyrics for the song was from first person recount, describing sadness of losing friends “in the cotton fields”, without any use of Black slangs or tones. The oldest version of notated music of “Old Black Joe” that held in Library of Congress showed a solo male voice line (marked as Joe) with chorus of SATB. Audiences can hear “call and response” in the music in a specific Jubilee Singer’s performing style.
Recording: http://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox.1814/#rights-and-access
However, the “real negro music”, described by the writer of Modern Negro Songs, should be in chorus setting rather than solo and should be sung by men rather than women. As the writer said, “It seems absurd for a female to sing the song of a Negro man, for it is well known that in every age of the Negro song the Negro has prided himself on his bass.” However, evidence from members of The Jubilee Singers and recordings of early work songs can prove he wrong.
Women sang a work Song:
Bibliography:
Evening times-Republican. (Marshalltown, Iowa), 08 Feb. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. < http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85049554/1919-02-08/ed-1/seq-8/ >
The Scranton tribune. (Scranton, Pa.), 16 Jan. 1899. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. < http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026355/1899-01-16/ed-1/seq-5/ >
Deane L. Root. “Foster, Stephen C..” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/10040>.
1
In modern society, copyrights prove claims to authorship in music. In the past, too, great songwriters are immortalized as the formants of a genre–Cole Porter and George Gershwin are among the composers who churned out music to popular consumption. However, folk songs are traditionally passed along orally, and often authors are lost amidst the many additions and changes. Does embellishing and editing a previous author’s work remove the credibility and culture of the original message of a piece?
“The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is typically a piece played in a militaristic style–a strong brass section, lots of snare drums, and in this YouTube clip, an obnoxious animated American flag. Its patriotism is not a new appropriation, but rather began during the Civil War when marching soldiers of both sides sang what was then “John Brown’s Body.” Although the John Brown the lyrics were written for was a soldier of the Massachusetts regiment and therefore a Civil War figure (PBS), he was not the one immortalized in the song. Rather, the abolitionist John Brown became the martyr the lyrics remember.
Both sides of the war sang this song, changing the words to fit their message (Library of Congress). But perhaps it is most appropriate that the northerners, with their message of freedom for the slaves, won the war and the song, as it had descended from fragments sung at ring shouts by the very slaves themselves.
HELEN KENDRICK JOHNSON. The North American Review, 1884.
According the Helen Kendrick Johnson and The North American Review, the earlier version of this tune was found in a “colored Presbyterian church in Charleston.”
Say, brothers, will you meet us (3x)
On Canaan’s happy shore.
(Refrain)
Glory, glory, hallelujah (3x)
For ever, evermore!
The score for this hymn is not the complete beginning of “Glory Hallelujah,” but rather only the version sung by congregations at revivalist meetings and in stricter church settings. Some scholars attribute the musical phrases and lyrics to ring shouts (Soskis 24-5). It is easy to imagine the call-and-response singing of the Biblical lyrics, along with interjections of “Glory, hallelujah!” In addition, the same message of escape, travel, and lands of ‘happy shores’ is evident in this piece as in many other slave songs.
Like many folk songs, spirituals, and hymns of early America, authorship is highly disputed. Claims of ownership come from many different sources, and usually the privileged, educated members of society have the most lasting paper trails. But the strong presence of a black musical tradition is evident in the very roots of music in America. White Northerners may have appropriated the traditional tunes and modified the lyrics, but it is a grand image to imagine soldiers singing a song reminiscent of the cause of freedom to its very core.
“History of ‘John Brown’s Body,'” PBS. 2010. Web. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/brown/sfeature/song.html
Johnson, Helen Kendrick. The North American Review. May 1884. Accessed from Proquest.
Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200000841/
Linder, Douglas O. “Famous Trials,” University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. 2015. Web. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/johnbrown/brownbody.html.
Soskis, Benjamin and John Stauffer. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic: A Biography of the Song that Marches On.” Oxford University Press, 9 May 2013. http://books.google.com/books?id=bIRQpD3HNSAC&dq=%22will+you+meet%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s
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Negro Spirituals began as religious songs written by enslaved African people that were usually unaccompanied monophonic songs. One of the most famous of these Negro Spirituals is “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” which was written by Wallace Willis, a Choctaw freedman in Hugo, Oklahoma in 1840.
He was inspired by the Red River, located in Mississippi, which reminded him of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah’s being taken to heaven by a chariot (2 Kings 2:11). The song also uses lyrics that refer to the Underground Railroad, the network that helped Blacks escape from Southern slavery to freedom in the North.
The Jubilee Singers of Fisk University consisted of nine students under George L. White, the school’s treasurer and music director. The group began a U.S. on October 6, 1871 to raise money for the school. On this tour, The Jubilee Singers popularized many Negro Spirituals, including “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”
A few months into their tour, a review by the Oneida Circular, a newspaper that was “a weekly journal of home, science, and general intelligence” in Western New York praised the singers for their performance.
http://search.alexanderstreet.com/amso/view/work/74675
The song regained popularity in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights and Folk Revival movements. The same lyrics that made reference to the Underground Railroad were now being used to fight for equal rights and an end to segregation and Jim Crow laws. At the same time, the Folk Revival movement began as a way of bringing back earlier genres of music like Gospel and the Blues. Bridging the two movements together was Joan Baez, a White American folk songwriter, whose personal convictions – peace, social justice, anti-poverty – were reflected in the topical songs that made up a growing portion of her repertoire, to the point that Baez became a symbol for these particular concerns. She gave perhaps one of the most memorable performances of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” at the famous Woodstock Festival in 1969.
It’s evident that this song has continually been reused and repurposed for the people that connect with it. In the 1870’s, it promoted the idea of freedom from slavery. In the 1960’s, it promoted civil rights for all. What will it be used for next?
Allen, William Francis, Ware, Charles Pickard, and Garrison, Lucy McKim, eds. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Slave Songs of the United States. Chapel Hill, NC, USA: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. Accessed February 23, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.
H, W. B. “THE JUBILEE SINGERS.” Oneida Circular (1871-1876) 9, no. 16 (Apr 15, 1872): 126. http://search.proquest.com/docview/137675405?accountid=351.
Fisk Jubilee Singers Vol. 1 (1909-1911). Recorded January 1, 1997. Document Records, 1997, Streaming Audio. Accessed March 18, 2015. http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/74675.
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From 1848 to 1881, the Oneida Community resided just outside Oneida, NY. Founded by extremely religious preacher John Humphrey Noyes, the community strived to lead its life parallel to the ideals of Perfectionism, in which its member “persevered in a course of self-improvement, overcoming many obstacles.” 1 Among some of Noyes’s greater ideals, he lived to help the anti-slavery cause. In The Hand-book of Oneida Community, Noyes states, “My heart was greatly engaged in [anti-slavery] work. At Andover I had become interested in the Anti-Slavery cause, and soon after I went to New Haven I took part, with a few pioneer abolitionists, in the formation of one of the earliest Anti-Slavery Societies in the country.” 2 Certainly J. H. Noyes invigorated the members of his community to think in the same way.
Yet, in the copy of the Oneida Circular Newspaper printed on April 15, 1872, author H W B wrote a review when a group of nine African-American singer from Fisk University, called Fisk Jubilee Singers, came to perform at Oneida. H W B and quoted author Theo F. Seward, in this article, use words, such as pathetic, unfortunates, wholly untutored minds, and phrases like “As to the words which accompany their songs, they are even more broken and irregular than is the music,” and “The reason for [their success] cannot apparently be traced to the superior talent of the singer themselves” as the author only believes that three of four of them have nice voices, to describe the Fisk Jubilee Singers. 3
How, then, can one say that the Oneida community was really built of J. H. Noyes’s fascination of the anti-slavery movement? It seems that the community members have a problem with allowing the African-American singers to be on a level ground with whites. As mentioned before, the author stated that the students had “wholly untutored minds,” although they all studying at Fisk University. I believe that shows that the Oneida Community had fallen away from its markers original ideals.
1 Oneida Community, Hand-book of the Oneida Community: With a Sketch of Its Founder, and an Outline of Its Constitution and Doctrines. (Wallingford, Conn. : Office of the Circular, Wallingford Community, 1867) 8 .
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Claims to justify the inferiority of the black race often sought evidence from science, as seen in the article below from The Musical Visitor in 1895. According to the short announcement, biological differences in black people prohibit their ability to sing European art music and sound like white people as well as their ability to play an instrument.
Article from The Musical Visitor [3]
In contrast, we know of a few African American concert singers during the 19th century who toured and had classical musical training. [1] 120 years later, here is Leontyne Price, just to help clear up that misconception as well. What scholars have suggested then, is that African American concert singers chose not to sing like a white person because they couldn’t make any money singing that way in the racist show business world, and furthermore people wanted to hear the African voice.
Perhaps the most appalling part of the article however explains that black people cannot help imitating the white man’s music and “the race instinct in the negro does not incline toward persistency of purpose” that it takes to play a musical instrument. 35 years prior to this, a young man named Thomas Bethune provides period proof against these scientific misconceptions. Blind Tom was born a blind slave, but by the age of four, showed great interest in the piano and great talent in imitating the sounds he heard, spending many hours a day learning the piano by ear. Tom’s master then paid the best musicians to come play for Tom so that he could imitate them, therefore gaining a fairly high musical education. Blind Tom’s case may be unique because of what his blind condition allowed him to achieve (namely, not doing slave labor), but there is no question that hard work and training went into Tom’s musical genius, not just talent. His international fame as a musical genius and his many compositions are evidence enough to debunk hypotheses such as the one in the above article, yet conceptions about the inferiority of black musicians persisted.
To add another layer of complexity in this story, Tom’s master, General James Bethune, hired him out to tour all over the country, earning the Bethune family and his managers approximately $3,000 per month during his performance career. Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, Tom was a slave to his performance managers and master, not receiving a penny of the touring profits. Articles advertising his performance raved about his ability to improvise and play multiple tunes at once, but also portrayed him as an exhibit, often referring to him as “it” or “the idiot” and described with barbaric features. [2] In other words, Tom’s talent and hard work did not prove the musical potential and value of African Americans as humans, rather is evidence to show that white people became interested in black musicians and black music when they could make money from it and when they could control it.
[1] Sonja Gable-Wilson, “Let Freedom Sing! Four African-American Concert Singers in Nineteenth Century America.,” Doctorate Thesis, University of Florida, 2005.
[2] Geneva Handy Southall, Blind Tom, the Black Pianist-Composer Continually Enslaved, Lanham, Maryland: Scarcrow Press, Inc. 1999.
[3] “NEGRO MUSIC,” The Musical Visitor, a Magazine of Musical Literature and Music (1883-1897) 24, no. 7 (07, 1895): 179. http://search.proquest.com/docview/137505026?accountid=351.
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African- American spirituals should be performed more because they represent a truth that many can relate to. You do not have to be “African-American” to understand the emotions behind silence, helplessness, struggle and liberation. But, you also do not have to be religious in order to understand the biblical references that are made in many of these songs. There is a connection in the text of spirituals that relate reality (in times of slavery) to the written evidence of the Hebrew’s slavery.
King, Willis J. “The Negro Spirituals and the Hebrew Psalms.” The Methodist Review (1885-1931) 47, no. 3 (05, 1931): 318.
After reading the first paragraph from the article above, called “The Negro Spirituals and the Hebrew Songs” written by Willis J. King; the relationship of black slavery and biblical slavery is justifed. This whole article does a good job in comparing the similarities and differences between Negro Spirituals and Hebrew Songs. What King does best is capture the positivity that comes out of many of these spirituals. In the first paragraph in the photo above King says “However mournful and depressing the opening lines are, there is almost a note of triumph before the Song is done,” which is so true. It amazes me the amount of spirituals that are out there that are musically joyful, where the text represents very emotional and sometimes painful realities that black slaves went through. But, the beauty in these texts is that the slaves used their religious beliefs to find “triumph” and liberate themselves from the horrors that they had to live through in silence. This is just one small aspect of Spirituals, but it may be the most important because the authenticity of African-American Spiritual text is simply the truth in the message that they are putting out to mentally liberate themselves through a time of struggle.
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As former slaves entered American culture and society as citizens with slightly more rights after the Civil War and Reconstruction they created bands and groups for themselves to play in. In the late 19th and early 20th century military bands, small orchestras, and “stock bands” were formed mostly performing popular music of the day as well as notable Classical music such as Mozart Operas.
Claflin University Brass Band. Picture collected for the 1900 Paris Exposition <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001705781>
At this time spiritual music had long been co-opted by white culture with many former slave songs being compiled in “American” songbooks. In the 1920s black composers and arrangers were able to publish their settings for these groups. Composers Gussie Davis, M.L. Lake, Robert Cole, and others were very popular stock band composers and arrangers during the ’20s. Here is a setting of the familiar tune “Nobody knows de trouble I seen” from M.L. Lake.
Setting for small orchestra.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100010139/pageturner.html?page=2§ion=p0001&size=640
We can find the melody in the treble voice and this is a form of the melody that modern listeners would most likely be familiar with. However because of its setting it and acculturation it is rife with western harmonization and figuration. This adaptation of black folk songs is something that we are very comfortable with and reminds me of William Grant-Still’s Afro-American Symphony.
H.T. Burleigh (1866-1949) was an essential figure in bringing black folk music to the classical music scene in post-reconstruction America. He introduced popular singers to the literature and was well connected with influential musical big-wigs, including Antonin Dvorak.
H.T. Burleigh’s setting of “Nobody knows” for voice and piano.
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/hasm_n0737/
The earliest notated record of this particular tune we have is from Slave Songs of the United States, published in 1867, the seminal work of collecting slave songs in the Antebellum South. This representation from the collection is not definite however, it is still subject to editing and doesn’t account for massive variation across the southern states.
This post outlines how different settings of the same tune have been treated when brought into a western context and setting. First the tune is in its most original form (that we have available), then adapted to solo voice and piano for mass consumption and use in the home and then finally used as popular music that can be recognized by the populous who attend concerts.
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Shape notes are a style of music notation most popularly printed in the songbooks of The Sacred Harp, and is categorized as sacred choral music. Shape note singing originates in the New England region of America as way to help illiterate Americans read music and participate more freely in religious activity. This style of si
nging was mainly found in the Protestant sect of Christianity. Shape notes reinforce the importance of congregational style of singing in church, allowing for a broader inclusion of church-goers.
The first iteration of shape note notation, invented by Psalmodist Andrew Law, was meant to simplify singing by assigning different shapes to different syllables (fa, sol, la, and mi) so that singers knew which syllables to sing without needing to read lyrics. In 1801, the system was developed by William Little and William Smith and assigned these shapes to different pitches on a staff. This resulted in the creation of The Sacred Harp tunebook. In an article posted in the Common School Advocate in the year 1838, the tunebook was regarded as “decidedly the best and most permanently useful work yet published… made up of the finest compositions of the great masters of ancient and modern times, with new music.” A review that pays homage to the times, as this was a fairly new invention that gave a church goers a new and inclusive experience participating in the singing of psalms and hymns.
A popular hymn that is sung today that The Sacred Harp transcribed into shape note notation is “Amazing Grace.” Largely sung at funerals, this originally baptist tune transcribed in shape note notation is a great example of the choral music of the Antebellum south period. The Christian Observer, an Anglican evangelical periodical that existed between 1802 and 1874, wrote highly of the Sacred Harp tunebook, posting numerous recommendations of its publication. One that particularly stood out, read “
The volume is composed of very beautiful melodies; and harmonies of almost unequalled richness… The tunes are admirably adapted to the effective expression of poetry, a circumstance upon which the happiest effect of Christian Psalmody depend.” A boasting review of a simple style of music, which goes to show the nature of music during this time period in America. Neither monophonic nor polyphonic, this unique style, which is heterophonic in texture, has a surprising sound that is unfamiliar, even to a trained ear. The more popular hymnody has a far more recognizable polyphonic texture that most trained and un-trained ears are accustomed to.
At the annual conventions, there is a specific structure to how they sing each song, whether or not that is how it was performed in 1850 is unbeknown to me, but the format is as follows: “sung through once on the solfege syllables, then sung in its entirety, with the final phrase repeated as a conclusion” (Miller). Despite the repetitive nature of such singing style, the participants are very enthusiastic in their singing of such tunes, and often clap and stomp along with the beat. Through shape-note singing a community emerged, one that is based around the Protestant faith, but is much more than that.
Shape note notation is important in American music history, as it is seen as the first original American music style and it is a defining style that influences genres to come. Some music historians say that African American spirituals were influenced from the shape note singing of groups like the Sacred Harp. If this is in fact true, the shape note style is an important one in American history that continues to influence music today.
Bibliography
Miller, Sarah Bryan. Post-Dispatch Classical, Music Critic. “Amazing Grace at The Missouri Sacred Harp Convention, Shape-Note Singing Isn’t for Listening, It’s for Participation.” St. Louis Post – Dispatch, Mar 28, 2001.
“VALUABLE MUSIC BOOKS,” 1841. Christian Observer (1840-1910), Oct 29, 176. http://search.proquest.com/docview/136098231?accountid=351.
“A VALUABLE music book,” 1838. Common School Advocate (1837-1841), Vol. 14: pp. 95. http://search.proquest.com/docview/124760960?accountid=351
http://originalsacredharp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1-First-Ireland-Convention.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/New_Britain_Southern_Harmony_Amazing_Grace.jpg
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A prominent event in Southern music making of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the singing convention. In rural areas of the South, families from neighboring farms would gather to sing sacred Christian music from shape note singing books such as The Sacred Harp. The singers used this type of musical notation because its utilization of only four solfege syllables and corresponding symbols made reading music easier (than traditional Western notation), and most people were able to learn the notation by attending local singing schools. In the excerpt below, a journalist from the Atlanta Constitution reports his observations from the 1892 Chattahoochee Musical Convention near Carrollton, Georgia:
Figure 1
The journalist seems to be writing for an urban audience that would not be familiar with such a singing tradition. By referencing how a mother might sing these songs “as a lullaby for her babe,” he emphasizes the music’s importance as a transmitter of culture for rural folk.
The shape note singing described above ensured that anyone could participate after little practice. The singing style at singing conventions reflected this inclusive attitude as well as valued the individual spirit. Singers were not expected to blend with one another; rather, they sang at full volume in order to praise God at their highest capacity. The ability of individuals to worship depended on their zeal as they sang, not their wealth, community standing, or musical sophistication. The clip below from the 2010 Chattahoochee Musical Convention shows that this atmosphere remains today.
Figure 2
As documents from the nineteenth century reveal, gender also carried less importance at singing conventions, which made them significant events in the lives of women. The Atlanta Constitution article states that women were allowed unusual freedoms like being permitted to lead songs at singing conventions.
Figure 3 and Figure 4
While female leadership seems to shock the journalist observing the convention, Mrs. Denson’s leadership makes sense in the context of the convention’s democratic ethos.
Singing conventions also held importance for women because they provided a venue at which members of the opposite sex could mingle. In the following short story excerpt, published in Arthur’s Home Magazine (a magazine marketed toward women), the author describes a young couple who attends a singing convention together not because they enjoy the singing but because the young woman’s parents allowed her to leave the house with young man only because they would be attending a singing convention.
Figure 5 and Figure 6
The women who read Arthur’s Home Magazine would have been interested in a story about a singing convention because the singing convention represented an arena in which a woman could participate in social activities without much attention paid to her gender.
Singing conventions were important in the lives of women for three main reasons: 1) they were integral to the transmission of culture, which has traditionally been the role of women, 2) they gave women leadership opportunities in worship, and 3) they provided social venues in which women had more freedom. However, while the democratic nature of the singing convention allowed for more equal treatment in regard to gender, it should not be overstated, considering that the spirit of inclusiveness did not extend to African-Americans. The tradition I have described above refers to white Southerners. Whether or not a similar treatment of gender occurred in separate African-American singing conventions remains a question for another blog.
Footnotes
A.B.F., “Old Time Singing: Devotees of the Old ‘Sacred Harp’ System of Melody,” The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), Aug. 9, 1892, accessed Feb. 22, 2015, http://search.proquest.com/americanperiodicals/docview/194108303/fulltextPDF/1485C5C5DBB94281PQ/8?accountid=351
“Sacred Harp Chattahoochee Convention 2010,” Youtube video, posted by THEbubbleskid, September 9, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQkYnRdkbqM
A.B.F., “Old Time Singing: Devotees of the Old ‘Sacred Harp’ System of Melody,” The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), Aug. 9, 1892, accessed Feb. 22, 2015 http://search.proquest.com/americanperiodicals/docview/194108303/fulltextPDF/1485C5C5DBB94281PQ/8?accountid=351
Sacred Harp Singers. Available from http://marfapublicradio.org/blog/talk-at-ten/ryan-p-young-on-sacred-harp-singing/ (accessed Feb. 22, 2015)
Hester Grey. “At the Singing Convention,” Arthur’s Home Magazine (1880-1897) 65, no. 6 (1895): 570, accessed Feb. 22 2015, http://search.proquest.com/americanperiodicals/docview/124515702/fulltextPDF/$N/1?accountid=351
Arthur’s Home Magazine, 1867. Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%27s_Lady%27s_Home_Magazine#mediaviewer/File:1867_Arthurs_Home_Magazine_v29_no4.png
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Black slave song was once a purely functional form of music that was described as “primitive” or “not inherently musical,” and the thought of it pervading American popular music once seemed impossible. However, after going through a metamorphosis of sorts, it changed into a form that appealed to the people of the United States. By undergoing this change, the songs had lost basically all semblance of their original function as a work song to an art song. Thus began the assimilation of black folk songs into American folk-songs.
[1]
As a result of black folk music being introduced to the American public, people wanted to capture the origins and nature of this new genre. Books were written chronicling and collecting black folk songs, among them Afro-American Folksongs, A Study in Racial and National Music by Henry Edward Krehbiel and On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs by Dorothy Scarborough. Although these books were invaluable as a source for the average person to learn more about black folk songs and accounts of their encounters with the people that taught the authors the songs, they were written by white people using standard musical notation that is not able to accurately portray how the songs would have actually been performed by the people that originally sung them.
For example, take this transcription from Scarborough’s book of “I Went Up on the Mountain Top:”
[2]
The notes, rhythms, and words are present, but we have no idea how accurate this is. We can only assume how fast it went, how to pronounce the words, and the harmonies implied, if any. What results from this collection of songs is not an authentic depiction of black folk tunes, but “…a body of beautiful music. It has been neglected, distorted, made pretty, made tawdry, and now is being presented in various approaches to its native beauty.” [3] This issue of “beauty” became even more contentious when considering how to perform these songs:
[4]
Due to the vague nature of the transcriptions written by authors such as Krehbiel and Scarborough, the “correct” rendition was up to interpretation. However, it was agreed that that the expression of the text was far more important than the style in which a person sang. Hayes and Robeson are incomparable, but they both hearken back to the original spirituals and the idea of expression as beauty. Although the black slave song was once thought as the music of savages, it quickly became an integral part of American music and was not going away anytime soon.
1. 3. 4. Seldes, Gilbert. 1926. THE NEGRO’S SONGS. The Dial; a Semi – Monthly Journal of Literary Criticism, Discussion, and Information (1880-1929), 03, 247. http://search.proquest.com/docview/89694543?accountid=351.
2. Scarborough, Dorothy. On the Trail of Negro Folk-songs. Hatboro, Pa.: Folklore Associates, 1925. Pg. 7. Accessed on archive.org.
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Although the America of the Pre-Civil War Era presented racial discrimination and bias in most career paths, music was one of the few platforms in which both white and black musicians could successfully perform. Francis “Frank” Johnson (1792-1844) was among one of these musicians. As a composer, bandleader, and trumpeter, Johnson possessed a diverse range of musical talents and ability which he drew upon for his concerts. His musicians were also multi-talented and would often switch instruments halfway through their concerts.
This brief concert review from the Boston Musical Gazette on Oct 31, 1838 gives an insight into the positive reception that Frank Johnson and his band received after their performances. The song mentioned in the review, The Last Rose of Summer is based off of a poem by Thomas Moore. Though nearly 70 years later, this recording of soprano Elizabeth Wheeler from 1909 is the same basic melody that was performed at Johnson’s concert.
The Keyed Bugle referenced in the performance was a recent instrument introduced around 1810 but fading out before the end of the civil war in 1850. An illustration of the Keyed Bugle can be found in the 1941 book Soldiers of the American Army, 1775-1941, by Frederick Todd.
Jeff Stockham of the Federal City Brass gives a brief history and demonstration of what the Keyed Bugle sounds like on YouTube:
The Boston Musical Gazette’s article is enlightening as a more detailed description of the type of music and instrumentation may have been used at Francis “Frank” Johnson’s concerts. Particularly with Pre-Civil War music and musicians, it is difficult to discover detailed accounts due to the lack of recordings from this time. This means that a heavier reliance must be placed on written newspaper reviews or eyewitness accounts. In this particular instance, some valuable information can be gathered simply from the short paragraph found in the Boston Musical Gazette: the positive reception of the concert by the audience, a title of one of the pieces performed, and a reference to one of the unique contemporary instruments used.
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When the Fisk Jubilee Singers began to perform “slave songs” on their tours, this style exploded in popularity and was hailed as a rejuvenating form of American song. Additionally, these songs were accepted as a legitimate contribution to American music by African Americans and weren’t subject to the sort of derision that other forms of African art had been in the recent past. Unsurprisingly, many people had problems with the notion that these slave songs were the slaves own work, and numerous music critics and commentators voiced concerns that this music comprised of unoriginal rehashes of white, European descended hymnody.
Perhaps the champion of this ‘white defense’ was George Pullen Jackson (1874-1953), American folksong scholar who specialized in southern shape note singing. His belief in the need for white reclamation of spirituals coalesced most famously in his 1933 book White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands, but the most upsetting and clearly politicized version of his argument came a year earlier in the article “The Genesis of the Negro Spiritual”, published in the controversial and irreverent magazine The American Mercury.
Left: The opening of Jackson’s article. Right: Comparisons of colonial song tunes and camp meeting variations.
Frustrated by what he perceives as an unfair appropriation of camp revivalist songs, Jackson offers textual and musical examples that are meant to show how spirituals were updated by upland revivalist preachers and singers with “simplicity and swing”. It wasn’t until the early 1800s and the involvement of Africans in these same meetings that Jackson claims the same revivalist musical tendencies and crowd emotionalism “infected the blacks.” He also belatedly accuses plantation owners and urban Southerners “who have always been eager to forget and disown the camp-meeting songs” of obscuring the truth in an attempt to disparage poor, rural whites.
Arguably the most upsetting part of the article addresses “the chief remaining argument of the die-hards for the Negro source of the Negro spirituals – the artistic merit of these songs.” Claiming that these rural whites were as musical and as “oppressed” as their Afro-American counterparts, he effectively reduces the body of Black music he is discussing to cheap parodies of purer, more original white music. Yet despite his apparent certainty in tracing the misunderstood development of the spiritual, he concedes the vast chasm of knowledge that existed between his time and the musical era he was studying, though he seems to suggest that this chasm only manifests for those seeking to promote the “superiority” of Black music.
Jackson leads a group of singers in sacred harp songs in Tennessee, 1941
Jackson made a career out of the white reclamation of spirituals. Mentioned earlier was his White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands, though the misleadingly titled White and Negro Spirituals: their Life Span and Kinship (1943) is notable for its treatment of Negro music only as “variants” on white originals. Additionally, Jackson collaborated with Alan Lomax to record performances of large southern singing groups such as the Sacred Harp Singers, presumably as a more authentic representation of the southern spirituals.
While it may be infuriating to reflect upon the writings of Jackson and other anti-Black critics, it is an important part of American musical culture that should not be ignored. By critically analyzing these sources we can gain a clearer picture of how politics and cultural aggressions infiltrated American music from an early stage.
Note: For the purposes of the assignment “The Genesis of the Negro Spiritual” was discovered via the Readers’ Guide Retrospective. However, the full PDF was unavailable and was instead found at the following link: http://www.unz.org/Pub/AmMercury-1932jun-00243.
SOURCES
Jackson, George Pullen. “The Genesis of the Negro Spiritual.” The American Mercury (June 1932): pp. 243-249.
Jackson, George Pullen. White and Negro Spirituals: their Life Span and Kinship.
Jackson, Richard. “George Pullen Jackson.” Grove Music Online. http: www.oxfordmusiconline.com (accessed February 22, 2015).
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Founded in 1866 by the American Missionary Association, Fisk University in Nashville, TN became the United States’ first “black” university. Formed in the Reconstruction era of America, Fisk was a school that would “offer a liberal arts education to young men and women irrespective of color.” Fisk University, however, did not avoid hardships as the institution struggled to survive past its infancy. Within five years, the school found itself in dire need for financial support. So what does any university do when they need to make money? They form a touring ensemble.
George L. White was originally hired to serve as Fisk’s treasurer, but also found his way into the music classroom. Noticing the institution’s need for income, the treasurer turned music professor also became the school’s first director of choirs. In 1871, White established a choir of freed slaves that he later named the Jubilee Singers. The choir’s purpose was to go and tour the country to raise money for the university. Ella Shepard, the ensemble’s pianist, described the intentions and drive of White was “to sing the money out of the hearts and pockets of the people,” and with that, on October 6, 1871, the choir left Nashville on their first benefit concert tour of the Midwest.
Long story short, the seven month tour was a resounding success. The ensemble was
able to return to Nashville with $20,000 to be put into the institution. With the profit of their first tour, Fisk University was able to build it’s first permanent campus building, which was named Jubilee Hall and still serves the university to this day. So what exactly did the Jubilee Singers do to make their tour so successful? Simply put, they sang what they knew and what the people wanted to hear.
According to an article published in the Oneida Circular, the praise of the ensemble is simply “remarkable.” The singers did not have “superior talent” and though “they
are capable of singing ‘popular music’,” that had nothing to do with their success. What consistently worked for the ensemble was to defer to their “native, religious songs.” Described in one concert advertisement as the “simple melodies and spiritual songs which sustained the slaves during their long years of bondage,” the music of the Jubilee Singers captivated audiences with their novel sound and religious messages. When asked about their music by members of the public, the singers would respond that “it was never written down” and that is passed down “from generation to generation” within their families. This repertoire, coined “slave songs” would not only carry the ensemble through a successful tour, but also skyrocket them to the national and international stage.
The concept of a touring ensemble is not exactly new. Here at St. Olaf College, we too have a touring choral ensemble of our own. Under the direction of Dr. Anton Armstrong, the St. Olaf Choir tours annually across the country and occasionally around the globe. Known for their refined tone and lyric sense of line, the St. Olaf Choir is a night-and-day comparison to the Jubilee Singers. Even though their musical styles contrast greatly, their underlying reasonings for going on national and international tours are quite similar: to spread their music and to collect revenue for their sponsoring institutions. Founded 40 years after the Jubilee Singers in 1912, the St. Olaf Choir and their director F. Melius Christiansen took their first major tour in 1920 to the East coast and had a similar result to the Fisk musicians, bringing in a healthy sum of revenue for the college and even established a fund to construct the first official music hall on campus. What is particularly interesting is that both choirs had similar repertoire at the commencement of their tours. Classical choral music was to be the highlight of the Jubilee Singers program, but the hesitantly had to switch to singing their people’s history on stage in order to raise the necessary funds. Both ensembles had hugely successful tours singing what the audience wanted to hear, but is that necessarily right?
Regardless of your viewpoint on the ethics of choral repertoire when it comes to “selling” sound, the Fisk University Jubilee Singers have surely made their mark on our country’s history. More than 75 years after the Jubilee Singers inaugural tour, G. Robert Tipton wrote an article for The Missionary Herald in 1947, which was later re-published in Reader’s Digest in 1949, titled “Our Debt to the Jubilee Singers.” The article goes through a brief history of the ensemble from their establishment through their first European tour, but what I found most interesting was the summary sentence provided on the front page of the article. Tipton writes that the Jubilee Singers are “a group of impoverished ex-slaves who took the old Negro spirituals on the road – and enriched America’s musical heritage.” There is no doubt that the work of the Fisk University Jubilee Singers has not only enriched our nation’s musical antiquity, but quite possibly assisted in the preservation of the “slave song” genre that is so deeply rooted in America’s history.
Sources:
TIPTON, G. Robert. 1949. “Our debt to the Jubilee singers.” Reader’s Digest 54, 95-97. Readers’ Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed February 19, 2015).
Advertisement 18 — no title. 1872. Zion’s Herald (1868-1910). Mar 14, http://search.proquest.com/docview/127336562?accountid=351 (accessed February 20, 2015).
H, W. B. 1872. THE JUBILEE SINGERS. Oneida Circular (1871-1876). Apr 15, http://search.proquest.com/docview/137675405?accountid=351 (accessed February 20, 2015).
“Fisk Jubilee Singers – Our History.” Fisk Jubilee Singers. Accessed February 24, 2015. http://www.fiskjubileesingers.org/our_history.html.
Shaw, Joseph M. The St. Olaf Choir: A Narrative. Northfield, Minn.: St. Olaf College, 1997.
Reply
It’s no wonder that Americans have a narrow, stereotyped understanding of Native American song. On the one hand, there are mass media representations that run from the antiquated and embarrassing…
… to the downright confusing – I’m thinking especially of all the conflations between Indian and Ashkenazi Jewish musical culture in the 1920s and 1930s, including this one , and this one (at the very end). In fact, mass media’s propensity to get Indian song wrong is so cliché that the stereotyping itself has been parodied, most famously in the irreverent Fox cartoon Family Guy:
It’s not so hard to see where these misunderstandings come from. From the colonial era to the present day, the majority of Americans have never encountered Native American song themselves; they have mainly read accounts of it written by others. For example, Chicago’s Newberry Library preserves an 1835 account by John T. Irving, Jr. (accessible via the Adam Matthew database, specifically its “American West” collection ) that describes an expedition to the Pawnee Tribes. We “hear” music through Irving’s ears, for example in this description of a group of Indians assembling before a journey:
Likening the Indians’ song to a “low, and not inharmonious cry,” a “wailing moan,” and a “mournful chant,” Irving doesn’t really tell us what the “dirge” or “death song” sounds like. Rather, he sets the sounds he heard apart from what his readers might know; he renders the Native American song utterly Other.
It’s unfortunate that accounts like Irving’s have been more influential than systematic, respectful attempts to document Native American song, like that of Frances Densmore. A native of Minnesota, Densmore undertook an enormous study of Native American culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries under the aegis of the Bureau of American Ethnology, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution. Densmore’s prescience about the misrepresentations referenced above borders on the prophetic. In 1927 she wrote, “There is danger that the future will form its opinions of Indians from the sentimental movies and the theater music when the Indian is seen through the bushes. Neither the “love lyric” nor theater tom-tom music are genuinely Indian, in the best sense” ( Qtd. in this Smithsonian Institute online archive ; see footnote 5 for archival citation).
Building on the pioneering work of Alice Fletcher, another ethnologist and collector of Indian Song, Densmore published dozens of book-length accounts of music making by individual tribes, including a volume on Pawnee music.
Her description of Pawnee music is nothing like Irving’s. Here’s an excerpt: “An important point, made evident in this comparative analysis, is the individuality of Pawnee music. It is distinct, in its entirety, from the songs of other tribes, though bearing a resemblance to one tribe or another in separate characteristics. The study of Indian music by an established system of analysis shows there are characteristics that are common to Indian songs of various tribes and different from the music of the white race, and also characteristics which distinguish the songs of one tribe from those of another. Among the former is the change of measure-lengths found in many Indian songs and the downward trend of the melody…” (Frances Densmore, Pawnee Music [New York: Da Capo Press, 1972, reprint of 1929 ed. issued as Bulletin 93 of Smithsonian Institution]). Below is another excerpt from the book, this one including a piece she transcribed from a recording made by one of her research associates.
Densmore took Indian music as seriously as it deserved to be taken, and as a result, created an incredibly rich resource for anyone who’d like to know what music Native Americans actually made.
Other Resources:
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Jukebox
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What originally American familial (that's familial, not familiar) term refers to a small shop or business run by a married couple?
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Cover. Don Cosmic, Watercolour by Clinton Hutton
DEC. 2007
UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
Professor, the Hon. R.M. Nettleford, O.M. Vice Chancellor Emeritus, (Editor)
Sir Roy Augier, Professor Emeritus, History, Mona
Professor H. Beckles, Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal, UWI, Cave Hill.
Professor B. Chevannes, Research Fellow, Mona School of Business, UWI, Mona,
Professor Wayne Hunte, PVC Research, UWI, St. Augustine
Professor B.Lalla, Faculty of Arts and Education, UWI, St.Augustine
Mr. J. Periera, Vice Principal, UWI, Mona
Prof. Clement Sankat, PVC, Graduate Studies and Research, UWI,
Professor Gordon Shirley, PVC and Principal, UWI, Mona.
Prof. H Simmons-McDonald, PVC, Non Campus Countries and Distance
Education, UWI, Cave Hill
Mrs. Linda Speth, General Manager, UWI Press
Dr. B. Tewarie, PVC and Principal, UWI, St. Augustine
Dr. V.Salter, CSI, Managing Editor,
All correspondence and contributions should be addressed to: The Editor,
Caribbean Quarterly, Cultural Studies Initiative, Office of Vice Chancellor Emeritus,
University of the West Indies, PO Box 130, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Tel. No. 876-970-3261, Tel Fax 876-977-6105
Email: veronica.saltcr((imuwimona.edu.jm or cq(auwimona.edu.jm
Manuscripts : We invite readers to submit manuscripts or recommend subjects
which they would like to see discussed in Caribbean Quarterly. Articles and book
reviews of relevance to the Caribbean will be gratefully received. Authors should
refer to the guidelines on the web page. Articles submitted are not returned.
Exchanges: Exchanges are conducted by the Gifts and Exchanges Section,
Library, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Back Issues and Microfilm : Information for back volumes supplied on request.
Caribbean Quarterly is available on microfilm from Xerox University Microfilms and
in book form from Kraus-Thompson Reprint Ltd.
Abstract and Index 1949-2006 Author Keyword and Subject Index available
on website. The journal is abstracted by AES and indexed by HAPI
FOREWORD
Caribbean Quarterly, Volume 53, Number 4, December 2007 is a special issue entitled
'Pioneering Icons of Jamaican Popular Music. It is a collection of papers written by scholars
which present to the reader several features ofJamaican popular Music that hitherto have been
relatively unexplored. Daniel Neely's paper, CallingA/lSingers, Musicians and Speechmakers: Mento
Aesthetics and Jamaica's Early Recording Industry, traces the history and development of Jamaica's
recording industry from the importation of the first disc cutter in 1947 and the consequent
effects that the industry had on live music in the country. Dennis Howard continues the story
when he examines the influence of the Juke Box in Punching for Recognition: The Juke Box as a Key
Instrument in the Development of Popular Jamaican Music, for without records there would be no juke
boxes and as Howard rightly argues 'the juke box has iconic status as a major sustainer of
music from mento to dancehall' Clinton Hutton follows sequentially with "Forging Identiy and
Community through Aestheticism and Entertainment: The Sound System and the Rise of the DJ",
Dee-Jaying -an art form pioneered by Count Machuki in the 1950s, and following in the
tradition of call and response tradition right up to the present day with the likes of Shabba,
Bounty and Shaggy.
An interview with Garth White explores the Social and Aesthetic Roots and Identity ofSka,
and offers insights in his account of the 'clash' between systems, venues, and most significantly
uptown-downtown, as epitomised in his experiences at an uptown high school, where he was
fortunate enough to be introduced to a vanety of musical idioms. Two papers examine the
contributions made by individual performers. In Brown Girlin the Ring: Margarita and Maungu,
Herbie Miller shifts attention from the legendary trombonist Don Drummond (whose
influence is discussed in White's interview) to the contribution that was made by his partner,
Margarita. 'her participation in Count Ossie's drum and dance ensemble offers a lens through
which the dialogue of race, class and gender differences in Jamaica...can be viewed' Miller here
enlightens the reader on the significant role played by women in the development of the music.
Marjorie Whylie, an icon in the development, annotation and performance of all musical forms
throughout the Caribbean, lauds the contribution made by Ernie Ranglin international self-
taught guitarist par excellence in her paper "Ernest Ranglin, Creative Activist, Initiator, Innovator,
Living Legend'
Caribbean Quarterly welcomes Clinton Hutton, teacher, artist, critique of the Department
of Government, UWI, Mona as Guest Editor of this ground-breaking and thought-provoking
collection. Two book reviews complete this volume.
REX NETTLEFORD
This special issue of Caribbean Quarterly titled Pioneering Icons of Jamaican
Popular Music commemorates 50 years ofJamaican popular music and the making f
the Jamaican recording industry. The six essays bring fresh ideas and insights into
some of the critical, agential, socio-political, aesthetic and ontological factors in the
precursory and formative years of the making of Jamaican popular music and the
recording industry.
Indeed, two of these essays, the one by Dennis Howard on the Juke Box and
the other by Herbie Miller on Margarita, have, for the first time, at this level of
scholarship, entered the discourse on Jamaican popular music and introduced new
research and insights into the culturing ofJamaican popular music and its agency. So
too, Marjorie Whylie's essay on Ernest Ranglin, the pre-eminent guitarist and pioneer
arranger and musician in the making ofJamaican popular music. In fact all the essays
in this issue, to a greater or lesser degree trod this path.
Garth White's insights into the making of ska, his tracing of its critical aesthetic
resources, its identity or ontological principles and its agency, locating these in
historical context, are very perceptive. And my essay on the sound system and the
rise of the deejay, posits that the dancehall movement which was propelled into being
by the sound system, was an unstated national movement coming together for
aesthetic and ontological gratification, in which the deejay assumed a role, somewhat
akin to that of a Revivalist shepherd or mother.
The Pioneering Icons of Jamaican Popular Music includes spaces such as
Oswald "Count Ossie" Williams' camp at Wareika, Big Yard on Orange Street and
Eighteen 5th Street, the Yard of Mortimo Planno. These pioneering icons include
persons like, Thomas Wong, Clement Dodd, Arthur "Duke" Reid, Cecil "Prince
Buster" Campbell, Cluet Johnson, Vere Johns, Raphael "Count Mug" Dillon, Don
Drummond, Oswald Williams, Mortimo Planno, Lee "Scratch Perry", Chris
Blackwell, Sonia Pottinger, Pam-Pam, Headley Jones, amongst others.
The icons also include institutions such as Alpha Boy's School, the Jamaica
Military Band and Stony Hill Approved School. And of course pioneering iconic
sounds such as mento, rhythm and blues and burru. We cannot focus on all, but
some of these are discussed in this issue.
CLINTON HUTTON
In the first half of the twentieth century, Jamaica's music industry lagged
behind the rest of the Caribbean. At the same time as Cuban Rumba and Trinidadian
Calypso were being recorded, distributed and influencing music from California to
the Congo, Jamaican mento, the parallel indigenous musical genre, languished in
relative obscurity. Prior to World War II, Jamaica had no Growling Tiger or Attila the
Hun to help define an indigenous song form; nor was there a Don Azpiazu or Xavier
Cugat to promote a "Jamaican" sound to the world, either live or on record.
All this changed after the War, when a generation of young entrepreneurs
discovered they could make a business out of capturing sound on disc and selling it.
Although certainly not at first, for producers and musicians alike sound recording
would eventually raise a complex set of philosophical and aesthetic questions. What
purpose would it serve? How could it be used in articulating Jamaican cultural
identity? What might the "sound ofJamaica" be? Standing at the nexus of tradition
and modernity, answers to these questions promised opportunity, a way of
influencing a more modem-and eventually independent-Jamaica.
In this article, I will highlight a few aspects of the Jamaica recording industry's
early history, a historical moment both poorly documented and overlooked by prior
research. My main focus will be on its early producers and some of the choices they
made that set a course for the country's music; however, I will also explore how a
particular Jamaican musical aesthetic sound emerged, and was shaped by the industry
in its first decade. Much of this story concerns the demands of a rapidly developing
tourist industry, but also involves a series of business-driven choices that both helped
to strengthen local confidence in the medium and changed the way people heard
music.
Khouri, Motta and the Emergence of Modem Jamaican Audility
In May 1947, a curious listing appeared in the Daif Gleaner newspaper
classified that read: "Something New. Calling All Singers, Musicians, Speechmakers,
etc. Make your own records and hear it played back in three minutes."' Interested
parties were instructed to "apply" at 76 West Street. Although no identifying name or
phone number was included in the ad, the address provided was that of the R.E.
Wright Hardware and Importing Company, where Khouri worked at the time (Katz
2003, p. 16). Later iterations of the "Something New" advertisement confirm this;
they included not only a phone number extension belonging to the Wright Company
but revealed that these listings were placed by Ken Khouri, the agent to whom
interested parties should go 2
This ad, it would appear, signified the beginning of Jamaica's indigenous
recording industry.
Ken Khouri was an enigmatic man. Although projecting a sort of humble
pride, he also claimed singular credit for the Jamaican music industry's foundation
and all of its major innovations. In his mind, he was "the first." After I met him in
November 2002, I soon heard the oft-told story of the Presto disc cutter he used to
found the industry. (He bought in Miami while tending to his ailing father and later
sold it to Ivan Chin in 1955.) All this came about because the radio in his rental car
was broken and, unable to live without music, he took it to the repair shop, where he
happened upon a man from California, destitute and intent upon returning west with
his wife and young child. This young man (described by Khouri as "kind of a hippy")
had a disc cutter to sell. Having served in World War II as an electrical technician,
Khouri's interest was piqued by the device. After a demonstration, he knew he had to
have it, and he bought it for the asking price. The man offered a batch of blank discs
as a gift, but Khouri turned the offer down, preferring to pay fair market value for
them. After purchasing a number of additional blanks from a commercial vendor,
Khouri returned to Jamaica where he started up a small record-making business,
charging 30 shillings for every record made. People were lining up for the service.
Before this visit, I was warned that if Khouri agreed to meet with me, his ego
would get in the way of the facts. The reason for this, one major sound system
operator told me, was because Khouri was part of an "old guard" of Jamaican
businessmen whose importance came into question after the political cultural
changes that accompanied the independence movement. Although he remained
successful (he ran the country's largest and most state of the art physical recording
plant for decades) and enjoyed seniority over the generation of entrepreneurial
producers that emerged in his wake (most notably, the "big three" of Dodd, Reid and
Mento Aesthetics
King Edwards, as well as Prince Buster), some felt that Khouri harboured a sense of
"disillusionment" over how writers-particularly journalists from abroad-focused
on the producers who were most associated with 1950s and 1960s sound systems and
marginalized his role in the industry's foundation.
Few have taken a close look at Khouri's early work. Although he indeed
prefigured the "big three" and deserves broader recognition, there is much to critique
in some of his claims to firstness. Others, for example, have more valid claims to the
landmarks Khouri maintained were his. American ethnomusicologist Helen Heffron
Roberts, for example, in 1921 cut the first known recordings ofJamaican music in St.
Elizabeth parish as an assistant to anthropologist Martha Beckwith. Further, the first
records of Jamaicans playing "mentors" [sic] were organized and led by the
Trinidadian vaudevillian Sam Manning in New York City as early as 1924; throughout
the twenties and thirties, with enough money one could go down to C. C. Campbell's
store on Water Lane in Kingston and buy these erstwhile "Jamaican" records.
As I investigated Khouri's "firsts," I encountered a confusing knot of
discrepancies-two of which I will describe here-that support a more compelling
perspective on his role as a pioneer. The first involves the number of blank discs he
brought back from Miami. In the 1970s music publication Swing journalist Jean
Fairweather wrote that Khouri bought 500 with the cutter, and an additional 1,000
elsewhere before returning home. Subsequent writers cite these quantities fairly
regularly. However, after a lengthy discussion with Khouri that called upon his wife
Gloria's memory, he put the number of discs he bought at 100 and the supplemental
number at 200. Although easily overlooked, this detail suggests he was more cautious
about his initial chances with the recording industry than he had previously let on.
This detail is important, though: those who could afford to spend 30 shillings on a
record were not the oft-fetishized urban poor from whose mouths, it is said, springs
the soul ofJamaican music. Rather, Khouri was largely recording the urban elite, the
people who could afford the little luxury Khouri offered, and who were candidates to
lend financial support to his business ventures later on.
The second discrepancy in the telling of Khouri's story-and far more
significant-is the common notion that he purchased his disc recorder in 1949
(Fairweather 1973; Bradley 2000, p. 24; Rookumbine ND; Hawks 2006). We now
know this date to be incorrect. While it is not certain whether he in fact bought the
machine in 1946 or 1947, that he was advertising his business in 1947, two years
earlier than commonly acknowledged, cannot be overlooked. Because Khouri's first
commercial release was not for sale until August 1951 (in partnership with
Daniel T. Nee
businessman Alec Dune through his Times Store3 the period 1947-1951 warrants
further examination.
Many would point out that Khouri's service was primarily directed at Jamaica's
musical community. I suggest, however, that this was not necessarily the case. Just as
Khouti's business was getting off the ground, WZQI, Jamaica's first radio station,
opened its own recording facility.4 Although I have not come across any records
made there, older musicians (most notably, singer Clyde Hoyte) told me that some
musicians used it to make one-off records for broadcast. ZQI's studio was not
particularly available to all: in 1949, for example, Lord Fly went to Miami to record a
series of records5 while Eric Deans went to Haiti for the same reason in 1951 6 7
During this time, Khouri's recording business does not seem to have been considered
a viable alternative to professional musicians. However, this competition seems to
have influenced a decision to expand the purview of his service.
Although he would maintain the amateur musician's market by continuing to
focus on recording "songs," the words "messages abroad" soon figured into his
advertisements.8 This was an important change because it helped expand his
customer base. With a record, one could not just simply preserve a "moment" for
posterity (something he did on June 20,1948, when he recorded Ivan Chin's wedding
ceremony), but one could also stay in touch with family and friends living abroad in a
visceral way through a little sound bite of home.
This new direction also opened the market and created space for competition
from another Kingston businessmen who saw the value in recorded sound: Stanley
Motta. None of Stanley Motta's family remember exactly when their father bought
his disc cutter, but his son Brian told me that his father had it for some months when
he used it to record the guests at Brian's Bah Mitzvah in 1950. By November of that
year, Motta had opened a studio at 93 Hanover St.:
How do you sound? YOU CAN RECORD YOUR VOICE or your
playing at Motta's Recording Studio.
High-quality recordings of voice and music can now be made at our
Studio which is specially designed for this purpose and equipped with
a piano. These facilities will fill a long felt need among local singers
and musicians and for many other recording purposes such as radio
commercial and programme material. Our Studio can record on discs
of 12 to 5 inches diameter, 78 R.P.M. Prices range from 1. 12. 6. to
8/- per record, and duplicates can be made at lower cost. Our
portable recording equipment can also be used at any location you
Mento Aesthetics
desire, at an additional charge of 30/-. (Daiy Gleaner November 10,
1950, p. 6.)
Motta's subsequent boasts of offering a "New Service" were not entirely true 9;
Khouri was already making records. But while Khouri generally made his recordings
on location-house parties, garden parties and later, nightclubs-Motta was the first
to offer this service in a controlled studio setting.0
However, Khouri's claims of firstness are better rationalized following the lead
of recent critical theorists who have characterized one of sound recording's
innovations as the stockpiling of time (Attali 1996, pp. 101-5). The stockpiling of
Jamaican voices in Jamaica not only enabled local control of the "certain sequence,
isolation, and repeatability of moments" that characterizes bourgeois modernity
(Sterne 2003, p. 310), but it also introduced the notion of an audile technique wherein
listening became the privileged sense for knowing and experiencing Jamaican culture
(Sterne 2003, p. 96).
Prior to Khouri, though, no Jamaican had ever been in control of the
ownership and preservation of Jamaican time. As music became increasingly
commodified in the 1940s-and especially the 1950s-questions about the
ownership and mass manufacture of this time-and in particular, musical
time-developed into an aesthetic issue: businessmen like Khouri and Motta would
need to figure out who would buy "Jamaican" music, and correspondingly, would
need to make decisions about how it should sound.
Nightclubs, Tourism and the Mass Marketing of Jamaican Music
Although one can argue that "the consumption of music... shapes our sense of
time" (Straw 2001, p. 58), perhaps equally important is the influence it has on our
sense of place. Nowhere in the post-War era was a sound-based sense of place more
important than in the Caribbean, and inJamaica it was the basis for music's marketing
and musical aesthetic. But the choices producers made marketing music in this early
era seemed to emphasize its accessibility to foreign tastes; was the aesthetic that
developed around music one that focused on a particularly "Jamaican" musical
identity, or was it something else?
I argue it was something else. In a 1948 article, Bahamian pianist George
Moxey quoted a tourist who lamented that it was "too bad Jamaica does not stock
records of all the native calypsos," adding, "the only place I could get them was in
New York." It is perhaps ironic that similar tales can be told today, as many of the
finest re-issues of early Jamaican mento are not readily available in Jamaica. But this
quote-uttered (predictably enough) by an American tourist looking for the mento
Daniel T Nee#y
music he heard by asking for calypso-foreshadows an aesthetic imperative the early
Jamaican industry would adopt and develop.
Although the local market was certainly important, it was the steady stream of
foreigners who represented the first, best economic hope for the industry's growth;
the music tourists would buy would need to be "Jamaican," but simultaneously "West
Indian," and therefore tailored to meet expectation. The community best suited to
meet Khouri's and Motta's business needs worked in the Kingston and Montego Bay
nightclubs and performed largely for middle- and upper- class Jamaican and tourist
clienteles. Nightclub and resort musicians in the 1940s very often learned the trade in
these venues through a guild-like system of apprenticeship-often as part of an
established floorshow act or theatrical troupe-where they could refine their
entertainment sensibilities to be both exotic and recognizable to foreigners.
Lord Flea
(from calypso magazine, no.1 1957 www.mentomusic.com)
Lord Flea's (Norman Thomas) career is an excellent example of this. Flea got
his start in the entertainment field working with neighbors, the older comic duo Bim
and Bam.I' Bim and Barn's approach was transitional: they blended the entertainment
aesthetic of the increasingly popular native-themed floorshows with the grass-roots
aesthetic of the Little Theatre Movement into a drama-based variety act. Because
their productions did not need to conform to the class-based restrictions found in the
Mento Aesthetics
Little Theatre Movement, Bim and Barn (and others of their ilk) had considerable
artistic freedom; by fashioning their productions around contemporary subject
matter and style, they had great popular appeal.
The 14-year old Flea's career seems to have begun in April 1949 in a Bim and
Bam production entitled Harlem Bound at the Sugar Hill Club in St. Andrew. In its
promotion, he was billed as the "Calypso Sensation." The success of this
production-in no small part due to Flea-doubtlessly contributed to the success of
Bim and Bam's reprise performances of Rhygin's Ghost later that year, where he was
billed as the "Calypso King."12 With Bim and Barn, Flea became one of Kingston's
most successful nightclub acts, which led to a recording opportunity with Ken
Khouri that made him one of the first Jamaican recording artists. After working his
way through several nightclubs honing his act, it was finally while working at
Kingston's Glass Bucket Club in 1954 that a Miami nightclub owner "discovered"
him and took him to America. By the end of the decade, Flea was Jamaica's first
international superstar and a major name in the international "calypso craze.""3
The early industry not only relied on foreign consumers to buy the product, but
also foreign businesses to manufacture it. In sketching a practical outline for what it
would take to get a local music industry started in 1948, George Moxey realized this:
There is a marked difference between the genuine local product and
the synthesized substitute of the American market.
The preliminaries of collecting, orchestrating and recording these
songs to make master discs from which commercial pressings are
made in bulk would necessitate a comparatively small financial outlay
in comparison to the turnover in sales which could be safely
anticipated.
Further, on account of the local representation which most or all of
the recognized recording companies have, this necessary action can
only come through any one of them because the parent firms will not
countenance any enquiries from private individuals. [Moxey 1948.]
Although Moxey's vision was intriguing and fairly well outlined, it was not
fulfilled until December 1950, the month Motta released his first pair of commercial
recordings-MRS 01 & 02-just in time for Christmas.14
"NEW! CALYPSOS RECORDED IN JAMAICA: Dan Williams
and his Orchestra with Lord Fly." [Daily Gleaner, December 21,
1950, p. 6.]
Pressed abroad and marketed to tourists, these recordings featured the upscale
calypso-singing jazz musician Lord Fly (Rupert Lyon). These records were a
landmark moment in the industry. Although including both originals and folk
standards, Fly's music was sophisticated and reflected a cosmopolitan taste. That
Fly's records were marketed as mento-calypsos, a compromise likely intended to
increase Fly's marketability among foreigners for whom mento was virtually
unknown, points to a developing musical aesthetic that would set the benchmark for
what "Jamaica" would sound like to outsiders.
Motta's success making records probably inspired confidence in others,
including Alec Durie, proprietor of Times Store in downtown Kingston. Durie was
among the first to sell local records, stocking Motta's records as early as January
195115 He likely needed little convincing to back Khouri when Khouri approached
him for financial backing. In a version similar to one he told me, Khouri recalled his
proposal to Durie in a 1969 article:
An idea was conceived, and presented to Alec Durie of Times Store.
"Export local music?" "Market calypso?" Hmm. "Might do." "Let's
try it" [Bartley 1969.]
Khouri's first recordings with Durie-on the Times Store label-featured the
Jamaican "Calypsonians" with vocals by Lord Flea and went on sale in August 195116
Aesthetically, the musical arrangements on these sides were stylistically reminiscent
of Fly's earlier records.
Virtually everything Motta and Khouri manufactured in the early days of the
industry evoked a sense of place linked to tourist entertainment. For example, of the
first fifteen records Motta released, three were by artists involved in hotel-based
tourism while the rest were known as floorshow acts in Kingston nightclubs. Many
of these artists introduced a more pronounced primitivist sound that recalled the
Cuban son music, which was recorded and marketed under the rubric Rumba in the
1930s and 1940s.
Of the 38 records Motta made made between mid 1953 and the end of 1955,18
were made exclusively for hotels (these included the Shaw Park, the Silver Seas
[whose owner, Stuart Sharpe, was a close friend of Motta's] and the Montego Beach).
Of the remaining twenty, only one was by a performer (a Trinidadian, Cobra Man,
a.k.a.Joseph Clemendore) who had no traceable link to tourism. AsJamaica grew as a
tourist destination, the choices producers made regarding the music they pressed
became increasingly measured. These choices were made to better ensure that
Jamaica's so-called "calypsonians" maintained an acceptable aesthetic standard.
Menss Aestheics
The Standardization of a Jamaican Musical Aesthetic
As important as this apprentice system was for seasoning entertainers (like
Flea, and others) in proper dress, repertory and behavior, the increasing opportunity
an expanding industry offered, coupled with the efflorescence of local recording and
pressing facilities, created a climate in which the preparation of local entertainers
eventually became a matter of industry regulation.
The development and ultimate implementation of this aesthetic is most clearly
evident through a pair of Calypso Band Competitions that actor and entrepreneur
Eric Coverey organized in the 1950s. The first occurred in 1953 and included
thirteen bands from Kingston, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay (Milner 1953). In
addition to being judged on their musical standards and repertory-groups were
expected to play both Jamaican and Trinidadian fare-contestants were judged
according to style and comportment standards set by a group of mainly
Kingston-based entertainers and journalists who officiated the event.17
Contemporary coverage made much of the "spirit" of the bands that performed:
reporters noted a difference between the favoured liveliness of the Kingston bands
(most of which were not performing solely for tourists at that time) and that of the
north coast bands, whose restraint, it was thought, was due to "having to cater in the
season to the tourist trade." (Milner 1953.) Based on its spirited performance, a
group from Kingston led by Lord Power won.
It is of note that shortly before the contest Stanley Motta released Lord Power's
first record (Solas Market b/w Miss Goosey, MRS 16). According to Cyril Beckford, the
group's banjoist, this record helped enhance the group's competitive appeal and later
reputation. That a record could generate this much interest laid bare the link between
tourist promotion and the nascent recording industry.
The tourist market and international licensing deals were the motivating factors
behind Ken Khouri's establishment of Records Limited, Jamaica's first pressing
plant, in November 1954. Because Khouri provided a full range of services, including
recording facilities, disc pressing, label printing and to a degree distribution, the
opening of Records Limited (and the emergence of Khouri's Kalypso label) provided
music entrepreneurs and Jamaican calypsonians easier access to recording
technology.18
The first locally pressed records of Jamaican music emerged in the opening
months of 1955 and changed the musical climate substantially. Although some of
these records contained innocuous subject matter suitable for the tourist trade, a large
number of them were risque. The most notable of these, written by Everald Williams
Daniel T. Neef
and performed by Alerth Bedasse, was entitled Night Food, about a young man being
solicited by an older woman through a thinly veiled euphemism for vaginal (and not
oral, as is sometimes assumed) intercourse.
The record became an overnight sensation, but not without controversy.
Despite a significant amount of public support for these records, Tacius Golding, the
Member of the House of Representatives for Western St. Catherine, introduced a
motion into the House (prompted, in part, by a resolution made by the Mother's
Union Council and presented at a meeting of the Synod of the Church of England) in
early 1956 to ban these records. The motion was quickly supported by religious
and political leaders and in April, Wills Isaacs, the Minister of Trade and Industry (in
what seemed to be an attack squared directly at Khouri's business) called for a
boycott of stores that carried "certain brands of calypso records."20 Despite what I'm
told was robust interest in these rude "hits," growing Parliamentary pressure caused a
momentary loss of public confidence in this local calypso music that made producers
and artists more careful about the kinds of records they produced.
This episode gave pause to those who were employing calypso bands but also
introduced a new sense of regulation. At this time, a restrictive set of ideas known as
the "Calypso Morality Code" was put forth.21 Because calypso was commonly
perceived as an important element of Jamaica's nightlife and its tourism product, a
more restrictive calypso aesthetic became the basis for the second all-island Calypso
Band Competition in June 1956 and, I believe, its subsequent performance in hotels
and to a lesser degree the National Festival for the Arts after independence. This later
contest naturally endeavoured to identify the country's best calypsonians but also was
intended as a way to "get our calypso out of the gutter of obscenity into which it has
fallen." (Star 1956b.)
The heart of this code seems to have been the notion of professionalism, a
value reflected not only in the judging but also in the selection of the judges.
Compared with the 1953 competition, whose judiciary included mainly journalists
and entertainers, the judges for the 1956 competition consisted of respectable
members of the cultural and business community, including singer, poet and then
Jamaica Social Welfare Commission Drama Officer Louise Bennett-Coverley (Eric
Coverley's wife), Councilor Sidney James, proprietor of Montego Bay's ritzy
Embassy Club Ivan Harris, longtime director of the Opportunity Hour talent show
Vere Johns, Times Store manager Max Henry, pianist Mapletoft Poulle, and Stanley
Motta, who in addition to owning a department store and the MRS record label was
the Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board at the time (Star 1956d).22
Mento Aesthetics
Although over 25 bands from around the island competed, the winner, based
on the superiority of its "costuming, stage personality and general liveliness," was the
house band of the Ocho Rios based Silver Seas hotel, Monty Reynolds and his Silver
Seas Calypsonians (Star 1956c). At the time of the contest, each member of
Reynolds's group had had at least a decade of experience performing in nightclubs
and tourism, including performances in 1955 for Princess Margaret on her Jamaican
visit as well as during a Jamaica Tourist Board sponsored promotional tour of the
United States, which helped the band firm its reputation as "one of the most versatile
and popular native aggregations in the island." (Star 1955.) This track record almost
certainly gave the band an advantage over the other contestants, including relative
newcomers Lord Messam, Count Barry, Lord Lebby and Count Lasher, who, of all
the contestants, was hailed as the crowd favorite.
By putting a professional face to it, the Silver Seas's victory helped overcome
the calypso's dip in public confidence and became a major triumph for tourism. But
this was only a short term triumph. The following year, Coverley's request to the
tourist board for sponsorship of his contest was flatly refused (Neita 1957). Although
musicians from all thirteen parishes continued to stream towards resorts in search of
work, once there they encountered an entertainment system that imposed strict
guidelines on how calypso should be played. While some musicians found ways to fit
into the system, many could not. Rhythm and blues-and later ska, the sound of
independent Jamaica-became more popular among audiences and musicians than
ever before. By 1958,Jamaican calypso was not the profitable enterprise it once was;
that year, both Stanley Motta and Ivan Chin stopped making records.
Conclusion
It was not until after World War II that the idea for a cohesive record industry
emerged in Jamaica. Following the War, however, a handful of young entrepreneurs
and Kingston-based nightclub musicians pioneered a newJamaican sound. How this
sound developed, however, was based in the commercial needs of the moment: a
product that first served as a vanity forJamaicans living in the Diaspora later became
an important means for sonically representing local culture to outsiders.
At the beginning of this article, I posed a series of questions that faced the
fathers of the Jamaican recording industry; although I touched on some possible
answers in this article, there is still much to be said. The early recording industry
ultimately created an environment in which new musical forms (like deejoying and dub
reggae) could later develop, and be exported and adapted (Veal 2007; Stolzoff 2000).
Damel T. Neey
The consequences of this change needs to be more fully explored as well.
Because studio recordings captured a single performance, music would become an
increasingly studio-based endeavour. In the 1950s, live music lost ground to sound
systems as a form of social entertainment; the stylistic character-although not the
substance-of Jamaica's dancehall culture would forever be transformed (Stolzoff
2000; also, Hope 2006).
1. Daiy Gleaner, May 19, 1947, p. 14.
2. Snda Gleaner, Julyl 1/7/1948, p. 10.
3. Dai Gleaner, August 10, 1951, p. 5]),
4. Jamaica Daily Exprass, February 27, 1948 p. 3; Dai Gleaner, February 27, 1948, p. 19).
5. Daily Gkaner, February 2, 1949, p. 2
6. Day Gleaner, January 12, 1951, p. 6).
7. Although period coverage suggests these recordings happened, no contemporary
evidence of their existence has come to light.
8 Sunday Gleaner, November 7, 1948, p. 10).
9. ex. Daiy Gleaner November 19, 1950, p. 4)
10. Motta's 'studio was never considered 'state of the art'. Those whom I talked to who
had been there described it as a meagre place with a piano and little to recommend I as
a recording facility.
11. For this information I am indebted to Flea's daughter Barbara Thomas and her
mother, Ruth Grant.
12. Although I have encountered some speculation that he received this title from Lord
Kitchener it is also possible that he received this name because Fly (the most popular
calypso singer in Jamaica at the time) had briefly left Jamaica for Miami to cut a series
of records (Daiy Gleaner 1949).
13. In addition to a successful LP as a bandleader for Capitol Records entitled Swinging
Ca~ypsos (1956), Flea had a role in two 1957 films, Caypso Joe and Bop Girl Goes Cabpso.
He died of Hodgkins Disease in 1959.
14. Discographic information for these releases is as follows:
MRS 01A: Medley of Jamaican Mento-Calypsos/Fan me Solja / One solja man / Yuh
No Yeary Weh de Ole Man Sey / Slide Mongoose. Matrix no: SSS2033X.
MRS 01B: Whai, Whai, Whai. Matrix no: SSS2034X.
MRS 02A: Medley of Jamaican Mento-Calypsos /Linstead Market /Hold 'Em
Joe/Dog War a Mattuse Lane / Manuel Road. Matrix no: SSS2031X.
MRS 02B: Strike, Strike, Strike. Matrix no: SSS2032X.
Mento Aesthetics
Although pressed in Britain, it is not certain who pressed MRS 01-18; perhaps a
now-defunct division of Decca for which paperwork has been lost. Matrix numbers
for MRS 01-05 have the prefix "SSS" followed by a four-digit number in continual
sequence beginning with a "2" while MRS 06-18 have similarly sequential four-digit
numbers beginning with a "2," but carry the prefix "MOT." Decca's work order file
with Motta begins with MRS 19 and is dated July 4, 1953; with this, the matrix
numbering system changed to a three number system with SM and DSM as the prefix.
No data exists in Decca's file for the first 18 releases.
15. Jamaica Gleaner, January 27, 1951, p. 5.
16. Daily Gleaner, August 19, 1951, p. 5).
17. Milner 1953. Judges included journalist Milner, Bahamian pianist (but longtime
Kingston resident) George Moxey, actor Ranny Williams, journalist Aimee Webster,
singer Lord Fly and journalist Dudley Byfield.
18. The services Khouri provided attracted entrepreneurs who found record production a
new way to promote their businesses. A list of examples includes (but is not limited
to) Duke Reid (Trojan, Hi-Lite), Ivan Chin (Chin's Radio Service) and Count Lasher
(Lasher Disc). In comparison, Motta was not in the business of record manufacture
and by necessity took a different approach; because his records were mainly provided
to hotels as souvenirs or to more established artists somehow associated with tourism,
his clients were not generally in need of the quick turnaround that Khouri could offer.
19. One of the more interesting supporters was future Prime Minister Edward Seaga, who
applied his own research on child development to argue that most Jamaican children
developed sexually at a very young age and would likely not be surprised by the subject
matter of even the most lewd calypso. He added that "'lewdness,' like the term
'civilized' is only meaningful in a relative sense and cannot be defined on an absolute
basis. I lis conclusion, that lewd calypsos "corrupt no one, but rather...annoy the
sexual pervert and the fanatical moralist" was remarkably balanced, but unfortunately
since his entry into the debate came so late, it had little effect beyond stirring what
seemed to be increasingly calming waters (Seaga 1956).
20.. Star 1956a; cf. Daily Gleaner 1956.)
21. Although referred to in news reports, no copy of this code has yet been uncovered.
But a music columnist at the time alluded to its role in the competition, indicating that
judging would be based on "stage presence, arrangements, costumes and originality."
(Star 1956c; Bat Man 1956.) The sentiment precipitating the code is amply outlined in
Neita 1956. "It is unfortunate that in recent times obscenity has crept into these
songs, but it is hoped that this contest will prove to the public that they can be clean
and upright entertainment... .The attention which has been focused on calypsos,
recently, has resulted with it being regarded as a dirty word. Anyone who identifies
himself with [calypso] runs the risk of being regarded as a public plague, to be shunned
by polite society."
22. I am grateful to Brian and Philip Motta (personal communication) for providing me
with this information about their father.
Daniel T Neey
Attali, Jacques. 1996 (1985). Noise: The PoiticalEconony ofMusic. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press.
Bartley, G. Fitz. 1969. "The Federal Story." Swing. May: N.P
Bat Man. 1956. "With the Stars," Star, June 8, p. 6.
Bilby, Kenneth. 1995. "Jamaica." In Peter Manuel (ed.). Caribbean Currents. Philadelphia:
Temple University Press, pp. 143-182.
Boogu Yagga Ga. Jamaican Mento. 2001. Heritage HT CD 45.
Bradley, Lloyd. 2000. This is Reggae Music: The Story of amaica's Music. New York: Grove
Press.
Daiy Gleaner. 1949. 'Lord Fly' Goes to Miami to Make Records," February 2, p. 2.
-. 1956. "Isaacs seeks boycott of lewd calypsos, April 13, p. 1.
Daniel, Yvonne Paine. 1996. "Tourism Dance Performances: Authenticity and Creativity."
In Annals of Tourism Research. 23 (4): 780-797.
Fairweather, Jean. 1973. "Ken Khouri Record Industry's Pioneer." Swing. June-July: 11-2.
Hawks, Noel. 2006. Liner notes for Take Me To Jamaica: The Stor ofJamaican Mento. CD
(Pressure Sounds PSCD 51).
Hope, Donna. 2006. Inna Di Dancehalk Popular Culture and the Politics of Identity in Jamaica.
Mona, Jamaica: The University of the West Indies Press.
MacCannell, Dean. 2001. "Tourist Agency." In Tourist Studies. 1 (1): 23-37.
1989 [1976]. The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leiure Class. New York:
Schocken Books.
Mento Madness: Motta's Jamaican Mento 1951-1956. 2004. V2
Milner, Harry. 1953. "A Riotous Success," Daiy Gleaner. July 31, p. 16.
Motta, Stanley. Resume. Provided by Philip Motta.
Moxey, George. 1948. "The Fate of Jamaican Folk Songs." Sunday Gleaner. October 24, p4.
Neita, Hartley. 1957. "Rock 'n' Roll 'n' Good Jazz." Star. December 23, p. 19.
1956. "Calypso Contest," Star. June 4, p. 7.
Pattullo, Polly. 1996. Last resorts: The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean. Kingston, Jamaica: lan
Randle Publishers.
Roul, Raymond. 1970. "The Recording Industry." Swing. October-November: N.P.
Sarkissian, Margaret. 2000. D'Albuquerque's Children: Performing Tradition in Malaysia's
Portuguese Settlement. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Star 1956. "Lewd Calypsos," June 9, p. 6.
1955. "Silver Seas Calypsos Play for Princess," February 22, p. 6.
.1956a. "Island Calypso Contest Coming," April 12, p. 2.
Mento Aesthetics
1956b. "Calypsos: The Church Speaks," April 13, p. 1.
1956c. '56 Champion Calypso Band From St. Ann," June 12, p. 2.
1956d. "Calypso Contest," June 15, p. 10.
Sterne, Jonathan. 2003. The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction. Durham:
Duke University Press.
Straw, Will. 2001. "Consumption." In The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock, edited by
Simon Frith, Will Straw and John Street, pp. 53-73. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
1999-2000. "Music as Commodity and Material Culture." repercussions.
7-8, pp. 147-72.
Stolzoff, Norman. 2000. Wake the Town: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. Durham: Duke
University Press.
Veal, Michael. 2007. Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Middletown,
Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press.
White, Garth. 1982. "Mento to Ska: The Sound of the City." In Reggae International, edited
by S. Davis and P. Simon. New York: Rogner and Bernhard.
Interviews
Beckford, Cyril. November 2002. Interview with author.
Bedasse, Alerth. April, May 2005; January 2006. Interviews with author.
.hin, Ivan. June, August 2002. Interviews with author.
Goodall, Graham. August 2002. Interview with the author.
Grant, Ruth and Barbara Thomas. July 2004. Interview with author.
Hoyte, Clyde. October, November 2002; February 2003. Interviews with author.
Khouri, Ken. November 2002. Interview with author.
Plunkett, Robin. January 2003, interview with the author.
Seaga, Edward. June 2002, interview with the author.
Recordings
Rookumbine. ND. K&K Records PKCD 101502.
Take Me To Jamaica. The Story of amaican Mento. 2006. Pressure Sounds PSCD 51.
Clinton Hutton
Forging Identity And Community Through
Aestheticism and Entertainment: The Sound
System and The Rise Of The DJ1
CLINTON HUTTON
Winston Cooper "Count Machuki"((;lcancr photo)
There would be times when the records playing would, in my
estimation, sound weak, so I'd put in some peps: chick-a-took,
chick-a-took, chick-a-took. That created a sensation! So there were
times when people went to the record shop and bought those
records, took them home, and then b[r]ought them back, and say: 'I
want to hear the sound I hear at the dancehall last night!' They didn't
realize that was Machuki's injection in the dancehall!2
Count Machuki
By the beginning of the 1950s, live band music's dominance,3 was lost to
recorded units of electronically played music in the provision of music to dance goers
in Jamaica. Electronically played recorded units of music emerged to dominate the
dance floor in the provision of music to dance goers in two main ways: one, by way of
the sound system and two, by way of the juke box.
The role of the juke box in this context, along with its overall impact on the
development of popular music, is addressed for the first time in discourses on
popular Jamaican music, by Dennis Howard in the third essay in this volume of
Caribbean Quarterly. My focus in this essay is on the sound system, a phenomenon
which attracted around itself and engendered a pool of creative talents, and a culture
of imagination and an agency, which eventually led to the genesis and development of
popular Jamaican music and the island's recording industry.
My specific focus is on the rise of the disc jockey or deejay/DJ-(Selector), a key
ontological figure and agency in the operation of the sound system as art. And it was
in the competition in the operation of the sound system as art that an art form was
spawned, which today, appeared to be the music style in which most of the younger
generations of Jamaicans have located their popular aesthetic sense, time and space.
The catalyst of this art form was Winston Cooper, better known as Count
Machuki, while the development of his art into a viable audio recorded form, outside
the confines of its indigenous birth place, rests primarily with King Stitt (Winston
Sparkes) and Daddy U-Roy (Ewart Beckford). Count Machuki belonged to the first
generation of deejays in the pantheon of the sound system. Others in this category
were Vincent 'Duke Vin' Forbes, Leroy 'Cuttin's' Cole, and Red Hopeton. King Stitt
and U-Roy belonged to the second generation.
The sound system is an electronic mode of playing for mass entertainment,
units of pre-recorded music analogically stored on gramophone or phonograph
records spun on a turntable5 connected to an amplifier, from which an assemblage
of speakers (sometimes called house of joy) are attached. A competitive sound
system is one with first rate amplification and turntable(s) and an assemblage of good
speakers, a growing unimpeachable stock of popular recorded music and a creative
(warrior) DJ-(Selector) or team of DJ-(Selectors) who, among other things, has a
charismatic appeal, the skill of timing, choreography, oratory, poetics and an
improvisational and extemporaneous disposition.
Socially, the sound system became a centrepole phenomenon, inciting and
engendering creative imagination, consciousness and activism around which an
unstated, informal national movement coalesced for aesthetic and ontological
Clinton Hutton
gratifications. In this respect, the sound system was able to do what live bands were
unable to accomplish.
Thousands of dance goers would turn out weekly, especially from Friday
evening to Sunday morning to dancehalls and lawns and other ritualized dance spaces
across Jamaica. From an iconic venue such as Forrester's Hall at Love Lane and
North Street, Kingston, to the ubiquitous zinc or bamboo, or coconut frond (or any
combination of these) enclosed space with or without roof annexed to a rum bar or
by itself, dancehalls sprang up in large numbers across Jamaica, signaling the making
of a cultural revolution that was to have a profound ontological impact on Jamaica
and the world.
Kingston was the mecca of the sound system. The most impressive dance
spaces were located there. Forrester's Hall was big. Only big sounds like Arthur
'Duke' Reid and Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd could play there. Adjacent to Forrester's
Hall was the biggest dancehall, King's Lawn. Jubilee Tile Gardens, perhaps the venue
that had the most dance, was situated on Kings Street, just before North Street going
south. Jubilee Tile Gardens was a reasonable size lawn and it was certainly in the
major league of dance venues. Then, there was the Success Club on Wild Man Street,
and Prosperity, another huge dancehall on Love Lane and Church Street,
Metropolitan Hall on Duke Street, the Barbecue Lawn on Fleet Street in Central
Kingston, and the PORA Mutual Hall. one of the earliest dance venues, situated at
Rosemary Lane and Law Street.
Kingston lodges played a central role in providing dancehall spaces. These
venues included Forrester's Hall, of which Justice Hector was in charge, as well as
Jubilee Tile Gardens, Success Club, Prosperity, and PORA Mutual Hall.
Other dancehall spaces were the famed Chocomo Lawn on Wellington Street,
Live Wire at the top of Arnett Gardens, Savoy on Blount Street, and Caterers at South
Race Course. But venues like these were outnumbered by the most basic constituted
dancehall spaces. I have already mentioned those that were annexed to rum bars. To
these must be added those that were established in the front or back yards of
dwellings paved (concreted) and fenced for this purpose.
And in my community ofJericho in Hanover, there was Big Level, a classical
outdoor space, located at the top of one of the hills overlooking the square, where
men and boys used to fly their kites, and where today, the Jericho Seventh Day
Adventist Church stands. From time to time, Big Level, like Malcolm Hill, another
space overlooking Jericho Square, would be transformed into a dance space, fenced
around with bamboo and coconut fronds for that purpose. The floor was unpaved
Forging Identiy
and the sound system, Sputnik, named from the first satellite to be blasted into orbit
in 1957,6 played at that venue that same year when I was three years old.
Sputnik's owner was George Morris, from the neighboring sister district of
Clairmont and the DJ-(Selector) for his sound, was James Campbell, better known as
Pampi or Doctor. Jericho's first sound system operator was Lloyd Kirkaldy and he
started a few years before Morris. His sound system was called Downbeat, apparently
to recognize and honour Clement Dodd and his Sir Coxsone Downbeat sound.
Outdoor dancehall venues like those in Jericho, could be found all over
Jamaica. The Prison Oval in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, and Cane Hill in Bull Bay,
St. Andrew were two such venues. But, in addition to this type of dance space, school
rooms across Jamaica were also rented out for the sound system dance.
Sound systems were also played in night clubs, some of which boasted some of
the best known dance spaces. Some of these clubs were famous dance venues when
live bands were the main providers of dance music in Jamaica. And even in the era of
the dominance of the sound system, some of these clubs continued to cater for live
bands even while embracing the sound system. Among these clubs were the Silver
Slipper Club in Cross Roads, St. Andrew, and Club Havana, the Bournemouth Beach
Club and Adastra from Eastern Kingston.
There was no section ofJamaica that was not touched by the sound system and
the movement it engendered; not even in places like Jericho in Hanover that did not
have electricity in the 1950s. You see, sound systems tended to have their own source
of portable electricity. Systems were powered with batteries and portable generators
and were thus able to operate just about anywhere. And so iconic sound systems were
played not only in Kingston and St. Andrew and urban centres such as Spanish Town,
Montego Bay and May Pen; they could and did play at other venues.
From sounds like Lloyd Kirkaldy's Downbeat, and George Morris' Sputnik, in
deep rural Jamaica, to the centrepole sound systems in Kingston and St. Andrew,
thousands of Jamaicans constantly journeyed into ritualized dance spaces, to
participate in a community of movement to sound, engendering and languaging a
common national emotional, psychological, aesthetic ethos, transcending the
epistemology and ontology of coloniality and its power to alienate subjected peoples
from themselves, from their physicality and metaphysicality, from the sovereignty of
their imagination, from their lineality. The sound system movement seemed to be
drawing on the creative/aesthetic traditions developed by the enslaved to forge a
popular national aesthetic modernism as Jamaica moved towards independence in
1962. Read my essay "The Creative Ethos of the African Diaspora: Performance
Aesthetics and the Fight for Freedom and Identity" in Caribbean Quarterly, Volume
Clinton Hutton
53, number 1&2, March-June 2007, for insights into the cosmological roots and
artistic expressions of the enslaved in their struggle to be. Thousands constantly
journeyed into the dancehall to carry out their duty of being, to work the seal in a
more secular aesthetic sense, what the Revivalists were doing in a more
spiritual/religious aesthetic sense in their places of worship.
And if the Revival table were the iconic centrepole for the Revivalists' duty, the
sound system was the centrepole for the dancehall session. And if the Revival
Shepherd/ priest/priestess (mada) were the chief pilot for working the spirit in
Revival, the disc jockey or DJ-(Selector) was chief pilot for working the dancehall
session.
No matter how impressively innovative and ontologically attuned the sound
system equipment7 was, no sound system was able to become the ultimate competitor
without a competitive deejay. And this became obvious from the pioneering days of
the sound system as a commercial entity.
The sound system did not start out as a commercial entity in its own right, but
as a marketing tool to attract potential shoppers to an already established business
place. For example, Thomas Wong, commonly regarded as the first person to
establish the sound system as a commercial enterprise, initially started out playing
music at his hardware store for the purpose of attracting potential customers to his
hardware establishment.8 Arthur 'Duke' Reid also installed his sound system initially
to attract potential shoppers to his family bar and liquor store, Treasure Isle (Salewicz
and Boot 2001:35). So too, Jack Taylor, who owned a hardware store on Orange
Street.9
Among the pioneers as well as key second generation operators of the sound
system were Arthur Newland (V-Rocket), Egerton Koo (Lord Koos The Universe),
Count Buckram, Thomas Wong (Tom The Great Sebastian), Roy Whyte, Count Nick
The Champ, and Jack Taylor. There were also Arthur 'Duke' Reid (The Trojan),
Clement 'Coxsone Dodd (Sir Coxsone Downbeat), Vincent 'King' Edwards (King
Edwards The Giant), Lloyd Daley (The Matador), Count Boysie, Sir Mike The
Musical Dragon, and Cecil 'Prince Buster' Campbell (The Voice Of The People)
(Chang and Chen 1998:20; Barrow and Dalton 2001:13-15; Salewicz and Boot
2001:27,29 and 35; Mandingo, Issue 6, 2007:10;10Tribute To The Greats 2007:14,25
and 27).
It is generally accepted that Thomas Wong's Tom The Great Sebastian, was the
first commercially operated sound system and it also became the first recognized
Forging Identity
iconic sound system in the first half of the 1950s before the rise of Trojan, Sir
Coxsone Downbeat and King Edwards The Champ, followed by The Voice Of The
People. According to Alvin Harding, "is we who start off Tom and keep the first
dance with him:" meaning that the idea of operating the sound system commercially,
was suggested to Wong by Harding and Baxter, who also helped him in the making of
Tom -"The Great Sebastian" Wong
(contributed by Lou Goodn)
the first sound system dance for pay. Harding told me that Thomas Wong, a
Jamaican of Chinese and African bloodlines, first played for money when Tokyo "a
half Chiney chap," who was a pikaa pow" operator, hired his sound.
Clinton Hutton
Duke Reid emerged with The Trojan after Thomas Wong and became the
dominant sound. He was followed by Clement Dodd, 15 years his junior, and who, at
one point before he created Sir Coxsone Downbeat, was selecting and playing for
Reid.12 Dodd, also calledJackson, was followed by King Edwards, whose sound King
Edwards The Champ, following Tom The Great Sebastian, became the three great
sounds at the time, until Prince Buster emerged on the scene at the end of the 1950s
with The Voice Of The People and walked into glory.
And the sounds and styles of sound that these sound systems generated,
became the drawing card for the weekly mass rituals that took place across Jamaica.
In his description of the dancehall scene in Kingston in the 1950s, Lou Gooden said
On Saturday nights during the 1950s if you walked along [from]
North Street, in the heart of Kingston, you would hear the driving
bass rhythms coming from these monstrous sound system speakers
(House of Joys). The music could be heard from as far as a mile
away...
The outside of these dances was as crowded as inside the dance hall.
The curb, or sidewalks would be crowded with people who stopped
just to listen to the latest records, in the meantime purchased sugar
cane, oranges, or water coconuts from the many vendors.
Y]ou could travel for miles and never stop hearing the constant
musical beat of the soundd system blending with disc jockeys making
weird sounds on their mikes (Gooden N.D.: 143-144).
It was from these disc jockeys or deejays (DJs), that the first artistic
performance engendered by the sound system and dancehall space would come. And
the person identified with the genesis of what would become an art form, was
Winston Cooper, who would become Count Machuki, or Chuki to his friends.
Cooper was one of those youngsters attracted to the front of Thomas Wong's
hardware store as a result of the electronic music system Wong installed at his
business place to attract shoppers and potential shoppers. There Cooper
distinguished himself as a dancer. Subsequently, this "very good dancer," became
"one of the Tom (The Great Sebastian's] followers," Ernest Baxter (Mean Stick) told
me in an interview I had with him and Ricardo Clarke and Alvin Harding.
Harding said Cooper was a well-dressed man, "in our days" as "young fellas"
(fellows). "He used to be in him three piece [suit], noted Harding, "because him
family dem use to live a England or America and used to send some nice suit[s] fe
Forging Identity
We an' Chuki grew up together. I was not living far from him. In the
nights when we going to dance, we use to leave we little money wid
Chuki. Him cook and ting. And when him cook everybody have a
little calabash ting (dish), wid we name mark on it, [so] that when yu
come home... in a de morning [we get our food in we calabash]. An'
if you have a little woman wid yu, bring har to... an' she eat food.
Harding said in the early mornings when they went to Cooper's house, "him
don't have on no shirt. An' him use to train yu know. Him keep himself fit. Him
have him little dumbbells an' things." Moreover Cooper was a "healthy eater" who
"never romp with food." He was a "good cook" who sometimes "pour cod liver oil
in the soup."
Kingsley Goodison remembers Cooper as long as he could remember. He was
living at 117 Orange Street at the time, while Chuki was living at Matthew's Lane.
Goodison attended All Saints Infant School and Machuki resided behind that school.
Goodison said Chuki was "a very articulate person, a bright person," who "passed the
major exam at the time, something unheard of at that time." He described Machuki
as having "university brain."
Goodison asserted that Cooper was "the first person to introduce live jive" in
the dancehall and "the first disc jockey on the mike."'4 Winston Cooper was toasting
on the mike to his dance audience, and the logic of this (toasting) was inextricably
linked to the mike. Without the mike, there would be no live jive, no toasting. It
would have made no sense. And as King Stitt (Winston Sparkes) noted: "First time
the other DJs would put on a record and either drink a beer or stan' up, or
something." The availability of the mike to Cooper, made him see how dead the
dance was, before the mike. Without the mike, the dance "kom een ded," said Stitt,
and "so [when it became available] we created our live jive and all those things,"
precisely because of the availability of the mike:
We introduce the record and when it reach a solo or a chorus we
would talk around it. We would talk around the solo and the people
would enjoy it.s1
Making ingenious use of the aesthetic traditions of Jamaican verbal arts and
influenced by the American radio disc jockey, as well as the jazz and blues and verbal
expressions of Black America, Count Machuki, operating the historic Jamaican sound
system, selecting and playing and choreographing dancehall movements to the
rhythm, the beat, the spaces of recorded sound intersected at transformed,
Clinton Hutton
improvisational spaces, with his toasting, his jiving, his ring shouting, his scatting,
created in the process, a modem popular verbal-music art form. Recalling the
creative verbal process of those days in the 1950s and early 1960s, Count Machuki
said:
I used words to sell our local recordings [in the dancehall].... So I
found myself preparing new jives. In my time, a DJ was a man
responsible for conduct and behaviour, and what went on inside the
dance hall. We could actually talk to the audience and everybody was
happy. We didn't really have to be singing on the records to keep
everybody happy. We just made utterances before a record,
introduced the artist, gave an idea of the message the artist was going
to give. And sometimes when we listened to the record and found
that the music was wanting, we would inject something like: 'Get on
the ball...' and cover that weakness in the record. It was live jive and
it really made people feel happy!16
The introduction of the mike was critical to the genesis of Machuki's
verbal-music form. It was a historical necessity, an aesthetic imperative. Machuki
was the first to use the mike, the first to do so systematically. And he did this on Sir
Coxsone Downbeat, the sound system of Clement Dodd. Now, instead of just
sipping a beer while a tune was playing, or standing around waiting for it to finish
playing, the mike opened up endless possibilities for the creative imagination and the
creative process.
The mike gave the voice reach and agency. The deejay could talk to the fans in
the dancehall as well as to persons outside of the dancehall. He could advertise the
next dance and venue that that sound system would be playing at. He could praise the
sound system owner/operator and help to brand his name and enterprise in the
minds of the people. The disc jockey could dedicate a song or songs to a specific
person or group of persons. He could announce the names of persons going off to
England or coming from prison. Yes, he could really "wake the town and tell the
people," to use a line from Daddy U-Roy. He could cover the weaknesses in a
selection with live jive, with toasting, with scatting, with bawl out.
Indeed, he could verbally spar with his competition. A case in point was when
Leroy 'Cuttin's' Cole, Stranjah Cole's brother, who was operating Trojan out of
Jubilee Tiles Gardens that night, called Count Machuki, Count Madchuki. Machuki,
who was operating Sir Coxsone Downbeat from Forrester's Hall, just separated by
King Street, heard about 'Cuttin's' jive and looked for a record. Before he introduced
Foring Idntity
that record, noted King Omar, Machuki said: 'Cuttings and trimmings/I have no use
for those things/I throw them in the garbage bin." The mike thus became a most
important muse in initiating and sharpening the verbal art of the deejay, because it
engendered competition, and competition was the agential current of the creative
ethos not just of the deejay art, but the combined modes of artistic expressions
engendered by the sound system revolution.
In Barrow and Dalton (2001), the impression is given that Machuki was first to
use the mike, "initially for Tom The Great Sebastian and then for Sir Coxsone
Downbeat" (p18). But all the checks I have made suggest that Count Machuki first
used the mike on Sir Coxsone Downbeat.
And while Machuki said that he "got" his "professional break in the year 1950,
with a sound, called Tom the Great Sebastian, in the Forrester's Hall," he noted that
previously he played "every Friday night at the Jubilee [Tiles] Gardens" for Tom. It
was while playing, apparently as a non-professional on these Friday nights at Jubilee
Tiles Gardens, that Machuki "was able to create a selection of records that was
entirely unknown to Tom The Great Sebastian" (p18).
Count Machuki said he got his professional break on December 26, 1950 at
Forrester's Hall when Tom "went to get liquors for the dance, and when he returned
we were playing a lot of records that were strange to him," prompting him to tell
Machuki "not to borrow any records to play on the set" (pl8). But that was not what
he was doing and he told Tom so. Count Machuki noted Wong's pleasure because
the Count filled Forrester's Hall with dance goers on account of the songs people
were apparently hearing for the first time on Tom's sound. Among these songs were
perhaps a lot of flip sides of the more popular songs.
Thomas Wong expressed his pleasure and by 10:30 p.m. took over the controls
from Machuki and told him that he "is a great deejay" (pl8). There is nothing here,
nor in the rest of what Machuki said in Barrow and Dalton about his working
relationship with Wong, to suggest that Count Machuki was talking on mike on,
before, or after December 26, 1950. Everything here suggests that he was doing a
fine job in selecting and playing music in a manner that was pleasing to the dance fans,
so much so, that he was able to fill Forrester's Hall by 9:00 p.m.
But what about Thomas Wong's top selector Vincent Forbes or Shine Shoes
Vinnie or Duke Vin The Champion, as he later became known? Was it because he
wasn't around, that forced Wong to rely on the non-professional Machuki to tend to
this most important task of selecting and playing music, so that he could go and fetch
liquor for one of the biggest dance dates of the year?
Clinton Hutton
Was Machuki including Vin, when he said, "we were playing a lot of records
that were strange" to Wong? Vin's views are somewhat different from Machuki's.
According to him:
Machukie played Tom for the first time when I asked him to play two
(records, that is) while I went to the toilet to spring a leak at a dance at
Jubilee Tile Gardens on King Street. He played well so I allowed him
to play when I wanted to take a break... and he was a nice guy. When
I left Jamaica Machukie started to play Coxsone, he never played
Toml (Mandingo. Issue 4. 2005-2006:4).
Here, Vincent Forbes, who left Jamaica for England in 1954,17 placed Machuki
in the position of an informal apprentice.
Forbes himself noted that "Count Machuki was the first deejay to start
chatting" (Barrow and Dalton 12). Forbes said this happened when Clement Dodd
came back from the United States of America and suggested to Machuki to talk over
the record because he heard "man on the radio in America [talking] over the record"
(p12). Clement Dodd told me a similar story when I interviewed him in 2002.
It was perhaps in Easter of 1953 that Machuki started talking on mike. He said
to "Mr. Dodd":
'Give me the microphone.' And he handed me the mike. I started
dropping my wisecracks, and Mr. Dodd was all for it. And I started
trying my phrases on Coxsone, and he gave me one or two wisecracks
too. I was repeating them all the night through that Saturday at
Jubilee Tile Gardens. Everybody fell for it. I got more liquor than I
could drink that night (Barrow and Dalton 19).
The Count Machuki revolution had begun. His creative agency was in full flow,
creating an ethos for the deejay as a category of artists.
The locating and painting, drawing and etching of sounds and verbal canvases
on improvisational spaces in and around a playing record, became the definitive art
form that Count Machuki initiated. And it was tending from early, to become
successful, because it resonated with the verbal aesthetic traditions of the Jamaican
masses and was fulfilling their urge for gratification through competition.
In a sense, Count Machuki became the teacher of all the deejays who used mike
in his wake. The pantheon of disc jockeys then included Red Hopeton, who was
Coxsone number two. He also worked for King Edwards. There was Prince
Roughie, who worked for Sir Mike The Musical Dragon and then moved to Sir
George The Atomic. Ron Wilson, said to be the most educated deejay along with
Forging Identiy
Machuki, worked for Duke Reid while he was still attending Kingston Technical High
School. He was called School Boy and was about 15 years old when he started
working for Duke. Sir Lord Comic worked for King Edwards while King Sporty
worked for Coxsone, Duke Reid and Sir Mike, the sound system owner, said to be off
Arab descent. Then there was Cliffie, who worked for Duke Reid.
Winston Spankes "King Stitt '(Studio 1 Photo)
It was two youngsters, Winston Sparkes (Count Stitt, later crowned King Stitt)
and Ewart Beckford (U-Roy, later respectfully titled Daddy U-Roy), the second
generation of toasters who took the art, central to Machuki's agency, to another level.
King Stitt started out at 16 years old as Count Machuki's "second". It was 1956. It
started one Friday night at Barbecue Lawn down Fleet Street, Central Kingston,
Clinon Huton
Sparkes told me in an interview, March 2003. Machuki was playing hard rhythm and
blues and Stitt was dancing to the music.
Machuki said to Stitt: "But Stitt I like how you can dance all those tune mi a
play. Yu would be a good second' yu nuh? Yu waan second' mii?" Sparkes said "Yes"
and Chuki said "aright kom by de shop tomorrow mawning," (i.e., Clement Dodd's
shop at Beaston Street and Love Lane). The rest is history.
Count Machuki was Stitt's idol. In the liner notes of Reggae Fire Beat, Stitt
said: "If I picked up deejaying from anyone, it had to be Count Machuki. In those
days he was the talk of the town and he was my idol."
Stitt was Machuki's apprentice, his student, but U-Roy was not. Nevertheless,
he was greatly inspired and influenced by Machuki. This is what U-Roy told me about
Count Machuki, March 2003:
When him a talk you have to listen to him... Him don't mix up with
the vocals or the instruments in the tune. Him talk in time like space
between. Him don't have a lot fi sey either because him don't
crowd him stuff. Mii lov' dat. Is mii boss dat.
While Lord Comic recorded a few toasting compositions just around the
middle of the 1960s, it was King Stitt and U-Roy, disciples of Count Machuki, who
pioneered this art form from the 1960s, into a viable entity beyond the immediate
confines of its indigenous birth space, the dancehall. This was greatly facilitated by
the pioneering work of Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Osboure 'King Tubby' Ruddock and
Errol Thompson (Errol T), who created more improvisational spaces primarily on
rock steady compositions which provided more talking space for the deejay, as well as
for an assemblage of sounds of different levels, spacings, weight, frequency, dropping
in, dropping out, by using effects like reverb, echo and equalizers in which the tools of
the mixing desk (in the studio) were, in a manner, a precursor to the audio visual tools
generated by the computer today. The innovations by Scratch, Tubby and Errol T
was named dubs1
King Stitt's compositions such as Fire Comer, Vigorton Two, Herbsman
Shuffle, and I For I, and Daddy U-Roy's Rule The Nation, Version Galore, Flashing
My Whip, Wake The Town, and Wear You To The Ball, ensured the viability of the
art pioneered by Machuki as an entity outside the confines of its birth place, the
dancehall. And, although Machuki recorded few of his compositions which met with
little or no success, what he did in the dancehall made him one of the most influential
Jamaicans in the 20th century.
Forging Identiy
Since the triumvirate pioneering icons of dejyq music, several generations of DJ
artists have streamed into this art form, making it today, the dominant form in
popular Jamaican music and having a significant aesthetic ontonological impact on
global popular music including rap music. These artists include among others, Dennis
Alcapone, Scotty, I-Roy, big Yute, Trinity, Lone Ranger, Brigadier Jerry, Michigan
and Smiley, Yellow Man, super CAt, admiral Trees, Peter Metro, Jose Wales, Tiger,
Papa San, Shabba Ranks, Lady G, Tony Rebel, Spragga Benz, Lexxus, Elephant Man,
Lady saw, Tanya Stephens, Queen Ifrica, sean Paul, ninga Man, Shaggy, Caplerton,
elephant Man, Beenie Man, bounty Killer
Notes
1. I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to the following persons who took time out to
grant me interviews, to talk to me about their lived experience and their recollection of the sound
system movement and the agency engendering it and which it engendered in the making of
popular Jamaican music in the 1950s and 1960s: Ernest Baxter (Mean Stick), Ricardo Clarke
(Cardo or Prince), Alvin Harding ( the Dean or Count Shandy-The Voice of the People), Kingsley
Goodison (King Omar), Winston Sparkes (King Stitt), Clement Dodd (Coxsone Downbeat or
Jackson), Ewart Beckford (Daddy U-Roy), Walter Bares (Wiggy Bames), Headley Jones, Sonia
Pottinger, Headley Bennett, Lee Perry (Scratch), Sam Clayton, Johnny Moore (Dizzy), and George
Morris.
2. Qtd. in Barrow and Dalton 2001: 19.
3. These were mento bands, orchestras, big bands and combos. Some of the better known
bands took the names of the band leaders, like Val Bennett, Eric Deans, Jack Brown, Sonny
Bradshaw, George Alberga, Roy Whyte, George Moxie, Carlos Malcolm, among others. These
bands provided the basis upon which the core of amaican musicians cultivated their art,
aestheticism and professionalism. Among them were Wilton 'Bogey' Gaynair, Little 'G' McNair,
Raymond I larger, Tommy McCook, Rico Rodriguez, Don Drummond, Lloyd Knibbs, Janet
linright, Ernest Ranglin, Joe Harriot, Kenny Williams, Carl Masters, Donald Jarrett, Cluet
Johnson & al (See Gooden N.D.: 122-134).
4. In the 1950s the records used in Jamaica were largely 78 revolutions per minute (rpm) units made
primarily from shellac, which became scarce during and after "World War II." Vinyl, a more
durable, easily available material, replaced shellac. At the same time, the production of 78 rpm
records gave way to the 45 rpm single and the long-playing (LP) 33 1/3 rpm records.
5. The tape deck and digitalized modes of storing and playing recorded music, have been built into
the amplifier and or equipped with the facility for attachment with such, in keeping with the
evolving modes of innovative technologies in recording (storing) and in playing recorded music
which developed over the years.
6. The Sputnik satellite was designed, developed and sent into space by Soviet scientists and the
government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1957.
7. Headley Jones is one of the early and most important innovators in the development of sound
technology in the dance hall revolution. A musician and composer of music, he '"bultthe world's
first solid wood-body electric giar" in the early 1940s, which some Jamaican bands adopted shortly
Clinton Hutton
thereafter (See Tribute To The Greats, 10th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine 2007: 12-13). Jones, a
'World War l"veteran, who saw duty as a military radar technologist and operator of a radar
guidance system in Britain, made significant innovations in amplification technology with an
important impact on electronic sound aestheticism.
8. Headley Jones was a key initiator of the building of amplifiers for the sound system.
Amplifiers that were capable of emphasizing the heavy bass line tradition and preference in the
aesthetic culture of the Jamaican sound, as well as securing a better definition of the type of
sounds. He trained a number of technicians in the building of amplifiers. One of them was the
"very briliant"Jack Eastwood, who built amplifiers for Thomas Wong as well as Clement Dodd in
the early days, Ernest Baxter told me in an interview I conducted with him, Alvin Harding and
Ricardo Clarke, Apnl 17, 2003.
9. Sound system owners tended to be mainly from the class of own account persons who emerged
among Blacks after the abolition of slavery. These persons constituted the core of the emerging
Black middle class, combining self-made education and enterpnse with self-employment. Paul
Bogle, Alexander Bedward, Marcus Garvey, Leonard Howell and Claudius Henry, were prominent
members of this class. With respect to the sound system operators, Roy Whyte was a cabinet
maker, owner of a furniture store, band leader and teacher of woodwork/cabinet making at
Kingston Technical High School, Thomas Wong was in the hardware business, Arthur 'Duke'
Reid was in the liquor business with a bar and liquor store called Treasure Isle. Reid, an ex-pohce
man, had businesses on the 'four coners'of Bond Street and Charles Street, noted Kingsley
Goodison. Meanwhile, Jack Taylor owned a hardware store on Orange Street. Among other
things, he distributed records from his store and one of his main customers was Thomas Wong,
Goodison told me. Egerton Koo was a chef and small restaurateur, while Clement Dodd, who
was trained as a cabinet maker, grew up in his mother's cook shop and bar. Dorris Darlington,
Dodd's mother, played a significant role in the genesis and development of Clement Dodd's
sound system.
10. Kingsley Goodison informed me of this in a conversation we had on the phone, November 30,
2007.
11. Merritone, a Morant Bay, St. Thomas sound system which emerged in the 1950s and still in
operation today, is the longest serving sound system in Jamaica and (perhaps) the world. It
became the ideal model of a sound system as an institution in itself and not an instrument to
achieve other ends, such as the recording business. Started by their father, Val Blake, the Blake
brothers Winston, Trevor, Monte and Tyrone then school boys, carried on when their father
died. Merritone is now a national and international icon with over 50 years of becoming. And it
is said that this sound is more in the tradition of Tom The Great Sebastian.
12. Roy Whyte, a cabinet maker and teacher at the Kingston Technical High School on Beaston
Street and Smith Lane, was around that time hiring out his sound system to Jamaica's two major
political parties, theJamaica Labour Party (LP) and the People's National Party (PNP) for their
"monster" political meetings, according to Alvin Harding and confirmed by Keith Brown at the
Annual Don Drummond Symposium at the University of the West Indies, Mona, May 2003.
Whyte was a follower of Norman Manley, a PNP man, "a big sociahst, "an ideologue who used to
talk about [Karl] Marx and Lenin (Vladimir Illyich Ulyanov), Kingsley Goodison told me in a
telephone conversation, November 30, 2007.
Forgig Identiy
13. Clement Dodd told me this in an interview I did with him at his famed Studio One in 2002.
14. Harding, also known as The Dean and Count Shandy-The Voice Of The People, left lamaica for
England in 1955, where he established a sound system. He kept dance at his ho se from IFnday
evening to Sunday morning and played all over England Manchester, London, Nottingham -
where he was a major personality. He played for Garfield Sobers' birthday anniversary party 1
1957. The party was sponsored by Trent Bridge. Cricketers such as Collie Smith, Roy (ilchrst,
Ted Dexter, Colin Cowdrey, Tom Graveney, Freddie Trueman, Reg Scarlett and Garfield Sobers
attended the party of 500 and he met them personally. It was in England at his base i
Nottingham that Harding got the name Count Shandy-The Voice Of The People
15. Kingsley Goodison expressed these views to Clinton Hutton in an intenrvew at Studio One on
March 27, 2003. Kingsley Goodison (King Omar) is founder of King Omar Promotio s which,
for the last 10 years, has been hosting Tribute To The Greats to recognize pioneering players 1
the making of popular Jamaican music and the recording industry.
16. Winston Sparkes (King Stitt) spoke to Clinton Hutton in an interview at Studio One o
2003.
17. Liner notes from King Stitt, Reggae Fir Beat, :page 2.
18. Forbes leftJamaica for England in 1954 and established (perhaps) the first sound system I
Britain in 1955 and became Duke Vin The Champion. (See Mandingo News and views .
2005-2006:4 and 9; and Barrow and Dalton 2001:12-13).
References
Barrow, Steve & Peter Dalton 2001: The Rough Guide to Reggae. London: Rough (Guidc.
Chang, Kevin O'Brien & Wayne Chen 1998: Reggae Routes: The Stor of Jamaican Music.
Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers.
Dynamite, Dr. Buster 1999: Reggae Fire Beat. (King Stitt). Jamaica Gold.
Gooden, Lou N.d. [About 2004]. Reggae Heritage: The Story ofJamaican Music. Kingston: Lou
Gooden.
Hutton, Clinton 2007: The Creative Ethos of the African Diaspora: Performance Ac.
and the Fight for Freedom and Identity.' In Caribbean Quartery. Volume 53 Nos. 1&2.
March-June. Brian Heap (guest ed.). Kingston: The University of the West Indie.
Katz, David 2000: People Funny Boy. Edinburgh: Payback Press.
King Omar Promotions 2007: Tribute To The Greats: Celebrating the Foundation Stones of the
Jamaican Music Industry. 10th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine.
Mandingo 2007: Mandingo News and Views. Issue 6. London: M. Williams.
2005-2006: Mandingo News and Views. Issue 4. London: M. Williams.
Salewicz, Chris & Adrian Boot 2001: Regae Explosion: The Story of Jamaican Music. Kingston:
Ian Randle Publishers.
Punching For Recognition: The Juke Box as a
Key Instrument in the Development of Popular
Jamaican Music
'Too often only half the story is told. And the background, the upheavals and
changes the island of amaica went through just before and since independence, gets
forgotten in the face of so much music" Prince Buster
This essay aims to establish the centrality of the Jukebox as major element in
the development and sustainability ofJamaican popular music from mento to dancehall.
It is intention of this essay to establish an iconic status for theJukebox and explore its
relevance in affording a space for resistance and examine its importance as a catalyst
of social interaction, urban poor catharsis, mimicry and masquerade.
Jimmy Solo and Cuz at famous Jazz Hut, Rose Lane, W. Kingston
circa 1976
The Jukebox was an invention of the late 19th century which developed when
Thomas Edison applied for a patent for a "Phonograph or Speaking Machine" Gert
J. Almind states that "That particular invention became the basis of the first
American automatic music machines with coin slots called 'nickel-in-the-slot machines
Another invention was the disc record (vinyl), by Emile Berliner and patented in
1888. Pretty soon both disc and cylinder players were fitted with coin slots. According
the Almind, the first demonstration of a coin operated phonograph took place in San
Francisco in November 1889 by Louis Glass, general manager of the Pacific
Phonograph Company. Glass and his partner William S. Arnold had applied for two
patents. The "Coin Actuated Attachment for Phonographs" (cylinder) and "Coin
Actuating Attachment for Phonographs" (disc) that same year. Today, Louis Glass is
often regarded as the inventor of the juke box concept.
The machines were an instant success. In fact, Louis T. Glass was able to boast
at a 1890 Conference in Chicago for operators and manufacturers that the first 15
machines had made an estimated $4,000 from December, 1889, until May, 1890. That
was a significant amount for the time. Almind also reminds us that;
"The first really successful coin-operated phonograph in the States
was developed and filed for patent in 1891 by Albert K. Keller, who
soon assigned the patent rights to the Automatic Phonograph
Exhibition Company in New York. The Albert K. Keller designed
automatic phonographs with Edison mechanisms were at first
manufactured in collaboration with Ezra T. Gilliland of the Gilliland
Sales Company, and installed in arcades in many big cities."(Allmind,
http://juke-box.dkl)
By 1927, the American manufacturer the Automatic Music Instrument
Company rolled out the world's first electrically amplified multi selection
phonograph. This was a significant signpost in the evolution of theJuke box. With
amplification, the Jukebox was now able to compete with large orchestras, at the cost
of a nickel.
The Juke box developed its name fromJuke joints which were popular in the
20s and 30s in the Mississippi Delta region of the United States.Jukejoints were
makeshift drinking houses adjacent to cotton fields. The Juke joints were generally
considered seedy and low brow establishments, but offeredja! and rhythm and blues
musicians a regular venue to play. Lorenzo Turner, points to the African origin of
the word. He asserts that the word comes form the Gullah word "Juk", meaning
TheJukeBox
infamous and disorderly. This he says comes from the West African Wolof word
"Jug" used to define someone who leads a disorderly life, and a Banbara word "jugu"
meaning a wicked, violent or naughty person.2
In Jamaican creole "jook" is still a popular expression, but the word has
multiple uses and interpretations. It denotes a specific pelvic movement when used to
refer to a dance movement in popular music. In fact, Elephant Man's recent "Jook
Gal' music video, directed by American Gil Green, had scenes in aJuke joint with
dance moves associated with the act of"jooking"; thus confirming the commonality
of the word to the two distinct black cultures. Throughout the Caribbean and its
diaspora, the word also has a sexual connotation to signify the act of coitus. It is also
liberally used to represent the act of physically prodding someone with a sharp object
With the advent of thejuke box, the blues and ]atZ musicians once a staple in
Juke joints were gradually replaced. Every underground "speakeasy" needed music,
but increasingly could not afford live bands. Tavern owners preferred the juke boxes
which were provided by an operator at no charge, and lured significantly more
customers than the bands.
Prohibition, the legal ban on alcohol by the US congress further entrenched the
role of jukeboxes in American pop culture. By the 1920s and 30s the mechanical
phonographs were replacing liveJukemusic. Hence it was not long before that these
machines were calledjukebox. Paul Oliver (1998) elaborated;
In the late thirties the inroads made in group entertainment by the
record industry were bolstered by the introduction of the mechanical
players, which could handle as many as fifty records at a time. They
were set up in the country districts at every crossing cafe, and in every
joint and juke. The latter gave them their name. Juke-boxes began to
replace live musicians everywhere; florid, chromium plated and
enameled in genuine pop art fashion, they were installed at roadside
booths, even on breakfast counters" (140)
Juke box manufacturers of the period refused to use the term Juke-box, instead
they referred to them as Automatic Coin-Operated Phonographs (or Automatic
Phonographs, or Coin-Operated Phonographs). In fact based on interviews of
former employees of juke-box manufacturer, Wurlitzer, who claimed that when the
origin of the name was discovered in 1937, Farney Wurlitzer banned the use of the
name; he thought it was degrading and felt that a automatic phonograph was too fine
a machine to be labeled with such a derogatory term. Wulizitzer never used the term
until 1972 for its flagship model 1050 when Farney Wurlitzer died. (Cillis, 2006)
The Juke Box
Originally known as rockabilly (white) and race music (black), mainstream
America shunned rock androllup to the 1920s. Respectable genres of the day included
light Classical, Swing, Jaz orchestras, or show tunes. Hence rock and roll was never
considered worthy of a radio broadcast. Seminal Blues and rock & roll pioneers, such
as, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Muddy Waters, Bessie Smith, Roosevelt Sykes, and
Carl Perkins with their wild "devil" music; had to find another medium of exposure.
The avenue of choice was theJukejoint and thejukebox. The Juke box thus made a
very poignant connection with the underclass and the down trodden blacks in
American society. Indeed, Muddy Waters who was a tractor driver and one of the
innovators of urban blues operated ajuke joint to supplement his income on the
plantation.3
Jamaica
The juke box was first introduced to the Jamaican entertainment scene in the
early 50s. Though there are no definitive dates as to exactly when it was first used, all
evidence suggests that it became popular in Jamaica during this period. Through the
evidence of persons interviewed it would suggest that most juke boxes came from the
United States of America.
Cyril Ehrlich, in speaking of the advent of the juke box in Britain noted that
"Juke boxes, which had been common in pre-war America, came late to Britain. In
the 1930s there were merely "an experimental handful", of juke boxes across Britain,
but by 1955, over 500 were licensed." (Erlich 1989:130) Given its status as a British
colony then, it is plausible to suggest that the island closely followed the trends
impacting its colonial master.
The proximity of the United States combined with its hegemonic influence
overJamaica's popular culture also significantly affected the timing of the Juke box's
introduction in Jamaican rum bars. Similar to the Delta region of the United States,
the Juke boxes in Jamaica were scattered in bars all over Kingston and in every rural
community's town square. Almost all rum bars/pubs in the corporate area were
located in down town Kingston and frequented by working class men and women.
Among the early operators in the Juke box business, were the likes of Isaac
Issa, Prince Buster, and JJ Johnson. By the 60s and 70s entrepreneurs such as Mrs.
Powell of Bridgeview in Central Kingston, Winston Riley of Chancery Lane. The
HooKim brothers of Maxfield Avenue, Beanie of Matthews Lane, Scotty form
Bridgeview, Fung Yee of Hanna Town and Mr. Clarke, became major players in
theJuke box business. The early juke box featured American rhythm and blues of
African American musicians such as Fats Domino, Roscoe Gordon and Lloyd Price.
ThejukeBox
Jamaican music was a rarity in the initial years. However mento and caypso recordings
were later added following a series of successful recordings and the work of Stanley
Motta, Ken Khouri and Stanley Chin and the introduction of the 45RPM 7inch.
(Chang and Chen,1998: 15). Chang and Chen in Reggae Routes, recalls that among the
artists who recorded mento were Count Lasher, Lord Flea, Lord Fly, Laurel Aitken,
Lord Tannomo, Lord La Rue, Lord Power and Baba Motta. Denzil Laing and the
Wrigglers should also be included among that list of pioneering recording artistes
According to Chang and Chen the first commercial record made in Jamaica
was Lord Fly's "WhaiAy"recorded at Stanley Motta's. They also noted that most
mento recordings of the time were raunchy and contain double entendre. They stated,
that "The raunchier material was heard only in the privacy of homes or on sound
systems."
While their analysis of the role the sound system played in establishingJamaica
music seems fair, their study of the evolution of the music business may be deemed
inadequate. Like most studies to date, they slighted over the pivotal role the Juke box
played in exposing mento/ska/rock steady/reggae performers/recording artistes to the
Jamaican audience. In their review, the pair mention that "most performers were
previously known only to live local audience but [that] radio had made them famous
island wide".(p. 15) Such an assertion is problematic on two fronts.
Firstly, radio would not have done an effective job of exposing mento, given the
biases against indigenous music forms especially in the 1950's and through to the
1960's. More fundamentally though, as mentioned by Chang and Chen many of the
better and more popular mento records were deemed "not fit for airplay" (NFAP). By
their own observation the mento recordings of the era were "bawdy" and
"suggestive".(p.15) Hence the role of radio in exposing early forms of Jamaican
music is thus quite questionable.
Secondly, Chang, and Chen failed to even acknowledge the significance of
theJukeboxes in popularizing these "bawdy" mento/calypso recordings among the
masses ofJamaicans. Via the Juke boxes, the recordings found a perfect home in the
bars of Western and Eastern Kingston, as well as rural communities across the island.
Owing to its strong roots in rural Jamaican folk culture, the mento recordings
resonated well in the rural communities. The rapid urbanization of Kingston also
peaked during this period. The significant population shift from the rural to the urban
centre also ensured that the "suggestive" mento recordings remained equally popular
among the residents of the expanding capital city, many of whom had strong rural
roots. Similar to trends in the United States of America, mento consequently became
The ]uke Box
the music of the people, and as it grew in popularity, it became an important part of
the Juke box compilation.
Kenneth Bilby in Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Musicfrom Rhumba to Regge lauds
the role of the sound system in promoting the new music. He states theseee early
efforts at recording mento were soon over shadowed, in the late 1950s by a new
phenomenon, the "sound system," which would play a crucial role in Jamaican
popular music over the next few decades" (Manuel with /bilby and Largey 1995:
155). While acknowledging the pivotal role of one technology, Bilby, like other
scholars, remains mute on the equally crucial role of Juke boxes as disseminators of
the music and one of the focal points of urban inner city culture. Given the
aforementioned, it is easy to share Mike Alleyne's perspective in his critique of
Manuel (with Bilby and Largey's work). Alleyne posits that "the imperatives of
cultural anthropology assume so much of the textual foreground that commercial
realities, vital to the dissemination of the evolved folk forms, become an invisible
undercurrent." (Alleyne in Ho and Nurse 2005: 289)
Lloyd Bradley, (2000)similarly overlooked the value of theJuke box as a major
tool in the promotion, socialization, camaraderie and cultural hybridity in the
formative years of the Jamaican music industry. This omission by Bradley, is
particularly surprising given that a principal figure in his book was Prince Buster.
Interestingly, Buster was a Juke box operator whose popularity as a recording artist
was boosted by this fact. In those days, Buster's Juke boxes were unique as only his
own recordings and those of the artists he produced were available in them. Clearly,
this gave Buster a distinct advantage over his rivals, as he got additional exposure for
his own recordings and his major productions which included the Skatalites and the
Folke's Brothers.
Manuel, Chang and Chen, and Bradley were all found wanting in their analysis
of the role of sound system as the main promoting tool forJamaican music. There is a
clear lack of deeper interrogation of the dynamics which created "so much music."
Versions galore spreading the sound.
TheJukebox was perhaps the most pivotal promotional vehicle for earlier
Jamaican music forms. Arguably, ska, rock steady and later regae owed their popularity
to a great extent, in the early years, to the ubiquitous Juke box. By the beginning of
the 1960's Juke boxes were a common feature of rum bars, ice cream parlours, and
even in tuck shops throughout down town Kingston. Just the shear numbers ofJuke
boxes island-wide, playing Jamaican music daily, dwarfed the output of the sound
system which played only a few times a week and at best numbered in the hundreds in
the 1950s and 60s.
From personal recollections of my childhood in the 1960s, from West to the
East, Kingston was Juke box paradise. To illustrate the point, in West Kingston on
one block, Charles Street, between Oxford Street and Bond Street, there were about
six bars; Oxford Street between Charles Street and Beeston Street hosted at least
seven others. TheJukebox was the center of entertainment in all the bars. On each
street, road and lane in the "East" (the areas of downtown Kingston east of Parade
and Victoria Park)' and the "West" (the area of down town Kingston west of Parade
and Victoria Park); the Juke box was king. Rum bars, pool halls, skittle clubs and
houses of ill repute (whorehouses) such as Caracas, (East Queen Street) Blue Mirror,
(West Street) and Portland House (East Queen Street and East Street), the main form
of entertainment seven days a week was the Juke box. Hence, along with the sound
systems it became a very potent tool for promoting all genres and styles of Jamaican
pop music.
Veteran music producer and reggae innovator, Winston "Niney" Holness,
attests to the significant role of the Juke box: "The juke-boxes man promotes,
promote you records just like a radio station, the other thing again they help you to
make money, cause they were the biggest recording(record) buyer"5.
Jukeonomics (Juke box economics)
The economic contribution of theJukebox to the growth and development of
the music was significant. Winston "Niney" Holness affirmed thatJukebox operators
were major players in the retail business. Accordingly, "operators like Fung Yee had
over 500 boxes, so they would ask like Bunny Lee how many new titles him have, so if
Bunny tell him ten then they would buy all ten for all their boxes. So nuff money uses
to mek man!", Niney tells us.6
The business model utilized by the Juke box business was pretty straight
forward. The operators some of whom owned as many as 2000 boxes, operated on a
percentage basis with bar and shop owners. The Juke box operator was responsible
for maintenance, providing new music and clearing the money from the machines.
The bar/shop owner received a 30% share of the money collected at each clearing.
The cost of using aJukebox was one shilling which usually entitled patrons to a
selection of four or five songs. The bar owners were responsible for keeping the box
in good condition and providing the Juke box owner with information on which
songs were popular and in demand. Reputations were built on the effectiveness of
Juke box operators providing well serviced boxes, which were cleared regularly and
had frequently updated records. A box with the right mix of standards hits that did
not break down was important to bar/shop owners, and the addition of new hits was
important to the popularity of a bar.
The Juke Box
Given the level of credit which was usually afforded to regular customers, the
frequent clearing of theJukeboxes was extremely important to the bar/shop owners
as the additional income earned from boxes helped to supplement their bottom lines
and assist with the payment of salaries and/or rent, as well as the replenishing of
stocks. The most popularJukebox owners were the men and women who had the best
looking boxes, usually those that had the "farrin" (foreign) look, indicating the
important role of aesthetics in the process. Among the most popular brands were
Wurlitzer, Rock O La and Seeburg. These were art pieces in their own right utilizing
"spectacular creations of wood, metal, and phenolic resins which danced behind
tubes of enchanting cellophane, Polaroid film, and plastic".7
Furthermore, some Juke box owners used the Juke box business as a stepping
stone to the music business. These included the likes of Pat and Vincent Chin, JJ
Johnson ofJJ Records and music innovator, Prince Buster. In Kingston's inner city
communities, the Juke box was a vehicle of social mobility. Indeed Juke box owners
were among the most respected community members.
In the Bridgeview community of Eastern Kingston, for example, Mrs. Powell
was legendary as a leading member of the community, commanding much wealth and
respect. She owned two bars which were well supported by young upwardly mobile
Kingstonians who had made good for themselves by landing jobs in the civil service,
or were working for companies such as Desnoes and Geddes, Seprod and the
Kingston wharves. Leading sports celebrities, particularly the more popular cricket,
football, cycling, celebrities were also among her regular clientele. Mrs. Powell also
had a liquor store. Next to her store, Mr. Powell, her husband had another bar. The
clientele at this bar was totally different, these were more mature men, some "World
War Two veterans", retired teachers and civil servants.
TheJukebox compilation lessons in cultural hybridity
While Jamaica is known for its popular music, many outsiders are astounded
by the variety of genres which are popular. Our colonial past and Anglo- US
hegemonic structures, r&b, tin pan al/, soul, funk pop, country and western and gospel are
very popular and in the early period of popular music expressions. In the 20th
century the music of the North Atlantic dominated the Jamaican cultural space. With
the advent of the popularity ofJamaican music forms, the high low dichotomy was in
full force. Jamaican music was at the lowest level of the pyramid. OrdinaryJamaicans
reject this cultural hierarchy to some extent but for the most part the music of the
North Atlantic was dominant. This was reflected in the juke box compilation. The
Juke box compilation was and still is a potpourri of popular genres. One could find
songs to suit any taste in popular music. As mentioned before mento music survived
ThejakeBox
due to the Juke box, ska, rock steady, reggae, dub and dancehallwere supplemented by
choice selections of county and western, gospel, rock and roll, pop and rock. Memorable
notable included the county and western and cross over pop hit PleaseMrPlease by Olivia
Newton John. This particular song had a Juke box reference which said "Please Mr
Please can you play E17" referring to the selection number of the jukebox. Most
Juke boxes which had that song placed it at selection E17. Risque mento tunes such
Sixpence and Beef Inna Bagy were staples for the juke box compilation. Tom Jones
Englebert Humperdinck, Mahila Jackson, Pat Boone, Little Richard, Fats Domino,
representing pop, r&b, gospel and rock and roll had representation in theJukebox
compilation. This allowed for a high level of cultural appropriation and hybridity and
allowed the regular Jamaican to develop a very cosmopolitan musical taste and
appreciation.
Social commentary and Ghetto University
Rum bars have enjoyed a very hallowed space in Jamaican urban culture.
During the 1950s and 1960s the bars were the focal point of camaraderie and
commune. The bars were perhaps the only safe space for poor blacks to gather and
express their views on politics, colonial rule, independence, urban myths and culture.
It was the poor man's university where "learned" ordinary Jamaicans of all
persuasion, gather to let their voices be heard. Garveyites, Rastafarians, Christians,
federalists, labourites (LP) and comrades(PNP) expressed themselves freely among
"equals". Kharl Daley's poem "Miss Chin Rum ba?' aptly describes the dynamics quite
beautifully. It says in part:
Its seven o'clock on a Friday Evening
One by one they came strolling in
Soon Miss Chin's Bar will be full of them
Neighborhood folks on their weekend's thrill
The Barmaid extremely busy
Unpacking Guinness, Red stripe and Ting
The glass-case loaded with fry dumplings
Slices of bread, salt fish and red herring
Cow cod and goat head soup bubbling
Steam fish, jerk pork and jerk chicken
A juke-box with mento and reggae music
Play any two tunes for a shilling
From midday Popsy seated in a comer
Half a sleep over tonic and gin
On his arm clungs his wife Fay
The Juke Box
She'll never leave without him
Aston Ruddock seated at the counter
He will buy any man a rum or two
Yet plenty a man won't ever accept it
For rumors what he and an Englishman use to do
Busha Parkie a regular customer
He metaphorically opens and closes the bar
He's always drinking and spitting
As if his stomach an overflowing reservoir
Now Mass Ken never leaves Miss Chin
Since she and Rocky parted ways
While Agatha, Arthur and Miss Dor are there
Whither its rainy, stormy or sunny days
William perhaps the most intelligent
Yet only a carpenter by trade
He's quick with a joke on a politician's quote
The Juke box remained a centre piece in the daily discourses at the bars. It not
only provided the entertainment through music of all kinds, rock and roll, gospel, boogie,
mento, ska and reggae, but it was also a tool for pedagogy. The brilliant political/
revolutionary opus from the Skatalites, Prince Buster, The Wailers and Mystic
Revelation of Rastafan, were used to inform the local debate on issues such as race
and identity, nationalism, police brutality and colonial and neo-colonial oppression.
The music was used to punctuate the points of the many speakers who would
"punch" the appropriate song to drive home his or her point. A case in point was the
urban myth of the "Three wheel coffin and Mr. Brown" The myth was that the body
of Mr. Brown was traveling around Kingston on a three wheel coffin with three
vultures (john crows) atop. It was said that anyone who came in contact with the
coffin would be immediately stuck (immobilized) as if playing the childhood game
stuckk"
While mainstream media paid scant regard to the story with only a few
headlines in the Star, and drawings from Limonius the cartoonist of the Daily Gleaner,
the accuracy of the story was hotly debated in rum bars island wide. The issue came to
a head with the recording of several rock steady songs on the phenomenon, the most
famous being "Mr. Brown", by The Wailers. As the debate over the story waged on the
song became one of the most frequently "punched" (selected) song in bars across
Kingston.
Juke box along class line
Placement of boxes was based on social standing, class and race. The better
boxes went to the more upscale pubs and bars often frequented by brown middle
class patrons. Even the type of music available was different. In the average
downtown Kingston bar, particularly in western Kingston, Oxford Street, Bond
Street or Pink Lane, the music compilation of the boxes would be a mix of mento, ska,
rock steady, gospeland country which appealed to a working class taste. While the upscale
joints had a very different line up in the Juke box compilations. This would include
very little Jamaican music, but a heavy dose of British pop and American rhythm and
blues. Any trace of Jamaican music was limited to what I have come to refer to as
gentrified reggae, produced by up-towners such as Byron Lee and Ken Khouri, who
were of Chinese and Jewish extract.
The Juke box did not escape the hegemonic realties of colonial and post
independent Jamaica. The majority black and poor population was engaged in a
struggle to forge a Jamaican identity consistent with their own reality and world view.
The ruling class however imposed on the masses an Anglo-American stylistic
aesthetic. In much the same way early blues and rock and rllwere rejected in the United
States of America, the Jamaican elites did not accept the people's music. Radio
reflected this even more poignantly Chang and Chen note that,
"Programming was heavily middle class and did not reflect popular
preferences. RJR's most popular musical programmes for 1956 (in
order of decreasing popularity) were: calypso comer; Treasure Isles
Time; Geddes Grant Hour of Music; Reynolds Hour of Music; Les
Paul and Mary Ford; Bing [Crosby] Sings; Sweet and Swing; [Nat]
King Cole's Count; Hits of the Day; Music by Montavani. And this
was a time when rhythm and blues was the dominant sound of the land
(1998, 17-18)
Juke boxes in the Kingston metropolitan area thus became the central site in
everyday life for the expression of working class sensibilities through mento, ska. rock
steady and reggae. Popular records which did not enjoy the privilege and benefit of
airplay due to their revolutionary tone and political messages and mainstream
rejection found a home in juke boxes. Mento tunes, such as "Big White Shirt", and
"Night Food"; rock steady hits such as "Tougher than Tough" and reggae classics, such
as "Beat Down Babylon", and 'Declaration of Rights" which were either banned or
frowned upon in high society, enjoyed free expression and exposure in juke boxes
located in ghetto universities all over Kingston and rural town squares. Along with the
The Juke Box
sound systems, juke boxes became the "voice of the people", a moniker which was
adopted by Prince Buster for his popular sound system.
Adult entertainment, political protest, nationalism, roots culture, Garvey's
philosophy were talking points around the ubiquitous juke box. Nettleford (1998) in
describing the tone of the music states.
in the late sixties the reggae songs (musically more akin to the
traditional mento than the contemporary revivalist) went back to the
Rastafarian themes while maintaining the rudie social comment on
poverty and general distress. The song "Babylon's Burning" reflects a
definite Rastafarian view of the wider society and its likely fate as
retribution for its wickedness.(pp 98-99)
The juke box, as the sound system, was the arena for the contestation of
colonial and post colonial oppression and identity formation.
Masquerading to stardom
Many young talents used the juke-box to hone their singing skills by imitating
American and British stars such as Fats Domino, Tom Jones, Jim Reeves and the
Impressions. A practice Paulo Freire referred to as the effects of "cultural invasion"
Freire argues that:
"the invaders penetrate the cultural context of another group, and
ignoring the potential of the latter, they impose their own view of the
world upon those they invade and inhibit the creativity of the invaded
by curbing their expression" (1972, 121).
Young Kingstonians and other young Jamaicans often sang in front of juke
boxes along with the records of American and British artists of all genres until they
had perfected the styles of these Euro-American styles. In a sense what took place
around the Juke box was a partial expression of Freire's concept of "cultural
invasion" as youngJamaicans felt they had to master the pop aesthetics of the United
States and Britain to be relevant and to have a voice. When versions became popular
in the late 1960s, that is, the instrumental b side of a record, aspiring artists who could
not afford to get auditions at the various studios and talent shows practiced their craft
by using the versions (rhythms) as their soundtrack.
This was ghetto karaoke long before the Japanese had invented the technology.
In an interview with Sly Dunbar, he recounted spending all his money on the juke box
just so that he could learn the drumming style of his hero Lloyd Knibb of the
Skatalites and the distinctive Motown drum sounds.
The]ukeBox
Gi mi mi Kulture, forging a national identity
In her book "Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large", Carolyn Cooper
and Hubert Devonish, outline the struggle to develop a Jamaican language style
based on Jamaican Creole. They note the contribution of some early practitioners but
state that "technology came to the rescue providing a way around the writing
problem." (2004;295). They continue, "technologies involving sound amplification -
tape recorders, and radio -had made it possible for spoken language to reach much
larger audiences than was possible in face to face interaction".(295) They have
managed to include the possibility of the Juke box being including in their
assessment, with the use of the word sound amplification, which would encompass
sound systems, Juke boxes and phonograph players which were getting popular at
the time. They attribute to ska, reggae and rock steady a role of using the language of the
people in its lyrical content. They mention songs such as Sweet and Dandy by Toots
and the Maytals and Ram Goat Liverby Pluto Shervington as songs with strong Creole
sensibilities, "defining for non-Jamaican as well as Jamaican the essence of a
subversively anti-establishment Jamaican national identity" (p297)
These early songs were done is studios from lyrics that were written or
improvised and reached a mass audience through what Cooper and Devonish label,
"records being played with amplification at dances and in other public places as well
as over the radio" thereby allowing for the Juke box, a device of sound amplification
often placed in rum bars and pool halls and other public places and to be placed in
Cooper and Devonish' categorization, as such the juke box, can and must be placed
in the realms of being an agent of cultural identity and national affirmation.
Urban poor catharses
Another decisive advantage theJukebox had over the sound system was it
silence,( a description I have borrowed from Winston "Niney" Holness) that is, it
never spoke back. Patrons could play the same song repeatedly without much
opposition apart from the occasional intervention of a bar maid, or a disgruntled
patron. Hence a victim of unrequited love could soothe their sorrows while listening
to their favourite love song ad-nauseam. Songs such as Ernie Smith's I Can't Take It,
with lyrics such as "tears on my pillow, pain in my heart, you on my mind", were
regularly abused. Other popular targets were The Wailers SmallAxe, "If you are a big
tree well I'm a small axe ready to cut you down" (oppression), Prince Buster's Black
Head Chiney (racism) and Neither One of Us by Gladys Knight and the Pips (heartbreak).
In summation, theJuke box and the rum bar provided a space for ordinary Jamaicans
to work out the emotional anxieties of urban life. The technology not only aided in
The Juke Box
the entrenchment of indigenous Jamaican music forms and cultural hybridity but
provided a release valve for the pressures of every day life
Conclusion
It is clear that the role the jukebox played in the development and sustainability
of Jamaican music is unquestionable. While this important role is significant it is clear
little work has been done to elucidate its contribution. The Juke box like the sound
system was the main technological device which aided in the dissemination and
promotion of Jamaican music. While sound systems concentrated on Jamaican
music, the Juke box also played a pivotal role in the exposure of several genres of
music outside of Jamaica. Significantly contributing to a cultural hybridity which
ultimately found its way inJamaican music and enriching it to some extent. This paper
is attempts to place the Juke box in a central role in the development of not only the
music but many of the players who sued the Juke box business to enhance their
position in the music business. TheJuke box was also critical to rum bar culture in the
1960s 1970s and 1980s and provided the entertainment nucleus for that space.
Working class Jamaican found a place of commune, camaraderie and resistance to
North Atlantic hegemony centred around the ubiquitous Juke box
Notes
1. See Almind The History of the Juke box 1888-1913" http://juke-box-dk/
2. See Juliet Gorman "Terms and Etymology." in New Deal narratives; Visions ofFlorida in
www.oberlin.cdu/library/papcrs/honorshistory/2001-Gorman/jookjoints/allaboutbo
3. Sonjah Stanlcy-Niaah citing Rutkuff and Scott in her 2006 presentation Philip Sherlock
I ecturc, "Mapping black Atlantic Performance Geographies: Continuities from Slave
Ship to Ghctto"
4. Victoria Park has been renamed Sir William Grant Park.
5. Winston "Nincy" Holness in an interview with Dennis Howard, 2006.
6. Winston "Nincy" Holness in an interview with Dennis Howard, 2006.
7. See D.K. Pcneny, "The History of Rock and Roll: The Golden Decade, 1954-1963"
http://www.history-of-rock.com/history-of-the-juke-box.htm
Alleync, Mike. 2005: "International crossroads: Reggae and the U.S. Recording Industry." in
Globalization, Diaspora and Caribbean Popular Culture, G.T. Ho and Keith nurse, (eds.) Kingston
and Miami, lan Randle Publishers.
Almind Gert 1985: "The history of Jukebox 1888 -1913" in http://juke-box.dk/
Lloyd Bradley. 2002: Bass Culture, When Reggae was King 2000, london, Viking.
Cooper, Carolyn. 2004: Sound Clash, Jamaican DancehallCulturalat Large, Palgrave Macmillan
Dennis Howard
DeCillis, Tom de. 2006: "Juke box questions and Answers: Introduction for Folks newly
interested in Juke boxes", http://tomszone.com/jhganda.html
Erlich, Cyril. 1989: Harmonics Allance: A history of the Performing Rights, New York: Oxford
University Press.
Freire Paulo, 1996, Pedagogy ofthe Oppressed, (1970)Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos.
London New York, Toronto: Penguin Books
Gorman Juliet, 2001:"Terms and Etymology in New Deal Narratives: Visions of Florida in
www.oberlin.edu/library/papers/honorshistory/2001-Gorman/jookjoints/allaboutbo
Manuel, Peter. with Keith Bilby and Michael Largey. 2006: Caribbean Currents Caribbean Music
fi o Rumba to Reggae, Philadelphia, Temple University Press.
Nettleford, Rex M. 1998: Mirror, Mirror; Identity Race and Protest in Jamaica 1970 with new
introduction, Kingston LMH Publishing Company
O'Brien, Kevin Chang, Chen, Wayne. 1998 Reggae Routes The Story ofJamaican Music
Kingston, lan Randle Publisher
Oliver Paul, 1998: The Stoy of the Blues USA, Northeastern University Press
Margarita and Malungu
Brown Girl in the Ring: Margarita and
Malungu
What jungle tree have you slept under,
Midnight dancer of the jazzy hour?
What great forest has hung its perfume
Like a sweet veil about your bower?
What jungle tree have you slept under,
Night-dark girl of the swaying hips?
What star-white moon has been your mother?
To what clan boy have you offered your lips?
Langston Hughes'
My dream last night was that I was a bird, a hoopoe
Engaged in intimate discourse with you, my Sulayman...
But civilization with its mores and conventions
have blighted our growth...
The excerpts from both these poems capture the intense but fractious passion
shared between trombonist Don Drummond and his love partner, the rumba dancer,
Anita Mahfood, recognized by her stage name, "Margarita." While Drummond is
very well known and highly regarded throughout the world of Jamaican music,
Margarita is best remembered within that same world because of her association with
him.
In any discussion of the male dominated narrative about the development of
Jamaican popular music, this phallocentric discourse must be supplemented by
feminist theory to facilitate a gender-balanced narrative to emerge. In regard to ska,
women singers played a vital role, though in the estimation of some observers, a
secondary one. In the early days of ska, the late 1950s and early 1960s, women or "girl
singers" performed in duet settings with male vocalists. Most notable among the.
boy-girl duets were Keith and Enid, Dotty and Bonny, Derrick and Patsy, Stringer
Herbie Miller
and Patsy, Roy and Yvonne, Roy and Millie, Jackie and Doreen, and in the pop soul
vein, Tony Gregory and Marcia Griffith. By the time ska was firmly established,
female artists were increasingly integrated into groups. Beverley Kelso and Cherry
Green shared duties in the earliest edition of the Wailers with Junior Brathwaite, Bob
Marley, Bunny Livingstone and Peter Tosh. Rita Marley of the Soulettes would later
be drafted into the group replacing the former two. Of all the females featured at the
time, Hortense Ellis (Alton's sister) emerges as the best vocal talent in the estimation
of most who heard her. However, it was Millicent Small, the singer known as Millie
who also performed in duet settings that broke through and introduced popular
Jamaican music to the international mainstream. Her 1964 cover version of the
American group Barbie and Gay 1957 hit "My Boy Lollipop "peaked at number one on
the British charts and number two in the United States of America thus becoming the
first hit by a Jamaican on either side of the Atlantic.
Businesswomen played an important role in establishing the Jamaican music
industry also. The lone female producer Sonia Pottinger, whose role in the industry
recently received an in-depth study (Walker 2005), was responsible for establishing
the careers of many artists including, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffith, two of
reggae's pre-eminent female soloists. Other women contributed to the music's
growth as well. For example Norma Dodd, Sheila Lee, and Pat Chin, were towers of
strength that laid the foundation for the success of recording studios, distributing and
publishing companies identified with the male half at the head of these "family run"
businesses. In fact, all three have continued to play crucial roles in the international
recognition ofJamaican music. Chin's (Miss Pat) VP Records has become the largest
distributor of reggae and related music in North America. Mrs. Dodd continues to
operate Studio One facilities following the untimely death in 2004 of her husband
Clement "Sir Coxone" Dodd, and Sheila Lee plays an integral role in the affairs of
Dynamic Sounds and Sheila Music the publishing arm of the company she oversees
with her husband the bandleader and businessman Byron Lee. And as some close to
the industry recall,Jean Benson, the Canadian wife of the head of Record Specialists,
was a very active woman who literally ran the place.' Singer, Rita Marley, since the
death of her husband Bob, has overseen the growth of Tuff Gong the recording
enterprise he started.
Overlooked, as these women are in the context of the history and establishing
of Jamaican music locally and internationally, a more grievous oversight is the role
played by dancer and one song vocalist Anita Mahfood. Again, only Klive Walker has
attempted an in-depth overview of her contribution. Concerning Mahfood, the
rumba dancer also known as Margarita, the subject of this essay, it has been argued by
Margarita and Malungu
some critics that her lover, the venerated trombonist Don Drummond, continues to
be lionized even at her personal and creative expense. This, especially in light of the
fact that she was the victim of the murder for which he was convicted, the incident
that abruptly ended both their careers.
This essay attempts to rectify those concerns and at the same time illuminate
Margarita's role in the fashioning ofJamaica's popular music and cultural identity.
Margarita (Anita Mahfood) Gleaner photo
Herbie Miller
Veve Clark's essay "Performing the Memory of Difference in Afro-Caribbean
Dance: Katherine Dunham's Chorography, 1938-87," a treatise on the lifelong
emersion of the American anthropologist, dancer, and choreographer Katherine
Dunham (1909 -2006) in Caribbean religion, culture and dance, provides text that
opens a window into gender, race and class issues; issues paramount to the
understanding of Margarita's relationship to Afro-Jamaican sensibility and especially
her relationship to Rastafari male dominated culture. For her methodology, Clark
turns to Pierre Nora's concept of lieux de memorieor sites of memory, where according
to Nora, "memory crystallizes and secretes itself' [Clarke in Fabre and
O'Meally,1944:228). An extended quote from Clark establishes the approach.
Ironically, the development of lieux de memorie as a concept among
scholars of French revolutionary history presupposes emotional and
intellectual distances from memory and history. In African diaspora
cultures where peasant communities continue to survive and their
memories with them the evolution toward ieuxde memoir has been
far more simultaneous. Distinctions between memory, history, and
lieux de memories in America and the Caribbean result primarily from
class distinctions rather than the erosion of trust in telling one's
history which currently defines the deconstructionist agenda in
France. Pierre Nora's reading of the French revolution and his notion
of lieu.\ de memorie can be applied universally to traditions of
histonography and history, and to significant events celebrated
worldwide(p. 88)
Turning to mileux de memories, what Nora terms "real environments of
memory," Clark points out "are especially relevant to an understanding of lieux de
memories or sites of memory because certain obscured black environs or milieux
retained the memory from which choreographers of the 1930s drew their artistic
inspiration. Clark asserts that when choreographers presented "dances of the
diaspora" to patriarchal dominated spaces in North America they "challenged the
norms of male-centered African American performance. "(p.188) Clarke's
insight, therefore, assists in the understanding of Margarita's role in introducing
music and dance reconstructed from historic memory and the creative imagination
- what Clark terms "a memory of difference deriving from folk memory and ritual
observance," (p.190) which was linked to an Afro-Jamaican ethos and its acceptance
by the Jamaican mainstream. The religious, socio-political, and cultural creolization
process of the Rastafari brethren and sistren that enabled the synchronicity of
Margarita and Malungu
these ideologies, and hence Margarita's relationship to Count Ossie's Rastafari camp,
and in particular Don Drummond, is better understood after one encounters Clark. It
therefore is appropriate that Clark's concept "memory of difference," along with oral
and written references should provide my methodology for examining Margarita's
place in the history of popular Jamaican music.
Count Ossie -Gleaner Photo
Margarita's participation in Count Ossie's drum and dance ensemble offers a
lens through which the dialogue of race, class and gender differences in Jamaica -that
have not always been acknowledged as significant elements in that exposure and
acceptance -can be viewed. Their collaboration challenged audiences to recognize
variations of Afro-Jamaican and Caribbean history and culture denied them because
they were not trained to see black dance, music, and art as historical text.
Herbie Miller
The Jamaican saying, beautiful woman beautiful trouble," is an apt proverb to
be mindful of in examining the relationship between Margarita, and especially her
relationship with Don Drummond, Count Ossie's drum ensemble, and the Rastafari
community in East Kingston. Margarita Mahfood, known to her close friends as
Anita, was an olive skinned Jamaican of Syrian Lebanese lineage.2 Considering the
racial, colour and class preoccupations, perceptions and realities of mid twentieth
centuryJamaica, Syrians, though more privileged than Afro-Jamaicans, had not yet in
significant numbers been entrenched in the circle of upper-class Jamaican society; a
social class primarily populated by whites and browns, stock, which usually
descended from the planter tradition and the beneficiaries of social, economic, and
other privileges virtually denied Black Jamaicans. These disparities are tied to the fact
illuminated by Sherlock and Bennett (1989) that "African family structures were
seriously eroded over 300 years of British rule."(p.335) They assert that immigrants
from "the Middle East was not subject to such a long and intensive period of
deculturisation," allowing them to "retain more of their original cultural values" while
being integrated into main stream Jamaican society.(p.335)
Margarita was the daughter of a smalltime fishmonger, not, as suggested by
some accounts, the privileged middle class girl they invested her with. She attended
Alpha Academy, a high school for girls, which in contrast to Alpha Boys Home where
Drummond as a youth was institutionalized, was a desirable educational institution
attended by daughters of the elites and middle class. Having a name seemingly
associated with Jamaica's upper class, bearing "high colour," and straight hair, Anita
Mahfood would have been accorded access to the privileges enjoyed by the island's
elites in keeping with the social attitudes that existed on the island during the 1950s.
Her matinee idol looks and attractive body was of movie star potential and would also
have been an asset to her advancement. However, Margarita rebelled against her
perceived privileged status choosing instead to become a rhumba dancer, a style of
dancing at that time in Jamaica more frequently called "belly dancing"3 and a
profession not considered desirable among the upper class. In addition, she found in
the ghetto areas of West Kingston and the hills of the East an environment of
derelicts, Rastafarians, and musicians people she felt connected with.
Following the Government ordered police raid and shutting down of the
Rastafari community, Pinnacle in 1954, Rastas established a broader communal
network by setting up campsites across the island. Margarita became a regular on
Count Ossie's camp at Rennock Lodge, joining a group of sisters already there (Mack
1999). Douglas Mack who organized a camp in Doncaster identified other camps of
the period following the closing of Pinnacle. Brother Lover...established his own
Margarita and Malungu
camp on the Long Mountain Road area of Wareika Hills. Count Ossie's camp was
along Windward Road opposite Slipdock Road before the 1951 hurricane forced him
to relocate to Adastra Road where jazz musicians Don Drummond, Little "Bra"
Gaynair and vocalists the Folkes Brothers joined him. There were camps at Poker
Flat, Ackee Walk, Foreshore Road, Greenwich Farm, Tower Street and Mountain
View. Then there were Bro. Skipper's Camp on the Dungle behind Coronation
market, Prince Emmanuel's Back-A-Wall and Brother Brown's Camp in Montego
Bay. These, among others, represented the scope of Rastafari camps across the
Corporate (Kingston and St. Andrew area) and reaching as far as the North coast of
Jamaica'. Douglas Mack provides an understanding of Rastafari camps and their
importance to the brethren and sistren who "pass through" or "rest" there. Indeed
these camps were marronage like communities of spiritual, cultural/artistic and
intellectual ferment that would profoundly shape Jamaica's identity as well as the
world.
The camps were (the) places of retreat from Babylonian pressures of
life, where we acquired our spiritual meditation. We became avid
scholars of the bible, reading, reasoning, and interpreting the passages
while chanting our songs of praise to the 'Most High.' [These
sessions were known as Groundations, where] (t)he beating of the
Akete (drums) was an integral part of the Rastafarian chanting.
Brethren would dance around the Akete and when the vibrations
peaked, there would be shouts of lightning and thunder in unison, as
if to invoke the power of the Almighty One.(Mack 1999:66 and 82)
Within the Rastafari community in Rockfort therefore, Groundations
provided a distraction from life's burdens and tribulations. Through herbal and
spiritual rituals and preaching about the divinity of Emperor Hail Selassie of Ethiopia,
Rastafari aimed to create a community of peace and love. For that reason, music
comprising drumming and chanting was integral to the communal activities among
the groups. Music was also important in spreading the Rastafari faith. By embracing
modem jazz musicians, dancers and singers together Rastafari and performers were
effective in establishing an artistic atmosphere through improvisation and
self-effacing character. Their artistic collaborations and collective personalities
produced an iconography and thematic consciousness that referenced Africa as
source and inspiration. What emerged, therefore, was a cultural consciousness that
permeated the embryonic stage of Jamaica's popular music. Thus, before the 1960s
hippy "peace" movement in San Francisco spread its influence, Rastafari lifestyle
Herbie Miller
(livity) and "peace and love" greetings set the mood for the "one love" version of the
conscious reggae generation and "bless," by contemporary cultural dancehall youth.
From Douglas Mack's narrative, we learn that Rastafari women (daughters)
emerged as integral players in the sustainability of Rastafari family and cultural
development. His information about camps in East Kingston such as Slip Dock
Road, Rennock Lodge, Poka Flat and Mountain View provides the sense of family
and community relationship Rastafari brethren and sistren shared and the critical
agency of the women in this. We will focus on two camps, Count Ossie's and Mack's,
since it is in this space and atmosphere that we locate Margarita. According to
Douglas Mack:
The Rastafari sisters who frequented the camps in the early 1940s and
1950's were from various areas. The Sisters from Slip Dock Road,
Count Ossie's first camp, were Sisters Pam, Shirley 'Needle,' Jennie,
Katherine, and Brother Lover's queen with the beard, Sister Daphnie.
Queen Baby I from Ackee Walk and Sister Puncee from Clarendon
were on the scene. From Count Ossie's relocated camp at
Rennock Lodge came sisters Sweeny, Daphne, Joyce, Dotty, Baby
Lov, Mary and Sister Consie. From Glaspole Avenue in Wareika
Hills, where my camp was based, included Sisters Shuggus, Sissy
Maybel, Daisy, Big Cynthia, Panzie, Topsie, Mother Theresa,
Margaritta, Ruby Juvenile, and Audrey who became my wife and the
mother of my children.(pp 69-70).
In addition to identifying camp locations and identifying sisters there, Bro.
Douglas Mack provides the context within which the community survived and the
critical role of the sisters in that survival. Socio economic conditions and social
oppression were synonymous with the condition of the black Jamaican poor and
working class. Therefore, alternative ways of life were attractive especially to those
Jamaicans who held firm their African identity. This provoked discrimination and
pressure from the local elite and colonial authorities and prevented Rastafari males
from gaining even menial work. In those circumstances, states Mack, "It was easier
for the women to gain employment." He further states that "Many sisters became the
main breadwinner in the family. The sisters from the rural areas would teach the
brothers how to cultivate crops to sell at the market. Other sisters would weave tams,
hats, and mats from wool and straw to gain income. A few of the women were
performers. Sister Margarita was an outstanding dancer and singer. Sisters Shuggus
and Maudie were dancers with Count Ossie and the Africa drums."(p 72).
Margarita and Malungu
By the late 1950s Margarita was captivated by the Rastafari way of life. She was
particularly drawn to their chanting and drumming, and participated in
Groundations, where, like Rasta sisters, Shuggus and Maudie, she danced to the
drumbeat of Niabinghi rhythms and jazzy horns performed by Count Ossie and the
African drums. According to Douglas Mack, Sam Clayton and Woodie King,
Margarita's participation compounded her already estranged relationship with the
social class she could have embraced and at the same time it created a perception
among them that she was endangering herself by congregating with persons they
considered to be outcasts.
Rastafari camp sites like Count Ossie's, were targets for police raids and the
brethren singled out and subjected to beatings and arrests. It was a concentrated
effort planned to prevent the growth of Rastafari by the colonial government, one
unfortunately adopted by Jamaican politicians when they replaced the British. It was
also based on the perception that Rastas were violent especially after smoking ganja
or herb, chanting, beating drums and blowing horns. These ideas triggered
nervousness and fear, long held concerns by white and brown Jamaican's that the
sound of drums and horns signaled rebellion. It further reinforced the disdain for
African expressions by the black underclass held by society's middle and upper strata.
Discussing the suppression of Afro-Jamaican culture by the authorities and the
snobbery with which it was viewed by the social elites in the context of race and class,
Sherlock and Bennett, quoting Neville Dawes' Prolegomena to Caribbean Literature, state:
... [The process of colonisation became Europe's battle for control of the
Afro-Jamaican mind. [A]t this point the real Mother Africa was almost dead in the
mind of the diaspora and the colonisation of the African in the Western world was
almost complete."(Sherlock and Bennett, 337) Bro Sam Clayton recounts the
atmosphere of a raid and provides a view of the colonial mindset of the police and the
treatment of Rastas by them when raids were carried out. "Once there was a raid at
Count's camp and the police had us all lined up facing them. DizzyJohnny's 5 tam was
left hanging on a tree and was retrieved by one of the officers who asked, 'whose tam
is this?' so no one answered. On asking a second time Dizzy answered, "I man tam.'
The officer slapped Dizzy across his face reprimanding him, 'nuh bother with the I
man business an me.' He then used his police dagger to destroy all the drumheads
while shouting "Is them drums that make you all mad."
Margarita at the same time, by positioning herself among the Rastas and their
activities, was seen as less than upright by the class that normally would have claimed
her. Addressing that attitude Barry Chevannes also reminds us that: "[T]he drum and
the dancing stimulated by it, were regarded as too primitive for any self-respecting
Herbie Miller
person."(Chevannes 1995:10). Margarita, therefore, would have been regarded as
part of that group of undesirables. Endearing for her flirtatious personality and liberal
relationships, Margarita's free spirited persona was seen by some of her peers as
improper.7 It did not help that she abandoned her husband, the welterweight boxer
Rudolph Bent, who was also the father of her two children.8 At this stage, Margarita
moved out of their home, Bent was spending time in New York where the "purse"
was more lucrative and where he could fight regularly in order to increase his
income.9 To others, Margarita was considered a liberated woman before the term
became popular in the modem era of feminine assertiveness and gender equality.
Having known each other for some years, she and Drummond had by then
established a personal partnership. The relationship of the couple created concerns
for the "brethren" in the community and in particular among the musicians who
worried that the trombonist fragile mental state would be unable to withstand the
dancer's free spirited nature and enticing persona. Impervious to the opinions of
skeptics, the dancer set up domestic residence in the vicinity of the Wareika Hills with
Don Drummond.
On the optimistic side, however, Margarita was cheerful and like Drummond,
she was regarded as an artist of stunning abilities. Wearing his dance historian and
choreographer's hat, Rex Nettleford muses that dancers who preceded Margarita and
who may have been influences, were Mamasita and Rosita, two outstanding dancers
of an earlier era. They along with "Daisy Riley the great rhumba dancer would have
been the sort of models for the dancers of the 1950s."10 Margarita's talents were
highly regarded, even enviable; she was recognized for her grace when dancing and
for her professional success. As a dancer she was booked to work the best nightspots
and theatres, such as Club Baby Grand, Club Adastra, Club Havana, and on the stages
of the best theatres including Ward and Carib. On many of these shows not only was
Margarita given top billing over other dancers, but also, she was a regular recall for
jobs. So impressed with her talent and persona was the impresario Vere Johns that he
presented Margarita as the female lead opposite his son in the theatre piece Sailor's
Song. However, it is for her rhumba dancing that we remember Margarita best.
As a result of Cuba's geographic proximity to Jamaica, and early 20th century
migration to harvest sugar-cane there, Cuban music and dance got to Jamaica
relatively early. Their rhythms influenced mento,ja!Z and ska, and by the late 1950s the
dance craze that included the cha-cha, bolero and rumba was popular among club goers.
At the same time, with Hollywood's commercialization and exploitation of the
"exotic," between the 1940s and 50s, rumba in The United States of America
represented all Cuban music, and to an extent Mexican. For some clarity, I turn to
Margarita and Malunyg
Ned Sublette's narrative Cuba and it's Muic, where he defines rumba as "a complex of
percussion driven dances." He contextualizes it like this: "Rumba can refer to the
dance or to the music played. But, most important, it refers to the party where it all
goes on, a collective, rum-fueled atmosphere." Quoting Mara Teresa Linares,
Sublette he continues: 'Rumberos are selective. Everyone who participates has to be
good, and everyone struggles to be the best. In fraternal combat they grab their turn at
singing, or try to get a shot at playing the quarto to show off their licks, or they jump
into the centre to dance.'(Sublette 2004:257)
This description of the "rumbd' session resembles Groundations where drums,
singing and dancing predominates, only, the rum is replaced by ganja. And like the
Rastafari gatherings, and the persons that participate, "Rumba has always been
associated with manual labourers, particularly with dockworkers, and with the
Abakua [secret society]. "(p.258).
Margarita was considered the best and most popular rhumba dancer in Jamaica.
Characterized by the Latin motion (sometimes called Cuban motion or hip sway)
arising from bent knees and gyrating pelvic, some considered Rumba's sexually
charged Afro-Cuban aesthetic, lewd. To others, however, "rumba was the most
erotic and sensual Latin dance, for its relatively slow rhythm and hip movement,"" a
style Margarita mastered and that was greatly anticipated, especially when she was
dancing to songs like Peanut Vendorand Siboney. Her sensuous movement emphasized
gyrating hips and rhythmic undulation that invited tactual fantasies, reported several
contemporaries on the dance circuit. Star (Delores Chin-Jackson) who was also a
dancer and friend added:
She was different from other dancers. She didn't work the room
allowing patrons to slip bills between her costume and her skin; no,
she never wanted to be touched. To her, dance was a spectacle; she
wanted to be seen so she danced from the stage.
This former dancer also praised her for the ability to simultaneously move parts
of her body independent of others and said Margarita's only competition came when
Cuban dancers were around, adding "only a few were Margarita's equal."
According to several sources, after associating with Count Ossie and his
drummers, the jaZZ musicians in his circle, and absorbing their cultural reasoning,
Margarita's dancing was later articulated with an awareness of what Johnny "Dizzy"
Moore calls "plantation steps." Surviving members of Count Ossie's group agree.
Woody King recalled that: "she became more animated, adding staccato jumps and
prances, springing from leg to leg in forward and backward movements."' In
addition, Bro Royo contends that her dancing was now infused by ritual ecstasy that
Herbie Miller
she at times seemed to be outside herself, as if in a trance, or intoxicated by herbs. The
drumming had her grounded in a sort of Jamaican dance, a local "patois." Her body
language articulated an Afro-diasporic vernacular14 She at this point danced a style
identifiable with what Africanist scholar Robert Farris Thompson calls a modern
hybrid. Like the multiple sensibilities that infused ska, her movements were a
demonstration of diverse Caribbean influences animated by staccato movements,
sanguine attitude, subtle Mediterranean nuances, and a muse informed by Rastafarian
ethos.
From times in Africa, through slavery, and continuing to the modem era, dance
was integral to the cosmology of Afro-Jamaicans. Being both secular and religious,
dance in the worldview of blacks was used as both entertainment and religious
activity. According to socio-cultural scholar Mervyn Alleyne (1988):
For Africans and their New World descendants, there was no rigid
dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. This at first sight
may seem strange, but on deeper reflection it can be explained in
terms of the traditional integration of music, dance, and religion in
Jamaica.(p.115-116)
The integration of spirituality with dance and music is true especially among
Revivalists, Kumina people and Rastafarians. It also is manifested on the dance hall
floor among impoverished Jamaicans who, as if in another world, forget their
troubles and dance. Heather Royes in her 1978 manuscript 'The politics of music and
dance in the African Caribbean setting" said:
Music and dance form an instrument for spreading their
(Afro-Jamaican) ideologies, attracting converts and releasing within
the people a feeling of power over everyday suffering and poverty and
oppression, as well as a physical closeness or even oneness with the
great gods and spirits of their religion.(Alleyne 118-119)
Through music and dance, Rastafarians spread their conceptions of spirituality,
humanity and social consciousness to the local community. Concepts conveyed
through brilliantly performed music and the chanting of Rastafari prayers and songs.
No less brilliant than the musicians with whom she associated, Margarita's dance
inflections provided inspiration that spurred their inventiveness as she in turn was
inspired by their sound. At times it was not clear if she was dancing to the band's
music or the band was playing music to her moves. Count Ossie's Mystic Revelation
of Rastafari drummer, Bro Royo, recalled:
Margarita and Malungu
Margarita was an international rhumba dancer. Dem call belly dancer
in Jamaica. She used to come by us because she liked the drums.
The African nddim had her doing a different thing. She leaping now,
and making good steps, and breaks, so it's different now, those pelvic
movements not going [so hard] anymore. You are getting African
movement now; more cultural, just shape the whole thing. She
created a new impact, and loved what she was doing.(quoted in Lee
2003:253)
Dance, states Albert Murray, ...not only antecedes music and most of the
other art forms... [but it]... seems to have been the first means by which human
consciousness objectified, symbolized, and stylized its perceptions, conceptions, and
feelings."(Murray 2000:189)
United by the drums of Count Ossie, the trombone of Drummond, theja!
instrumentalists, and Margarita's dancing, a diverse and multi ethnic assemblage of
artists, personalities, and common folk began gathering at Wareika Hills to reason,
smoke herb, and witness the genesis of ska. They occupied front row seats to observe
the development of what would become a national cultural phenomenon and artistic
expression, a style of playing that would evolve into Jamaica's first internationally
embraced music. Each session was like a ceremonial occasion, a ritual of oneness
inspired by nationalist ideology, Africanist identity and Rastafarian concepts.
According to Floyd (1955):
In all African societies, ritual aspired to the dramatic; it sought to
become ritual drama in which Dance, Drum and Song validated and
highlighted conflicting and contrasting expressions and
interpretations, and established, built, and sustained accord.
...Sometimes the onset of these sacred, blissful, altered states,
although brought on particularly by drumming, were aided by the
ingestion of hallucinogens.(pp 20-21)
Margarita not only lived and danced among the Rastas but also participated in
some of their rituals. Herman "Woody" King, who was a regular at Ossie's camp
during the 1950s had this to say: "Neither Drummond nor Margarita were heavy herb
smokers, but, yes man she smoked, mostly spliff, and Drummond in the early days
when he and Bra [Gaynair] would track together to Ossie's camp."15 Because of her
popularity and commercial appeal, Margarita was able to introduce the Rastafarian
rhythms that captured her imagination and often provided dramatization to her free
form dance of liberation directly to a pop oriented audience. This feat, however,
required some shrewd negotiations by the dancer. Booked to perform during the
Herbie Millr
Christmas holidays in the late 1950s, Margarita first had to convince the impresario
Vere Johns that the Rastas should provide the music, or else, she threatened, she
would not perform. The first show was held at the Ward Theatre and was supervised
byJohns' son, VereJohns Jr. After informing Johns Jr. that she would be dancing to
Count Ossie and his drummers, he allowed her after reiterating that his father doesn't
work well with Rastas (Lee, 2003). Having thrilled the unsuspecting audience at the
Ward, Margarita and her entourage set out to the Carib Theatre with expectations
high. It was more difficult to convince the elder Johns at the Carib later that day
however. Again, the memory of Count Ossie's drummer Bro Royo allows him to
recount the confrontation between Margarita and Vere Johns Snr." When we get
there Vere Johns says no, it won't work. He said, Oh! You are going on with a whole
heap a Rasta man? No, No, No Maggie, you can't do it! You are prepared to
disgrace us, because, I mean, a lot a Rasta men. She says "Mr.Johns if these people are
not going to play, I am not going to dance". And he says "all right then, all right". And
she says [to us] "come, come," and we turn back. Him said "alright, alright, come
Maggie, come and tell them fe come." Johns, however, placed the drummers in the
darkest spot on the stage with instructions that the lighting staff shun them (p.254)
Bro. Royo continues to reminisce:
So it was Christmas morning and Margarita had two shows, one at the
Ward Theatre and one at the Palace [Carib]. So we all went to the
Ward Theatre, It was like the revival of all the people's souls. It
was like the whole place crashed! People got crazy about the new
sound.
[At the Carib, Vere Johns] put us in the comer in the back. [He
told] the light man to put the spotlight on Maggie when she dance
and then we go in to play, ...Explosion! When the drum started to
play, everybody in the crowd: "Wha? Who dat? We want to see the
musicians!" Maggie caused quite a stir, because man- she could
dance. Not many women [were] like her, I tell you. From then on
Rastas can go on stage and perform, even wear them beards.
Margarita cleared the way. It was Margarita who opened the door
for us, not the jazz musicians. Great girl! Our own Helen of
Troy.(quoted in Lee 254)
As much as she was ostracized for her association with the underclass, the
Rasta community, and her relationship with Drummond, within the middle class and
the sight of Vere Johns, Margarita was nonetheless perceived as a Jamaican white.
That colonial residue that determined class difference placed her in that advantageous
Margaria and Malungu
position. She could therefore demand what she thought was rightfully hers, even as
the privilege to do so challenged cultural hierarchy. Debora Thomas (2004) in her
book Modern Blackness argues that:
British imperialism was not merely a system of economic exploitation
and political domination but also one of cultural control that
attempted to socialize colonial populations into accepting the moral
and cultural superiority of Britishness.(p.4)
She posits that although the nationalist agenda of the country's post
independence rulers was an effort to foster a national cultural identity, it nonetheless
favored "selected elements of previously disparaged Afro-Jamaic an cultural practices
[which] also marginalized alternative visions, [particularly] those of the rapidly
growing urban unemployed."(p.4) Rastafari as a spiritual and cultural expression of
African Jamaican heritage and cultural identity was one such "marginalized
alternative vision" that was left on the periphery of the government's social and
cultural agenda. However, the majority African Jamaican community, also
marginalized, had within its numbers many who either embraced or viewed with
affection Rastafari African centered beliefs.
Margarita's Syrian background and her Middle Eastern heritage privileged her
own performance of memory. Her interest in Latin American dance influenced by the
commercialism of rumba or belly dancing, popular at the time in Jamaica, and the
dance vocabularies she absorbed as an insider with an affinity for the aesthetics of
Count Ossie's Rastafari community, added variations to her choreography that
allowed the emergence of a diverse performative text as a way to view black dance
and culture as history. This aesthetic melange fit cozily with Margarita's social
attitude and "mulatto" identity. Like those of Dominican and other imported Latino
and Caribbean dancers, including some fair skinned Jamaican country girls who were
passed off as Latinos, this hybrid or creolized acculturation helped us to better
understand Jamaican society on the eve of independence. In many ways Margarita
was the antithesis of the typical brown or hybrid woman elevated by Jamaican society
through choice schooling, job placements and social acceptance. Her personal
associations and professional choice was nothing short of an affirmation of an
identity that rejected the restricted and controlled ideas of femininity and class
divides. At the same time, however, Margarita enabled an acceptance by Jamaica's
middle and upper class -mostly men and women who considered themselves
cultured- of a deeper version of black Jamaican dance and music. They were able to
rationalize their acceptance because the dancers were not black and the dance as such,
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honourable and not the outrageous looseness or pagan emotional abandon they
associated with black dance. Margarita's acceptance reflects what Clark describers as:
Social opposition existing simultaneously and paradoxically in a
society governed at a distance, ... and further controlled economically
and socially in those days by former plantation families... or their elite
mulatto co-conspirators. In such an environment, dance of the
majority black population demonstrates the contradictions of New
World acculturations.(Clarke in Fabre &O'Meally)
Similarly, Don Drummond and Margarita's relationship was a contradiction. It
was paradoxical because they represented social opposites; he was from the black
lower class, a representation of the enslaved plantation family, further stymied by
circumstances which made it difficult for his parents to care for him and that led to his
institutionalization at Alpha School for Boys. She was the product of a family with
name recognition in the business community, perceived as middle class, and was
considered Jamaican white. Yet, they represented the "art couple" of the
marginalized Afro-Jamaican community they were a part of. He was her mystic man,
she his cosmic love light.
Drummond was the focus of Margarita's poetic muse that stimulated her only
recording, WomanA Come. Of the poetics inspired by Drummond, it is this surrealist
lyric of Margarita's mantra that perhaps most effectively encapsulates the mystique of
the eccentric trombonist. In reaching out to Drummond, Margarita best captured the
essential characteristic of one of the strangest artists Jamaica has ever produced and
embedded her own persona into his. In 1965 when Margarita recorded Malungu, a
song better known as Woman a Come, it was arguably the first solo performance by a
female artist of a truly Jamaican sound.16 It was also a song considered by many an ode
to Drummond. This was pivotal of the moment since she was not a singer, per se,
and there were female singers already recording, all-be-it, as supporting voices in duet
performances with more established male vocalists.
Margarita's opportunity to record was linked to her relationship with members
of the influential Skatalites and in particular Don Drummond. The poetic meditation
released from her mind the mythical Drummond of her imagination. On that
eventful summer's day, accompanied by members of the Skatalites, Margarita entered
Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Studio and in a lean voice she chanted Malungu Man,
commercially released as Woman A Come to what sounded in its time a strange
melody:
Ayata, Jah dawta, from Venturian border... a come
Aya, Ayata woman a come
Ayata Jah dawta woman a come
Jah dawta Ayata a come to sound, Ungle Malungu man
Ungle Malungu man, Ungle Malungle man
Ayata Jah dawta from Venturian border woman a come
If you see him before I do
Please give him my heart message so true
Tell him I just don't want to be without him
For I'd be lost and lonely and blue
He is my love my life my all
Ungle Malungle man, Ungle Malungle man
The king of ace from outer space Ungle Malungle man
He speaks the language of the breeze
And harmonizes it with the symphony of the trees
And when I'm in my solitude
I can hear, I can hear the breeze singing to me
Not imaginary sounds but true melody of my beautiful Ungle
Malungle man
So if you see him before I do
Please give him my message so true
Tell him Ayata Jah dawta from Venturian border woman a come17
Margarita's song is both a work of art or art song and an incredibly moving love
song. Her vocal tone describes completely a woman deeply in love talking about her
man. Drummer Lloyd Knibb in relating the circumstances of the session states:
"When we recorded, she call it Malungu, but Duke never liked the title of the song, to
him it sound like obeah or something, so him change it to Woman A Come."'1
Musically, the minimalist arrangement given Woman A Come features the tenor
saxophonist Tommy McCook and trumpeter Baba Brooks dancing between the
rhythm inspired by Knibb's campsite groundation style drumming. Knibb, who
remembers the session well, added:
That tune that she sang it shouldn't have been played in that tempo.
It should have been a rock steady tempo... but she couldn't sing in
tempo... so I going change it to a burrm beat and that is what took
place. She sing it right, right, accurate, burru... playing the burru. Cos'
she use to Count Ossie sound so she coming off that sound.19
Hebie Milkr
Margarita's vocal phrasing mimics that of Drummond's trombone and is
reflective of his personality. It evokes Drummond's spirit, that of the mystic,
magician, and trickster, the man of her muse. It helped create the living myth that
engulfs Drummond's enigmatic personality in music anecdotes and lore. In spite of
his acceptance as a musical hero, the trombonist was also known for his eccentricity,
reticence and elusive nature caused by missed engagements, which resulting from the
continual mental bouts that dogged him and made him check himself into the Bellvue
asylum in East Kingston. Drummond, at times, also exhibited what to others was "his
strange behavior," which was attributed to his psychological state. He would at times
perform an entire set, placing his trombone at the microphone but without blowing a
single note, an act he sometimes replicated in recording studios. Perhaps he was
rehearsing the music as he heard it, quietly sliding the trombone action to match the
notes he would later choose. This activity is not as strange as it may seem, but
certainly, for some observers, thoughts of "strangeness" will be entertained especially
when someone whose mental capacity is questionable in the first place performs the
act. In fact, many instrumentalists, particularly saxophonists, finger their instruments,
silently practicing in anticipation of actual performance. However, it is dear that
some have perceived such action by Drummond as an act of madness. This
perception was shared by some of the musicians with whom Drummond spent most
of his creative time. Drummer Lloyd Knibb and bassist Lloyd Brevet of the
Skatalites, both vociferously complained about the trombonist silence during the
recording of Down Beat Burial on a Prince Buster produced session. They challenged
Buster to get rid of "this mad man" so that they could get on with it or they would
leave. They were concerned that they would not make a second session on time thus
lessening their chances to increase that day's income.
Prince Buster related that Drummond was late for the session, which caused
the unfavorable atmosphere in the first place. On display of their irritation,
Drummond reacted by further delaying the session, turning away from the
microphone each time he was required to solo, which increased the annoyance of the
drummer and bassist. Brevet then shouted some expletives, adding, "Why do we
have to play with this mad man?" Drummond pushed his hat to the back of his head,
removed his knife from his bag, stood by the studio's exit door and proceeded to
clean his fingernails. He then calmly and lucidly said, "Who want to play, play. Who
don't want to play, don't play." Both Brevet and Knibb then shouted to Prince Buster
indicating their willingness to continue the session.20
Lester Sterling, a Skatalites charter member, also remembers the concern he
and others shared when at the first two rehearsals of the band, Drummond never
Magaita and Malungu
removed his horn from its case. Instead he listened and left reassuring the others he
was indeed rehearsing. Their skepticism was turned to delight when on the first gig
Drummond displayed a thorough involvement with the repertoire, according to
Sterling. Much of Drummond's living actions have become the source of mythic lore.
Agreeing with Joseph Campbell, Samuel Floyd writes:
Living myths are not mistaken notions and they do not spring from
books. They are not to be judged as true or false but as effective or
ineffective, maturative or pathogenic. They are not invented but
occur, and they are recognized by seers, and poets, to be then
cultivated and employed as catalysts of spiritual [and cultural] well
being (Floyd 1995:22)
Margarita's reference to Drummond as captures his "strangeness' and invokes
the myth and lore of Ananse. And while West Africa provides much of the spider's
myth, on this occasion it is taken from the folktales of the Yaos of East Africa. The
story goes: "Mulungu was driven from earth by the conduct of mankind. He went...
to call [on] the spider, [who,] went on high...nicely." 'Who then said,' "you now
Mulungu, go on high."' Mulungu joined Spider and went on high."aekyll 1907:xvii)
It is from that "high" or "higher ites" that Drummond emerges in Margarita's
organically chanted mantra as Malungu. Ungle Malungle man, the king of ace from outer
ipace... here, Margarita could have said from higher ites, metaphorically invoking
both the spiritual and artistic high and the high from the hallucinogenic herb chalice
smoked at Rastafari groundings, a ritual in which, as Woody King confirmed, both
Drummond and Margarita were well grounded.
In the final stanza, Margarita locates herself in the cosmic realm of the mystic,
making the listener aware that she too is of the same eccentric and linguistic clan as
Drummond. And when I'm in my solitude, I can hear ... the breeze singing to me, not imaginary
sounds but true melody, of my beautiful, Ungle Malungle man. Here it is interesting to note
tenor saxophonist and Count Ossie camp regular Cedric Brooks' observation of
Drummond's habit of, "going into the hills by himself and play to the trees."21 And in
dosing, the essence of her elegy, as if by intuition, also sounded a prophetic plea. In a
way forecasting the fatal note on which their world would collapse. Ifyou see him before I
/Pkasegive him my heart message so true/ Tell him I don't want to live without him/For I'd be lost
and lone and blue, /He is my love my life my all/Tell him lyaataJah Dawta from Venturan
bonier, woman a come.
Though establishing a solid meaning for Venturan border eludes my queries, in
a broader sense, it may be linked to venturing out, to travel from Venturan border to
sound Ongle Malungu man. It may also be linked to venturous, or venturesome, the
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willingness for taking risks without guaranteed results. Not finding Malungu,
Margarita sends a message: Tell him lyaataJab Dawtafrom Venturan border, woman a come
(I am here). Furthermore, the significance of a border reference is important, it
establishes, or implies that there were boundaries. They were geographical, social, and
personal boundaries real and conjured, which separated the singer/dancer from her
subject. Venturan border, perhaps, could also be read through a socio-spiritual lens to
represent the crossroads, the point at which vital decisions are made. It is where one
comes face to face with the trickster in life's journey, Eshu-Elegbara or Elegba "the
very embodiment of the crossroads" (Thompson 1984). In sum, Drummond's
persona may reflect the myth of Elegbara. Robert Farris Thompson tells us:
Eshu-Elegbara is also the messenger of the Gods, carrying
sacrifices, deposited at crucial points of intersections, in messages
that test our wisdom and compassion.
Because of his provocative nature, Eshu has been characterized by
missionaries and western-minded Yoruba as 'The Devil.' Outwardly
mischievous but inwardly full of overflowing creative grace,
Eshu-Elegbara eludes the coarse nets of characterization.(p.19)
Creolized throughout the Caribbean Eshu Elegbra is manifested in the persona
of trickster deities "Legba/Elegua in Haitian and Cuban folk religions, Eshu in
Trinidad and Grenadian Orisha, [and] Ananse in Jamaican folklore" [Chevannes;
2001:8). Lloyd Knibb views Venturan border, the crossroads, as the metaphysical and
physical space/place occupied by Margarita and Drummond, and at the same time,
Knibb further reveals the trombonist's trickster personality.
The day when she was doing that tune, Don Drummond was writing
a tune at the same time, and Margarita came to him and say "Don you
remember how this part go" and Don looked at her good, and she
repeat the question, and him stab her with the pencil. I took her to
the doctor, get the hand fix up...when I came back with Margarita,
the both of them hug up and walk around the whole studio like
nothing never happen. Yeah! Man, like nothing never happened.
Two of them kiss up and walk up and down the place... that's
Venturan border; they walked around Venturan border.(Knibb to
Miller, February 7, 2006)
Whatever the meaning of Venturian border, what remains clear is the psychic
borderline and/or physical space shared by Drummond and Margarita.
Mararita and Malungu
Played sandwiched between Drummond's Don Cosmic and Green Island,
Margarita's Woman A Come adds to a trio of music that provides the listener with a
glimpse into the realm Drummond inhabited and that they both shared.
Margarita was divided between the strong willed independent and rebellious
social advocate, dancer and fighter for human equity that "in a way, [may have]
worked against the upward social mobility that her [perceived class], race and
education could potentially deliver.(Walker 2005:132) Yet, Margarita was also a
trickster, a provocateur, alluring and testing, always intent on teasing the emotions of
the men around her. As a youth in Bournemouth Gardens I once saw her fighting her
husband, the boxer Rudolph Bent, then seductively toying with him. The former
boxer and national coach Emilio Sanchez shared the same address as Bent and
Margarita on Ocean View Avenue. He recalled:
I think he met her at Club Havana. I think they had one child, a girl.
One morning Margarita showed me some marks where Rudolph hit
her. 'Him beat me up, see, Ruddy beat me last night.' But she was
laughing like it was a good thing. I said, Rudolph beat you and you just
take it like that laughing. Wha happen, you like it? But she just kept
laughing like a mad woman. Yu know... she sometimes acted like she
half mad. Margarita was a carefree girl nobody could tame her.22
But, as Lorna Goodson's poem, For Don Drummond suggests, destiny's plan was
for Drummond to "find a woman with hair like rivers, a waist unhinged and free; [so
he could empty] some of the sorrow from the horn's cup; into the well below her
belly; In the Rockfort area, Margarita is remembered stepping proudly with
Bobby Budness birdnestt), a local madman that lived in a cave in the Wareika Hills
before she settled with Drummond. Among her peers, some recall her flirting with
musicians in both Count Ossie's camp and the Skatalites band, which was cause for
their concern when the outgoing dancer and the distant trombonist first established a
familial union, Clayton, Moore. McCook, Ossie and King, intimated. The many
"strange" actions she and Drummond exhibited characterized Margarita's blithe
personality and Drummond's fragile state of mind. In a manner unconcerned with
the consequences, their personalities like their actions sometimes were at odds with
each other's. She was, an artist and an established personality with a career
independent of Drummond's. He was the star of the Skatalites and to the black under
class, Jamaica's favorite musician. To his fans, he was Don Cosmic, the mad
trombonist.
On January 1st, 1965 Drummond overslept and missed his New Year's
performance with the Skatalites at La Parisienne Club. Arguably, Marganta may have
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purposely manipulated the dosage of his medication, which caused him to go into a
deep sleep. With Drummond asleep, this allowed her to perform at Club Baby Grand
and Club Havana, where, following an outstanding show she returned later that night
for a quickly scheduled second performance without having to deal with
Drummond's disapproval. Upon her return home early in the morning of January
2nd, 1965, and following an argument between them, Drummond delivered a fatal
stab to Margarita's chest. Musicians close to the couple including Lloyd Knibb and
Tommy McCook expressed the opinion that Drummond's missed gig on that
disturbingly distressful and tragedy filled date was not accidental.23 They are of the
belief that Drummond had missed live and recording dates in the past because
Margarita altered the dosage of his medication to facilitate her own schedule. As
McCook explained to Capital Radio's David Rodigan: "She was a dancer... she
wanted to go dancing which he didn't like for her to go dancing while he is
somewhere else [... so] she gave him his medication late so that he wouldn't get up in
time to catch the gig."24
Other suggestions are that in a jealous rage Drummond stabbed Margarita.
However, this doesn't garner any merit with some within the community that they
both were a part of. On the other hand, statements supplied by a neighbour that was
used in the trial confirm that on Margarita's return in the early morning of the New
Year on January 1, 1965, an argument ensued which led to Drummond stabbing her
in the her chest causing her to bleed to death before the police arrived. Perhaps it was
one more stabbing game by the couple that went too far, the one that got out of
control, or conceivably, in the heat of an argument an angry Drummond lost control
and inflicted the wound that killed Margarita. It may even have been a clinical state of
madness, an attack of the schizophrenia that he had to live with that caused
Drummond to commit this nefarious deed. After all, it was on the latter count that he
was committed to the Bellevue mental hospital, this time as a criminal lunatic.
Perhaps in a community where personalities command compassion the complete
picture of the sociological implications of Margarita's death must include the
aftermath- the idea that, since they were such a popular couple, no one wanted Don
Drummond to pay with his life.
In the opinion of some contemporaries, "Both were of such that if one didn't
harm the other, the other would".25 Following the stabbing of Margarita, Drummond
did seek help on her behalf by going to the police and telling them according to
Knibb and McCook that "A woman stab herself up the road." Reports from the
community immediately following the tragedy are that because he was known to be
mentally troubled, and possibly, because he was "Don Drummond" the star
Magantia and Malungu
musician, the police at first took his report lightly according to Bro Sam's Woody's
and Dizzy's personal recollections.
Psychiatrist Dr Fredrick Hickling who was then a young intern was present at
Margarita's post mortem. He is of the opinion that since the wound did not puncture
Margarita's heart, but severed an artery, if help had arrived on time her life could have
been saved. He recalled that it was a "small penknife" that caused the damage.26 "I
don't think he wanted to kill her; he wanted to indicate his displeasure. We are a
strange people. There are many paradoxes in our lives," Hickling later said at a public
forum on June 18th 2006 at the same venue.27 Again, an excerpt from the poetics
inspired by Drummond, this time Mervyn Morris' Valley Prince, rests Drummond's
act on his unstable state of mind. "I love a melancholy baby, sweet, with fire in her
belly; and like a spite, the woman turn a whore. Cool and smooth around the beat she
wake the notes inside me and I blow me mind." Klive Walker's observation
encapsulates the general opinion of many who lament the route Margarita's life had
taken:
Anita Mahfood did not seem interested in a life of light skinned
privilege. Instead, she lived a bohemian existence of a rebel, free
spirit, and independent woman at a time in Jamaica of the late '50s
and early '60s when her behaviour would have been perceived as
nonconformist to the extreme.(Walker 132)
Margarita's nonconformist approach to life fortified her willingness to
appreciate the diversity ofJamaicaness and the dominance of black Jamaican culture
in the shaping of a national identity. This allowed her to embrace the lifestyle she lived
and to take as her partners black Jamaican men, including among them, one of the
peasant/working class and Rastafari community's favourite sons. As a couple
Drummond and Margarita were the antithesis of accepted and conventional social
order. In many ways they represented Jamaica's art couple in the same way the
Mexican artists' Diego Riviera and Frieda Carlo did.28
Drummond and Margarita represented the arts personality that, in spite of their
creative achievements, stayed connected to the community that nurtured and
sustained them. At the same time the couple defied class perceptions imbedded in the
consciousness of the upper echelons of Jamaican society. It is obvious she freely
exercised her choice of company and companion. Margarita's attraction and
relationship to Don Drummond may be summed up in words from Afua Cooper's
poem, Even Warrior Women.
sometimes have to cease listening to Artemis' songs
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and listen to the silver chants
of the young griot women in love...
But even warrior women know there comes a time
when it's .the first moon full of silver light
that she has to sing to...
because the martial rhythms have been subdued
and now she walks [and dances] to a different beat, for a while at
least.(Cooper 2006:55)
Because of her dance routine with Count Ossie and his drummers, Margarita
contributed to the acceptance of Rastafari musicians as purveyors of cultural
concepts and socio-political capital. Their performances cleared the path to the
historic memory expressed by Rastafari that in the 1950s and 60s were viewed with
contempt, and primarily from a distance. Unlike those audiences on the outside and
on the periphery, others who were in touch with the Rastafari had conveyed to them a
"style and mood" of dance that represented an Afro-Jamaican/Caribbean vision of
memory; a creolized version of dancing made more complex by Margarita's infusion
of a Mediterranean muse and Afro-New World creolized sensibility. Pierre Nora's
concept of leux de memories or sites of memory, mileux de memories, what Nora terms "real
environments of memory," and V6v6 Clark's idea of memory of difference, fortifies
this judgment. By remaining among the peasant/working class of Wareika Hill in the
East Kingston community, retaining a social and creative interaction with Count
Ossie and the musicians there and her personal relationship with Don Drummond,
Margarita drew her inspiration from a wellspring of Afro-Jamaican African creativity
Thus the community represented sites of memory, "real environments of memory,"
and memory of difference. Whenever she performed, especially with Ossie's drums
or the Skatalites, Margarita was defying the idea of maintaining gender, class and race
divisions in Jamaican "patriarchal dominated spaces" and its hegemonic social order.
On stage, at Ossie's camp, and as midnight attraction at dance halls, although
the musicians were Rastafari brethren, the lead female dancing of Margarita
privileged the socio-cultural synthesis imbued in that performative narrative.
Accustomed to experiencingja.t musicians like Drummond, McCook, and Gaynair
extrapolate ideas to inform solo improvisations over Ossie's drum rhythms, and like
"vocalese" and scat singers29 have with jay and blues, Margarita effectively copped this
feat and functioned as soloist. Her "choreography literally replaced the section in a
jag/blues song, during which musicians improvise on the theme; in this instance,
black dance is improvising."(Clarke in Fabre & O'Meally 195) It is here that
Margarita's visually syncopated movements convey to the audience a way of
Margarita and Malungu
recognizing and appreciating black performing arts, in her case, music and dance as
historic source. Sections of her "off centered" high steps, leaps, head tilted back, and
dipping shoulder moves have become stylized in the dance floor ritual of blues dance
regulars and the expression of contemporary partygoers. This is particularly so when
dancing to Oh, Carolina, any number of Drummond's burru inspired tunes, her own
Woman A Come and other songs inspired by the off beat rhythmic phrasing of
Niabinghi music.
The dance moves, gestures and attitudes accompanied by the music are not far
removed from plantation music, dance steps and associations with black resistance.
Writing about plantation activities between the period of British conquest in 1665 and
the Great Earthquake of 1692, Gardner described the music of the Koromantys as
"heroic and martial." He wrote that Africans exhibited "a sort of pyrrhic or war dance
in which their bodies are strongly agitated by running, leaping, and jumping with
many violent and frantic gestures and contortions."(Alleyne 106-107) Drums, no
doubt, generated these actions. Assisted by Margarita, Rastafari cosmology, Niabinghi
music has since become closely associated with the Africanism of the collective
cultural consciousness among Afro-Jamaicans.
Margarita, however, has been a marginal figure in the historic narrative of the
development ofJamaican music and its cultural shift to a more Afro centered identity.
This is so because she has been presented and accounted for as a murder victim of
questionable moral character. Many in the middle and upper classes have vilified her
for her associations with what they considered low life individuals. At best, through
the literature available, and because of her perceived station in life, her ability to dance
and her "mulatto" appearance, Margarita's persona has been portrayed as exotic,
cavalier and rebellious. Margarita Mahfood, however, by the accounts of the older
Rockfort artistic and local community, was much more than that. As far as they are
concerned, she represents a seminal figure in the island's musical and cultural growth.
This is so because of her persistent groundings with that community, how she shared
creatively with its musicians, becoming part of the Rastafari camps and her residency
in the neighborhood. Furthermore, Margarita is viewed by some in that community
as their "Own Helen of Troy" because of her insistence of bringing to the surface
Rastafari artistic skills. For instance, the way we dance to Niabinghi flavoured songs
like Oh, Carolna, which were restricted to Rastafari camps in Rockfort and other
depressed areas before Margarita danced to Rastafari drums in public performances.
As pointed out by many, including folk historian Olive Lewin, "Colonial politics
caused Jamaicans not only to be ignorant of their African past but also to despise
sounds, sight and ideas that did not synchronize with those of the ruling powers."30
Herie Miller
Margarita and Drummond by living a life of difference "helped people to see that,
contrary to the impression given, there was much beauty in Jamaican [life, dance],
music, and other arts."31
Margarita's success was, therefore, inspirational to those who wished to
express themselves by way of black dance. She also provided a sense of belonging and
self worth to others in spite of the continued reliance of upper strata Jamaicans on
colonial Euro-centric beliefs and attitudes toward roots expression. Perhaps both
Donald "Don" Drummond and Anita "Margarita" Mahfood were true Venturians,
and not subject at all to the social or mental mores and the hypocrisy of a system
established through a steady reliance on, and also built on a solid foundation of
gender, class and race bias.
Notes
1. Neville Lee and Barry Chevannes both remember George Benson as a former
salesman from WIRL, The Guyanese company that was an affiliate of the local
enterprise operated by Edward Seaga and later taken over by Byron Lee.
2. Philip Sherlock and Hazel Bennett in The Stoy of the Jamaican People state that: "in the
early years of the twentieth century, some Jews, Lebanese and others from the Middle
East began arriving...The more recent arrivals from the Middle East left their homes in
Palestine and Lebanon, then part of Syria..[they were]often referred to as Syrians"
3. The rhumba dance will be discussed below in note 11.
4. See Chapter 6 of Mack (1999)which looks at the Rasta camps in Jamaica 1940s to
1960s.
5. Johnny "Dizzy" Moore, the musician who became a founder of the famed Skatalites
band.
6. Information gained at a reasoning with Brother Sam Clayton and Dr. Clinton Hutton,
at Sam's yard, July 31, 2007.
7. Bro Sam in interview with Herbie Miller, April 2004.
8. Rudolph Bent was from Honduras but like Clement Berza and Emileo Sanchez,
campaigned out of Jamaica. Sometime after marrying Margarita he left for New
York to further his career as a boxer. Bent lost by a knock-out to Sugar Ray Robinson
in three rounds on October 20, 1965.
9. Frank Collins interviewed by Herbie Miller, Kingston, August 19, 2006. Collins was a
co-manager of Bent.
10. Rex Nettleford in conversation with Herbie Miller, September 8, 2006.
11. Website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumba_(dance),Oct.4,2006
12. Star interviewed by Herbie Miller in 2006. Delores Chin-Jackson was a folklore and
cabaret dancer.
13. Woody King and Johnny Moore in interview with Herbie Miller, summer of 2006.
Margaita and Malungu
14. Royo, Sam Clayton, Moore and King in interview with Herbie Miller, summer 2006.
15. Woody King in telephone conversation with Herbie Miller, July 9, 2006.
16. Millie Small's 1964 hit, My Boy Loa/l p, pre-dated Margarita's Woman a Come. It was a
cover of Barbie and Gay's 1957 R&B hit, done over in a pop style catering to foreign
taste while muting the dominant Jamaican off-centred horn riffs, syncopated
rhythms, and heavy bass.
17. Margarita recorded for Duke Reid's Duchess Label in the mid 1960s.
18. Lloyd Knibb in conversation with Herbie Miller, February 7, 2006.
19. Lloyd Knibb in conversation with Herbie Miller, February 7, 2006.
20. Prince Buster in telephone conversation with Herbie Miller, New York, 1998 and
Buster conversation with Miller, August 5, 2006.
21. Cedric Brooks in telephone interview with Herbie Miller, New York, 2002.
22. Emelio Sanchez in conversation with Herbiew Miller, July 18, 2006.
23. Over the many years that I have been associated with the Skatalites, I have listened to
Tommy McCook and Lloyd Knibb express the opinion that Margarita deliberately
manipulated Drummond's medication on ocassions. This made him enter a deep
sleep, which often made him miss his performances. They were convinced that this is
what happened on the night of January 1st, 1965.
24. Website. http://www.geocities.com/Sunsetstrip /Disco/6032/Margarita.htm
25. Prof. Rex Nettleford in conversation with Herbie Miller, September 8, 2006 at the
University of the West Indies, Mona.
26. Hickling made this observation at the Barry Chevannes Conference at the University
of the West Indies, Mona, February 2006.
27. Cited by Mel Cooke in "Deadly Sex Play Between Drummond, Margarita" in The
Gleaner, February 21, 2006, p.C24.
28. This was also true of Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln in the 1960s and Miles Davis and
Cicely Tyson during the 1980s. Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, perhaps, represented the
ultimate art couple by virtue of their long marriage and work within the black
community and their artistic achievement.
29. Vocalese is a style of singing lyrics written and arranged based on the performance of
jao instrumentals. That is, they are lyrics arranged and performed in the key expressing
the nuance, timbre, and wholehearted feel of the instrumentals on which they are
based. Best known amongst its practitioners are Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure, and
Jon Hendricks. Scat singing is the use of worsdless vocals in the same way that
instrumentalists, particularly soloists, perform jazz songs. Louis Armstrong, Ella
Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughn exemplify this style.
30. Lewin, Olive "Traditional Jamaican Music: Mento" in Jamaica journal 26. No.3 1998.
p.49.
31. Lewin, Olive inJamaicaJoumral26. No.3 1998. p.49.
Herbie Miller
Alleyne, Mervyn. 1988: Roots of amaican Culture, London Auto Press.
Chevannes, Barry. 1995:Rastafri: Roots andIdeology. Kingston: The Press UWI.
Chevannes, Barry. 2001: "Ambiguity and the Search for Knowledge:An open-ended
adventure of Imagination" Inaugural Professorial Lecture, The University of the West
Indies, Mona. Kingston, Jamaica, March 22.
Clark, Veve.1994: "Performing the Memory of Difference in Afro-Caribbean Dance:
Kathrene Dunham's Choreography, 1938-87. Edited by Genevieve Fabre & Robert
O'Meally, History & Memory in African-American Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cooke, Mel.2006: "Deadly Sex Play between Drummond, Margarita." The Gleaner, February
21, 2006, C 4.
Cooper, Afua. 2006: Copper Woman and Other Poems. Toronto, Ontario: National Heritage Inc
Floyd, Samuel A. 1995:The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its Histoy from Africa to the United
States. New York: Oxford University Press
Jykell, Walter. 1907: Jamaican Song and Stoy. London: David Nutt.
Lee, Helene. The First Rasta: Leonard Howell and the Rise of Rastafarianism. France: Lawrence
Hall Books, 2003.
Lewin, Olive. "Traditional Jamaican Music: Mento." Jamaica Journal26, no. 3 1998: 49,50.
Mack, Douglas R. A. 1999: From Babylon to Rastafari: Origin and History of the Rastafarian
Movement. Kingston: Research Associates School Times Publications,
Murray, Albert. 2000: Stomping the Blues. 2nd Da Capo Press United States:
Philip Sherlock & Hazel. Bennett, 1989: The Stoy ofthe Jamaican People. Kingston, Jamaica and
Princeton, NJ: Ian Randle Publishing Ltd and Mark Wiener Publishers, Inc.
Rampersad Arnold and David Roessel (eds) The Collected Poems Of Langston
Hughes."Nude Young Dancer" p, 61, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1995.
Sublette, Ned. 2004: Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo. Chicago: Chicago
Review Press.
Thomas, Deborah A. 2004: Modern Blackness: Nationalsm, Globaliation, and the Politics of Culture
in Jamaica. Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press 2004.
Thompson, Robert Farris. 1984: Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and
Philosophy. 1st Vintage Books New York: Vintage Books.
Walker, Klive.2005: Dubwise: Reasoningfrom the Reggae Underground. Toronto: Insomniac Press.
Ernest Ranghn
Ernest Ranglin, Creative Activist, Initiator,
Innovator, Living Legend.1
I should like to share with you a personal testament, a personal review of the
varied demonstrations of a musical giant, a gentle genius, a great example of what is
right about Jamaica. My comments proceed from listening, observation and
appreciation, and are personal, and relate to my musical education, my own musical
development.
In 1972 at a conference at Indiana University on the "The Social Role of
Jazz",Richard Abrams, a presenter, spoke of a jazz musician describing his playing of
Jazz as "body and soul trying to get together".2 He was just trying. Ernest Ranglin hs
brought body and soul together; body expressing the dictates of soul through
spontaneous composition improvisation, to which he adds the colour and tone of
spirit, mind and heart. It is this total involvement of Self with a capital S that makes
him endure through so many years and continues to make his offerings young and
fresh, yet bringing to his performances the advantage of vast experience and
exposure.
Ranglin is a self-taught musician, who studied, on his own the accepted
musical primers, honed and pruned and shaped his style, listened to the accepted
masters and outclassed many, and continues to learn, to absorb influences, and
transform them, making them uniquely his own. So many of our young musicians
today are reluctant to learn the elements of the music of the region, preferring to play
a Berkeley method in an often mediocre. fashion; not recognizing that this is a means
to an end, not an end in itself Ernest Ranglin has allowed himself to grow, and in
growing has found his own voice.
He developed as a musician when the leisure market was expanding, when
what we refer to as jazz was popular dance music. In the Caribbean the slow,
sensuous sounds of the blues, the inflections of swing were being played often from
commercially acquired charts or from careful reproductions of what was heard on
record, but very often took on the flavour unconsciously of the pervasive 3.3.2
patterns of early calypso/mento/goombay/merengue/rumba the characteristic
rhythms of the region, and this rhythmic feel contributed to the acceptance, the
growth and spread ofJazz.
Our bands were facsimiles of fairly large U.S. aggregations, playing ensemble
music. These groups were training grounds for the host of horn-players and other
instrumentalists who started the trek to add a certain kind of excitement to the
European musical scene, making contributions that were well before their time.
American musicians had introduced into the mix the concept of the solo, and the
soloist and improvisation took on new significance and importance, for Jamaican
groups as well.
Before this period improvisation had meant colouration, decoration and
attention to texture, sticking very close to the original melody. What characterizes
improvisation today is streams of spontaneous melody. It then becomes clear that
the beat is being irregularly subdivided and moves across bars with impunity. Thus,
lines are created that are unequal in length, with emphases and accents occurring in
unexpected and unpredictable spaces. Herein lies the creativity, the excitement
It is easy to create phrases that are metrically straight and to continue the
compositional process by creating answering phrases of the same length. It is not so
easy to create a sound tapestry that depends on variation of (to use cricket
terminology) 'length and line', sometimes dropping it in the 'block hole', providing at
times something that 'rises sharply', or a deceptive delivery that has you 'clean
bowled' and looking behind at your middle stump. Anyone who has listened carefully
to a Ranglin recording, or better yet, observed him in full flight will know exactly what
I mean.
That describes his cascades of notes, judiciously chosen. Yet he sometimes
subscribes to the tenet that 'less is more' and we can be treated to a contrasting spare
reading of a melodic line, notes even more judiciously chosen.
His harmonic sense is another area that we must consider. A close friend of
mine: Barbadian pianist Adrian Clarke, expresses joy and appreciation for singers and
musicians of exceptional talent by identifying with them in a rather special way. He
often speaks of Ella Clarke, Sarah Clarke, Dizzy Clarke and so on. When it comes to
this harmonic sense I think of Ernie Whylie. Doesn't that have a lovely ring to it?
Ernest habitually moves away from standard chord charts when playing
standards, moving away from the expected progression, coming up with surprising
substitutions -an E minor 9 in place ofa Bb major 7 or a compound chord combining
all those notes how do we describe that E minor 11 or G minor 9 with an E bass -
whatever! He creates his own energetic, often idiosyncratic tension filled blocks of
chords (weep Debussy and Ravel) Fine soloist that he is, his spontaneous
compositions would have taken those fine composers some time sitting at the
Ernest Rangfin
keyboard with manuscript paper and pen, drawing on influences of New Orleans and
the music of the near and far East, in experimentation of the Impressionist and
post-Impressionist period.
Ernest Ranglin (Publicity Photo photographer unknown)
The other remarkable feature of this self taught master of his instrument, is that
he has mastered the art of playing in all keys at frightening speed and has released the
potential of his chord progressions by manipulating more and more notes in solos,
creating beyond the fretboard notes that do not exist for other guitarists, changing the
accepted technique of plucking to a rather upright 'walking' of the fingers beyond the
bridge.
Majorie Whylie
Who can forget the solo in the early Wailer's song "It hurts to be alone"? This
may be a good point at which to tell you about the formal meetings of Bob Marley and
Earnest Ranglin. The story has grown over the years, but there is a strong kernel of
truth in it. As Marley's popularity grew, he sought classes at the Jamaica School of
Music, not in an effort to expand his voice range, to improve its resonance, to work
on projection, in fact to preserve his natural instrument. He wanted to expand his
knowledge of the guitar. He wanted lessons with Ranglin who was teaching part-time
at the school, driving in from the North Coast where he was residing and working.
Needless to say that if they met it was only sporadically. The legend grew in the
telling and says that they never met for the scheduled sessions. When Ernie did
manage to come, Bob was in studio or off on tour: when Bob did arrive, Ernie was
similarly engaged.
But back to the business at hand. My exposure to Ernest's music started in my
early teens, as I tagged along with my brother, broadcaster Dwight Whylie to the
studios and the library of the then Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (BC) at which
Sonny Bradshaw was a significant presence. At JBC, I was always listemng. At the
theatres and clubs ( obviously, without my mother's knowledge), always observing,
exposed to a musical education not given me by my piano teacher.
I grew to know and expect a mix of metres 3/4, 6/8, 4/4, learn of the
existence of a time line to which all instruments of the ensemble related what I later
came to understand were African derived forms. I became aware of the pentatonic
scales of folk music coming into dynamic collision with European diatonic scales
creating new intervals and allowing a melodic freedom
.I heard in the music the falsetto notes and slides that came from work music
and religious ritual. I was introduced to the phoenomenon of antiphonal music,
which allowed for the participation of all the instruments, the lead instrument
announcing a phrase, echoed and embellished by others. This was usually prefaced by
a quick shout of "fours"
I absorbed the influence of the drum. In the early colonial years ofJamaica, the
drum was regarded as an instrument of political disruption, a morally suspect noise
maker. That it went underground accounts for its tenacity, but also allowed for the
development of subterfuge methods for maintaining rhythmic integrity. Long before
slapping with the thumb on the strings of the bass guitar became popular, Ranglin
played percussive patterns on the body of the guitar and created clave patterns on the
upper reaches of the strings. Of course his being a bass player of some talent did not
hurt. This means that he can be a whole accompanying rhythm section to himself,
Ernest Rangin
achieving percussion, hints of a bass line, chordal patterns and melody, and we are
treated to such solo playing from time to time, as Spirit moves him.
This master of many genres and styles kept abreast of all movements i the azz
and popular areas, moving right along with the absorption of the samba tradition into
the mix, and his bossa nova renditions are some of his most satisfying tunes for
listening. Who, having heard them can forget his versions of Corcovado, and Blue Bossa?
His solos contain excursions away from the expected line and those of us in the
audience with a little musical training often wonder how he is going to resolve it all
harmonically. But his sense of time and location in the structure of the tune is so
secure that he can abandon it in long improvised stretches, moving away to keys that
seem to bear no relationship to the tonic key, and to return in time to the home key at
the appropriate moment.
To many of us lesser mortals, this happens quite by accident, and I know that
when I 'go to bush', I have to be brought back home by a kind colleague humming the
tune, or my bass man leading me along by playing the significant notes of the
progression rather loudly.
His playing of chromatic side slipping was my first exposure to such a
harmonic approach, and this within his complex melodies at breakneck speed his
cascading passages of improvisation the hallmarks of his playing, yet he can be
equally cool, lyrical, gently emotive, and a master of programming.
More recently in his modem incarnation, he has returned to Jamaica's popular
music, a genre in which he was an originator, a seminal influence, before rhythm
became the primary or only concern. His current period has taken him back to his
roots, and he studies those traditional forms to which he had not been exposed as a
youngster. The research is an ongoing process and his phrasing has taken on a fusion
of mento and other traditional social forms, rastafarian rhythms and
reggae/dancehall.
There is nothing pedestrian about this creative input and output, and it has
drawn to him a new audience who stay to be exposed to his other idioms and styles.
To return to the personal, my own compositions and arrangements have been
influenced by a study of the traditional forms of the region, by exposure to people like
Adrian Clarke already mentioned, Sonny Bradshaw in whose groups I play, and my
good friend Monty Alexander ( who I am assertive enough to say has absorbed
something from me in our musical conversations), and Ernest Ranglin, from whom
Monty has drawn inspiration and with whom he has collaborated on many occasions
80 Ernest Rnghn
Whatever those of us who are young (or masquerading as being so) have
achieved, we have done by standing on the shoulders of our ancestors, benefitting
from the results of their struggles, their creative endeavours. Today, mindful of that
truth, I salute Ernest Ranglin, creative activist, initiator, innovator, master guitarist,
cultural animateur.
1. Presented at the Symposuium on Earnet Ranglin, held at the Philip Sherlock Centre,
UWI, May 12, 2001
2. Fordham,John: Jan Dorling Kindersely, London.1993 (pp 43-44)
3. The principals of the Wailers were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny
Livingston-Wailer
Social and Aestrhic Roots of Ska
The Social and Aesthetic Roots and
Identity Of Ska
University of the West Indies at Mona Lecturer, Clinton Hutton (C.H.). talks
with Jamaican popular music historian-aesthete Garth White (G.W.) about the
formative years of Jamaican popular music and the impact these had on him in
shaping his own career path as a Jamaican popular music scholar.
C.H.: The Jamaican popular recording music culture has inspired and spawned
a number of professions and interests, including your own. How has this inspired
you and shaped your own agency to be?
G.W.: The reason for my interest was that, fortunately, I was born on the
fringe of Trench Town, on a road named Greenwich Crescent, which leads us into
West Road, the main road in Trench Town, which is now Arnett Gardens. And so
I was exposed from very early to many different types of music. In fact, I had a
similar experience as some of the artists who would fashion this music. I kind of
grew up with it.
[I]n the park where [there] is now a round about, at the top of West Road in
Trench Town on a Sunday evening or sometimes dunng the week, you'd find
Revivalor Poko people holding their kind of session. There would be sound systems.
Any number of them in Trench Town. And in fact, right opposite where I lived,
there was a big famous, early dancehall named Live Wire Club.
Live Wire Club was the place where they had the famous, some said eleven, some
said seventeen sounds, in one of the earliest clashes. But we didn't call it clash
then. It was rivalry. But it didn't have the undertones of violence or bad feelings,
you know. Seventeen sounds... in one dance.
[T]here would also be the occasional Kumina visits, in that same park.And in
Trench Town, as most people know, you'd have had several Revivalchurches.
Now this is in addition to Rediffusion. Since many people really didn't have
radios or turntables then, but depended on Rediffusion that is the arm of Radio
Jamaica.
And then now, to top it all off.. my yard was kind [of] like the traditional big yard
[for] the kind of area, so that in fact, one of the time, a room was rented to a
sound man named Granum not one of your frontline, your A line sound systems,
but probably a low B. So I had access to the music, from any number of angles.
Interview with Garth White
And from very early, I started to play and even, "thief out" is the word, (which is
going to recur) "thief out" and go when Mr. Granum [was] playing over Live Wire,
as a seven/eight year old. So my exposure to the music is very long, and I suppose,
this is what has impelled me to follow it up and to document it, since I know it
almost from the start.
C.H.: Why to document it?
G.W.: Well, in the early stages, we didn't know, or most people didn't
appreciate that this was something that ought to be documented. Where this
interest first came to me, [I] was in secondary school.... That is JC (Jamaica
College)... where there was something of a class [war]. I don't want to call it class
war, because we were really on fairly amicable terms. But you'd find that the better
off, the so-called upper class folk used to scoff, in no uncertain terms, about this
music which we, who were coming from [the] innercity, or "down the bottom,"
[liked]. [W]hen we returned from holidays, we'd be boasting about this new song
and so on, and some of the other people, the upper class people, would be saying,
"cho, that is buff-buff music man, that won't go anywhere."
So from very early, [we] embarked on something, for want of a better word, like a
crusade. Crusade is not a good word, given what the history of crusades [was], but
I think you understand what I mean. So you have to take on the mantle of
defending the music, from early.
Then a fortunate circumstance again was that, numbered amongst the teachers in
JC in the '60s, were two very important persons in music scholarship, if you want
to put it that way. One, there was Carl McLeod, who incidentally taught me
drums, for cadet. Carl McLeod is arguably, one of our best drummers trap
drummer,ja- drummers. And [two] Jimmy Carnegie, who allowed us to use h's
state of the art equipment, and exposed us to even [a] wider music field by carrying
us intojas.
And what you would find happening is that some of the upper class (for want of a
better word) students, carried some of their classical [European] pieces. Jimmy, for
his part, ever tolerant, was willing to allow everyone to have [his] say, or play [his]
preference.
So you would have him with his vastja!, collection. Zadie (if I can remember the
name) would carry his Bach and Beethoven... and we would carry our latest local
thing and put it in the mix. You have to remember that JC, at that time, was also
the place where Monty Alexander was, and he actually started a band while still...
there.
I was also a choir boy, moving right through the ranks from soprano to alto, to
tenor, to bass. So the church, the established church music, was also part of my
Soaal and Aesrhtic Roots of Ska
background. So I suspect... all of this helped to give me this abiding love of music
and to want to see our indigenous music creation get[s] the credit that it deserves,
and also try to push it, to a degree where it could become commercially successful.
C.H.: Did the atmosphere of independence form part of what inspired you to
want to see this indigenous creation become something that we should embrace
and you want other people to know about it?
G.W.: Yes that is part of it. Clearly too, because we were young this
generation that is responsible for the creation of this music was hopeful,
expectant, quite confident in the late 50s, coming up to the 60s... that this new
stage in our socio-political life would lead to a betterment of the social standing,
the level of living of the population in general.
The fact is too, [it was] just around the independence time [that] the educational
system was being opened up, so that people from the lower strata, who would not
have been normally able to afford secondary education, were now able to access
this. All of these factors helped to make us want to prove that we had a culture.
Because it wasn't only music in fact that "class war" that I am talking about,
also involved dress and food and the kind of females that you like. All of this was
a part of the whole picture.
And when we got independence, some of us who actually [were] in favour of [the
West Indies] Federation, said well, "Since that is not going to work, we have to go with this
[independence]. We can't be satisfied with this colonial status." Some aspects of
self-reliance involved the] development of your livity, your culture, your ways of
doing things: dressing, eating, walking, social relationships, music, all the aspects of
culture.
When independence dawned, even though some of us were fairly young, (I believe
I was about fifteen or so [years old]), we were still old enough to know that a new
page was being turned and that we would have to contribute to developing a
specifically Jamaican culture.
C.H.: What were the ways in which you transmitted the ideas that you were
developing about music?
G.W.: Well, in the first instances, down at JC, it would mean going on almost
like a sound system selector, that is, carrying the most recent sounds... on the
campus to "beat down a sound bwaai" (boy). You would be carrying these records to
prove that we [are] going on because by then, a mean the music had blossomed,
that you could not deny that this was musical. This was the thing we had to prov
at first. So [in] the face to face interaction with the school population, we even
went so far as to try, in association with somebody like Monty Alexander, play[in!
Interview with Garth White
in] the chapel, the songs that were then popular on the radio and on the sound
system, to a selected group of fellow students.
This was the first attempt at dissemination. Then I was also encouraged [by] Derek
Gordon. [H]e used to play guitar in Monty and the Cyclones [band]. He also had
an interest [in Jamaican music] and a good record collection. And it was [he] and
Jimmy Carnegie who first planted the idea in my head of writing about the music.
I [started] writing about the music for the Jamaica College school magazine, then
from these, I came straight onto the campus [of the University of the West Indies].
And again what I found up here, [on the Mona Campus], was a willingness to listen
to varied music forms, but [there was] a dominance of capso. So again you had
another crusade.
This was [19]66. This was some four years after independence. The academic
circles, the intellectuals were not all that conversant with what was happening on
the local music scene. And then as we did in the chapel and the dining room atJC,
some fellow students and myself would try and imitate these sounds in my hall,
Irvine, on the piano that was available.
That was a strange thing. I don't want to digress, but one of the striking things
about the early days of the music is that there were instruments like pianos in most
schools and halls. There wasn't this threat of theft or vandalism. So you will find
that a school like Waul Grove, or Rousseau, or Trench Town, or Irvine Hall, all the
halls had a piano on a raised area, so during lunch and after lunch, fellow students
and myself would actually be playing these songs on the piano.
The way you did it was that three of you, one playing the bass line down the lower
reaches of the piano, the other person playing the chords, and the other person
playing the melody upon top there. So we did a reasonably fair replication of the
popular music of the time.
What this led to now, was a request from a cultural committee that existed in
Irvine Hall, to formally speak on the subject. [W]hen they staged Culturama,
which is a series of events focusing on the various cultures of the Caribbean [on]
hall, [I] was asked [to speak]. [T]his was the first time, I believe I would be doing it
formally.
C.H.: At what point did you begin to transmit ideas about the music beyond
the UWI campus to a wider audience?
G.W.: Possibly as a result of hearing that someone was taking this music
seriously, to the extent that he would be lecturing on it, I was then invited by JIS
(Jamaica Information Service), I think it was Peta-Ann Baker, she happened to be
working there. And she, not strange, but as a female who possibly didn't originate
in the innercity, had a love for the music. [So too], someone like the present
Social and Aestrhic Roots of Ska
director of tourism, Basil Smith. They and myself felt that although the radio
stations had come around to playing local music, there still was something of a
fight. You could discern that not all the songs were being played on radio,
particularly those of Bob Marley.
So Peta-Ann arranged this series... Well, [Lennie Littlewhite and Peta-Ann were
the producers of the programme] for JIS and Smith and myself were the
correspondents [doing] four to half a dozen fifteen minutes shows on radio.
I used this opportunity to focus particularly on Bob Marley, at a time when he had
success with Simmer Down and It Hurts To Be Alone, to some extent, One Love and
Love andAffection. You found that his weren't being played, neither the bottom end
of the [Coxsone] Downbeat years [nor] their embryonic attempts of producing
themselves.'
Round about the same time, or it may be before, I wrote an article, for Impact,
which was produced by Rupert Lewis. This article was then reproduced in an early
issue of CaribbeanQuarterly. [In this article], I was dealing with a larger subject: rude
boys and the bludgeoning innercity culture. [T]he title of that article was "Rudie
Oh Rudie" But it brought into the picture the influence and impact of the music
and the sound system and the dancehall at a fairly early stage of its development.
C.H.: What are your views of the impact of the sound system on the
development of Jamaican popular music?
G.W I have heard it put that the sound system was your community radio
station, because given the fact that many people, or most people couldn't afford
the equipment to play music, and quite probably, weren't satisfied with the fare that
the radio was offering, the sound system took up this role of providing music and
entertainment for people who could not afford to enjoy music in this way, outside
of the sound system.
What is particularly interesting about the sound systems is that they began relatively
[simple]. Downbeat (Clement Dodd) and Duke Reid, although they were not
necessarily the first sound, (because you hear that the first sound really was Tom
The Great Sebastian the first sound in the sense of being one that was amplified
to the extent that we know sound systems now), had hooked up radios to turntables
and rudimentary speakers to draw patrons or customers to their respective liquor
stores. This was the fairly humble beginning of what would mushroom into this
system nowadays, where we are talking about mega watts and huge boxes and all of
this all growing out of the need to provide music for a wider community.
It is different when you compare it to other countries in the world, where music
was listened to at home, or in the concert or stage show presentation. Sometimes
Interview with Garth White
in the US (United States) case, at house parties, but nowhere have I seen where you
have this large outdoor gathering which is being serenaded by a sound system.
The literal meaning of the word, that you have a system that involves not only a
wide selection of music, but playing this music with sufficient power, that it could
fill a fairly large space and therefore, accommodate a large number of people,
people who had very little by way of entertainment outside of this setting.... It is
out of the need to provide music on a regular basis, to take the place of the
declining rhythm and blues, that the music industry in Jamaica really was born.
After this you get your deejays, and we can't leave out the fact that part of the draw
for some of the sound systems were not only the music, the toasting by the deejays,
but also the dancing of virtuose dancers. People would travel from all about to see
someone like a Pam-Pam [or a] Persian. They were almost at a level with the
singers and musicians. So the dance is part of it as well.
C.H.: In the second half of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, a set of
songs was recorded through the initiatives of Clement Dodd, Duke Reid, Cecil
Campbell (Prince Buster), Chris Blackwell et al. Among these songs were Boogie In
My Bones by Laurel Aitken, Oh Carolina by the Folkes Brothers and Easy Snappin' by
Theophilus Beckford. Those songs were not Ska?
G.W.: No, but Easy Snappin'was getting there.
C.H.: What is the difference between Easy Snappin'and Boogie In My Bones?
G.W.: The after beat is more accented [in Easy Snappin That guitar that is
playing the chords, serves a double purpose, that is, it provides a reference for the
singer to know the key that he is singing. And it also is an alternate or additional
rhythm, in that it is emphasized as much as the main down beat, which was the
feature of Rhythm and blues.
Rhythm and blues also had an after beat, but almost as an after thought. In our case
now, we emphasized that after beat, so that it added to the syncopation of the
piece. [W]e must remember that this music was being created primarily for
danc[ing]. mThis widened the instruments which would influence the dancers'
moves. You could now take your main cue from the bass, or from the guitar, or
from the drum.
The difference with something like Carolina, if you noticed] m Boogie In My Bones
and Oh Carolina there is a resemblance in the drumming. I think it was Drumbago
or if not, it was the drummer of the Caribs [band], because they were the people
who backed up Laurel Aitken. There is, strangely enough, similarity between that
drumming and the hand clapping andfunde used in Carolina.
So the complexity in music creation is that you can combine certain elements and
come up with something that is different from either or any of the elements taken
SocialandAestrhtic Roots of Ska
on their own. So that move to emphasize the after beat is what led to the
emergence of ska.
C.H.: Why the move to emphasize the after beat? What is it in Jamaican
music tradition, its aestheticism, that allowed for this?
G.W.: Well, it derived from the Africaness of the majority of the Jamaican
people. We may not have retained that rhythmic subtlety that obtains in the
Motherland, in Africa, where you can have different measures and rhythms going
at the same time. We have poly-rhythms and cross-rhythms that can be going
across each other. But we really don't have different metres at the same time. In
other words, you rarely find as you could find in African music where 4/4 and 3/8
and 2/6 are going together at the same time. We don't have that.
Where we make up for that is by having a number of rhythms crossing each other.
This enables the dancer to concentrate on different instruments and also, to move
in a particularly sinuous way, based on his response to the various instruments. It
is the sense of rhythm that led us to want to create another main rhythm, so to
speak. Because that guitar after beat, when ska really blossoms, you'd find that so
much interest in the ska that you could have four or five instruments playing it.
You could have the piano, the guitar, a sax, trombone, trumpet, mouth organ
- all of them. So what you have there now, is a richness harmonically, because
they are harmonizing, each playing a different note.
For somebody like the famous after beat horn man [ska] Campbell, he could add a
certain edge to it, sharpen it. You know it is difficult to find words to describe why
the ska is so important. But I think it is underlined by the fact that so many
instruments would be used to produce it and this would be now in counter point
to your bass. So a lot of things [is] happening rhythmically simultaneously, and this
leads to that particular character in our dancing now that is different from
European and even Asian. [Y]ou would have so many things happening
simultaneously, that a set of dancers need not be obeying the same rhythmic
impulse and yet they are all in time.
C.H.: Now tell me what is the difference between Easy Snappin'on the one
hand, and Housewives Choice by Derrick and Patsy and Forward March by Derrick
Morgan on the other hand. Which has more the characteristics of ska?
G.W.: It is not a difference in kind but in degree. What has happened by then
is that the ska is now accepted and so you can move at a quicker pace [than Easy
Snappin] and still be accentuating the ska. These latter two selections have the pace
of rhythm and blues, but you don't get the truncated after beat that you get in
rhythm and blues. They are still emphasizing it. They are able now, with the
quicker tempo, to still emphasize that after beat.
Interview with Garth White
I must give a humorous thing that we used to say about Theophilus Beckford. We
used to say that the reason why Easy Snappin'was so slow, was that although
Theophilus Beckford was a fairly accomplished player, he had difficulty in
coordinating that right hand playing the chord with the left hand playing the bass.
So that is why you have that space in Easy Snappin', because he is playing the ska.
He is the main man playing it.
When ska reached its hey days, [leaving] the '50s and going into the '60s now, you
have all kinds of musicians, big musicians like Aubrey Adams,and the same Monty
[Alexander] who have no problem in playing the most complicated of chords
quickly but still emphasizing [the after beat].
So that is different from r&b, in that it is emphasized. It is an after beat in the true
sense of the words. But it also can be played at a quick tempo. I never did get
[to] Theophilus Beckford about that. But if you listened to many of his songs, you
will find that same thing applies, TellMe Little Lady and Georgie And The Old Shoes
[are examples].
C.H.: So we can say that there is a tendency in some ska to be slower?
G.W.: Yes. It is a myth for some people to say ska is a fast music. But it is not
necessarily always up tempo. Yes, you have slow ska.
C.H.: What of mento's influence in the aesthetic construction of ska?
G.W.: Mento was really both the sensibility and the actual music [that] helped
to balance the influence of rhythm and blues, which would then result in something
new coming into being, although the influence of r&b was so heavy. Heavy in
[terms of] instrumentation, vocal stylings, theme, all of this. Part of this is because
the populations that were creating these two music were virtually
indistinguishable, although there were significant points of difference.
We were in a majority in Jamaica. They were in a minority. We could move around
fairly freely. They were not so lucky. But there was an identity of experience. So
that, there was not any disjunction at all in our appreciation of rhythm and blues.
And the sound systems [that] were providing the music for entertainment and
dance in the early stages they used to play mento and rhythm and blues.
When we are talking about Jamaican music too, it depends on [at what point] you
are going in, because where we have started [in this interview] is really the '50s, the
era of the sound system, but maybe we could speak of the '40s, or the '30s, when it
was the big bands [that] were providing the music. [B]ig bands, up town big bands
and down town or innercity big bands.
C.H.: These bands were the actual training ground for the
professionalism of the musicians who formed the core of the players of
instruments who created and developed the sounds of Jamaican popular music?
Soal and Aestrhtic Roots of Ska
G.W.: Yes. They, as you rightly point out, were the people who were the
underpinningss, the disciplined base over which these hopeful amateur singers
would attempt to create music. They had a solid foundation in which to
experiment. These big bands would mix their music fare: [indeed] they would
provide a lot of mento, although observers from early in the 20th century, pointed
out that as has happened with the Delta blues, the American urban dweller[s] could
appreciate the Delta blues but wanted to distance themselves [from it], if even a
little, because it conjured up so many things they wanted to forget. Country
bumpkin, sufferation, hard work and thing in the [cotton] field. [W]ell we too, in
the sugar plantations and other rural systems, the migrant to the town where this
music was going to be fashioned, would listen to mento, especially suggestive
pieces. And mento is well known for that.
So although people would want to distance themselves, the were still willing to
listen and you can think of large numbers of mento songs that were popular right
through the '50s. And these would be played by some of these bands. That strand
is going to be continued with calypso to a lesser extent, cha-cha, rumba, the kind of
Latin side of the music creation. All of this was going to be included in ska.
This is what makes it difficult to define, because you can take up one piece and it is
reminiscent of rhythm and blues, you take up another piece and you [are] hearing
revival [or] mento in it, take up another piece and the Latin tinge is very
pronounced.
But to get back to the rhythm and blues: part of the thing was that it was this new,
brash urban music that dealt with urban conditions. That's one. Two: the
American[s] were the earliest people who we saw in a performance mode, in
popular music.... From quite early, we would get rhythm and blues acts like a
Shirley and Lee and a Louis Jordan, and a Rasco Gordon out here in [amaica on]
stage performance. So we not only had their records, we saw them live. And the
music is really a lively, energizing music well suited to the time.
Rhythm and blues declined, in a sense, because of its popularity. Post [World] War
[I] into the early 1950s' it gained the ear of a wider American public and, as
usually, even though I say so with deference to some of my White friends, White
folks tend not to want to seem to be left out of anything. [Some] White impresario
get the idea that if they can only find some White people who can come close to
this new music that the Blacks are producing, then [they] going to bathe, in a
commercial sense.
And this is exactly what they did. From [Elvis] Presley and so on: I am not saying
that they did not make some good music, that sometimes you are hard press to say
why it is rock and roll and not rhythm and blues, so close are they.... But the
bottom line is, they usurped the [music and] became the people who were most
Interview ith Garth White
widely recorded. And the same feel was not there as obtained in the hey day of
r&b. And so the output declined and this helped to propel our local dance
promoters and sound system operators to try and come up with their own mix.
Now knowing the popularity of rhythm and blues, some of the early attempts were
straight forward imitations. But balancing this, was the fact that... most of the
early sound [system] operators were still willing to record mentoesque pieces,
especially in the years before ska really gelled as the preferred rhythm. So that I
like to think of them as revival-mento. It's a combination of both reflecting the
rural background or exposure to rural forms on the part of urban innercity
dwellers. This is reflected in some of the early pre-ska music.
I can think of the Mellowlark's Time To Pray, Laurel Aitken's, himself, a prime
exponent of the rhythm and blues side of things, [and a mento singer as well], with
Judgment Day and a rare tune he has way back then, named Night Fall. The Latin
tinge is seen in somebody like Wilfred Edwards. This Latin tinge [is] provided by
the guitar work of somebody like a Ranglin, who is a virtuoso, who can play all
types of music.
So in the early stages, that late '50s period, while most of the promoters and the
producers were trying to capture a r&b feel, the fact that we had such a strong
indigenous musical tradition meant that even when we were trying to produce strict
r&b, there were undertones, overtones of these elements of indigenous tradition.
And there was also music that we more popularly placed as coming in a straight
line from our own [forms], like mento, revival and other rural forms.
C.H.: In one of several interviews I did with Clement Dodd, he told me that
the first set of music that he recorded, was what he called calypso. Mento then was
often referred to as calypso. These, he told me, got lost in the shipping when he
sent them to the United States of America to be re-mastered. His recording of
mento songs and, perhaps, among them, some real calypso in his debut recording,
is in line with what you have been saying.
G.W.: It is quite clear in my mind that you can envisage the position they were
in. There it is. We know we have [these traditional forms]. Most Jamaicans, even
the highly cloistered ones of the upper classes, still have some exposure to
indigenous music in one form or the other, whether they are hearing the drums
from a distance, whether they [are] passing a Revival church, whether they [are]
hearing the funeral marches of the burial societies, all of us get exposed to our
particular brands of music.
But the ones that were available on records, or the ones that you see via films or
personal appearance [on stage shows] [are] rhythm and blues. So it is almost logical
to see why in fashioning a music to dancing and to satisfying] the demand that is
out there, rhythm and blues would have a heavy influence.
Social and Aestrhtic Roots of Ska
But this is in the context of a strong indigenous tradition. And this shows itself in
any number of ways, both songs that are directly derivative of the indigenous
tradition and some which combined elements of the indigenous tradition with r&b.
And some which include Latin influences and importantly jazz.
C.H.: What are some of your thoughts on the influence of jazz in the making
of Jamaican popular music, in particular ska?
G.W.: Jazz and rhythm and blues were the music of the early band members
who had served their apprenticeship in the swing bands of the '30s and '40s. We
are talking about bands like Eric Deans, Roy Cobourne and Relva Cook and Milton
McPherson, Sonny Bradshaw, Val Bennett. Many of these people had passed
through Alpha [Boys School] or the Jamaica Military Band. They served many
years being formally trained and so achieved that technical proficiency that could
only be satisfied by the needs of a music like jazz.
So that when you have somebody like a Don Drummond or a Roland Alphanso, or
a Tommy McCook, or even the same Val Bennett, because he carried over from
that period, Sonny Bradshaw: jazz featured greatly in their training, in their
background, in the music to which they were exposed and the music which they
would subsequently play. Because they managed to combine this technical
proficiency... in fact, it was one of the early endearing features of our early ska
musicians that although they were playing and accompanying amateurs, rank
amateurs in many cases, some [were] professional, but in the majority of cases,
persons who had just come up with a song it is an endearing quality that these
well trained musicians didn't scoff at them.
They would be critical. They would even tell a young hopeful that he or she
had to go back and do a little bit more practice and come back. But they were
always willing to put their skills at the service of the fledging form. And this is
what, more than anything else, gave it its vibrancy. Because these were top class
musicians.
C.H.: What you are saying here is that the pioneering musicians of Jamaican
popular music, played a critical role in guiding the singers, who were in the main
amateurs, to success? Also when we look at ska, it was not the voice that
dominated, it was the instrument, that is, the instrument that was not the voice?
G.W.: Yes. That is clear. Although you can hear the potential in someone like
Bob Marley and an Alton [Ellis] and a Toots [Hibbert]. In some of these early
recordings you can almost visualize the music pushing them to perform. Well,
look at Simmer Down,2 that introduction [by Drummond].Anybody singing after that
introduction has to come good. And then the humility of Roland [Alphanso] on
the solo, where he doesn't try to dominate. It's a laid back solo that fits in with the
theme of simmering down. And this is Roland who is another virtuoso. You
Interview with Garth White
know what I mean. And that only comes from competent people who are
confident of their abilities, so that they [were] able and willing to share what they
have, with people who [were] just beginning to go on the road of creating music.
C.H.: In fact, one of the things that I have picked up in interviewing
Ernest Ranglin is that, apart from being the great guitarist that he is, he was also
virtually training, guiding, teaching some of these youngsters along the way.
G.W.: And give credit where it is due. I think it was Beverley's, that is, Leslie
Kong, an early producer, not so much for [Prince Buster], [where] Ernest, [the
guitarist] would also play the bass. He was the bass man [on] many of these
Beverley's recordings. And you get these anecdotes about Skatalites members and
people like Ernie Ranglin or Drumbago or a Trenton Spence [who] would be
pointing out to these young hopefuls the rudiments, in a manner akin to [that]
famously read about Joe Higgs' influence on the Wailers.
But they would be teaching the young hopefuls the rudiments of harmony. [A]s
ska developed, we found that we had harmony trios Wailers, Gaylads, Maytals.
Their music teachers were actually these musicians.
C.H.: And of course, we could argue that the first star of popular Jamaican
music was really not a singer, but a player of instruments, Don Drummond. Tell
me about him.
G.W.: Interestingly, the first instrumentalist who used to inspire some of my
friends and school mates, was not even Drummond. It was Rico [Rodriquez]. We
were enamoured of a kind of biblical thing that the trombone had. And it was
Rico's tunes [that] actually hit the public before Don's, even though Don was
Rico's teacher at Alpha.
I am wondering if we don't have to go back as far as Coney Island3 where the
instrumentalists [who] used to perform... were the Stars. You'd have a singer, and
we would know about that singing tradition that comes from the itinerant
troubadour like Slim and Sam, but you get the impression that the musicians had
pride of place in the early days. Probably because the singers would come and go,
but the band personnel would remain at places like the Coney Island, so that they
would develop a following.
So when you go into Coney Island you know you may buck up Trenton Spence
[or] somebody like Drumbago, Baba Mac [or] the trombonist [Carl] Masters.
When [music was] being provided at the Coney Island and amusement parks it
was the virtuoso musicians [who] the people wanted to hear.
So this carries over now, into these musicians who [were] going to staff the big
bands and people hear that these people [were] really worth listening to. They were
top flight musicians. Then we started to record and the same things applied
Social and Aestrhtic Roots of Ska
because the musicians [were] confident [in] their abilities. So they have to be in the
vanguard.
They are going to come around to accepting that your front line performer, namely
your singer, is going to be the person in the long run, because of lyrics which [are]
going [to] appeal to your listener as distinct from instrumental music, that maybe
open to any number of interpretations, based on what the listener is experiencing.
But as you rightly point out, our first culture hero, musically, was the
nstrumentalist.
Don had an early tune/solo, On The Beach by Owen Grey. It is very early you
know, it and Don Cosmic. They are either late '50s or '60. And then he leaves
because of one of the first instances of his mental break down and Rico fills the
gap. Rico is the trombone4 now.
When I think of Don, I always remember the particular rapport which seems to
develop between the musicians of the Skatalites. Because you can hear pieces
where Don is responding to Brevett's and Knibb's work and the rhythm section -
quite apart from the after beat which is giving him the chord which is telling him
the key, and the other front line instrumentalists who he is going to bounce off to,
or he is going to influence, because when they are playing, Don just gives a
fantastic solo. Roland has to rise to the occasion, or Tommy or Dizzy [Moore].
This just kept going on and on and on in a band like the Skatalites.
He was always seemingly introspective, brooding, quiet. I don't think I have ever
seen Drummond hassled, or in a hurry. A really cool cat. [The] bugas [tennis
shoes] that [he] used to wear exemplified some of the things about the man. He
was just cool and unassuming. You could also see [that] some of the times, when
the music really got to him, the rest of the band members would appreciate that
and allowed him to prolong his solo. Knibb would have hinted that they [were]
going to return to the theme, but Don [kept on] going, and everyone recognized it
and just allowed him.
I was not there at the famous one at [the] Carib [Cinema], where they said that they
were waiting and waiting and waiting, and Don wasn't on the band stand, and of
course, despite the [presence of] the other soloists, other musicians recognized as
great, the person who still held centre stage, because of just the mastery of the
instrument and his imaginativeness, [was] Don Drummond. [B]ut Don does not
try to overwhelm you with virtuosity unless the tune demands it.
You get instances of songs, either his own composition or when he is soloing for
someone else, where he just fits in. And it is almost simple. I think it is [Delfeayo]
Marsalis who said it's almost nursery rhyme like in its simplicity. And then you
can buck up other occasions when either the complexity or the theme, or the depth
of the mood when you get Don really pulling out all the stops and you find out that
Intenrwti with Gadth ,
I
Social and Aestrhtic Roots of Ska 95
I saw him also in a jazz setting, not only with the Skatalites, playing with people like
the same Tommy [McCook], Carl McLeod, Lloyd Mason, Cecil Lloyd, at the club
that would become Studio One. That time it was The End, and they used to have
jazz concerts there. [Again] I was a young person then [and] overwhelmed by the
sheer hero stature of this brother. [So] you would observe him at a distance and I
always remember being struck by his humility. How he would just come in quietly,
even if he was late, and the band was playing and then you would see him take out
his bone and start to rub it down with his chamoi, and you can see that he is
listening to what's going on and you see Don signals that [he is] ready and notes
upon notes, and the audience, spellbound. No one wants him to finish, you know.
In a particular way, Don was able to capture both the joy of the independence
period, the melancholy of not being certain that things are going right, for the
poor, a certain anger, but still restrained. A complicated character was Don. And
then you have to factor in the fact that he was also a romantic. One of the classic
examples in modem music of this genius tormented by romance and this is also
reflected in his playing.
Bob Marlcy was then in a group, The Wailers, along with Peter Tosh (Winston Hubert
Mclntosh) and Bunny Wailer (Neville O'Reilly Livingstone) along, at a certain time,
with Junior Brathwaitc et al. This was the music of the Wailers that was not being
played on radio at this point.
2. By the Wailers with Bob Marley in the lead, Simmer Down was produced by Clement
Dodd.
3. :oney Island was a kind of Amusement Park.
4. White argues that: "the use of the trombone and the double base is a feature of ska,
the real ska" I Ie notes that "is the reason why somebody like Byron Lee's or some
other band at the time lacked that 'umph' that the Skatalites had. It has to do with the
use of the double bass and [the trombone]."
The top double bass players at that time included Lloyd Mason, Lloyd Brevett, Taddy
Mowatt and Cluct Johnson (Clue-J).
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i don't know
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Aside from the Netherlands and Belgium what is the only country in which Dutch is an official language?
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ATLAS - Dutch: Who speaks it?
Who speaks it?
Find out more
Who speaks it?
Dutch is spoken not only in the Netherlands, but it is also the official language of Flanders, the neighbouring northern provinces of Belgium.
Worldwide, Dutch is a national language in Suriname (South America), Aruba and the Dutch Antilles (Caribbean). In total Dutch has 23 million mother tongue speakers. On top of that, there are also 4 million people worldwide who speak Dutch as a second or foreign language. So not so small after all!
Scroll over the name of the country to find out how many speakers of Dutch are there.
Read more about the different countries and regions where Dutch is spoken below:
The Netherlands
The Netherlands has 16 million inhabitants and Dutch is the only official language of the country. Frisian, spoken in the Northern province of Fryslân, has been granted local offical language status too. Frisian is very close to English.
Flanders
Dutch (sometimes called Flemish) has always been the mother tongue of the majority of people in Flanders, but it was not always recognised as such because Flanders was governed by many foreign rulers in the past. When the French took over in the 18 th century, Dutch was deliberately pushed aside. French was the language of the upper and middle classes and the ruling elite. In 1898 Dutch was finally granted official status, but as change was slow, it was decided in 1963 to make it the only language allowed in Flemish education and public life. Nowadays, there are 6 million speakers of Dutch in Flanders The southern part of Belgium, Wallonia, remained entirely French-speaking and the capital, Brussels, is bilingual.
Suriname
Suriname has many local languages but Dutch is used as a language for different groups to communicate. It is the language of government and education, even though it may only be the mother tongue of about 60% of the population (475, 000). Most speak Sranan, an English based creole.
South Africa
Afrikaans, one of 11 official languages used in South Africa, has its roots in Dutch, as the Dutch set up trading posts there in the 17 th Century, when they were sailing to the East (i.e. Indonesia). Settlers moved inland and so the language spread and was influenced and altered by other settlers and local languages. It is also used in Namibia, where it is the largest language, even though English is the official language. The result is a language which still resembles Dutch but has developed into its own, as you can see below:
Afrikaans
actie
action
Afrikaans has influenced South African English as well, so you could hear a sentence like: H e's gonna gooi (throw) a geelbek (white seabass) on the braai (barbecue) which may be hard for other English speakers to understand, but fairly easy for a Dutch or Afrikaans speaker with some knowledge of English. There are 7 million mother tongue speakers of Afrikaans and about 10 million who speak it as a second language.
Listen to Afrikaans on the radio on www.rsg.co.za/luister.asp .
Canada
As the legend on the map indicates, Canada has mainly older Dutch speakers (140, 000). Many Dutch and Flemish people moved there in the early 19th century, as settlers, and another wave arrived in the 1950’s, in order to set up a new life after the second World War, which had hit the Netherlands hard. These people took their language with them and passed it on to their children, even though they were very keen to assimilate. There are about 900, 000 people of Dutch descent in Canada, making it the largest minority.
Indonesia
Dutch ceased to be an official language of Indonesia after its independence from the Netherlands in 1949. It had been a language of importance ever since the Dutch East Indies Company arrived on the islands in the 17 th Century. That is also why there are still people who learn and speak the language, in order to study older documents. Older people may still speak it as they had to learn it at school and it carries a certain prestige.
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Suriname
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The major UK, US and Canada organizations abbreviated to NFU represent which industry?
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Netherlands (Holland) - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette
Netherlands Guide
Award-Winning Culture Guides
80+ country-specific guides covering country characteristics, the people, language, culture, etiquette, business protocol, communication styles and much more .
Netherlands Guide
A Look at Dutch Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette
Facts and Statistics
Location: Western Europe, bordering Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km
Capital: Amsterdam
Population: 16,877,351 (2014 est.)
Ethnic Make-up: Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians) (1999 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%, unaffiliated 40%
The Dutch Language
Dutch, the official language, is spoken by around 90% of the population. Around 350,000 people, or 2.2% of the population, speak Frisian as their first language, mainly in the northern province of Friesland, where it is recognised as an official language. Turkish and Arabic are also spoken in the Netherlands, each by over 0.6% of the population.
Dutch Society & Culture
The Role of the Family
The Dutch see the family as the foundation of the social structure.
Families tend to be small, often with only one or two children.
Relatively few women work outside the house full-time as compared to many other cultures.
This allows mothers to be more available to their children throughout the entire day.
Dutch Demeanour
Appearances are important to the Dutch.
They are disciplined, conservative, and pay attention to the smallest details.
They see themselves as thrifty, hardworking, practical and well organized.
They place high value on cleanliness and neatness.
At the same time, the Dutch are very private people.
They do not draw attention to themselves and do not value the accoutrements of success highly prized by other western societies.
They dislike displays of wealth, as they run counter to their egalitarian beliefs.
They do not boast about their accomplishments or their material possessions.
Egalitarianism
The Dutch are egalitarian and highly tolerant of individual differences.
Their children are raised without gender biases.
There is practically no abject poverty in the country because of the social programs, which, however, also increase the tax burden on workers.
This egalitarian outlook is carried over into the workplace.
Even in hierarchical organizations, every person has a right to their opinion and to have it heard.
The boss may be the final decision maker, but he/she will typically want input from the workers and will strive for consensus.
Everyone is valued and shown respect.
Dutch Privacy
The Dutch are reserved and formal when dealing with outsiders.
They are private people and do not put their possessions or emotions on display.
Self-control is seen to be a virtue.
The Dutch do not ask personal questions and will refuse to answer should you be foolish enough to intrude on their privacy.
Personal life is kept separate from business.
If a friendship develops at work and is carried into the personal arena, this camaraderie will not be brought into the office.
Personal matters are not discussed with friends, no matter how close.
Etiquette and Customs in The Netherlands
Meeting and Greeting
The handshake is the common form of greeting.
It is firm and swift, accompanied by a smile, and repetition of your name.
Shake hands with everyone individually including children.
Very close friends may greet each other by air kissing near the cheek three times, starting with the left cheek.
Most Dutch only use first names with family and close friends.
Wait until invited before moving to a first-name basis.
Gift Giving Etiquette
If invited to a Dutch home bring a box of good quality chocolates, a potted plant, a book, or flowers to the hostess.
Flowers should be given in odd numbers, but not 13, which is unlucky.
Avoid giving white lilies or chrysanthemums, as these are associated with funerals.
Gifts should be wrapped nicely.
Wine is not a good gift if invited for dinner, as the host may already have selected the wines for dinner.
Do not give pointed items such as knives or scissors as they are considered unlucky.
Gifts are usually opened when received.
Dining Etiquette
Dining is fairly formal in the Netherlands.
Table manners are Continental -- the fork is held in the left hand and the knife in the right while eating.
Remain standing until invited to sit down. You may be shown to a particular seat.Men generally remain standing until all the women have taken their seats.
If you have not finished eating, cross your knife and fork in the middle of the plate with the fork over the knife.
Do not begin eating until the hostess starts.
Most food is eaten with utensils, including sandwiches.
The host gives the first toast. An honoured guest should return the toast later in the meal.
Salad is not cut; fold the lettuce on your fork.
Always start with small amounts so you may accept second helpings.
Finish everything on your plate. It is offensive to waste food in the Netherlands.
Indicate you have finished eating by laying your knife and fork parallel across the right side of your plate.
Business Etiquette and Protocol
Building Relationships & Communication
Many Dutch are familiar with doing business with foreigners since the Netherlands has a long history of international trade.
They will want to know your academic credentials and the amount of time your company has been in business.
The business community is rather close and most senior level people know one another.
Older, more bureaucratic companies may still judge you by how you are introduced so it is wise to have a third-party introduction if possible, although it is not mandatory.
The important thing is to demonstrate how your relationship would be beneficial for both sides.
The Dutch take a long-term perspective when looking at business, so be clear what your company's intentions are.
Since the Dutch value their personal time, do not ask them to work late or come in over the weekend if you want to foster a good working relationship.
The Dutch are hospitable, yet this is often reserved for family and friends. In business they tend to be reserved and formal.
They do not touch one another and appreciate it when those they do business with maintain the proper distance, do not demonstrate emotion or use exaggerated hand gestures.
The Dutch are extremely direct in their communication.
They may sound blunt if you come from a culture where communication is more indirect and context driven.
They do not use hyperbole, and likewise they expect to be told yes or no in clear words.
In general, ideas will be discussed quite openly at meetings, with everyone entitled to their opinion.
Information is shared across departments and corporate strategies and goals are usually communicated to all employees, especially in more entrepreneurial companies.
Decisions are often consensus-driven in these cases.
Always appear modest and do not make exaggerated claims about what you or your company can deliver.
Your word is your bond and making claims that later prove to be untrue will brand you as unreliable.
Business Meeting Etiquette
Do not try to schedule meetings during the summer (June through August), as this is a common vacation period.
Punctuality for meetings is taken extremely seriously.
Being late may mark you as untrustworthy and someone who may not meet other deadlines.
If you expect to be delayed, telephone immediately and offer an explanation.
Cancelling a meeting at the last minute could jeopardize your business relationship.
Meetings are rather formal in nature. Little time is spent on pleasantries.
Meetings adhere to strict agendas, including starting and ending times. Do not attempt to deviate from the agenda.
Maintain direct eye contact while speaking.
Negotiations
The Dutch prefer to get down to business quickly and engage in relatively little small talk.
Communication is direct and to the point, and may seem blunt.
Make sure your arguments are rational as opposed to emotional.
Use facts and figures to confirm your statements.
Business is conducted slowly. The Dutch are detail-oriented and want to understand every innuendo before coming to an agreement.
Decision-making is consensus driven. Anyone who might be affected by the decision is consulted, which greatly increases the time involved in reaching a final decision.
Avoid confrontational behaviour or high- pressure tactics.
Once a decision is made, it will not be changed.
Contracts are enforced strictly.
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i don't know
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What nation borders with the south of Syria and the west of Iraq?
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What countries border Iraq? | Reference.com
What countries border Iraq?
A:
Quick Answer
Iraq is bordered by six countries: Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. The borders of Iraq were almost entirely demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres.
Full Answer
Iraq, officially known as the Republic of Iraq, is a country that is located in Western Asia. It is one of the countries that make up the Middle East. As of 2014, the population in Iraq was 36,004,552, 97 percent of which are Muslims, mainly Shias, Sunnis and ethnic Kurds. The capital of Iraq is Baghdad. The city, located in the center of the country, has a total area of 872.7 square miles. Baghdad is Iraq's largest city and the second-largest in western Asia.
Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 36 miles on the northern Persian Gulf, and its territory encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two notable rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through the center of Iraq and flow into the Shatt al-Arab close to the Persian Gulf.
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Jordan
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What Mexican Spanish dish means literally 'little strips'?
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Iran rejects U.S. action in Iraq, ISIL tightens Syria border grip | Reuters
Sun Jun 22, 2014 | 6:00 PM EDT
Iran rejects U.S. action in Iraq, ISIL tightens Syria border grip
By Kamal Namaa | ANBAR Iraq
ANBAR Iraq Iran's supreme leader accused the United States on Sunday of trying to retake control of Iraq by exploiting sectarian rivalries, as Sunni insurgents drove towards Baghdad from new strongholds along the Syrian border.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's condemnation of U.S. action came three days after President Barack Obama offered to send 300 military advisers to help the Iraqi government. Khamenei may want to block any U.S. choice of a new prime minister after grumbling in Washington about Shi'ite premier Nuri al-Maliki.
The supreme leader did not mention the Iranian president's recent suggestion of cooperation with Shi'ite Tehran's old U.S. adversary in defense of their mutual ally in Baghdad.
On Sunday, militants overran a second frontier post on the Syrian border, extending two weeks of swift territorial gains as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) pursues the goal of its own power base, a "caliphate" straddling both countries that has raised alarm across the Middle East and in the West.
"We are strongly opposed to U.S. and other intervention in Iraq," IRNA news agency quoted Khamenei as saying. "We don’t approve of it as we believe the Iraqi government, nation and religious authorities are capable of ending the sedition."
Some Iraqi analysts interpreted his remarks as a warning to the United States not to try to pick its own replacement for Maliki, whom many in the West and Iraq hold responsible for the crisis. In eight years in power, he has alienated many in the Sunni minority that dominated the country under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
Khamenei has not made clear how far Iran itself will back Maliki to hold on to his job once parliament reconvenes following an election in which Maliki's bloc won the most seats.
Speaking in Cairo, Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States wanted Iraqis to find a leadership that would represent all the country's communities - though he echoed Obama in saying it would not pick or choose those leaders. "The United States would like the Iraqi people to find leadership that is prepared to represent all of the people of Iraq, that is prepared to be inclusive and share power," Kerry said. (Full Story)
The U.S. and Iranian governments had seemed open to collaboration against ISIL, which is also fighting the Iranian-backed president of Syria, whom Washington wants to see removed.
"American authorities are trying to portray this as a sectarian war, but what is happening in Iraq is not a war between Shi'ites and Sunnis," said Khamenei, who has the last word in the Islamic Republic's Shi'ite clerical administration. (Full Story)
Accusing Washington of using Sunni Islamists and loyalists of Saddam's Baath party, he added: "The U.S. is seeking an Iraq under its hegemony and ruled by its stooges." During Iran's long war with Saddam in the 1980s, Iraq enjoyed quiet U.S. support.
Tehran and Washington have been shocked by the lightning offensive, spearheaded by ISIL but also involving Sunni tribes and Saddam loyalists. It has seen swaths of northern and western Iraq fall, including the major city of Mosul on June 10.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized oil-rich Sunni Gulf states that he said were funding "terrorists" - a reference to the likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar which have backed Sunni rebels against Syria's Iranian-backed leader, Bashar al-Assad.
"We emphatically tell those Islamic states and all others funding terrorists with their petrodollars that these terrorist savages you have set on other people’s lives will come to haunt you,” IRNA quoted Rouhani as saying on Sunday.
WESTERN OFFENSIVE
ISIL thrust east from a newly captured Iraqi-Syrian border post on Sunday, taking three towns in Iraq's western Anbar province after seizing the frontier crossing near the town of Qaim on Saturday, witnesses and security sources said.
They seized a second border post, al-Waleed, on Sunday. (Full Story)
The gains have helped ISIL secure supply lines to Syria, where it has exploited the chaos of the uprising against Assad to seize territory. It is considered the most powerful force among armed groups who seized Falluja, just west of Baghdad, and took parts of Anbar's capital Ramadi at the start of the year.
The fall of Qaim represented another step towards the realization of ISIL's military goals - erasing a frontier drawn by colonial powers carving up the Ottoman empire a century ago.
ISIL's gains on Sunday included the towns of Rawa and Ana along the Euphrates river east of Qaim, as well as the town of Rutba further south on the main highway from Jordan to Baghdad. Jordan said traffic had stopped arriving from Iraq.
An Iraqi military intelligence official said Iraqi troops had withdrawn from Rawa and Ana after ISIL militants attacked the settlements late on Saturday. "Troops withdrew from Rawa, Ana and Rutba this morning and ISIL moved quickly to completely control these towns," the official said.
"They took Ana and Rawa this morning without a fight."
IRAQ SPLINTERS
Military spokesman Major-General Qassim al-Moussawi said the withdrawal from the towns was intended to ensure "command and control" and to allow troops to regroup and retake the areas.
The towns are on a supply route between ISIL's positions in northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria, where the group has taken a string of towns and strategic positions over the past few days from rival Sunni forces fighting Assad.
The last major Syrian town not in ISIL's hands in the region, the border town of Albukamal, is controlled by the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's branch in Syria which has clashed with ISIL.
A monitoring group said on Sunday that ISIL fighters in northern Syria had for the first time been seen using U.S.-made Humvee all-terrain vehicles seized from the Iraqi army. (Full Story)
Disowned by al Qaeda in February after defying the global leadership to pursue its own goals in Syria, ISIL has pushed south down the Tigris valley since capturing Mosul with barely a fight, occupying towns and taking large amounts of weaponry from the collapsing, U.S.-trained Iraqi army.
Sunni militants also seized Tal Afar, west of Mosul, an Iraqi government official said late on Sunday. Tal Afar has been contested for a week after the military initially lost the community of Sunni and Shi'ite Turkmens and then kicked off a counter-offensive. Iraqi officials have wanted to use Tal Afar as a launching pad for rallying Mosul's Sunni population to oust ISIL.
Overnight, ISIL fighters attacked the town of al-Alam, north of Tikrit, according to witnesses and police in the town. The attackers were repelled by security forces and tribal fighters, they said, adding that two ISIL fighters had been killed.
State television reported that "anti-terrorism forces" in coordination with the air force had killed 40 ISIL members and destroyed five vehicles in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown.
There was a lull in fighting at Iraq's largest refinery, Baiji, near Tikrit, on Sunday. The site had been a battlefield since Wednesday as Sunni fighters launched an assault on the plant. Militants entered the large compound but were repelled by Iraqi military units. The fighters now surround the compound.
A black column of smoke rose from the site on Sunday. Refinery officials said it was caused by a controlled burning of waste.
At least 17 soldiers and volunteers were killed in overnight clashes with ISIL militants in the Saied Ghareeb area near Dujail, 50 km (30 miles) north of Baghdad, army and medical sources said. Near the city of Ramadi, west of the capital, a suicide bomber and a car bomb killed six people at a funeral for an army officer killed the previous day.
SUNNI CLASHES
Relations between diverse Sunni fighting groups have not been entirely smooth. On Sunday morning, clashes raged for a third day between ISIL and Sunni tribes backed by the Naqshbandi Army, a group led by former army officers and Baathists, around Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk, local security sources and tribal leaders said.
More than 10 people were killed in clashes, the sources said. On Friday, ISIL and Naqshbandi fighters began fighting each other in Hawija. Iraqi and Western officials have argued that ISIL and other Sunni factions may turn on each other after capturing territory.
The fighting has threatened to tear the country apart for good, reducing Iraq to separate Sunni, Shi'ite and ethnic Kurdish regions. It has highlighted divisions among regional powers, notably between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Iraq's Kurds have meanwhile expanded their territory beyond their autonomous region in the northeast, notably taking over the long-prized oil city of Kirkuk. Two Kurdish militiamen were killed by a roadside bomb there on Sunday, a police source said.
The government has mobilized Shi'ite militias and other volunteers to fight on the frontlines and defend the capital - thousands of fighters in military fatigues marched in a Shi'ite slum of the capital Baghdad on Saturday.
(Additional reporting by a correspondent in Tikrit, Ahmed Rasheed and Raheem Salman in Baghdad and Mehrdad Balali in Dubai; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz and Ned Parker; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
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Members of the Iraqi security forces patrol an area near the borders between Karbala Province and Anbar Province, June 16, 2014 file photo.
Reuters/Mushtaq Muhammed +
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Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) take their positions during a patrol looking for militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), explosives and weapons in a neighbourhood in Ramadi, June 13, 2014. Picture taken June 13, 2014.
Reuters/Osama Al-dulaimi +
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Members of the Iraqi security forces patrol an area near the borders between Karbala Province and Anbar Province, June 16, 2014 file photo.
Reuters/ Mushtaq Muhammed +
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Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) take their positions during a patrol looking for militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), explosives and weapons in a neighbourhood in Ramadi, June 13, 2014. Picture taken June 13, 2014.
Reuters/Osama Al-dulaimi +
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Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) take their positions during a patrol looking for militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), explosives and weapons in a neighbourhood in Ramadi, June 13, 2014. Picture taken June 13, 2014.
Reuters/Osama Al-dulaimi +
6/6
Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) take their positions during a patrol looking for militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), explosives and weapons in a neighbourhood in Ramadi, June 13, 2014. Picture taken June 13, 2014.
Reuters/Osama Al-dulaimi +
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i don't know
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The shortest Greenland-to-Iceland sea-crossing is about how many miles?
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The Exodus Route: Crossing the Red Sea
The Red Sea Crossing
Introduction:
We only know with certainty, three of the nearly 50 places listed in the exodus between Egypt and the Jordan 40 years later. Rameses (Goshen), Ezion-Geber (modern Elat) and Mt. Nemo. God has chosen for us to know only the starting, midway and ending cities. Nothing in between is known for certain.
Additionally, of all the wilderness areas mentioned in the exodus, we only know for certain that the Wilderness of Shur was in Midian where Ishmael settled.
We do not know for certain any of the following places: Mt. Sinai, Wilderness of Sinai, Kadesh Barnea, Wilderness of Zin, Wilderness of Paran. All these places are interdependent on each other. The fact that there are over 15 different proposed sites for Mt. Sinai on three different continents proves this.
In trying to locate the crossing point of the Red Sea, we need to follow closely what the Bible says. Of course the actual crossing point needs to be possible, logical and harmonize with scripture. For example, crossing a shallow freshwater lake like the Bitter Lakes, where winds merely blew the water away, creates a problem for how the Egyptian army would be drowned. On the other hand, a crossing through the center of either the Gulf of Suez or Gulf of Aqaba where the water is often 1800 meters deep, easily explains the drowning of the army, but creates a problem in actually getting one million men, women, children and livestock to negotiate the steep 60 degree downward slope to the bottom almost a mile deep, then back up the other equally steep side.
The date of the exodus was 1446 BC, in the 18th dynasty of Egypt, 480 years before Solomon built the Temple: 1 Kings 6:1. About 70 years later, Pharaoh Akhenaten (1379 - 1362 BC) would arise and promote a monotheism that worshipped the sun god Aten.
All things considered, we are proposing that the Straits of Tiran in the Gulf of Aqaba, is the best candidate crossing point in 1446 BC.
A. They took the long southern route, not the short eastern route via the Philistines:
All northern crossing points on the Mediterranean sea like "Lake Sirbonis" are wrong because the Bible says they did not go the short route towards the Philistines, but the long route to the Red Sea: "Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, "The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt." Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt. " Exodus 13:17-18
In addition to directly contradicting the Bible, all northern crossing points like "Lake Sirbonis" must be wrong because like the Bitter Lakes, they provided no absolute security and protection from Egypt.
B. The Bible says the Red Sea is the Gulf of Aqaba.
The gulf of Aqaba is called the Red Sea and is what the average Hebrew thought of when referring to the Red Sea: Ex 23:31; Num 21:4; Deut 2:1; Judges 11:16; 1 Kings 9:26.
The gulf of Suez is called the Red Sea only once: Ex 10:19.
No freshwater body of water is ever called the Red Sea in the Bible including the Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah. These two lakes are suggested as possible traditional "Red Sea" crossing points.
Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah are never called the Sea of Reeds but they are shallow lakes with reeds in them. But this is true of all shallow freshwater bodies in the region.
Red sea (yam suph) means: Red Sea! Calling the Red sea, the "Sea of reeds" is a guess based upon an inference of etymology. The same word is used of both freshwater bulrushes: Ex 2:3,5; Isa 19:6 and saltwater ocean plants: Jonah 2:5. So for those not content to call it just the Red Sea, they should be consistent and call it: "sea of plants" "Sea of weeds". Calling it "Sea of Reeds" creates a bias towards a freshwater body and causes us to rule out the Gulf of Aqaba. Likewise calling the Red Sea "Sea of Seaweed" biases towards a saltwater body. Although the Gulf of Aqaba is the Red sea, we feel it best to just stick with what the Bible called it.
The correct name therefore is "Red Sea". Let us forever cease from calling it "The Sea of Reeds".
C. Deep enough to create a wall of water: Type of Baptism.
The Bible says that God blew the water back with a strong wind and there was a wall of water on both sides: "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. " Exodus 14:21-22
All of this was miracle. The wind both helped divide the waters, but more likely were the agent that dried the seabed. Then there was the miraculous wall of water on both sides. Skeptics looking for naturalistic and non-miraculous explanations, like to think of a shallow lake a few feet deep (like the Bitter Lakes), being swept back by a typical strong wind. But they cannot explain the wall of water. In fact they dismiss the wall of water, saying the word in Hebrew just means a brim, a wave. In fact the word "wall" is used over 140 times in the Old Testament and it is the common word used countless times for city walls.
Further, Apostle Paul argues the walls of water on both sides and the cloud above, were a metaphor for water baptism by full immersion: "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; " 1 Corinthians 10:1-2. The word baptism always means full immersion in the Greek and it was only changed to sprinkling for "dead bed baptisms" in 757 AD and even then immersion was the normal mode of baptism. The point here is that Paul argues that the Israelites were a type of full immersion, with water on both sides like city walls, and a cloud of water vapour over top of their heads. Paul says that just as Israel was saved when they were "baptized into Moses", so too we are saved when we are baptized into Christ. (See Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pe 3:21)
Bulrushes and reeds grow in very shallow lakes. The Bible says that their was a wall of water on both sides of the sea when they crossed, indicating a great depth that would not allow reeds to grow. "Sea of Reeds" is the name the modernists prefer so they can explain away the great miracle of the parting of the Red Sea. They explain that it was a shallow fresh water lake of bullrushes and God simply blew away 10 feet of water to allow them to cross. Of course their real intent is to find a non-miraculous explanation for the story and this is why they prefer to call the Red Sea, the Sea of Reeds.
D. Far enough away to justify their bitter complaints about being in the wilderness: Exodus 14:11-12
When Israel saw the Egyptian army getting ready to attack them: "Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? "Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."" Exodus 14:11-12
This is where any suggested crossing point like the Bitter Lakes or the northern Suez becomes plain silly because they are just too close to Egypt to say this. They are clearly NOT IN THE WILDERNESS, since the Bitter lakes are about 25 miles from the edge of Goshen where they lived. The Northern Suez crossing is only 60 miles. Far too close to worry about dying in the wilderness if it was just a days walk back to your old bed in Goshen. Why they would probably walk to the Bitter Lakes to fish on their day off just for fun. But if you are 240 miles away from your bed, in a desolate area far from civilization, then the complaints about dying in the wilderness at the hands of Pharaoh's army are quite justified.
Also, the Bitter Lakes are fresh drinkable water. With their herds, they had no concerns of starving or dying of thirst. So being 30 miles from their beds, with ample food supply, beside a major fresh water lake, no one would call this "in the wilderness".
E. The crossing point guaranteed security from Egypt:
Israel rejoiced after crossing the Red Sea. They did not fear the Egyptian army any more.
Three suggested crossing points must be wrong because they provided absolutely no security: 1. Bitter Lakes. 2. Lake Timsah. 3. Northern tip of Gulf of Suez.. At these crossing points, the pillar of fire could not protect Israel, since Pharaoh's army would simply go around the lake from both sides and ambush them! Even with Pharaoh's army drowning, these crossing points are so close to Egypt, that a second army, though inferior to the first, would be sent by Pharaoh. The second army would attack Israel from all directions. Therefore, these crossing provide no peace of mind at all.
If I had just crossed a small lake that was 5 miles through the middle and 10 miles around the shores, I would not be singing the song of Moses, I would keep running away! But when they crossed at the Gulf of Aqaba, they knew they were fully secure right there and then with no "what ifs", second thoughts or worries.
Therefore, the only crossing point of all our choices that would provide absolute security and peace of mind is the "Straits of Tiran" at the Gulf of Aqaba.
F. Don't ignore the wilderness of Egypt before they crossed the Red Sea.
Wilderness of Egypt is the Sinai Peninsula: "As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt" Ezekiel 20:36
Notice these two passage that say they went through a wilderness of Egypt before crossing the Red Sea: "For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh" Judges 11:16; "Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt." Exodus 13:18
The Bible sequence for the exodus route says they traveled in the wilderness of Egypt to get to the Red Sea. The correct sequential order is "wilderness before the Red Sea" crossing. (Exodus 13:18; Judges 11:16). "Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt. " Exodus 13:18 "For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh, " Judges 11:16.
Only a crossing at the Gulf of Aqaba has a wilderness wandering before they crossed the Red Sea.
The traditional crossing points like the Bitter Lakes, have no "wilderness sojourn before the Red sea.". The West side of the Bitter Lakes was not considered wilderness. Instead it was considered within the formal boundaries of Egypt. A crossing at the Bitter Lakes fails because Israel did not go "through the wilderness to the Red Sea." Judge 11:16
Those who believe Israel crossed at the north tip of the Gulf of Suez fail to harmonize the sequence of "Wilderness travel before Red Sea". They trace the route due south from Goshen towards the western side of the Gulf of Suez, then cross over into what is traditionally called the Sinai peninsula where they travel in the wilderness to the traditional Mt. Sinia at Jebel Musa (St. Catherine's Monastery).
Some "north Gulf of Suez crossing advocates attempt to harmonize the "Wilderness before the Red Sea crossing" sequence by tracing the route as follows: From Goshen east of either the Bitter lakes, "into the wilderness" then south for 20 miles, then west (back out of the wilderness) towards the Nile over top of the Gulf of Suez, then south again for about 5 miles to the west side of the Gulf of Suez where they crosses the "Red Sea" from west to east back into the "Wilderness of Sinai" a second time. This is just too bizarre a route to be correct. A better choice is a crossing at the Gulf of Aqaba.
Most people completely overlook this clear detail that Israel traveled through a wilderness to get to the Red Sea. Once they crossed the Red Sea, they entered into the Wilderness of Shur.
Only the Gulf of Aqaba crossing at the Straits of Tiran agrees with the sequence of events in the Bible: 1. They left the populated areas of Egypt. 2. traveled a considerable distance in the wilderness. 3. which led to the Red sea where they crossed. The Bible says they traveled in the wilderness to get to the Red sea. The traditional crossing points have it opposite: They crossed the Red Sea then afterwards, entered the wilderness. This is backwards and proves a Gulf of Aqaba crossing point.
G. Etham and Red Sea were the "distant edge" of the wilderness.
Immediately before the crossing of the Red Sea is "Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness." Numbers 33:6. Traditional thinking interprets this as the starting edge of the wilderness on the west side of the Bitter Lakes before they entered what is traditionally called the Sinai Peninsula.
When you cross a wilderness there are always "two edges". The near edge at the start of the wilderness crossing and the far edge as you leave the wilderness.
The correct interpretation is that Etham was on the far and outer edge of the wilderness after they had traveled through it to reach the Red sea. Remember the Bible sequence: They leave Goshen, travel through the wilderness and after they have crossed this wilderness, they arrive at the Red sea and cross it". (Exodus 13:18; Judges 11:16)
H. They arrived at the Red Sea after traveling through the wilderness and were then at the "distant edge" of the wilderness.
Now lets imagine they travel from Goshen to the Bitter lakes or the North Suez.
If the 10 mile area between the outskirts of Goshen and the Bitter Lakes are considered a wilderness, then the edge of the wilderness, in traditional thinking, would be at the outskirts of Goshen where they began. But the edge of the wilderness was immediately before they crossed.
You cannot travel through a wilderness, then be at the starting edge of the same wilderness at the same time. Remember there is only one wilderness in focus here.
I. Judges 11:16 indicates two generally equal distances between Egypt, Red Sea and Kadish Barnea:
Clearly this is a general summary verse that traces the whole trip: "For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh, " Judges 11:16.
It just so happens that the distance from Egypt they went through the wilderness to the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) is roughly about the same distance of 220 Miles. After they crossed, they were only 30 miles from Mt. Sinai (Jebel al-Lawz). The crossing therefore was the approximate halfway mark of the journey to Kadish Barnea (just south of Petra) where they spent 30 years (many days) living before entering the promised land. That is what the verse is conveying.
The traditional and most popular route is a red sea crossing at the Bitter Lakes, through the wilderness to Jebel Musa in what is traditionally called the Sinai Peninsula, then to Kadesh Barnea at Ein el Qudeirat. But the traditional route from Egypt to the Bitter Lakes to Kadesh are dramatically unequal in every regard. The first leg was 30 miles from Goshen to the Bitter Lakes (Red Sea) and the second leg was a wopping 350 miles to Kadish Barnea. (Ein el Qudeirat). Even if they got the location of Kadish Barnea correct just south of Petra, the second let is still 300 Miles.
For the traditional thinkers, if Israel crossed at the Bitter Lakes, then Judges 11:16 would read differently than it does. For them, Judges 11:16 should read: "they came up from Egypt came to Mt. Sinai (220 miles), then from Mt. Sinai to Kadesh Barnea (190 miles)." These are similar distances.
J. What does the Bible call that "V" shaped area of land between the Gulfs of Suez Aqaba? "Wilderness of Egypt" you say?
The Bible name of the "Sinai Peninsula" is the " Wilderness of Egypt ". (Ezekiel 20:36; Judges 11:16; Exodus 13:18)
All modern maps are wrong in regard to the "Sinai Peninsula". One glaring error is calling "V" shaped area of land between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba the Sinai Peninsula. Mt. Sinai must be in the Sinai Peninsula, Right? Wrong. The error is circular reasoning. Because Queen Helina chose Jebel Musa in 325 AD, (St. Catherine's Monastery) as Mt. Sinai, all maps since have called it the wilderness of Sinai or the Sinai Peninsula. But if Mt. Sinai is really at Mt. Karkom, located about 30 miles north west of Ezion-geber. (modern Elat), then this changes everything! And if Mt. Sinai is really Jebel al-Lawz in modern North Saudi Arabia, this really changes everything!
The Bible no where identifies the wilderness of Sinai as being geographically tagged to the V shaped area of land between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. All we know is that Mt. Sinai/Horeb is in the wilderness of Sinai. Find one and you have found the other! But the Bible doesn't specifically tell us where the wilderness of Sinai is located. If it did, we would not have 10 different candidate locations for Mt. Sinai hundreds of miles apart! The Bible does tell us that Mt. Sinai is in the wilderness of Shur. And Shur is where the Ishmaelites lived. And we know the Ishmaelites lived directly with the Midianites. In fact they are used interchangeably in the story of Joseph being sold into Egypt. So we know Mt. Sinai must be in the land of Midian.
Although the Bible never directly tells us where the Wilderness of Sinai is, the Bible does give four different names for geographic V shaped area of land between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba that has traditionally been called the Sinai Peninsula. Here they are: 1. "the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea" (Exodus 13:18) 2. "the wilderness to the Red Sea" (Judges 11:16). 3. "the wilderness of the sea" (Isa 21:1) 4. "wilderness of the land of Egypt" (Ezekiel 20:36) If you study these four passages carefully, you can see that this is clearly the case. We feel perfectly justified in calling it the "The Egyptian Red Sea Wilderness", based strictly upon what the Bible calls this region.
In Isa 21:1 Babylon is likened unto the geographic region west of the Negev (traditionally called the Sinai peninsula) and called "the wilderness of the sea". "The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As windstorms in the Negev sweep on, It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land. " Isaiah 21:1. Here the "the wilderness of the [Red] sea" does not refer to the geographic land of Babylon. Instead, it is saying that Babylon will destroy Judah, like the wind that blows into the Negev from "the wilderness of the sea". The heavy and damaging winds always blow from west to east, so the Bible calls the modern Sinai Peninsula "the wilderness of the sea". The Israelites were all too familiar with the strong and destructive winds that blew from this area into the Negev. Isa 21:1 is warning that destruction for Judah will originate with Babylon in the same way that the strong winds originate from the "the wilderness of the Red sea". The "the wilderness of the Red sea" is a metaphor for Babylon, but not exactly the same as Babylon.
Notice the Hebrew parallelism that seems to indicate that the Red sea was seen as adjacent to the territory of Egypt: The Red Sea is in the land of Ham: "Wonders in the land of Ham And awesome things by the Red Sea. " The Bible tells us that Ham lived in Egypt and archeology tells us he lived on both sides of the Gulf of Suez. Psalm 106:22 "And smote all the firstborn in Egypt, The first issue of their virility in the tents of Ham. " Psalm 78:51 "Israel also came into Egypt; Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. (Before exodus)" Psalm 105:23. We admit the Hebrew parallelism of Ps 106:22 is weak because it also works for a crossing at the Bitter Lakes. It also could be viewed as not being a Hebrew parallelism: "Wonders in the land of Ham (ten plagues) and awesome things by the Red Sea (parting the water). But if the crossing is the Staits of Tiran, it works too!
K. The Egyptian-Israeli border is the "River of Egypt".
The formal western boundary of Israel is the River of Egypt (Wadi al-Arish). Cross the River of Egypt and you are in Egypt! That's why its called The River of Egypt!
God told Abraham the land promise included: "From the River of Egypt (Wadi al-Arish) as far as the great river, the river Euphrates" Gen 15:18
Abraham went directly from Egypt to the Negev without passing through any other territory. "So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him. " Genesis 13:1. This verse is exactly what we would expect if the River of Egypt (Wadi al-Arish) is the boundary line between the Negev and Egypt.
Notably, when people cross the River of Egypt the Bible never puts any land, region or area between the two. If the border of Egypt really was at the edge of the land of Goshen by the Bitter Lakes, we would expect the Bible to say things like, "An Abraham left the Negev and travelled in the wilderness, then came to Egypt. We never find a single Bible verse that indicates a land between Egypt and Israel, because the River of Egypt is the eastern boundary of Egypt!
Premillenialists discount the Bible verses that say Israel got all the promised land: "So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. " Joshua 21:43. They argue that the River of Egypt is not the Wadi al-Arish, but the Nile River. Of course this won't work because the Nile is a much greater river than the Euphrates and of course it would mean that they were already in the promised land in Goshen before the exodus started! So the western boundary of Israel is the River of Egypt, which is the Wadi al-Arish. Most Bible map sets have this correct.
The power of name of this river that the sets the boundary between Egypt and Israel was understood in the mind of every Jew. What country other than Egypt controlled this region? Was it just a blob of vacant wasteland no country laid claim to? The fact remains that from 1500BC up to the completion of the New Testament, the land west of the River of Egypt was considered part of Egypt. Sure Egypt proper was west of the Nile, but this area was an Egyption protectorate.
The Romans annexed what we call the "modern Sinai Peninsula" in 106 AD. Prior to this, it was considered the territory of Egypt. Because of mining operations, it was an Egyptian protectorate under the military control of Egypt. This means that Egyptian territory butted up to the western boundery of Israel (Wadi al-Arish in the Negev).
After 106 AD, the "modern Sinai Peninsula" became accociated with Arabia. This understanding also proves that Mt. Sinia cannot be in this region at Jebel Musa, since Paul said Mt. Sinai was in Arabia. (Gal 4:25) Since Arabia was restricted to Saudia Arabia and south east of the Dead Sea, until 106 AD, Jebel al-Lawz becomes a primary candiate for Mt. Sinai. Remember Queen Helina chose a lot of places in 325AD on the basis of feelings and superstition that were clearly not historically correct. These include the Birth place of Christ's birth (Bethlehem) and Jebel Musa for Mt. Sinai.
Ezekiel calls the "modern Sinai Peninsula" the "wilderness of the land of Egypt". Ezek 20:36 "As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you," declares the Lord God." Ezekiel 20:36. Just where did God judge Israel in "the wilderness of Egypt"? The first recorded faithless grumbling is Israel was while they were still in Egypt against Moses who was trying to get them to leave in the first place. Ezekiel makes reference to the second recorded faithless grumbling of Israel in the wilderness of the land of Egypt just before crossing the Red Sea: "Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? "Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."" Exodus 14:11-12. Although God did not kill them until their next faithless grumbling on the other side of the Red Sea, Ezekiel tells us that God had Judged them for their faithlessness. They were marked for punishment.
The Ishmaelites and the Midianites lived together in the land of Midian and are referred to interchangeably in the Bible. But the Bible also says that "Ishmael settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt as one goes toward Assyria; he settled in defiance of all his relatives." Genesis 25:18 Haviliah was south east of the dead sea and Shur was in the land of Midian (modern Saudi Arabia). There was a highway running north to south between Haviliah and Shur where Ishmael lived. Another reference to this highway is: "So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. " 1 Samuel 15:7. Now that we know the highway ran north and south but east of Araba Valley which would drain the dead sea into the Red sea if the water still flowed. Here is the point: This area is described as being, "east of Egypt" which only makes sense if the "Traditional Sinai Peninsula" is considered part of Egypt.
Notice that Pharaoh considered them still within Egypt before the crossing of the Red sea: "For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'" Exodus 14:3
L. The Straits of Tiran in the Gulf of Aqaba is the best candidate for the crossing point
If we let the Bible guide us first, then look at the geography of the Gulf of Aqaba, we will see that the Straits of Tiran are the best candidate for the Red Sea crossing.
M. "Shut in" by the sea and the mountains at the Straits of Tiran:
Scripture says that Israel went past the Red Sea crossing point to Pi-hahiroth, then turned back again. "For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'" Exodus 14:3. The Straits of Tiran are clearly where this happened!
Pharaoh, knowing the geography of the area understood that Israel had reached the dead end of this plain and was literally boxed in by high mountains and the Red Sea. Pharaoh's best army came roaring up behind them leaving them only two choices: climb or swim. Praise God for miracles!
As Israel departed Goshen, they traveled 275 miles to reach the Straits of Tiran. There is a wide coastal plain on the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez that butts up against a high mountain range and also follows the coastline around to the Straits of Tiran. So as they walked south for the entire trip beside the Gulf of Suez, they were boxed in on the east by the mountains and on the west by the Gulf of Suez. But this continuous coastal plain provided the perfect highway for a million people. When they got to Pi-hahiroth, they turned back again to the Straits of Tiran because they hit a dead end: A mountain range. Pharaoh knew Israel must trace their steps back the way they came and figured it would an easy slaughter, since Israel was trapped. So for a military leader the route they traveled was a disaster, but Israel's military leader could part the red sea.
There is no absolute "boxing in" at any other crossing point like the Bitter Lakes or the north Gulf of Suez.
N. Natural land bridge across the Straits of Tiran:
The Gulf of Aqaba is a very deep channel of water ranging from 800-1800 meters in the middle. However at the Straits of Tiran, there is a natural land bridge so the deepest point the Israelites would encounter is only 205 meters.
The crossing at the Straits of Tiran is 18 km long and a natural land bridge provides for an 800 meters wide pathway the full distance of the crossing. The Straits of Titan have a shallow coral reef in the middle with a one way shipping lane on either side. From modern nautical charts, we can see that the eastern "Enterprise Passage" is 205 meters deep and 800 meters wide and the western "Grafton Passage" is only 70 meters deep and 800 meters wide. A diver need go only 13 meters at deepest point on top of Jackson's Reef from the surface.
Coral growth over the last 3500 years since the miraculous crossing means that we cannot really know what the sea floor looked like exactly back then. For example, as the coral grew up and came to the surface, the tides flowing around the coral would dig a natural channel deeper on the north and south ends of the reef where all the water would flow around. Gradually, the coral reefs would act like a partial dam over the center 80% of the strait. This is a very realistic scenario and means that 3500 years ago, the coral was under water and therefore the tides would not dig the deep channel at either end of the reef where it is today.
But even with the depths we see today, it causes no problems for the exodus crossing. The slope of descent is far more important than the depth. The Straits of Tiran, as we see them today pose absolutely no problem for a crossing by a million people since the slope is shallow and the depth is no more than 600 feet. (205 meters).
So 3500 years ago the 18 km crossing point at the Straits of Tiran would likely have been deeper than it is now over the coral reef and shallower than it is now in the two shipping channels. In other words, 3500 years ago it may have been a uniform depth for the entire 18 km of between 100-200 meters. A very easy crossing indeed.
There is one other natural land bridge that provides the only other possible crossing site in the Gulf of Aqaba that is adjacent to Nuweiba. This is not likely the crossing point, since the depths there reach 765 meters (2300 Ft.) and with much steeper slopes. Neweiba is also in the middle of a mountain range making it difficult to access for the Israelites. It doesn't have easy continuous access back to Goshen like the Straits of Tiran offer. It does too good a job at "shutting them up in the wilderness" since there is a very narrow and long canyon through the mountains they needed to cross to even get to the shore at Neweiba. Neweiba is therefore a distant second choice to the Straits of Tiran for the location of the Red Sea crossing.
The incline across the Enterprise Passage on the west side of Gordon Reef is easy even today to cross. Remember miracles were involved here so if it was too steep, perhaps God filled in some dirt ahead of time!
O. Pharaoh's army sank to the bottom like a stone in deep, mighty, raging waters! Exodus 15:5, 10
The Bible says that pharaoh's army sank to the bottom of the sea like a stone, as well as others washing up on shore. "They went down into the depths like a stone. ... They sank like lead in the mighty waters. " Exodus 15:5, 10 "You hurled into the depths, Like a stone into raging waters." Nehemiah 9:11. As God released the water, the surge would be like a 40 foot tsunami (wave) that would easily sweep the entire army off the 800 meter wide land bridge into 1300 meter deep water immediately on either side. The deepest part is 1800 meters. Pharaoh's army sank to the bottom like a stone in very deep, mighty, raging waters! It was a bad day for heavy body armor.
Divers have claimed to find what looks like "18th dynasty Egyptian, eight spoke chariot wheels", 50 miles north of the Strait of Tiran in shallow water. To really do the job right, a professional deep sea archeological expedition of "Titanic proportions" is needed to explore the depths of 1800 meters in much of the 30 mile ocean gully at the bottom of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Titanic is in 4000 meters of water so 1800 meters is clearly possible. Although cold water would preserve the wood, realistically, with earthquakes and natural sedimentation, it is unlikely to find anything that is 3500 years old at the bottom of the deepest parts visible to any dive team, but its worth a try!
Conclusion:
Once they crossed the Red Sea into the Land of Midian, what is now North Saudi Arabia, they headed for Jebel al-Lawz, which we consider the best candidate for Mt. Sinai when both the Bible and Archeology are considered.
Mt. Sinai located near the following areas: Wilderness of Etham and wilderness of Sinai are synonymous. Mt. Sinai was in the wilderness of Shur, where the Ishmaelites lived, which was in the land of Midian.
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What Mr Men character is orange with ridiculously long arms and a blue hat?
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The Exodus Route: Crossing the Red Sea
The Red Sea Crossing
Introduction:
We only know with certainty, three of the nearly 50 places listed in the exodus between Egypt and the Jordan 40 years later. Rameses (Goshen), Ezion-Geber (modern Elat) and Mt. Nemo. God has chosen for us to know only the starting, midway and ending cities. Nothing in between is known for certain.
Additionally, of all the wilderness areas mentioned in the exodus, we only know for certain that the Wilderness of Shur was in Midian where Ishmael settled.
We do not know for certain any of the following places: Mt. Sinai, Wilderness of Sinai, Kadesh Barnea, Wilderness of Zin, Wilderness of Paran. All these places are interdependent on each other. The fact that there are over 15 different proposed sites for Mt. Sinai on three different continents proves this.
In trying to locate the crossing point of the Red Sea, we need to follow closely what the Bible says. Of course the actual crossing point needs to be possible, logical and harmonize with scripture. For example, crossing a shallow freshwater lake like the Bitter Lakes, where winds merely blew the water away, creates a problem for how the Egyptian army would be drowned. On the other hand, a crossing through the center of either the Gulf of Suez or Gulf of Aqaba where the water is often 1800 meters deep, easily explains the drowning of the army, but creates a problem in actually getting one million men, women, children and livestock to negotiate the steep 60 degree downward slope to the bottom almost a mile deep, then back up the other equally steep side.
The date of the exodus was 1446 BC, in the 18th dynasty of Egypt, 480 years before Solomon built the Temple: 1 Kings 6:1. About 70 years later, Pharaoh Akhenaten (1379 - 1362 BC) would arise and promote a monotheism that worshipped the sun god Aten.
All things considered, we are proposing that the Straits of Tiran in the Gulf of Aqaba, is the best candidate crossing point in 1446 BC.
A. They took the long southern route, not the short eastern route via the Philistines:
All northern crossing points on the Mediterranean sea like "Lake Sirbonis" are wrong because the Bible says they did not go the short route towards the Philistines, but the long route to the Red Sea: "Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, "The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt." Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt. " Exodus 13:17-18
In addition to directly contradicting the Bible, all northern crossing points like "Lake Sirbonis" must be wrong because like the Bitter Lakes, they provided no absolute security and protection from Egypt.
B. The Bible says the Red Sea is the Gulf of Aqaba.
The gulf of Aqaba is called the Red Sea and is what the average Hebrew thought of when referring to the Red Sea: Ex 23:31; Num 21:4; Deut 2:1; Judges 11:16; 1 Kings 9:26.
The gulf of Suez is called the Red Sea only once: Ex 10:19.
No freshwater body of water is ever called the Red Sea in the Bible including the Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah. These two lakes are suggested as possible traditional "Red Sea" crossing points.
Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah are never called the Sea of Reeds but they are shallow lakes with reeds in them. But this is true of all shallow freshwater bodies in the region.
Red sea (yam suph) means: Red Sea! Calling the Red sea, the "Sea of reeds" is a guess based upon an inference of etymology. The same word is used of both freshwater bulrushes: Ex 2:3,5; Isa 19:6 and saltwater ocean plants: Jonah 2:5. So for those not content to call it just the Red Sea, they should be consistent and call it: "sea of plants" "Sea of weeds". Calling it "Sea of Reeds" creates a bias towards a freshwater body and causes us to rule out the Gulf of Aqaba. Likewise calling the Red Sea "Sea of Seaweed" biases towards a saltwater body. Although the Gulf of Aqaba is the Red sea, we feel it best to just stick with what the Bible called it.
The correct name therefore is "Red Sea". Let us forever cease from calling it "The Sea of Reeds".
C. Deep enough to create a wall of water: Type of Baptism.
The Bible says that God blew the water back with a strong wind and there was a wall of water on both sides: "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. " Exodus 14:21-22
All of this was miracle. The wind both helped divide the waters, but more likely were the agent that dried the seabed. Then there was the miraculous wall of water on both sides. Skeptics looking for naturalistic and non-miraculous explanations, like to think of a shallow lake a few feet deep (like the Bitter Lakes), being swept back by a typical strong wind. But they cannot explain the wall of water. In fact they dismiss the wall of water, saying the word in Hebrew just means a brim, a wave. In fact the word "wall" is used over 140 times in the Old Testament and it is the common word used countless times for city walls.
Further, Apostle Paul argues the walls of water on both sides and the cloud above, were a metaphor for water baptism by full immersion: "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; " 1 Corinthians 10:1-2. The word baptism always means full immersion in the Greek and it was only changed to sprinkling for "dead bed baptisms" in 757 AD and even then immersion was the normal mode of baptism. The point here is that Paul argues that the Israelites were a type of full immersion, with water on both sides like city walls, and a cloud of water vapour over top of their heads. Paul says that just as Israel was saved when they were "baptized into Moses", so too we are saved when we are baptized into Christ. (See Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pe 3:21)
Bulrushes and reeds grow in very shallow lakes. The Bible says that their was a wall of water on both sides of the sea when they crossed, indicating a great depth that would not allow reeds to grow. "Sea of Reeds" is the name the modernists prefer so they can explain away the great miracle of the parting of the Red Sea. They explain that it was a shallow fresh water lake of bullrushes and God simply blew away 10 feet of water to allow them to cross. Of course their real intent is to find a non-miraculous explanation for the story and this is why they prefer to call the Red Sea, the Sea of Reeds.
D. Far enough away to justify their bitter complaints about being in the wilderness: Exodus 14:11-12
When Israel saw the Egyptian army getting ready to attack them: "Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? "Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."" Exodus 14:11-12
This is where any suggested crossing point like the Bitter Lakes or the northern Suez becomes plain silly because they are just too close to Egypt to say this. They are clearly NOT IN THE WILDERNESS, since the Bitter lakes are about 25 miles from the edge of Goshen where they lived. The Northern Suez crossing is only 60 miles. Far too close to worry about dying in the wilderness if it was just a days walk back to your old bed in Goshen. Why they would probably walk to the Bitter Lakes to fish on their day off just for fun. But if you are 240 miles away from your bed, in a desolate area far from civilization, then the complaints about dying in the wilderness at the hands of Pharaoh's army are quite justified.
Also, the Bitter Lakes are fresh drinkable water. With their herds, they had no concerns of starving or dying of thirst. So being 30 miles from their beds, with ample food supply, beside a major fresh water lake, no one would call this "in the wilderness".
E. The crossing point guaranteed security from Egypt:
Israel rejoiced after crossing the Red Sea. They did not fear the Egyptian army any more.
Three suggested crossing points must be wrong because they provided absolutely no security: 1. Bitter Lakes. 2. Lake Timsah. 3. Northern tip of Gulf of Suez.. At these crossing points, the pillar of fire could not protect Israel, since Pharaoh's army would simply go around the lake from both sides and ambush them! Even with Pharaoh's army drowning, these crossing points are so close to Egypt, that a second army, though inferior to the first, would be sent by Pharaoh. The second army would attack Israel from all directions. Therefore, these crossing provide no peace of mind at all.
If I had just crossed a small lake that was 5 miles through the middle and 10 miles around the shores, I would not be singing the song of Moses, I would keep running away! But when they crossed at the Gulf of Aqaba, they knew they were fully secure right there and then with no "what ifs", second thoughts or worries.
Therefore, the only crossing point of all our choices that would provide absolute security and peace of mind is the "Straits of Tiran" at the Gulf of Aqaba.
F. Don't ignore the wilderness of Egypt before they crossed the Red Sea.
Wilderness of Egypt is the Sinai Peninsula: "As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt" Ezekiel 20:36
Notice these two passage that say they went through a wilderness of Egypt before crossing the Red Sea: "For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh" Judges 11:16; "Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt." Exodus 13:18
The Bible sequence for the exodus route says they traveled in the wilderness of Egypt to get to the Red Sea. The correct sequential order is "wilderness before the Red Sea" crossing. (Exodus 13:18; Judges 11:16). "Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt. " Exodus 13:18 "For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh, " Judges 11:16.
Only a crossing at the Gulf of Aqaba has a wilderness wandering before they crossed the Red Sea.
The traditional crossing points like the Bitter Lakes, have no "wilderness sojourn before the Red sea.". The West side of the Bitter Lakes was not considered wilderness. Instead it was considered within the formal boundaries of Egypt. A crossing at the Bitter Lakes fails because Israel did not go "through the wilderness to the Red Sea." Judge 11:16
Those who believe Israel crossed at the north tip of the Gulf of Suez fail to harmonize the sequence of "Wilderness travel before Red Sea". They trace the route due south from Goshen towards the western side of the Gulf of Suez, then cross over into what is traditionally called the Sinai peninsula where they travel in the wilderness to the traditional Mt. Sinia at Jebel Musa (St. Catherine's Monastery).
Some "north Gulf of Suez crossing advocates attempt to harmonize the "Wilderness before the Red Sea crossing" sequence by tracing the route as follows: From Goshen east of either the Bitter lakes, "into the wilderness" then south for 20 miles, then west (back out of the wilderness) towards the Nile over top of the Gulf of Suez, then south again for about 5 miles to the west side of the Gulf of Suez where they crosses the "Red Sea" from west to east back into the "Wilderness of Sinai" a second time. This is just too bizarre a route to be correct. A better choice is a crossing at the Gulf of Aqaba.
Most people completely overlook this clear detail that Israel traveled through a wilderness to get to the Red Sea. Once they crossed the Red Sea, they entered into the Wilderness of Shur.
Only the Gulf of Aqaba crossing at the Straits of Tiran agrees with the sequence of events in the Bible: 1. They left the populated areas of Egypt. 2. traveled a considerable distance in the wilderness. 3. which led to the Red sea where they crossed. The Bible says they traveled in the wilderness to get to the Red sea. The traditional crossing points have it opposite: They crossed the Red Sea then afterwards, entered the wilderness. This is backwards and proves a Gulf of Aqaba crossing point.
G. Etham and Red Sea were the "distant edge" of the wilderness.
Immediately before the crossing of the Red Sea is "Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness." Numbers 33:6. Traditional thinking interprets this as the starting edge of the wilderness on the west side of the Bitter Lakes before they entered what is traditionally called the Sinai Peninsula.
When you cross a wilderness there are always "two edges". The near edge at the start of the wilderness crossing and the far edge as you leave the wilderness.
The correct interpretation is that Etham was on the far and outer edge of the wilderness after they had traveled through it to reach the Red sea. Remember the Bible sequence: They leave Goshen, travel through the wilderness and after they have crossed this wilderness, they arrive at the Red sea and cross it". (Exodus 13:18; Judges 11:16)
H. They arrived at the Red Sea after traveling through the wilderness and were then at the "distant edge" of the wilderness.
Now lets imagine they travel from Goshen to the Bitter lakes or the North Suez.
If the 10 mile area between the outskirts of Goshen and the Bitter Lakes are considered a wilderness, then the edge of the wilderness, in traditional thinking, would be at the outskirts of Goshen where they began. But the edge of the wilderness was immediately before they crossed.
You cannot travel through a wilderness, then be at the starting edge of the same wilderness at the same time. Remember there is only one wilderness in focus here.
I. Judges 11:16 indicates two generally equal distances between Egypt, Red Sea and Kadish Barnea:
Clearly this is a general summary verse that traces the whole trip: "For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh, " Judges 11:16.
It just so happens that the distance from Egypt they went through the wilderness to the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) is roughly about the same distance of 220 Miles. After they crossed, they were only 30 miles from Mt. Sinai (Jebel al-Lawz). The crossing therefore was the approximate halfway mark of the journey to Kadish Barnea (just south of Petra) where they spent 30 years (many days) living before entering the promised land. That is what the verse is conveying.
The traditional and most popular route is a red sea crossing at the Bitter Lakes, through the wilderness to Jebel Musa in what is traditionally called the Sinai Peninsula, then to Kadesh Barnea at Ein el Qudeirat. But the traditional route from Egypt to the Bitter Lakes to Kadesh are dramatically unequal in every regard. The first leg was 30 miles from Goshen to the Bitter Lakes (Red Sea) and the second leg was a wopping 350 miles to Kadish Barnea. (Ein el Qudeirat). Even if they got the location of Kadish Barnea correct just south of Petra, the second let is still 300 Miles.
For the traditional thinkers, if Israel crossed at the Bitter Lakes, then Judges 11:16 would read differently than it does. For them, Judges 11:16 should read: "they came up from Egypt came to Mt. Sinai (220 miles), then from Mt. Sinai to Kadesh Barnea (190 miles)." These are similar distances.
J. What does the Bible call that "V" shaped area of land between the Gulfs of Suez Aqaba? "Wilderness of Egypt" you say?
The Bible name of the "Sinai Peninsula" is the " Wilderness of Egypt ". (Ezekiel 20:36; Judges 11:16; Exodus 13:18)
All modern maps are wrong in regard to the "Sinai Peninsula". One glaring error is calling "V" shaped area of land between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba the Sinai Peninsula. Mt. Sinai must be in the Sinai Peninsula, Right? Wrong. The error is circular reasoning. Because Queen Helina chose Jebel Musa in 325 AD, (St. Catherine's Monastery) as Mt. Sinai, all maps since have called it the wilderness of Sinai or the Sinai Peninsula. But if Mt. Sinai is really at Mt. Karkom, located about 30 miles north west of Ezion-geber. (modern Elat), then this changes everything! And if Mt. Sinai is really Jebel al-Lawz in modern North Saudi Arabia, this really changes everything!
The Bible no where identifies the wilderness of Sinai as being geographically tagged to the V shaped area of land between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. All we know is that Mt. Sinai/Horeb is in the wilderness of Sinai. Find one and you have found the other! But the Bible doesn't specifically tell us where the wilderness of Sinai is located. If it did, we would not have 10 different candidate locations for Mt. Sinai hundreds of miles apart! The Bible does tell us that Mt. Sinai is in the wilderness of Shur. And Shur is where the Ishmaelites lived. And we know the Ishmaelites lived directly with the Midianites. In fact they are used interchangeably in the story of Joseph being sold into Egypt. So we know Mt. Sinai must be in the land of Midian.
Although the Bible never directly tells us where the Wilderness of Sinai is, the Bible does give four different names for geographic V shaped area of land between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba that has traditionally been called the Sinai Peninsula. Here they are: 1. "the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea" (Exodus 13:18) 2. "the wilderness to the Red Sea" (Judges 11:16). 3. "the wilderness of the sea" (Isa 21:1) 4. "wilderness of the land of Egypt" (Ezekiel 20:36) If you study these four passages carefully, you can see that this is clearly the case. We feel perfectly justified in calling it the "The Egyptian Red Sea Wilderness", based strictly upon what the Bible calls this region.
In Isa 21:1 Babylon is likened unto the geographic region west of the Negev (traditionally called the Sinai peninsula) and called "the wilderness of the sea". "The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As windstorms in the Negev sweep on, It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land. " Isaiah 21:1. Here the "the wilderness of the [Red] sea" does not refer to the geographic land of Babylon. Instead, it is saying that Babylon will destroy Judah, like the wind that blows into the Negev from "the wilderness of the sea". The heavy and damaging winds always blow from west to east, so the Bible calls the modern Sinai Peninsula "the wilderness of the sea". The Israelites were all too familiar with the strong and destructive winds that blew from this area into the Negev. Isa 21:1 is warning that destruction for Judah will originate with Babylon in the same way that the strong winds originate from the "the wilderness of the Red sea". The "the wilderness of the Red sea" is a metaphor for Babylon, but not exactly the same as Babylon.
Notice the Hebrew parallelism that seems to indicate that the Red sea was seen as adjacent to the territory of Egypt: The Red Sea is in the land of Ham: "Wonders in the land of Ham And awesome things by the Red Sea. " The Bible tells us that Ham lived in Egypt and archeology tells us he lived on both sides of the Gulf of Suez. Psalm 106:22 "And smote all the firstborn in Egypt, The first issue of their virility in the tents of Ham. " Psalm 78:51 "Israel also came into Egypt; Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. (Before exodus)" Psalm 105:23. We admit the Hebrew parallelism of Ps 106:22 is weak because it also works for a crossing at the Bitter Lakes. It also could be viewed as not being a Hebrew parallelism: "Wonders in the land of Ham (ten plagues) and awesome things by the Red Sea (parting the water). But if the crossing is the Staits of Tiran, it works too!
K. The Egyptian-Israeli border is the "River of Egypt".
The formal western boundary of Israel is the River of Egypt (Wadi al-Arish). Cross the River of Egypt and you are in Egypt! That's why its called The River of Egypt!
God told Abraham the land promise included: "From the River of Egypt (Wadi al-Arish) as far as the great river, the river Euphrates" Gen 15:18
Abraham went directly from Egypt to the Negev without passing through any other territory. "So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him. " Genesis 13:1. This verse is exactly what we would expect if the River of Egypt (Wadi al-Arish) is the boundary line between the Negev and Egypt.
Notably, when people cross the River of Egypt the Bible never puts any land, region or area between the two. If the border of Egypt really was at the edge of the land of Goshen by the Bitter Lakes, we would expect the Bible to say things like, "An Abraham left the Negev and travelled in the wilderness, then came to Egypt. We never find a single Bible verse that indicates a land between Egypt and Israel, because the River of Egypt is the eastern boundary of Egypt!
Premillenialists discount the Bible verses that say Israel got all the promised land: "So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. " Joshua 21:43. They argue that the River of Egypt is not the Wadi al-Arish, but the Nile River. Of course this won't work because the Nile is a much greater river than the Euphrates and of course it would mean that they were already in the promised land in Goshen before the exodus started! So the western boundary of Israel is the River of Egypt, which is the Wadi al-Arish. Most Bible map sets have this correct.
The power of name of this river that the sets the boundary between Egypt and Israel was understood in the mind of every Jew. What country other than Egypt controlled this region? Was it just a blob of vacant wasteland no country laid claim to? The fact remains that from 1500BC up to the completion of the New Testament, the land west of the River of Egypt was considered part of Egypt. Sure Egypt proper was west of the Nile, but this area was an Egyption protectorate.
The Romans annexed what we call the "modern Sinai Peninsula" in 106 AD. Prior to this, it was considered the territory of Egypt. Because of mining operations, it was an Egyptian protectorate under the military control of Egypt. This means that Egyptian territory butted up to the western boundery of Israel (Wadi al-Arish in the Negev).
After 106 AD, the "modern Sinai Peninsula" became accociated with Arabia. This understanding also proves that Mt. Sinia cannot be in this region at Jebel Musa, since Paul said Mt. Sinai was in Arabia. (Gal 4:25) Since Arabia was restricted to Saudia Arabia and south east of the Dead Sea, until 106 AD, Jebel al-Lawz becomes a primary candiate for Mt. Sinai. Remember Queen Helina chose a lot of places in 325AD on the basis of feelings and superstition that were clearly not historically correct. These include the Birth place of Christ's birth (Bethlehem) and Jebel Musa for Mt. Sinai.
Ezekiel calls the "modern Sinai Peninsula" the "wilderness of the land of Egypt". Ezek 20:36 "As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you," declares the Lord God." Ezekiel 20:36. Just where did God judge Israel in "the wilderness of Egypt"? The first recorded faithless grumbling is Israel was while they were still in Egypt against Moses who was trying to get them to leave in the first place. Ezekiel makes reference to the second recorded faithless grumbling of Israel in the wilderness of the land of Egypt just before crossing the Red Sea: "Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? "Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."" Exodus 14:11-12. Although God did not kill them until their next faithless grumbling on the other side of the Red Sea, Ezekiel tells us that God had Judged them for their faithlessness. They were marked for punishment.
The Ishmaelites and the Midianites lived together in the land of Midian and are referred to interchangeably in the Bible. But the Bible also says that "Ishmael settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt as one goes toward Assyria; he settled in defiance of all his relatives." Genesis 25:18 Haviliah was south east of the dead sea and Shur was in the land of Midian (modern Saudi Arabia). There was a highway running north to south between Haviliah and Shur where Ishmael lived. Another reference to this highway is: "So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. " 1 Samuel 15:7. Now that we know the highway ran north and south but east of Araba Valley which would drain the dead sea into the Red sea if the water still flowed. Here is the point: This area is described as being, "east of Egypt" which only makes sense if the "Traditional Sinai Peninsula" is considered part of Egypt.
Notice that Pharaoh considered them still within Egypt before the crossing of the Red sea: "For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'" Exodus 14:3
L. The Straits of Tiran in the Gulf of Aqaba is the best candidate for the crossing point
If we let the Bible guide us first, then look at the geography of the Gulf of Aqaba, we will see that the Straits of Tiran are the best candidate for the Red Sea crossing.
M. "Shut in" by the sea and the mountains at the Straits of Tiran:
Scripture says that Israel went past the Red Sea crossing point to Pi-hahiroth, then turned back again. "For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'" Exodus 14:3. The Straits of Tiran are clearly where this happened!
Pharaoh, knowing the geography of the area understood that Israel had reached the dead end of this plain and was literally boxed in by high mountains and the Red Sea. Pharaoh's best army came roaring up behind them leaving them only two choices: climb or swim. Praise God for miracles!
As Israel departed Goshen, they traveled 275 miles to reach the Straits of Tiran. There is a wide coastal plain on the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez that butts up against a high mountain range and also follows the coastline around to the Straits of Tiran. So as they walked south for the entire trip beside the Gulf of Suez, they were boxed in on the east by the mountains and on the west by the Gulf of Suez. But this continuous coastal plain provided the perfect highway for a million people. When they got to Pi-hahiroth, they turned back again to the Straits of Tiran because they hit a dead end: A mountain range. Pharaoh knew Israel must trace their steps back the way they came and figured it would an easy slaughter, since Israel was trapped. So for a military leader the route they traveled was a disaster, but Israel's military leader could part the red sea.
There is no absolute "boxing in" at any other crossing point like the Bitter Lakes or the north Gulf of Suez.
N. Natural land bridge across the Straits of Tiran:
The Gulf of Aqaba is a very deep channel of water ranging from 800-1800 meters in the middle. However at the Straits of Tiran, there is a natural land bridge so the deepest point the Israelites would encounter is only 205 meters.
The crossing at the Straits of Tiran is 18 km long and a natural land bridge provides for an 800 meters wide pathway the full distance of the crossing. The Straits of Titan have a shallow coral reef in the middle with a one way shipping lane on either side. From modern nautical charts, we can see that the eastern "Enterprise Passage" is 205 meters deep and 800 meters wide and the western "Grafton Passage" is only 70 meters deep and 800 meters wide. A diver need go only 13 meters at deepest point on top of Jackson's Reef from the surface.
Coral growth over the last 3500 years since the miraculous crossing means that we cannot really know what the sea floor looked like exactly back then. For example, as the coral grew up and came to the surface, the tides flowing around the coral would dig a natural channel deeper on the north and south ends of the reef where all the water would flow around. Gradually, the coral reefs would act like a partial dam over the center 80% of the strait. This is a very realistic scenario and means that 3500 years ago, the coral was under water and therefore the tides would not dig the deep channel at either end of the reef where it is today.
But even with the depths we see today, it causes no problems for the exodus crossing. The slope of descent is far more important than the depth. The Straits of Tiran, as we see them today pose absolutely no problem for a crossing by a million people since the slope is shallow and the depth is no more than 600 feet. (205 meters).
So 3500 years ago the 18 km crossing point at the Straits of Tiran would likely have been deeper than it is now over the coral reef and shallower than it is now in the two shipping channels. In other words, 3500 years ago it may have been a uniform depth for the entire 18 km of between 100-200 meters. A very easy crossing indeed.
There is one other natural land bridge that provides the only other possible crossing site in the Gulf of Aqaba that is adjacent to Nuweiba. This is not likely the crossing point, since the depths there reach 765 meters (2300 Ft.) and with much steeper slopes. Neweiba is also in the middle of a mountain range making it difficult to access for the Israelites. It doesn't have easy continuous access back to Goshen like the Straits of Tiran offer. It does too good a job at "shutting them up in the wilderness" since there is a very narrow and long canyon through the mountains they needed to cross to even get to the shore at Neweiba. Neweiba is therefore a distant second choice to the Straits of Tiran for the location of the Red Sea crossing.
The incline across the Enterprise Passage on the west side of Gordon Reef is easy even today to cross. Remember miracles were involved here so if it was too steep, perhaps God filled in some dirt ahead of time!
O. Pharaoh's army sank to the bottom like a stone in deep, mighty, raging waters! Exodus 15:5, 10
The Bible says that pharaoh's army sank to the bottom of the sea like a stone, as well as others washing up on shore. "They went down into the depths like a stone. ... They sank like lead in the mighty waters. " Exodus 15:5, 10 "You hurled into the depths, Like a stone into raging waters." Nehemiah 9:11. As God released the water, the surge would be like a 40 foot tsunami (wave) that would easily sweep the entire army off the 800 meter wide land bridge into 1300 meter deep water immediately on either side. The deepest part is 1800 meters. Pharaoh's army sank to the bottom like a stone in very deep, mighty, raging waters! It was a bad day for heavy body armor.
Divers have claimed to find what looks like "18th dynasty Egyptian, eight spoke chariot wheels", 50 miles north of the Strait of Tiran in shallow water. To really do the job right, a professional deep sea archeological expedition of "Titanic proportions" is needed to explore the depths of 1800 meters in much of the 30 mile ocean gully at the bottom of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Titanic is in 4000 meters of water so 1800 meters is clearly possible. Although cold water would preserve the wood, realistically, with earthquakes and natural sedimentation, it is unlikely to find anything that is 3500 years old at the bottom of the deepest parts visible to any dive team, but its worth a try!
Conclusion:
Once they crossed the Red Sea into the Land of Midian, what is now North Saudi Arabia, they headed for Jebel al-Lawz, which we consider the best candidate for Mt. Sinai when both the Bible and Archeology are considered.
Mt. Sinai located near the following areas: Wilderness of Etham and wilderness of Sinai are synonymous. Mt. Sinai was in the wilderness of Shur, where the Ishmaelites lived, which was in the land of Midian.
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What, meaning 'gentle way', did Jigoro Kano create in Japan in 1882?
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Judo | EVA Foam Jigsaw Mats
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Judo
Judo, meaning “gentle way” is a modern martial art, combat and Olympic sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano (嘉納治五郎). Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the objective is to either throw or takedown an opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue an opponent with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke. Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet as well as weapons defenses are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (kata, 型) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori, 乱取り). A judo practitioner is called a judoka.
The philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for other modern Japanese martial arts that developed from koryū (古流, traditional schools). The worldwide spread of judo has led to the development of a number of offshoots such as Sambo and Brazilian jiujitsu.
History and philosophy
The early history of judo is inseparable from its founder, Japanese polymath and educator Jigoro Kano (嘉納 治五郎 Kanō Jigorō, 1860–1938), born Shinnosuke Kano (嘉納 新之助 Kanō Shinnosuke). Kano was born into a relatively affluent family. His father, Jirosaku, was the second son of the head priest of the Shinto Hiyoshi shrine in Shiga Prefecture. He married Sadako Kano, daughter of the owner of Kiku-Masamune sake brewing company and was adopted by the family, changing his name to Kano, and ultimately became an official in the Bakufu government.
Jigoro Kano had an academic upbringing and, from the age of seven, he studied English, Japanese calligraphy (書道 shodō) and the Four Confucian Texts (四書 Shisho) under a number of tutors. When he was fourteen, Kano began boarding at an English-medium school, Ikuei-Gijuku in Shiba, Tokyo. The culture of bullying endemic at this school was the catalyst that caused Kano to seek out a Jujutsu (柔術 Jūjutsu) dojo training place at which to train.
Early attempts to find a jujutsu teacher who was willing to take him on met with little success. With the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, jujutsu had become unfashionable in an increasingly westernised Japan. Many of those who had once taught the art had been forced out of teaching or become so disillusioned with it that they had simply given up. Nakai Umenari, an acquaintance of Kanō’s father and a former soldier, agreed to show him kata, but not to teach him. The caretaker of his father’s second house, Katagiri Ryuji, also knew jujutsu, but would not teach it as he believed it was no longer of practical use. Another frequent visitor to Kanō’s father’s house, Imai Genshiro of Kyūshin-ryū (扱心流) school of jujutsu, also refused. Several years passed before he finally found a willing teacher.
In 1877, as a student at the Tokyo-Kaisei school (soon to become part of the newly founded Tokyo Imperial University), Kano learned that many jujutsu teachers had been forced to pursue alternative careers, frequently opening Seikotsu-in (整骨院, traditional osteopathy practices).[6] After inquiring at a number of these, Kano was referred to Fukuda Hachinosuke (c.1828–1880), a teacher of the Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū (天神真楊流) of jujutsu, who had a small nine mat dojo where he taught five students. Fukuda is said to have emphasized technique over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano’s emphasis on randori (乱取り randori, free practice) in judo.
On Fukuda’s death in 1880, Kano, who had become his keenest and most able student in both randori and kata (形 kata, pre-arranged forms), was given the densho (伝書, scrolls) of the Fukuda dojo.[9] Kano chose to continue his studies at another Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū school, that of Iso Masatomo (c.1820–1881). Iso placed more emphasis on the practice of kata, and entrusted randori instruction to assistants, increasingly to Kano. Iso died in June 1881 and Kano went on to study at the dojo of Iikubo Tsunetoshi (1835–1889) of Kitō-ryū (起倒流). Like Fukuda, Iikubo placed much emphasis on randori, with Kitō-ryū having a greater focus on nage-waza (投げ技, throwing techniques).
Mats
Judo practitioners use tatami vinyl mats and also EVA jigsaw mats for training. The kind supplied by Ezymats .
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Judo
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History of Judo in Japan and Michigan - Shojin Judo
History of Judo in Japan
Jigoro Kano, founder of Judo
Jigoro Kano was born in 1860 and became an excellent student of the martial arts. He consolidated and refined what he considered the best of the techniques from the various martial arts existing in Japan and developed a new system for the purpose of human development (mind, body, and spirit). His goal was to create a martial way could be practiced safely and without the risk of serious injury. To that end, he removed techniques that he deemed dangerous or unsafe for use in practice.
In June of 1882 Professor Kano founded the Kodokan Judo Institute (or “Home School of Judo”) in Tokyo, Japan. There, Professor Kano taught his new set of techniques and style, which he called Judo, which literally means “the gentle way.” Like its predecessor, jujitsu, the techniques in Judo use an opponent’s strength to the opponent’s disadvantage. A few years after its founding it was challenged by the traditional jujitsu disciplines, a common practice at that time. To test Judo, a tournament was scheduled on June 10, 1886 at the Tokyo police headquarters. The techniques from the winner of this tournament were to be used to train the Tokyo police. Ten matches were arranged. Out of the ten matches the Kodokan contestants won nine and tied one; they did not lose any. This tournament firmly established Judo as a respected discipline within Japan and it spread throughout the country.
International Judo
Although Dr. Kano died in 1938, Judo continued to expand and develop internationally through the efforts of the Kodokan. In 1951, the International Judo Federation was founded, which expanded over time to unify the various judo federations around the world and now governs Judo in the Olympics. In 1964, Judo was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Tokyo Olympics, and was reintroduced at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Today, Judo is practiced by millions of participants and is reportedly the second most popular participant sport in the world.
USA and Michigan Judo
The history of Judo in the United States spans over a century. In 1902, Samuel Hill invited Yamashita Yoshitsugu, an instructor from the Kodokan, to teach judo to his children so they could learn the ideals of the samurai class. Yoshitsugu then moved to the District of Columbia where he began his teaching. In 1904, he was invited to meet President Theodore Roosevelt who ended up studying with the instructor and achieved a brown belt.
Judo eventually spread from that point throughout the United States, but did not develop significantly on a national basis until the conclusion of World War II. After the war, many American servicemen who had studied Judo in Japan during the occupation returned home to teach it. They, along with existing Japanese communities throughout the United States, helped to establish Judo as one of the most practiced martial arts in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. When Judo was first officially accepted as an Olympic Sport for the 1964 Tokyo Games, the United States sent a team that would include a bronze medal winner — a significant achievement for the U.S. Judo community. In 2012, The United States received its first ever Olympic Gold Medal in Judo, when Kayla Harrison won the women’s −78 kg division at the London Games.
Judo is governed primarily by three national organizations in the United States. The first of these is the United States Judo Federation (USJF) (originally the Amateur Judo Association, and later the Judo Black Belt Federation (JBBF)), which was founded in 1952, As late as 1955, the JBBF was the only Judo federation in the United States. In 1967, it changed its name to the United States Judo Federation. In 1969, an association of black belts of the USJF known as the Armed Forces Judo Association became the United States Judo Association . With the introduction of the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, a new organization, United States Judo, Inc; (now branded as USA Judo ), was created to serve as the National Governing Body for the Olympic Sport of Judo in the United States. Today, all three organizations work collaboratively to promote and develop Judo.
Locally, Judo has a strong tradition in Michigan and the metro Detroit area. Perhaps one of the most well known instructors was John Osako, a former Pan-American Champion, who developed the Detroit Judo Club in the 1950s. The Club was at one point the largest non-profit judo club in the United States and produced many practitioners, included several who still practice and teach Judo today.
Today, Judo in Michigan is promoted by Konan Judo , the Yudanshakai (or regional association of black belts) under the USJF that serves Michigan and surrounding Midwestern states. Shojin Judo is an active member of Konan Judo and Judo Affiliates of Michigan (shared site with Konan ) (affiliate of USA Judo).
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Prior to Apple becoming the most valuable company in the world in 2012 (at $619bn) what corporation had held the record since 1999?
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An Apple History: Remembering Apple CEO Steve Jobs - IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
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An Apple History: Remembering Apple CEO Steve Jobs
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Steve Jobs, the visionary founder and leader of Apple Computer Corporation , died Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at the age of 56 after an 8-year battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. Jobs, who is sometimes referred to as the father of personal computing, was the mastermind behind Apple’s Computers, iPods, iPhones, iMacs and iPad’s and is seen by many as a man who pioneered the personal computing industry and literally changed the way we live our lives every day. In celebration of his life and his accomplishments over the years, the following is a timeline of Jobs’ history, and the history of Apple, beginning in 1972 when he graduated from Homestead High School in Cupertino, CA, and focusing on the major events in a memorable life.
Upon the announcement of Steve Jobs death, Apple changed the homepage of their website to reflect a full-page image of Jobs with text that simply says “Steve Jobs 1955-2011.” When you click on the image, you are directed to a page featuring a statement made by current Apple CEO Tim Cook: “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”
Apple’s Board of directors put out the following statement:
We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.
Early History
Their journey began when the two Steve’s met in 1972. Steve Jobs, a young, energetic, electronics enthusiast with a knack for marketing electronics met Steve Wozniak, a talented, self-taught electronics engineer and electronics hobbyist while Jobs worked a summer internship at Hewlett Packard. Their partnership began when Wozniak started building boxes that allowed him to make long-distance phone calls for free and Jobs assisted Wozniak in marketing and selling several hundred of his boxes.
Jobs was just 21 years old, when in 1976, he co-founded Apple Computer Corporation along with friend and fellow college drop out Wozniak, 26. The company quickly established itself as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States with its products being carried by over 100 dealers by the end of 1978 and going public in 1980 when 4.6 million shares sold out in under a minute.
Prior to Apple, when people thought of computers they thought of mainframe servers that took up entire floors. Jobs was a visionary whose idea for a personal computer led him to revolutionize the computer hardware and software industry, ultimately leading to just about every home and every school in America being able to afford and own a personal computer of their own.
The Journey Begins
1972: Steve Jobs while still in high school started attending lectures at Hewlett-Packard, where he met Steve Wozniak after he was hired as a summer employee.
1974: Wozniak, who dabbled in computer design, invited Jobs to join the “Homebrew Computer Club” held at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center where electronics- enthusiasts got together to share knowledge and help others with their self-made computers. Jobs who has an eye for the marketability of personal computers then convinces Wozniak, who enjoys creating electronic devices for fun, that they should form a company to build and market a personal computer to the mainstream.
1975: Jobs and Wozniak begin working on the design for the Apple I computer in Jobs’ bedroom and built the prototype in Jobs’ garage, all the while getting feedback from fellow Homebrew Computer Club Members.
1976: Although they originally planned to sell their new computers to members of the Homebrew Computer Club, as an employee of HP, Wozniak has to get a legal release from HP in order to produce and distribute electronic devices on his own. Therefore he approaches HP to offer up his newest idea, but no one at HP seem to be interested in the idea. Jobs and Wozniak then decided to sell their most valuable possessions, Jobs’ Volkswagen Micro-bus and Wozniak’s Hewlett-Packard Scientific calculator to raise a total $1,300 to start their company they called Apple Computer Company. Jobs convinced Wozniak to quit his job at Hewlett-Packard to become the vice president in charge of research and development of their newly formed company and Jobs himself quit his job at Atari to become the company vice president.
An Apple is Born
1976, The Original Apple I Computer
1976: Early that year, Jobs and Wozniak Hire Ronald Wayne on 10% share of the company. The three receive their first order from a local computer store called “Byte Shop” for 50 Apple I computers at a cost of $666.66 each. Each computer costs $100 in parts to build. They get the parts on 30 days net credit and work in the evenings in Job’s garage, delivering the order in only 10 days. Later that year, Wozniak finishes the Apple II prototype. In an effort to acquire funding they present the Apple II to Commodore who produced the CPU used in the Apple II and are turned down.
1977: Jobs realized that there is a huge gap in the computer market when almost all computers took up entire rooms and were far too expensive for individuals to afford. They redesigned their computers and redeveloped the Apple ][ computer that was created and marketed with the individual user in mind. That year Apple is incorporated hires Michael “Scotty” Scott as Apple’s first CEO. Apple receives venture capital of $250,000 from former marketing manager of Intel, Armas Clifford “Mike” Markkula. With the help of their first ad agency, the company shows first year sales of $2.7 million with company earnings growing 700% to $200 million within their first three years.
1978: Job’s daughter Lisa Nicole is born. Wozniak also designed the first ever 5.25″ floppy disk controller and drive that attached to the Apple II using an expansion slot.
1979, Apple introduces the Apple II+ (left), the Apple Silentype (center) and VisiCalc spreadsheet software (right).
1979: the Apple II+ which has far more memory than the Apple II is introduced and sells for $1195 and boasts an easier start up system In addition, that year brings about the companies first printer, the Silentype, and the first spreadsheet for micro computers, VisiCalc. Apple also begins working on the Lisa project named after Steve Jobs’ daughter who was born the year before.
1980: Apple goes public and in one day makes 40 employees of Apple into instant millionaires. Jobs who held the largest number of shares made $217 alone, while Markkula makes $203 million (a 220,700% return on his investment). The Apple /// is released and sold with various configurations for $3,495 to $7,800 but has a failed start when due to technical design and flaws, 14,000 units are recalled. Jobs hires 15 Xerox employees to work on the Lisa project. Within 1 year Apple stocks increase in value 1700%.
1981: Markkula becomes the new president and CEO of Apple. IBM introduces the IBM PC for $1,565. Their PC contains 16K RAM, a 5.25″ floppy disc drive and runs the first version of MS-DOS, and although rarely reached the efficiency of the Apple II, released 4 years earlier, the IBM PC becomes an instant success.
1982: The Company released 40 new software programs, opened a European office and put out its first hard disk drive. By December that year, Apple became the first computer company to reach $1 billion in annual sales. The Lisa Computer is declared ready for market.
1983, Apple introduces the Apple Lisa (left), the Apple IIe (center) and the Apple III+ (right).
1983: This is a busy year for Apple. The Apple Lisa is introduced to market in January for $9,998 and in September without bundled software for $6,995. The Apple IIe is also introduced in January for $1,395. In December the Apple III+ is introduced for $2,995to replace the defective Apple III. It is estimated that Apple looses half of its market share to International Business Machines (IBM).
1984: The “1984” Ad Spot is aired at the Super Bowl XVIII. Apple releases a revolutionary Macintosh all-in-one desktop Computer that sells for $2,495. This new computer features never before seen icons that are opened when clicked upon using a new device called a mouse. The Macintosh failed due to a lack of features other personal computers had. John Sculley replaces Markkula as the companies 3rd CEO.
1985: Because of the recent failures coming out of Apple, along with poor inventory tracking and infighting between divisions, CEO John Scully persuaded the Board of Directors to strip Jobs of all operational responsibilities. Jobs resigns from Apple, yet maintains his position as Chairman of the board although he has no influence on decisions any more. Apple sues Jobs because he informs them that he plans on founding a new company with 5 other Apple executives that follow him to the new company. Scully then signs a contract with Microsoft giving them permission to use some Mac GUI (Graphic User Interface) technologies if Microsoft continues producing software for the Mac (Word, Excel). In return, Microsoft agreed to continue developing Word and Excel for Macintosh. Because of this contract, Apple looses all lawsuits over copyright infringements against Microsoft in the following years ultimately leading to Microsoft becoming Apple’s greatest competition.
1986: Apple drops the suit against Jobs, who agrees neither to build computers competitive to Apple nor to hire Apple employees for 6 months. Jobs finds his newest endeavor, NeXT, Inc. Jobs also purchases Pixar computer animation studios from George Lucas for less than $10 million. Apple releases the Apple IIgs for $999 per unit.
1987: Apple celebrates its 10th Anniversary. Ross Perot invests $20 million into NeXT. The Mac SE and Mac II are released.
1988 Steve Jobs Displays the New NeXT Computer
1988: Microsoft releases Windows 2.0.3, which features Mac-like icons. Apple sues Microsoft and HP for violation of copyrights of Apple on the Macintosh System Software. The NeXT computer, which features 25MHz ’30 Processor, 8 MB RAM, 250 MB Optical Disk Drive, FPU, Math Co-Processor, Digital Processor for Real Time Sound, Faxmodem and a 17″ monitor, is released and sells for $6,500. Apple’s newest Mac released that same year was half as fast, with no peripherals and sold for $1,000 more. By that year, over one million Macintosh computers had been sold, with 70 percent of sales to corporations. Software was created that allowed the Macintosh to be connected to IBM-based systems. Apple’s income topped $400 million, up from income of $217 million in 1986.
1989: Apple Corps, the Beatle’s record company files a trademark infringement suit against Apple. The NeXTstep OS is introduced. Apple releases the Macintosh IIci, the Macintosh IIfx and the very first laptop known as the Macintosh Portable.
1990: Daniel Lewin, a NeXT founder resigns. Windows 3.0 is released. The NeXTstation is released for $4,995 exactly one year after the release of the NeXTstep OS. It used the new 25 MHz ’40, 2.88 MB floppy drive, 105MB HD, 8MB RAM, and monochrome monitor. Also introduced was the NeXTstation Color for $7995 with a 16″ monitor capable of 4,096 colors, and 12 MB RAM. The $7995 NeXTcube was next, with the same configuration as a NeXTstation Color except it could use a 32-bit video board for 16.7 million colors in Adobe’s Display Postscript. Windows 3.0 is released.
1991: NeXT Founder, Susan Barnes resigns and one of NeXT’s Board of Directors, Ross Perot, resigns saying it was the biggest mistakes he’s made in business. Apple, IBM and Motorola form an official alliance. The three companies agree to create PowerPC based machines. IBM was in charge of development, Motorola was to produce the new CPU and Apple was to create a port for the MacOS to run on the new platform. Pixar and Disney form a filmmaking partnership where Pixar makes the movies, Disney distributes them and both companies share production costs and profits. The Apple Corp. settles the lawsuit with Apple Computer, Inc. who pays them $26.5 million.
1992: NeXT 3.0 is announced and Microsoft releases Windows 3.1.
1993: The last NeXT co-founder resigns leaving Steve Jobs alone as head of the newly named NeXT Computer, Inc. Michael Spindler replaces Sculley as Apple CEO. Sculley becomes the new Chairmen of the Board but resigns from Apple later that same year. Apple releases 1st Macintosh TV and the first PDA the Newton Message Pad that ultimately fails to deliver on the reliability it promises.
1994 brought about the Powerbook 500 Series laptop
1994: Apple releases its first Power Macintosh Desktop Computer as well as the Powerbook 500 Series. Apple starts licensing the MacOS and announces the creation of Pippin, a home multimedia system for gaming, learning and surfing the Internet. Apple receives the PowerPC 603 and 604 CPU’s from IBM and Motorola.
1995: Disney Pixar releases its first movie, “Toy Story.” The PowerPC 603e is announced. IBM and Motorola introduce the 100 MHz 603e, which is up to 30% faster than the 603. IBM releases a 120 MHz 601 and Power Computing releases the first Mac clones.
1996: Apple Purchased NeXT Software for $430 million. Steve Jobs returns to Apple as a part time consultant to the CEO. Gilbert Frank Amelio becomes the 4th CEO with the shortest tenure of any Apple CEO. Apple releases its Apple Performa 6400 Desktop computer.
1997: Apple celebrates its 20th Birthday and the 20th Anniversary Macintosh is announced to commemorate the occasion. Apple and Microsoft enter into a partnership, agreeing to cooperate on several sales and technology fronts. Mac OS7.6 and MacOS 8.0 are released that year. Jobs Announces that Apple will sell computers directly to users over the Internet. Apple’s online Apple store becomes an immediate success when within one week, it the third largest eCommerce site on the Internet. CEO Amelio and VP Ellen Hancock are both forced to resign. After 20 years, Jobs is finally named CEO (interim) of the company he created in his garage. Apple buys Power Computing and both Motorola and IBM discontinue all Mac clones. Later that year, Apple introduces its deal with CompUSA for the new brick and mortar locations of an “Apple Store” within each CompUSA location. Apple and Microsoft form an alliance where Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple stock while Apple includes Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser in every copy of the MacOS.
1998: Marks the release of the new iMac, which featured powerful computing at affordable prices ($999.00). The design is sleek with a clear plastic case trimmed in translucent shades of blue or red, with a smaller mouse and keyboard. The iMac is pre-ordered over 150,000 times. Apple also releases the PowerBook G3. Apple returns to profitability and Jobs announces a $47 million profit in the first quarter.
1999, Apple introduces (from left) the Power Macintosh G3, the iMac 2, and the new iBook.
1999: The Power Macintosh G3 and an upgraded 2nd and 3rd version of iMac are released. The new iBook laptop is unveiled and pre-orders exceed 140,000. This new laptop is available in bright colors and includes Apple’s AirPort, the computer version of a cordless phone that allows users to surf the Internet wirelessly. Disney Pixar launches Toy Story 2.
2000: Jobs becomes the permanent CEO of Apple. MacOS X, a brand new operating system based upon Apple’s Rhapsody strategy is released. Apple releases AppleWorks 6 office software. Apple’s website is completely redesigned, featuring new services such as iTools, a free web space service for Apple Macintosh users, and iReview. The PowerBook G3 (FireWire) now runs at 400 to 500 MHz and features AirPort wireless network. The iBook Special Edition and the faster Power Macintosh G4 Cubes (500 MHz) are released. In September Apple announces a correction for its predicted earnings in quarter four from $165 million profits to only $110 million causing Apple stocks to fall 45% from $53.50 to $29.13 over night. In December, Apple announces an estimated loss of $259 million for the first quarter of 2001, which ends on December 30th, 2000. This is the first quarterly loss for Apple in three years.
2001: Apple reveals its new iMac with built-in CD-RW drive. It runs at 400, 500 or 600 MHz and ships with the color options “Indigo”, “Blue Dalmatian”, “Flower Power” and “Graphite”. Later that year they release the Power Macintosh G4 Quick Silver. And in October of 2001, Jobs introduces the revolutionary iPod, a portable hard disk MP3 player with 5 GB capacity, holding up to 1,000 MP3 songs.
2002, Apple releases its first iMac in LCD
2002: Apple announces the all-new LCD iMac with PPC G4 CPU, 14″ iBook and iPhoto, a free photo editing software and shows a profit of $38 million in quarter one. Apple Computer Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Ericsson announce that they have teamed up to develop a multimedia system for cell phones using Apple’s QuickTime Streaming technology. Apple releases the eMac, an all-in-one computer with a 17″ flat CRT display and 700 MHz G4 processor especially designed for the education market but releases it to the general public later that same year. Apple releases a 17″ iMac configuration, 20 GB iPod, iTunes 3 and MacOS X 10.2.
2003: Apple releases a 12″ and a 17″ PowerBook G4, Safari web browser, Final Cut Express, iPhoto 2, iDVD 3, iMovie 3, Keynote presentation software and Airport Extreme. At a special Apple Event Steve Jobs announces new iPods and iTunes 4. iTunes 4 features a music store in which 200,000 songs are available for download. Apple announces and releases Safari 1.0 and introduces the new Power Macintosh G5, the world’s fastest personal computer, a new iMac model featuring USB 2.0 and new iPod sizes. Apple also announces that it has sold over 10,000,000 songs via iTunes Music Store making it a huge success and a 20-inch flat-panel iMac model.
2004: Jobs introduces the 4th generation iPod and the new iMac G5 featuring a PowerPC G5 CPU with either 1.6 Ghz or 1.8 GHz PowerPC, 17 or 20-inch TFT LC display and SuperDrive (on two of three models). Prices start from $1,299.
2005: The Mac mini measuring just 6.5″ square and 2″ tall is released and becomes the least expensive of all Apple computers selling for only $499. . Inside is an optical drive (Combo or 2.5″ hard drive, room for AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth, and one slot for memory. There are no expansion slots, and there’s no internal power supply. Apple announced its best quarter ever. The holiday 2004 quarter had generated US$295 million in profits. That included over 1 million Macs (up 25% from the previous year) and 4.5 million iPods. The iPod mini, Apple’s most popular model ever, was discontinued on Sept. 7 and replaced with the iPod Nano.
2006: The 15″ MacBook Pro replaces the 15″ aluminum PowerBook, the 17″ MacBook Pro and a redesigned iPod Nano. The 2G Nano is clad in aluminum and was available in 6 different colors.
2007: Marks the release of the original iPhone, Apple’s first mobile phone, a smart phone that combined a cell phone, an iPod, and an OS X, a redesigned aluminum iMac in 20″ and 24″ varieties, and the iPod touch, an iPhone without mobile phone or camera capabilities.
2008: Apple introduces the MacBook Air, a 3 lb. 3/4″ think machine with a full sized keyboard and 13.3″ display, the 2nd version iPhone 3G and version 2.0 of the iPhone/iPod touch.
2009: Mark’s Mac’s 25th anniversary. Apple releases the new MacBook featuring a white unibody, the 17″ version of the MacBook Pro and unveils its new “Magic Mouse.”
2010: Apple releases the Apple iPad. And adds the newest version of the iPhone, the iPhone 4. Apple also unveils an all new line of iPods, including the iPod Shuffle, the world’s smallest iPod, with 2 GB of memory, the new smaller iPod Nano with a Multi-touch user interface and a 24 hour battery life and the new iPod Touch which now includes Face time between iPods Touches and iPhone. Apple also created a new Social Network for music lovers they call Ping which is on your computer, the iPhone and the iPod touch. Finally Apple released the 2nd generation Apple TV that is a 4th of the size of the original Apple TV released in 2006.
2011: Apple releases the 2nd generation iPad 2 with 2 built-in video cameras (front and back) that is now 1/3 thinner than the original iPad 1, even thinner than the iPhone 4, works with both AT&T and Verizon, still has a 10 hour battery life and comes in 2 colors, black or white.
August 24, 2011: Steve Jobs steps down as CEO and is replaced by Apple’s COO, Tim Cook.
October 5, 2011: Steve Jobs passes away peacefully at home at the age of 56 after an 8-year battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer.
The Author
Renee C. Quinn is the Chief Operating Officer, Marketing Director and Business Manager for IPWatchdog, Inc. She has worked with IPWatchdog since April 2006, where she is in charge of all of the day to day, behind-the-scenes operations of IPWatchdog. She also handles all marketing and advertising inquires and is the first point of contact for IPWatchdog.
Renée holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Masters of Business Administration. She writes on various business and social media topics for IPWatchdog.com and is available to consult with individuals and businesses on how to set up and effectively use social media and social networking tools to establish a successful marketing campaign.
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Discuss this
There are currently 11 Comments comments.
Alex October 9, 2011 10:13 pm
Great history compilation!! However, where is 2010-2011? New MacBook air, new Mini, Apple TV, iPad…
oceansky7 October 9, 2011 11:10 pm
I had one of the first apple’s and worked on several of those computers as a programmer. That said I soon had no use for the newer ones as they were counter intuitive and were directed towards niche markets. They were soon replaced with faster and better computers from other makers. Two companies took different approaches to their business model and methods, and the public favored the pc. So I drifted away from apple. What made things worse was that instead of finding a way to charge attractive prices, apple decided to take the approach that if they had better marketing, they wouldn’t have to. I of course saw right through that and used what provided me with the most computing power at cheaper prices. Mean while, artists who had little computer background chose to believe that if you want to do art, or music you must need a mac and were hooked on apple’s sales pitches. That’s ok.. But at some point, I started to notice apple got even slicker with their marketing and started to become a bit deceptive.
Their style was to continually attack their competitor in order to win sympathy among a small minority. One such move was when they went over board for claiming microsoft stole their OS GUI etc. As if that were even possible considering both are entirely different pieces of code. And at the same time pretending it was their creation to begin with. Considering they were attacking the point that it would use a mouse was a bit petty. It’s like saying one car is a copy of another if it chooses to have 4 wheels and a steering wheel. They’re both cars. And apple didn’t invent the computer OR the GUI! For having that much pride, their followers gave them credit for what wasn’t a concept from either apple or Microsoft, but rather Xerox. If Steve Jobs was so visionary, why didn’t HE come up with that? But no big deal, as it was a fairly simple X,Y coordinate program. Xerox simply beat apple and microsoft to it first! In other words, computers need mice and video screens! Otherwise they’d all be old boxes with red led’s on them. And apple needed to use that concept from Xerox. Much like cars need wheels, computers need a mouse and gui. And the fact that apple didn’t come up with it proves that they are no better in the context of originality than microsoft. That’s why when I see hints about how apple is the innovator and microsoft is not in articles such as this, I find it an extreme exaggeration. But apple fanboys love to skew or misquote history in order to justify admiration of apple. An admiration that was built with steve job’s marketing skills.
That’s right. when most of the word decided they wanted a pc rather than an over priced apple, steve jobs had a problem. His solution was to revamp apple’s marketing. After taking cues from Nike’s marketing methods, he stopped talking about the computers important features, and begin instead to give these inspiring speeches, talking of peoples dreams/aspirations etc. Talking about people who dared to think different and change the world, which stirs emotions. Then when these people were moved, he’d quickly show pictures of the apple logo within seconds, in order to get those people to link those strong feelings to apple. That was no accident as it was planned. The purpose of his speeches were not for a communication or because he’s this good hearted person that just showed up over and over, but to get a result. And that result was to sell more computers. And using those skills he built a cult following. Which explains why fans became so overly emotional about him. And today remnant effects can be seen at different levels depending on how susceptible people are.
I’m not saying apple didn’t create anything, but it was his skills in marketing that skewed the amount of credit he and apple got. Many will say it’s not so, but just because what he does is below their conscious level of awareness doesn’t mean it’s non existent. Yet most would refer to him as more of a marketer, and that’s 100% true. If not for that, apple would not have sold more macs, which at the time were their primary income. That said, I’m not enamored with what has transpired..
kiyingi grace October 10, 2011 3:13 am
rest in peace jobs
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Microsoft
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Used in the beauty industry, what is the most abundant protein in mammals, mainly found in flesh and connective tissues of vertebrates?
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Steven Paul Jobs facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Steven Paul Jobs
Steve Jobs
1955–
Chief executive officer, Apple Computer, and chief executive officer and chairman of the board, Pixar Animation Studios
Nationality: American.
Born: February 24, 1955, in San Francisco , California .
Education: Attended Reed College, 1972.
Family: Adopted son of Paul (bill collector) and Clara (accountant) Jobs; married Laurene Powell; children: four.
Career: Atari, 1974, game designer; Apple Computer, 1975, co-founder; Apple Computer, 1975–1977, chairman of the board; 1977–1981, de facto chief executive officer; 1981–1984, chairman of the board; NeXT, 1985–1996, president and CEO; Pixar Animation Studios, 1986–, CEO and chairman of the board; Apple Computer, 1995–1997, consultant; 1997–2000, interim CEO; 2000–, CEO.
Awards: Technical Excellence Award and Lifetime Achievement, PC Magazine, 1997; Hall of Fame, Fortune, 2000.
Address: Apple, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California 95014; http://www.apple.com.
■ Steven Paul (Steve) Jobs was responsible for building Apple Computer twice, as well as for rescuing Pixar Animation Studios and turning it into one of the world's most successful motion picture studios. He also built NeXT, a good idea that did not catch on. He was a hands-on manager, who studied even the minutest details of his products, with the heart and eye of an artist. His insistence on high-quality, good-looking products struck a chord with many people who appreciated the beauty of Apple products, resulting in such fabulous successes as the Macintosh computer and the iPod portable music system. These successes often reshaped how consumers viewed technology and also reshaped the technology itself. Steve Jobs and Microsoft's Bill Gates are the two people most often credited with the development of the mass-market personal computer, perhaps decades before it might otherwise have evolved.
ROUGH BEGINNING
Jobs was adopted in February 1955 by Paul and Clara Jobs, who were indulgent parents. They were so focused on their son's needs that they even moved from Mountain View, California, to Los Altos, California, in 1968, to put Jobs in a new school because he said that he could not get along with the children in his old school. (One account says that he told his parents that he was not learning anything at his old school.) He was an odd student, out of step with both classmates and teachers, with a mind that looked at science from unusual angles. He preferred to spend his time with older students rather than ones his own age, including Stephen Wozniak, an electronics genius four years older than Jobs.
Jobs worked during the summers, spending one summer in an apple orchard; he was so happy there that he later named his first legitimate business "Apple." Even in grade school he had shown a great aptitude for electronics, and he had been fortunate to have an engineer for a neighbor, who answered his many questions about how electronic devices worked. While he was in high school, he built electronic devices. Once, he wanted for his projects some rare parts made by Hewlett-Packard; he wrote to William Hewlett, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard, and asked for the parts to be sent to him. Hewlett responded by giving Jobs a summer job in a Hewlett-Packard factory. Wozniak already worked there as an up-and-coming engineer.
In 1972 Jobs attended Reed College, in Portland, Oregon, dropping out after one semester. He hung around the school for about a year longer, before submitting a résumé that greatly inflated his electronics experience to Atari, a pioneer in video gaming. For part of 1974 he worked as a game designer, helping create Breakout. After saving up enough money to pay his way, he left Atari and journeyed with friends to India to search for enlightenment. He shaved his head and walked through what he saw to be appalling poverty. He soon left India believing that Thomas Edison had done more for the betterment of humanity than all the gurus in the world. Jobs lived briefly in a farm commune and then returned to his parents' home. In 1975 he joined the Homebrew computer club, which included Wozniak among its members. Wozniak had discovered that a toy in Cap'n Crunch cereal boxes made the same tones that telephone companies used for long-distance switching. Soon, with Jobs's help, he was making small blue boxes that could be used with telephones to circumvent the safeguards of telephone companies and make free long-distance calls. It was Jobs who turned this into a business venture by selling the boxes to college students.
APPLE II
Wozniak was an electronics enthusiast. He enjoyed making gadgets and then sharing his inventions with anyone who was interested, without concern for patents or profit. It was Jobs who soon saw the potential marketability of Wozniak's circuit board combined with the microprocessor chips. In 1975 he and Wozniak became partners, and Jobs gave their enterprise the name "Apple." They designed their simple computer in Jobs's bedroom. When more space was needed, Jobs's father cleared out his home's garage, where Jobs and Wozniak cobbled together their combination of a circuit board, a microprocessor, a video screen, and Jobs's most important contribution, a typewriter-style keyboard. The inventors called it the Apple I.
Jobs had already discovered a local electronics store owner who wanted 50 personal computers to sell to college students, who were the bulk of electronics enthusiasts. Jobs and Wozniak gave the Apple I the whimsical price of $666.66 and ended up selling more than 600 of them, making $774,000. The Apple I was a hobbyist's machine, a clumsy-looking beast of wires and boards that invited tinkering. The partners wanted to build something more sophisticated and easier to use—making technology easier to use would become essential to Jobs's views for building his companies. In 1977 the former Intel executive Mike Markkula, a venture capitalist, invested in Apple, becoming its chairman of the board and bringing in outsiders to help govern the company. Jobs persuaded a successful publicist, Regis McKenna, to join Apple. That year the Apple II was introduced. It took only about four hours for a purchaser to set it up and have it running, and it could run some business programs, reducing to minutes from hours certain accounting tasks. With a canny sales campaign created by McKenna, and Jobs's own magnetic personality helping persuade corporate buyers, the Apple II became the first successful mass-market personal computer.
Jobs had to have been a concern for McKenna: Jobs had long hair and a scruffy beard, and he usually wore jeans when meeting the conservatively dressed businessmen who had the power to order dozens of Apple IIs at a time. But Jobs was charismatic. When he spoke of what his machines could do and of the future the machines would shape, he created what came to be known as his "reality distortion field." His power to persuade was remarkable, and he often had potential customers vying for his attention. He was soon perceived to be a visionary genius who foresaw how to marry high-technology electronics and everyday business.
CHANGING THE WORLD
The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, known as PARC, attracted some of the best engineers in the world. It was a secretive place, but after years of trying, in 1979 Jobs was allowed to visit PARC with a few of his Apple colleagues. Legend has it that he saw Xerox's graphical interface, featuring drop-down menus and pictures that could be clicked on with arrows to start programs, and he was gripped by the potential marketability to which Xerox's employees seemed oblivious. The truth is more complex: The interface at Xerox was one of several that various computer developers had been toying with for several years, and Jobs was already very familiar with them. What he may have picked up from PARC was the utility of a little handheld device called a "mouse."
In December 1980 Apple had its initial public offering of stock, becoming Apple Computer. Shares opened at $22 but rose to $29, making Apple's value $1.2 billion. Jobs was the company's leading shareholder, with 15 percent of the stock. His shares were soon worth $239 million. In 1980 the Apple III was introduced, but the first 14,000 units were recalled be cause of defects. The Apple II remained the machine preferred by customers. In 1981 IBM introduced a personal computer. Whereas Apple made all of its machines proprietary, not allowing anyone to even license the technology, IBM made its machine an open architecture, meaning that outsiders were welcome to write programs for it and to build their own variations of it.
Jobs set about waging war for personal computer supremacy. A striking feature of his work over the next five years was that he had no official corporate authority; he ruled by force of personality, making numerous enemies with his ridiculing of the ideas of others, his unwillingness to hear views contrary to his own, and his outbursts of bad temper. In 1982 he hired the executive John Sculley away from PepsiCo to become CEO of Apple. In 1982 Apple for the first time grossed $1 billion.
In 1983 the Lisa computer was introduced. It had a 32-bit microprocessor as well as an inexpensive mouse. Jobs had worked on Lisa obsessively, demanding that it be easy to use, attractive to look at, and more powerful than any other personal computer. In the process, he pushed Lisa's costs too high; the machine was too expensive and flopped. Still, Jobs and Sculley already had put Apple to work developing a machine that would be called the Macintosh. It would use much of Lisa's internal architecture, but it would be simpler. In 1984 the machine debuted with a spectacular television commercial during the Super Bowl, showing a gallant woman athlete defying a monolithic, oppressive government by hurling her hammer into a screen that represented, without actually saying so, IBM. The first Macintosh was small and beige, featuring the style of graphical interface that would become the world's standard. It sold for $2,495 and was a hit.
Jobs was great recruiter of talent, but he tended to belittle and mock employees after he recruited them; Sculley, for one, had had enough of Jobs's bizarre behavior. He persuaded the board of directors to make Jobs chairman of the board but without any authority over anything. Too many of his colleagues avoided him, and Jobs found himself with no work to do. In 1985 he quit Apple and sold all but one share of his Apple stock, losing about $500 million by selling shares when the stock was low but still leaving with about $250 million.
NEXT
In 1986 Jobs founded NeXT in Redwood City, California, investing $15 million of his own money to start the company. He discovered that he was held in high regard by most of the high-technology businesses in California's Silicon Valley, and his charisma was still magical. After seeing Jobs in a PBS documentary, the billionaire H. Ross Perot offered to help fund NeXT. Major businesses soon followed. In a couple of years, Jobs had raised over $250 million, mostly on his word alone.
Also in 1986 Jobs bought a computer animation studio from the motion picture magnate George Lucas, saving it from dissolution. Named Pixar Animation Studios, the newly independent company found in Jobs a CEO and chairman of the board who understood the creative process very well and who could combine his artistic nature with a sound understanding of computers. Further, Jobs financed the company himself and gave his new employees freedom to explore what they could do. It was part of Jobs's evolving vision of computers: he became an advocate of the technology as enhancing creativity, telling people that computers were not important but that what could be done with them was important. By 1988 Pixar had done well enough to win an Oscar for its computeranimated short film Tin Toy.
In October 1989 the NeXT computer was introduced. It was beautiful, with careful attention paid to the looks of every detail inside and out. To meet FCC rules on electronic interference, Jobs had the entire case made of magnesium poured into a single mold and then carefully sanded to remove sharp edges. The magnesium was good at containing electronic emissions and was strong, but it was hard to work with and drove manufacturing costs up. Repeatedly, Jobs had made workers redo work, trying to incorporate great power into NeXT while making it easy to use. It cost $9,950, too much for the mass market that might have appreciated it best. From 1989 to 1992 only 50,000 were sold.
In 1989 Jobs gave a lecture at Stanford University. While there, he met Laurene Powell, an MBA student. In 1991 they married, and they would have three children over the next dozen years. In May 1991 Jobs negotiated a contract with Walt Disney Pictures, under the terms of which Disney would pay for half the production costs of three computer-animated feature films and would receive half the income plus distribution fees for each motion picture. Pixar began work on Toy Story.
By 1993 NeXT was doing badly. Jobs was harshly criticized for supposedly wasting money and for bad management, even though those who worked for NeXT still believed that he knew what he was doing. He had spent much of his career defying criticism and insisting that he knew better than anyone else which choices were the best, but in February 1993, he closed NeXT's Fremont factory, laid off half of NeXT's employees, and stopped making computers, focusing instead on software. NeXT's computer had dazzled with its programming, and Jobs put the company's future in the open programming of Unix and the object-based programming of NeXT, which made programming simple enough that consumers could write their own programs to work with NeXT. In 1994 Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems contracted with NeXT to put NeXT operating software in their workstations.
TRIUMPHANT RETURN
Meanwhile, Apple was ailing. In 1993 Apple's share of the personal computer market was 8 percent; it had fallen to the status of an also-ran, becoming almost irrelevant to the future of computers. Sculley was fired and replaced by Michael Spindler as CEO. In 1995 Spindler left Apple and was replaced by Gilbert F. Amelio, who also became chairman of the board. Amelio found a company in disarray; the corporate culture was one of indifference and depression. When he would call meetings, people would not show up; his orders were ignored; and employees refused to cooperate with each other. Apple's share of the market had fallen to 5.3 percent. It may have been desperation or exasperation that led Amelio to ask Jobs to join the board of directors and become a consultant to management.
The year 1995 was good for Jobs. For the first time, NeXT turned a profit. He and his antagonist Bill Gates contracted for NeXT and Microsoft to collaborate on the designing of object-oriented software for Windows NT. On November 22, 1995, Toy Story was released to acclaim; by then Jobs had invested $60 million in Pixar. In its first release, Toy Story grossed $360 million worldwide. On November 29, 1995, Pixar had its initial public offering. Shares were offered at $22 but rose to $39. Jobs owned 80 million shares and had become a billionaire. In December 1995 Apple bought NeXT for $400 million.
By 1996 Apple's sales were in free fall. That year it shipped 3.7 million computers, for a 5.2 percent market share; in 1997 it was 2.6 million units for a 3.2 percent share. In 1997 Jobs was named "interim" CEO, at a salary of $1 per year, and Amelio left Apple. Jobs dropped the NeXT operating system that Apple had purchased. On August 6, 1997, Apple and Microsoft announced that Microsoft would invest $150 million for a minority stake in Apple. Many in the audience at the MacWorld convention in Boston booed the announcement. Although he was still certain that his vision for Apple was the only right one, Jobs's management style had radically changed from what it had been in 1985; he seemed more relaxed and open to ideas. In fact, he seemed to relish other people's ideas; perhaps his work at Pixar had improved his ability to work with the creative people at Apple. He wisely surrounded himself with top-notch executives in all the key corporate positions, and he held on to them rather than driving them away. Almost by willing it, he transformed the corporate culture into one in which employees wanted to come to work and where they saw themselves as part of a great company that had a mission to change the world for the better. Moreover, Jobs, the hobbyist of old, brought the fun back into tinkering with electronics.
In August 1998 one of Jobs's big risks, the iMac was released. It was sleek, with elegant lines, and the "i" was for " Internet "—that is, it was designed to work well with the Internet. Selling 278,000 units in its first six weeks, the iMac at first did not seem to be enough to pull Apple out of the doldrums, but then it took off, selling six million units and making Apple an important player in computers again. In 1999 Jobs had the iMac released in a choice of several colors, which proved popular. In January 2000 he was made CEO without the "interim" addition to the title. In March 2000 Apple shares peaked at $75 each. Apple grossed $7.98 billion and netted $786 million for fiscal 2000.
In 2001 Jobs began opening a chain of Apple retail stores, where customers could try out the computers, making multimedia shows and playing with the software, with unobtrusive salespeople ready to help, if asked. It was a big risk, but the idea was that if people had the opportunity to use Apple's goods, they would find them worth a higher price than competing brands. In 2003 the stores began turning a profit. Another event in 2001 launched Apple into a broader world of consumer electronics: in October, Apple introduced the iPod. So shiny and attractive that owners delighted in showing it off, it downloaded and played thousands of MP3 files, at first only from Apple computers but, in a year, from IBM compatibles as well. The iPod was pricey at $399 and a risk, but Apple had a cash reserve of $4.1 billion to fall back on, up from $280 million at the time Jobs had returned to the company. Even so, Apple shares dropped to about $25 for 2001.
In what may have been the most brilliant salesmanship of his career, Jobs persuaded every major record company to sell Apple the rights to market their songs on the Internet, even though the companies were suspicious of the Internet, viewing it as a haven for thieves of their music. In April 2003 Apple opened the online store iTunes, at first only for Macintoshes but soon for Windows operating system computers as well. At 99 cents per song, with 65 cents going to the music companies, 25 cents to overhead, and only 10 cents to Apple, iTunes seemed fated to lose money. But as Jobs pointed out, the idea was to sell iPods, which could download music from iTunes. By 2004 iPod was the world's dominant portable music player, with iTunes owning 70 percent of the market of downloaded music.
See also entries on Apple Computer, Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios in International Directory of Company Histories.
sources for further information
Landrum, Gene N., "Steven Jobs (Apple)–Autocratic," Profiles of Genius: Thirteen Men Who Changed the World. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1993.
Langer, Andy, "The God of Music? If Apple's Brash and Bold New Digital-Music Venture Works, That's Pretty Much What He'll Be: A Conversation with Steve Jobs," Esquire, July 2003, pp. 82–85.
Quittner, Josh, "Steve Jobs: The Fountain of Fresh Ideas," Time, April 26, 2004, p. 75.
Stross, Randall E., Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing. New York : Atheneum, 1993.
—Kirk H. Beetz
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MLA
February 24, 1955 • California
CEO of Apple, CEO and chairman of Pixar Animation Studios
Computers had been around long before Steve Jobs entered the field, but his contributions revolutionized the personal-computer industry. As the cofounder of Apple in 1976, Jobs introduced the concept of a small, relatively inexpensive desktop computer that the average person could own and operate. Since that time, Jobs has presided over a number of technological innovations with Apple. He has also made an impact in the field of animated movies as the head of Pixar, the studio responsible for such blockbusters as Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo. Jobs headed up yet another innovative success story with Apple's online music shop, iTunes, and with its portable digital music player, iPod. Jobs has a reputation for being intimidating to employees and difficult with peers, but he is also seen as a visionary who dreams big and enjoys taking risks. While not all of his risks have paid off, those that have succeeded have significantly altered the high-tech landscape and paved the way for future advances.
Searching for meaning
Steven Paul Jobs was born in California on February 24, 1955. His parents, unmarried and unable to care for a baby, put him up for adoption. He was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, who raised him in a northern California community surrounded by apricot orchards and farm country—a community that has since become the center of technological innovation known as Silicon Valley. When Jobs was in the seventh grade, he encountered troubles at school, the victim of bullies. He refused to return to that school, and his parents decided to move to Los Altos. Jobs attended Homestead High School in Cupertino, California, where he had a reputation as a loner and developed a keen interest in technology. During a school field trip to the plant of the Hewlett-Packard computer company in nearby Palo Alto, the concept of a desktop computer attracted Jobs's notice. Later, in pursuit of computer parts for a school project, Jobs went straight to the source, contacting William Hewlett, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard. Jobs got more than just the needed parts; he was also offered a summer job at the company.
"I think Apple has had a good hand in setting the direction for the whole industry now, again. And that's where we like to be."
During his internship at Hewlett-Packard, Jobs met Steve Wozniak (1950–), an electronics whiz who had attended Homestead High School a few years prior. They formed an immediate bond and soon began collaborating on various projects, including a device that would allow users to make free long-distance phone calls. Wozniak supplied the technological know-how, while Jobs dreamed up ways for consumers to use the products they developed. These roles would remain the same years later, when the two men became reacquainted for a new venture. In the meantime, Jobs graduated from high school in 1972 and then enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. He dropped out after one semester, but he continued to spend time on campus, searching for life's meaning: he studied philosophy and meditation, experimented with drugs, and became a vegetarian.
Apple bites back
Jobs returned to California in 1974, restless and looking for work. He answered a help-wanted ad in the newspaper and was hired to work for Atari, a video-game manufacturer that had risen to prominence with Pong, a game that today looks extremely primitive but at the time seemed quite high-tech. According to a profile in Time magazine, Jobs's intense personality made him few friends at Atari. "His mind kept going a mile a minute," reported Al Alcorn, the chief engineer at Atari. "The engineers in the lab didn't like him. They thought he was arrogant and brash. Finally, we made an agreement that he come to work late at night." After a short time at Atari, Jobs left to take a trip to India , continuing his quest for spiritual fulfillment. After his return to the United States , Jobs traveled for a time and then got involved with the Homebrew Computer Club in 1975. At meetings for this club, computer enthusiasts would gather to share information and technology. Jobs's friend from Hewlett-Packard, Steve Wozniak, was a member of the club, and in 1975 Wozniak was still working at Hewlett-Packard and trying to build a computer in his spare time.
Jobs, excited by the prospect of building and selling reasonably priced personal computers, teamed up with Wozniak. While Jobs had a decent grasp on the technology, it was Wozniak who brought the brilliant engineering skills to the partnership. Jobs, on the other hand, was the entrepreneur, the person who understood what they would need to get their business off the ground, how the products would be used, and how to market the products to the public. Jobs and Wozniak formed a company, which Jobs named (he told Jay Cocks of Time: "One day I just told everyone that unless they came up with a better name by 5 p.m., we would go with Apple"), and they released their first product, the Apple I, for the price of $666. At that time, few people outside of computer hobbyists felt the need to own a desktop computer, but Jobs set out to change that. In 1977 Apple released the Apple II computer, which was a huge success and established the model for personal computers that all other companies attempted to imitate. Three years later, Apple's sales reached $139 million. The company then went public, selling shares to those who wished to invest in Apple.
The Man behind the Man: Edwin Catmull
While Edwin Catmull's name may not be as familiar to the average citizen as Steve Jobs's name, his contributions to Pixar have been unparalleled. "Put simply, computer animation and films like Toy Story would have never have happened without Ed Catmull," Jobs told Laura Ackley of Variety. As president and cofounder of Pixar, Catmull provides exceptional leadership, hiring talented people to work for him and continually striving to keep his employees productive and happy. He has also made tremendous technological contributions to the company, developing new and better ways to create computer-animated films. Catmull has received numerous awards, including three Scientific and Technical Engineering Academy Awards, for his work at Pixar.
Born in 1945, Catmull grew up in Utah . His love for animated movies as a child instilled in him a desire to become an animator, but he felt he lacked the drawing skills and instead studied physics and computer science in college. While pursuing a graduate degree (he has a Ph.D. in computer science), Catmull became interested in the relatively new field of computer graphics, a subject that allowed him to merge his interest in computers with his love for art. He was determined to use this new tool to make movies. During this time, in the early 1970s, Catmull made several technological innovations, including the invention of an animation technique called texture mapping, which allows for a more realistic depiction of an object's texture, whether the object is moving or standing still.
In 1974 Catmull moved to New York to work for Alexander Schure, a wealthy supporter of technological advancements whose passion for making computeranimated movies equaled Catmull's. After several years, Catmull decided to move to California and go to work for the computer-graphics division of Lucas-film, the company owned by George Lucas, who was then at work creating the first Star Wars trilogy. At Lucasfilm, Catmull continued to develop new technology to improve computer animation, and he established his reputation for hiring the right people. In spite of the great strides made by Catmull's division, Lucas decided in 1985 that he wanted to sell that segment of his company, and he instructed Catmull to start looking for a buyer. Catmull approached Steve Jobs, who expressed an interest in the division only as a potentially new computer company, not as a movie studio. Disappointed, Catmull kept looking for a buyer who had the same goal he had: to make the first feature film animated completely on the computer.
One year later, Jobs reconsidered and decided to buy Lucasfilm's computer-graphics division. Jobs named the company Pixar after a device invented by Catmull and George Smith, another computergraphics pioneer from Lucasfilm; the Pixar made great strides in increasing the speed of the animation process. Jobs appointed Catmull chief technological officer of Pixar, a position he held until 2001, when he was made president. As a top executive at Pixar, Catmull spent several years presiding over the effort to make the company's (and the world's) first feature-length computer-animated movie. That film, Toy Story, was released in 1995, and while it boasted great technical achievements, audiences connected with the warm, funny story and fully developed characters. The movie was a huge success, paving the way for Pixar's future efforts, each of which boasted more sophisticated technology than the last—and much of that technological development sprang from the mind of Catmull.
In 1979 Jobs oversaw the development of a radically new kind of personal computer, one that required little experience with computers and was the first to incorporate a mouse. Called the Lisa (Local Integrated Systems Architecture), the computer sold for $10,000 when released in 1983, a price that put it out of reach for most consumers. The development of the Lisa did lead to Apple's next great innovation, however—a computer that was not only affordable but also easy to use, a critical factor at a time when most people considered computers intimidating and foreign. The Macintosh, released in 1984, brought personal computing to the masses, with its easily understood graphics and point-and-click mouse. Rather than typing in complicated commands, users could simply click on an icon, or picture, on the screen. Jobs's obsession with developing the product, however, had caused problems at Apple. Many years and much of the company's money had been spent on the product's development, causing many at Apple to wonder whether Jobs had lost sight of the big picture. When Macintosh's initial sales were lower than expected, Jobs was pushed to resign by the company's president and CEO, John Sculley. In 1985 both Jobs and Wozniak left the company they had founded.
To infinity and beyond
While his departing deal with Apple included millions of dollars in severance pay, Jobs, thirty years old at the time, did not consider taking any sort of extended vacation from the high-tech industry. He formed the NeXT Computer Company, releasing his first product in 1988. While the NeXT computer had a number of desirable features—including fast processing speeds and sophisticated graphics and sound—it did not sell well due to its high price and an inability to network with other computers. Jobs then turned his attention to developing new software and improving operating systems, the programs that run all other programs on a computer. During this period, in 1991, Jobs married Laurene Powell; the couple has three children.
In 1986 Jobs bought the computer graphics division of the movie studio Lucasfilm Ltd., which had been formed by George Lucas (1944–), the multitalented filmmaker behind the Star Wars movies. With this new company, renamed Pixar Animation Studios, Jobs set out to create a major animated-movie studio. Pixar began by making commercials and short animated films, many of which won prestigious awards. The animation industry quickly understood that this new kid on the block was doing something quite different and doing it exceptionally well. In 1991 Pixar signed a deal with Disney to develop and distribute feature-length animated movies. Four years later Pixar released its debut film, Toy Story, the first movie to be completely computer animated. A huge success, Toy Story earned more than any other movie that year and came to be one of the most successful animated movies in history. It earned several Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. At that point, looking to concentrate on Pixar, Jobs sold NeXT to his former company, Apple, for $400 million.
The subsequent Pixar animated movies—A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo —continued in the Toy Story vein, hitting it big at the box office and earning the adoration of fans. Toy Story 2 earned the distinction of being the only animated sequel in history to earn more than the original, and it won a Golden Globe Award for Best Picture—Musical or Comedy. Released in 2003, Finding Nemo broke box-office records, earned an Academy Award for Best Animated Film, and sold an astonishing eight million copies on the first day of the DVD release.
During 2003, Jobs and Michael Eisner (1942–), CEO of Disney, began negotiating for a new contract between Disney and Pixar. Ten months later, in early 2004, the two companies ended their negotiations without an agreement and announced the upcoming end to their partnership, which would dissolve after the 2004 release of The Incredibles and the 2005 release of Cars. Jobs had demanded a greater percentage of the films' earnings (under the previous contract, the two companies evenly split the cost of making the films and then divided revenues in half, with Disney getting an additional fee for distributing the movies). Disney refused, and Pixar began its search for a new distribution partner. Taking into account the multibillion-dollar earnings of Pixar's first five films, a number of major studios put in hasty calls to Steve Jobs to talk about a partnership. As Andrew Simons wrote in the Los Angeles Business Journal, "Everyone wants to take Steve Jobs to the big dance."
Coming full circle
When Apple began to struggle in the mid-1990s, Jobs agreed to act as a consultant, offering advice on turning the company around. In 1997 he was named Apple's interim CEO—a position intended to be temporary until a permanent CEO was found. Three years later, a permanent CEO was named: Steve Jobs. After returning to the helm at Apple, Jobs made a number of decisive moves that immediately improved the company's fortunes. He simplified the product line, introduced a new version of the Apple operating system, and entered into a cooperative agreement with Microsoft. In 1998 Jobs introduced the iMac. This computer offered sufficiently powerful processors and an affordable price tag, but the key to its success may have been the PC's streamlined design and array of bright colors. Upon Jobs's return to Apple, the company pioneered a wireless technology called Air-Port, which enables users to surf the Internet and print without having anything plugged into their computers. A number of new products followed, some of which, like the iBook and PowerMac, were extremely successful, and some of which were not—including the G4 Cube, which sported a slick design but an out-of-reach price.
Jobs's endless quest for technological innovation soon led him to tackle the digital music industry. In 2001 Apple launched a sleek new handheld product, a portable digital music player called the iPod. Comparable to MP3 players introduced by other companies, the iPod allowed users to download music from CDs or from online sites. Thanks in part to a memorable advertising campaign and good word-of-mouth, Apple sold three million iPods in less than three years. By 2004, almost half of the digital music players bought by consumers were iPods.
Apple's next move, in 2003, was to open an online music store. The music industry had been in a sales slump, with many concerned that such free file-sharing services as Napster, which allowed users to download songs without paying a penny, would spell doom for CD sales. Soon after legal battles complicated the practice of downloading music for free, Jobs opened the iTunes Music Store. Others had attempted online music sales with little success, failing either because they offered a poor selection or because users rejected the notion of paying a monthly subscription fee to download songs. Jobs's iTunes offered simplicity: with the blessing of the world's major record labels, customers could download any of the two hundred thousand songs for just ninety-nine cents each. Users could then create their own CDs with the downloaded songs or transfer them to a portable digital music player, to take with them wherever they go. While iTunes did not live up to Jobs's high expectations of one hundred million downloads in the first year, it did perform astonishingly well. In the first week, one million songs were downloaded, with the total exceeding fifty million after one year. Many observers cautioned that Apple would have to continue to approach online music sales in a creative and aggressive way: while Apple was an early innovator, a number of major players, including Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and some record labels, soon followed suit, offering stiff competition to iTunes.
Many industry observers have noted that, for all its innovation and creativity, Apple has never become a powerhouse in terms of sales. Apple commands just a small percentage of the personal-computer market and earns a tiny fraction of the revenues of its primary software competitor, Microsoft. Jobs shrugs off such details, however, suggesting that it's more important to him to continually create new, original, high-quality products than to become the leader in PC sales. In an interview for Macworld on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Macintosh, Jobs summarized his point of view: "Apple's market share is bigger than BMW's or Mercedes's or Porsche's [is] in the automotive market. What's wrong with being BMW or Mercedes?"
For More Information
Periodicals
Ackley, Laura A. "Pixar's Deep Talent Pool Lured by Catmull's Vision." Variety (July 20, 1998): p. 32.
Burrows, Peter. "Pixar's Unsung Hero." Business Week (June 30, 2003): p. 68.
Burrows, Peter. "Rock On, iPod." Business Week (June 7, 2004): p. 130.
Cocks, Jay. "The Updated Book of Jobs." Time (January 3, 1983): p. 25.
Hawn, Carleen. "If He's So Smart.... Steve Jobs, Apple, and the Limits of Innovation." Fast Company (January 2004): p. 68.
Quittner, Josh. "Steve Jobs: The Fountain of Fresh Ideas." Time (April 26, 2004): p. 75.
Simons, Andrew. "Studios Anxiously Jockey to Court Pixar As Jobs Patiently Revels in New Control." Los Angeles Business Journal (April 26, 2004): p. 1.
Snell, Jason. "Steve Jobs on the Mac's Twentieth Anniversary." Macworld (February 2004).
Web Sites
Apple. http://www.apple.com (accessed August 1, 2004).
Pixar. http://www.pixar.com (accessed August 1, 2004).
Cite this article
San Francisco , California
Cofounder and CEO, Apple Computer, Inc.
Steve Jobs, cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Computer, Inc., may be one of the best examples of a modern business leader willing to "think outside the box." Jobs saw the potential of the personal computer as a tool for businesses, families, and schools at a time when computers were expensive and foreign to most people. At Apple and his other businesses, NeXT and Pixar, Jobs has always looked for what he calls the next "insanely great" product.
Electrical and Spiritual Interests
Steven Paul Jobs was put up for adoption shortly after his birth in 1955. His adoptive parents were Paul and Clara Jobs of San Francisco. When Jobs was a boy his family moved from the city to Mountain View, near Palo Alto. The Jobs moved again several years later, to Los Altos. Jobs grew up in "Silicon Valley," the heart of the U.S. computer industry.
"What is Apple after all? Apple is about people who think 'outside the box,' people who want to use computers to help them change the world, to help them create things that make a difference, and not just to get the job done."
A bright student, Jobs skipped a grade in elementary school. Shy and not very social, he developed an early interest in electronics. A neighbor encouraged Jobs to join an electronics club sponsored by Hewlett-Packard Company (see entry), one of the major corporations in Silicon Valley. At one of the meetings, Jobs saw his first computer. He was twelve years old.
Around 1970, Jobs met Steve Wozniak, who shared his interest in electronics and knew more than he did on the subject. By the time he left high school in 1972, Jobs had worked with Wozniak on several projects. By then Jobs was a "hippie," with long hair and ripped jeans. He went to Reed College in Oregon for two years then dropped out to pursue another interest—Eastern religions, particularly Zen Buddhism. He and a friend planned to travel to India , the birthplace of Buddhism more than twenty-five hundred years ago.
Before the trip, Jobs worked at Atari, a computer and video-game manufacturer based in Silicon Valley. An assignment with the company took him to Germany , and from there Jobs went on to India. After exploring Indian religions, Jobs returned to California and his job at Atari. The trip, and some later psychological therapy, seemed to change Jobs. One friend told Jeffrey S. Young, author of the Jobs biography The Journey is the Reward, "He was a lot easier to be with after that. He started to think a little more about how things he said might affect other people."
The Birth of Apple
While working at Atari, Jobs renewed his friendship with Wozniak. The two went to meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club, and Wozniak began building his own computer. While Wozniak and most of the other club members saw computers as a hobby, Jobs began to see their potential for business. Jobs convinced Wozniak they could build a computer that others would buy.
In April 1976, Wozniak and Jobs formed the Apple Computer Company to sell the computer Wozniak had designed. They assembled them in the Jobs family's garage. From the beginning, Wozniak's role was to improve the technology; Jobs took charge of finding money for the new company. When the second Apple computer, the Apple II, came on the market, Jobs also took the lead in convincing programmers to create software for the computer. With the Apple II, Jobs and Wozniak created the personal computer industry.
Although Wozniak designed the insides of the Apple II, Jobs played a role in how the computer looked. He insisted it come in a plastic case and look sleek sitting on a desk. He also wanted the computer to be quiet. Most computers need a fan to keep the parts cool and functioning properly. Jobs found an engineer who designed a power-supply unit that did not produce much heat and did not need a fan, creating a nearly silent machine.
Leaving Apple
Sales of the Apple II rose steadily the next few years. As Apple grew, Jobs tried to keep the atmosphere fun. Employees could wear t-shirts and the company threw many parties. Jobs, however, sometimes conflicted with top managers or anyone who questioned his decisions. He developed a reputation for having a large ego and always wanting things his way. When his ideas worked, Apple did well. When they did not, the company sometimes struggled.
One failure was the Lisa, a new computer introduced in 1983. Named for Jobs's daughter, the computer offered many new features but was overpriced. The next Apple product was the Macintosh, or "Mac." Jobs had been working with his engineers on the computer for several years. Like the Lisa, the Mac had features that made it easy to use. Unlike the Lisa, the Mac was affordable. Introduced in 1984, the Macintosh later turned out to be Apple's best seller.
When young Steve Jobs went to Germany on business, the engineers who met him did not believe that the longhaired "hippie" was really from Atari. Jobs amazed them when he solved a technical problem with a video game in just two hours.
By 1985, Jobs was chairman of Apple's board of directors. He shared control of the company with John Sculley, Apple's president and CEO. The company faced difficult times, trying to overcome early problems with the Mac, and Jobs and Sculley argued over how to turn around Apple's misfortunes. Finally, Sculley asserted his authority. He reorganized the company so that Jobs lost all his power. In September, Jobs resigned.
NeXT and Pixar
At thirty years old, Jobs was the most dynamic executive in Silicon Valley, a multimillionaire—and out of a job. He wasted no time starting a new company, NeXT, to build computers and design software. Jobs planned to target the education market, and he took several Apple employees with him to help build his new computer. Some of the money needed to start the new firm came from selling his shares in Apple. By 1986, he owned just one. That year, Jobs also bought a computer animation company, Pixar, from filmmaker George Lucas (1944-), the producer of the Star Wars films. Over the next several years, Jobs spent $40 million more on this new venture.
The Other Steve
Steve Jobs has always been the most public of Apple's two cofounders, but without Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak, the first Apple computer would not have been built. Born on August 11,1950, in San Jose, California, Wozniak designed his first computer while in sixth grade. In high school, he was president of the electronics clubs, won several awards for his creations, and worked as an intern at a local electronics company. Like jobs, Wozniak did not have many friends. Unlike his more serious partner, however, Wozniak was known as a practical joker. He once built a very realistic-looking fake bomb and put it in a friend's locker.
After high school, Wozniak worked for several electronics firms, continuing to design computers in his spare time. In 1975, he built the computer that became the Apple I, first testing it on equipment available at Hewlett-Packard Company (see entry), his employer at the time. Thanks to his partnership with Jobs and the founding of Apple, Wozniak made more money than he ever dreamed possible, but he never saw himself as a businessman. He told People in 1994, "I was meant to design computers, not hire and fire people."
In 1981, Wozniak was injured in a plane crash and took time off from Apple to recover. During his break from Apple, he went to college and sponsored two large rock concerts, the US Festivals. After he returned to work, Wozniak limited his involvement with the company and finally left in 1985. In 1992, he started a new job: teaching computers to elementary school students.
Wozniak kept his shares in Apple's stock, though he had given away a great number of shares right before the company went public in 1980. He also followed the company's progress through good and bad times. In 1996, during one of Apple's low points, he wrote in Newsweek that Apple's leaders—including him—had failed the company with some of their decisions. The biggest mistake, he wrote, was not letting other manufacturers use Apple's superior operating system. Wozniak added, "We were also naive to think that the best technology would prevail. It often doesn't."
Along with teaching, Wozniak did charitable work, giving time, money, and computer equipment to different groups. He also remained involved with new technologies. In 2001, he joined the board of directors of Danger, a company that designs wireless communication devices. The next year, Wozniak announced he was forming a new company, Wheels of Zeus (wOz) to design his own wireless products.
NeXT introduced its first computer in 1988. Housed in a black metal case, the machine looked beautiful. It also had its own operating system, better than existing ones. But NeXT could not compete with Apple and the Microsoft-based personal computers that dominated the market. In February 1993, Jobs announced that NeXT would stop selling computers to concentrate on designing software.
Jobs had better success with Pixar. Working with the Walt Disney Company (see entry), Pixar made the first full-length animation movie created totally by computers. This historic film, Toy Story, was released in 1995 and became an immediate hit. Shortly after the movie was released, Jobs appeared on Charlie Rose, an interview program on PBS. Jobs said he was "not really following the computer industry much anymore." Jobs's involvement in the industry shrank again in December 1996, when he sold NeXT to Apple.
Back to Apple
Just a few months later, Jobs was ready to return to the computer industry—as a consultant at Apple. The title did not indicate Jobs's true role, as he soon took charge again. At a convention for Mac users and programmers, Jobs received a standing ovation, a sign of the respect he had earned for his earlier successes at Apple. By some accounts, Jobs had mellowed. He was not as demanding as he had once been. But he still possessed what some journalists called the "Reality Distortion Field": his ability to make others believe even his wildest ideas were possible.
Under Jobs, Apple continued to introduce successful new products and a few that did not sell very well. His most important contribution may have been restoring a sense of enthusiasm to the Apple "family"—its employees and devoted customers. Even as the United States economy hit difficult times in 2001, Jobs was confident about the future. In January 2002 he told Time, "Victory in our industry is spelled survival. The way we're going to survive is to innovate our way out of this."
For More Information
Books
Malone, Michael S. Infinite Loop. New York : Currency, 1999.
Young, Jeffrey S. Steve jobs: The Journey is the Reward. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1988.
Periodicals
Booth, Cathy. "Steve's Job: Restart Apple." Time (August 18, 1997): p. 28.
Collins, James. "High Stakes Winners." Time (February 19, 1996): p. 42.
Kahn, Joseph P. "Steven Jobs of Apple Computer: The Missionary of Micros." Inc. (April 1984): p. 82.
Min, Janice. "Wizard of Woz." People (February 14, 1994): p. 61.
Mossberg, Walter S. "Radical New iMacs Boast Power, Features, at Competitive Prices." Wall Street Journal (January 17, 2001).
Quittner, Josh. "Apple's New Core." Time (January 14, 2002): p. 46.
Schlender, Bret. "Apple's 21st-Century Walkman." Fortune (November 12, 2001): p. 213.
Wozniak, Steve. "How We Failed Apple." Newsweek (February 19, 1996): p. 48.
Web Sites
Apple Computers, Inc. [On-line] http://www.apple.com (accessed on August 15, 2002).
"Woz.org." [On-line] http://www.woz.org (accessed on August 15, 2002).
"www.apple-history.com." [On-line] http://www.apple-history.com (accessed on August 15, 2002).
Cite this article
San Francisco , California
American business executive, computer programmer, and entrepreneur
Computer designer and corporate executive Steve Jobs is cofounder of Apple Computers. With his vision of affordable personal computers, he launched one of the largest industries of the past decades while still in his early twenties. He remains one of the most inventive and energetic minds in American technology.
Early life
Steven Jobs was born February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California, and was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. He grew up with one sister, Patty. Paul Jobs was a machinist and fixed cars as a hobby. Jobs remembers his father as being very skilled at working with his hands.
In 1961 the family moved to Mountain View, California. This area, just south of Palo Alto, California, was becoming a center for electronics. Electronics form the basic elements of devices such as radios, televisions, stereos, and computers. At that time people started to refer to the area as "Silicon Valley." This is because a substance called silicon is used in the manufacturing of electronic parts.
As a child, Jobs preferred doing things by himself. He swam competitively, but was not interested in team sports or other group activities. He showed an early interest in electronics and gadgetry. He spent a lot of time working in the garage workshop of a neighbor who worked at Hewlett-Packard, an electronics manufacturer.
Jobs also enrolled in the Hewlett-Packard Explorer Club. There he saw engineers demonstrate new products, and he saw his first computer at the age of twelve. He was very impressed, and knew right away that he wanted to work with computers.
While in high school Jobs attended lectures at the Hewlett-Packard plant. On one occasion he boldly asked William Hewlett (1931–2001), the president, for some parts he needed to complete a class project. Hewlett was so impressed he gave Jobs the parts, and offered him a summer internship at Hewlett-Packard.
College and travel
After graduating from high school in 1972, Jobs attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, for two years. He dropped out after one semester to visit India and study eastern religions in the summer of 1974. In 1975 Jobs joined a group known as the Homebrew Computer Club. One member, a technical whiz named Steve Wozniak (1950–), was trying to build a small computer. Jobs became fascinated with the marketing potential of such a computer. In 1976 he and Wozniak formed their own company. They called it Apple Computer Company, in memory of a happy summer Jobs had spent picking apples. They raised $1,300 in startup money by selling Jobs's microbus and Wozniak's calculator. At first they sold circuit boards (the boards that hold the internal components of a computer) while they worked on the computer prototype (sample).
Apple and the personal computer era
Jobs had realized there was a huge gap in the computer market. At that time almost all computers were mainframes. They were so large that one could fill a room, and so costly that individuals could not afford to buy them. Advances in electronics, however, meant that computer components were getting smaller and the power of the computer was increasing.
Jobs and Wozniak redesigned their computer, with the idea of selling it to individual users. The Apple II went to market in 1977, with impressive first year sales of $2.7 million. The company's sales grew to $200 million within three years. This was one of the most phenomenal cases of corporate growth in U.S. history. Jobs and Wozniak had opened an entirely new market—personal computers. Personal computers began an entirely new way of processing information.
By 1980 the personal computer era was well underway. Apple was continually forced to improve its products to remain ahead, as more competitors entered the marketplace. Apple introduced the Apple III, but the new model suffered technical and marketing problems. It was withdrawn from the market, and was later reworked and reintroduced.
Jobs continued to be the marketing force behind Apple. Early in 1983 he unveiled the Lisa. It was designed for people possessing minimal computer experience. It did not sell well, however, because it was more expensive than personal computers sold by competitors. Apple's biggest competitor was International Business Machines (IBM). By 1983 it was estimated that Apple had lost half of its market share (part of an industry's sales that a specific company has) to IBM.
The Macintosh
In 1984 Apple introduced a revolutionary new model, the Macintosh. The on-screen display had small pictures called icons. To use the computer, the user pointed at an icon and clicked a button using a new device called a mouse. This process made the Macintosh very easy to use. The Macintosh did not sell well to businesses, however. It lacked features other personal computers had, such as a corresponding high quality printer. The failure of the Macintosh signaled the beginning of Jobs's downfall at Apple. Jobs resigned in 1985 from the company he had helped found, though he retained his title as chairman of its board of directors.
NeXT
Jobs soon hired some of his former employees to begin a new computer company called NeXT. Late in 1988 the NeXT computer was introduced at a large gala event in San Francisco, aimed at the educational market. Initial reactions were generally good. The product was very user-friendly, and had a fast processing speed, excellent graphics displays, and an outstanding sound system. Despite the warm reception, however, the NeXT machine never caught on. It was too costly, had a black-and-white screen, and could not be linked to other computers or run common software.
Toy Story
NeXT was not, however, the end of Steve Jobs. In 1986 Jobs purchased a small company called Pixar from filmmaker George Lucas (1944–). Pixar specialized in computer animation. Nine years later Pixar released Toy Story, a huge box office hit. Pixar later went on to make Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life, which Disney distributed, and Monsters, Inc. All these films have been extremely successful. Monsters, Inc. had the largest opening weekend ticket sales of any animated film in history.
NeXT and Apple
In December of 1996 Apple purchased NeXT Software for over $400 million. Jobs returned to Apple as a part-time consultant to the chief executive officer (CEO). The following year, in a surprising event, Apple entered into a partnership with its competitor Microsoft. The two companies, according to the New York Times, "agreed to cooperate on several sales and technology fronts." Over the next six years Apple introduced several new products and marketing strategies.
In November 1997 Jobs announced Apple would sell computers directly to users over the Internet and by telephone. The Apple Store became a runaway success. Within a week it was the third-largest e-commerce site on the Internet. In September of 1997 Jobs was named interim CEO of Apple.
In 1998 Jobs announced the release of the iMac, which featured powerful computing at an affordable price. The iBook was unveiled in July 1999. This is a clam-shaped laptop that is available in bright colors. It includes Apple's AirPort, a computer version of the cordless phone that would allow the user to surf the Internet wirelessly. In January 2000 Jobs unveiled Apple's new Internet strategy. It included a group of Macintosh-only Internet-based applications. Jobs also announced that he was becoming the permanent CEO of Apple.
In a February 1996 Time magazine article, Jobs said, "The thing that drives me and my colleagues … is that you see something very compelling to you, and you don't quite know how to get it, but you know, sometimes intuitively, it's within your grasp. And it's worth putting in years of your life to make it come into existence." Jobs has worked hard to translate his ideas into exciting and innovative products for businesses and consumers. He was instrumental in launching the age of the personal computer. Steve Jobs is truly a computer industry visionary.
For More Information
Brashares, Ann. Steve Jobs: Think Different. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-first Century Books, 2001.
Butcher, Lee. Accidental Millionaire: The Rise and Fall of Steven Jobs at Apple Computer. New York : Paragon House, 1987.
Wilson, Suzan. Steve Jobs: Wizard of Apple Computer. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2001.
Young, Jeffrey S. Steve Jobs: The Journey is the Reward. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1988.
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What weapon was named by Finnish people after the Soviet foreign minister responsible for the partition of Finland during the Winter War between the two nations 1939-40?
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Winter War | World War II Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
5,572 captured [20 ] 3,543 tanks [F 10 ] [21 ] [22 ] [23 ] 261–515 aircraft [F 11 ] [23 ] [24 ] 323,000 total casualties
The Winter War ( Finnish : talvisota, Swedish : vinterkriget, Russian : Зимняя война, tr. Zimnyaya voyna) [25 ] was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland . It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939—two months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland —and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty . The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 December 1939. [26 ]
The Soviets had more than three times as many soldiers as the Finns, thirty times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks . The Red Army , however, had been crippled by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin 's Great Purge of 1937, reducing the army's morale and efficiency shortly before the outbreak of the fighting. [27 ] With more than 30,000 of its army officers executed or imprisoned, including most of those of the highest ranks, the Red Army in 1939 had many inexperienced senior and mid-level officers. [28 ] [29 ] Because of these factors, and high morale in the Finnish forces, Finland was able to resist the Soviet invasion for far longer than the Soviets expected. [30 ]
Hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty. Finland ceded 11% of its pre-war territory and 30% of its economic assets to the Soviet Union. [31 ] Soviet losses were heavy, and the country's international reputation suffered. [32 ] Soviet forces did not accomplish their objective of the total conquest of Finland, [33 ][ need quotation to verify ] but did gain substantial territory along Lake Ladoga , providing a buffer for Leningrad , and territory in Northern Finland. The Finns, however, retained their sovereignty and enhanced their international reputation.
The peace treaty thwarted the Franco-British plan to send troops to Finland through northern Scandinavia . One of the operation's major goals had been to take control of northern Sweden's iron ore and cut its deliveries to Germany . [34 ]
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Main article: Background of the Winter War === Politics of Finland=== [3] [4] Northern Europe in November 1939. [35 ]Neutral nationsGermany and occupied nationsSoviet Union and annexed nationsNations with Soviet military basesUntil the beginning of the 19th century, Finland constituted the eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden . In 1809, to protect its imperial capital, Saint Petersburg , the Russians conquered Finland and converted it into an autonomous buffer state within the Russian Empire . Grand Duchy of Finland enjoyed wide autonomy within the Empire until the end of the 19th century, when Russia began attempts to assimilate Finland as part of a general policy to strengthen the central government and unify the Empire through Russification . While abortive because of Russia's internal strife, these attempts ruined Russia's relations with the Finns and increased support for Finnish self-determination movements. [36 ]
The outbreak of the First World War and the collapse of the Russian Empire gave Finland a window of opportunity; on 6 December 1917, the Senate of Finland declared the nation's independence . The new Bolshevik Russian government was weak, and with the threat of civil war looming Soviet Russia recognized the new Finnish government just three weeks after the declaration of independence. [36 ] Sovereignty was fully achieved in May 1918 after a short civil war and the expulsion of Bolshevik troops. [37 ]
Finland joined the League of Nations in 1920. Finland sought security guarantees from the League, but its primary goal was cooperation with the Scandinavian countries . The Finnish and Swedish militaries engaged in wide-ranging cooperation, but were more focused on the exchange of information and defence planning for the Åland islands than on military exercises , or the stockpiling and deployment of materiel . Nevertheless, the government of Sweden carefully avoided committing itself to Finnish foreign policy. [38 ] Another Finnish military policy was the top secret military cooperation between Finland and Estonia . [39 ]
The 1920s and early 1930s were a politically unstable time in Finland. The Communist Party of Finland was declared illegal in 1931, and the Lapua Movement organised anti-communist violence, which culminated in a failed uprising in 1932. Thereafter the ultra-nationalist Patriotic People's Movement (IKL) had a minor presence – at most 14 seats out of 200 in the Finnish parliament . [40 ] By the late 1930s, the export-oriented Finnish economy was growing and the nation had almost solved its problems with extreme political movements. [31 ]
[ edit ] Soviet–Finnish relations and politics
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[5] [6] The Soviet–Finnish Non-Aggression Pact signed in Helsinki on 21 January 1932. On the left is the Finnish foreign minister Aarno Yrjö-Koskinen , and on the right the ambassador of the Soviet Union, Ivan Maisky . [41 ]After the Soviet involvement in the Finnish Civil War in 1918, no formal peace treaty was signed. In 1918 and 1919, Finnish volunteer forces conducted two unsuccessful military incursions across the Russian border: the Viena and Aunus expeditions . In 1920, Finnish communists based in Soviet Russia attempted to assassinate the former Finnish White Guards Commander-in-Chief General CGE Mannerheim . On 14 October 1920, Finland and Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Tartu , confirming the new Finnish–Soviet border as the old border between the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland and Imperial Russia proper. In addition, Finland received Petsamo , with its ice-free harbour on the Arctic Ocean. Despite the signing of the treaty, relations between the two countries remained strained. The Finnish government allowed volunteers to cross the border to support the East Karelian Uprising in 1921, and Finnish communists in the Soviet Union continued to prepare for a revanche and staged a cross-border raid into Finland, called the " Pork mutiny ", in 1922. [42 ]
In 1932, the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Finland, which was reaffirmed for a 10-year period in 1934. [42 ] However, relations between the two countries remained largely de minimis . While foreign trade in Finland was booming , less than 1% of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union. [43 ] In 1934, the Soviet Union joined the League of Nations. [42 ]
During the Stalin era , Soviet propaganda painted Finland's leadership as a "vicious and reactionary Fascist clique." Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim and Väinö Tanner , the leader of the Finnish Social Democratic Party , were targeted for particular scorn. [44 ] With Joseph Stalin gaining near-absolute power through the Great Purge of 1938, the Soviet Union changed its foreign policy toward Finland in the late 1930s. The Soviet Union began pursuing the reconquest of the provinces of Tsarist Russia lost during the chaos of the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War. The Soviet leadership believed that the old empire had ideal security and territorial possessions, and wanted the newly christened city of Leningrad to enjoy a similar security. [45 ]
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In April 1938, an NKVD agent, Boris Yartsev contacted the Finnish foreign minister Rudolf Holsti and Prime Minister Aimo Cajander , stating that the Soviet Union did not trust Germany and that war was considered possible between the two countries. The Red Army would not wait passively behind the border but would rather "advance to meet the enemy." Finnish representatives assured Yartsev that Finland was committed to a policy of neutrality and that the country would resist any armed incursion. Yartsev suggested that Finland cede or lease some islands in the Gulf of Finland along the seaward approaches to Leningrad. Finland refused. [46 ] [47 ]
Negotiations continued throughout 1938 without results. Finnish reception of Soviet entreaties was decidedly cool, as the violent collectivisation and purges in Stalin's Soviet Union resulted in a poor opinion of the country. In addition, most of the Finnish communist elite in the Soviet Union had been executed during the Great Purge, further tarnishing the Soviet Union's image in Finland. At the same time, Finland was trying to negotiate a military co-operation plan with Sweden , hoping for a joint defence of the Åland Islands . [48 ]
The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. The pact was nominally a non-aggression treaty , but it included a secret protocol in which the Eastern European countries were divided into spheres of interest . Finland fell into the Soviet sphere. On 1 September 1939, Germany began its invasion of Poland and two days later Great Britain and France declared war against Germany. Shortly afterwards, the Soviets invaded eastern Poland . The Baltic states were later forced to accept treaties allowing the Soviets to establish military bases and to station troops on their soil. [49 ] The government of Estonia accepted the ultimatum , signing the corresponding agreement in September. Latvia and Lithuania followed in October. Unlike the Baltic states, Finland started a gradual mobilisation under the guise of "additional refresher training ." [50 ]
The Soviets had already started an intensive mobilisation near the Finnish border in 1938–1939. However, assault troops necessary for invasion did not begin deployment until October 1939. Operational plans made in September called for the invasion to start in November. [51 ] [52 ]
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[7] [8] Counsellor of state J.K. Paasikivi and his team arriving from Moscow for the first round of negotiations on 16 October 1939. From left, minister Aarno Yrjö-Koskinen , J.K. Paasikivi, chief of staff Johan Nykopp and colonel Aladár Paasonen .On 5 October 1939, the Soviet Union invited a Finnish delegation to Moscow for negotiations. J.K. Paasikivi , the Finnish ambassador to Sweden, was sent to Moscow to represent the Finnish government. [50 ] The Soviets demanded that the border between the USSR and Finland on the Karelian Isthmus be moved westward to a point only 30 km (19 mi) east of Viipuri and that the Finns destroy all existing fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus. They also demanded the cession of islands in the Gulf of Finland as well as the Kalastajansaarento peninsula . Furthermore, the Finns would have to lease the Hanko Peninsula for 30 years and permit the Soviets to establish a military base there. In exchange, the Soviet Union would cede two municipalities with twice the territory demanded from Finland. [50 ] [53 ] Accepting Soviet demands would have forced the Finns to dismantle their defences in Finnish Karelia . [54 ]
The Soviet offer divided the Finnish government, but it was eventually rejected. On 31 October, in the assembly of the Supreme Soviet , Molotov announced Soviet demands in public. The Finns made two counteroffers whereby Finland would cede the Terijoki area to the Soviet Union, which would double the distance between Leningrad and Finnish border, far less than the Soviets had demanded. [55 ] From the Soviet point of view the negotiations were finished.
[ edit ] Shelling of Mainila
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On 26 November, a border incident was reported near the village of Mainila . A Soviet border guard post had been shelled by an unknown party resulting, according to Soviet reports, in the deaths of four and injuries of nine border guards. Research conducted by several Finnish and Russian historians later concluded that the shelling was carried out from the Soviet side of the border by an NKVD unit with the purpose of providing the Soviet Union with a casus belli and a pretext to withdraw from the non-aggression pact . [56 ] [F 12 ]
Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov claimed it was a Finnish artillery attack and demanded that Finland apologise for the incident and move its forces beyond a line 20–25 km (12–16 mi) away from the border. [59 ] Finland denied responsibility for the attack, rejected the demands, and called for a joint Finnish–Soviet commission to examine the incident. The Soviet Union then claimed that the Finnish response was hostile and renounced the non-aggression pact on 28 November. In the following years, Soviet historiography described the incident as a Finnish provocation. Doubt on the official Soviet version was cast only in the late 1980s, in the times of glasnost . However, the issue continued to divide Russian historiography even after the collapse of the Soviet Union . [60 ] [61 ]
[ edit ] Soviet political and military offensive
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[9] [10] Finnish People's Army soldiers, 1939On 30 November, Soviet forces invaded Finland with 21 divisions, totaling some 450,000 men, and bombed Helsinki . [62 ] [63 ] Later the Finnish statesman J. K. Paasikivi commented that the Soviet attack without a declaration of war violated three different non-aggression pacts: the Treaty of Tartu signed in 1920, the non-aggression pact between Finland and the Soviet Union signed in 1932 and again in 1934, and also the Covenant of the League of Nations , which the Soviet Union signed in 1934. [58 ] C.G.E. Mannerheim was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces after the Soviet attack. In further reshuffling, the Finnish government named Risto Ryti as the new prime minister and Väinö Tanner as foreign minister. [64 ]
On 1 December, the Soviet Union formed a puppet government intended to rule Finland after the Red Army conquered it. Called the Finnish Democratic Republic , it was headed by O. W. Kuusinen . The government was also called "The Terijoki Government", named after the village of Terijoki , the first place captured by the advancing Soviet army. [65 ] After the war the puppet government was disbanded. From the very outset of the war, working-class Finns stood behind the legal government in Helsinki. [66 ] Finnish national unity against the Soviet invasion was later called the spirit of the Winter War . [67 ]
At the start of the Winter War, Finland brought up the matter of the Soviet invasion before the League of Nations . The League expelled the Soviet Union on 14 December and exhorted its members to aid Finland. [66 ]
[ edit ] Soviet advance to the Mannerheim Line
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[11] [12] Major Soviet offensives from 30 November – 22 December 1939At the beginning of the war, total victory over Finland was expected within a few weeks. The Red Army had just finished the invasion of eastern Poland at a cost of less than 1,000 casualties. Stalin's expectations of a quick Soviet triumph were backed up by the politician Andrei Zhdanov and military strategist Kliment Voroshilov , but other generals had their doubts. The chief of staff of the Red Army, Boris Shaposhnikov , advocated a serious buildup, extensive logistical and fire support preparations, and a rational order of battle , deploying the army's best units. Zhdanov's military commander Kirill Meretskov reported at the start of the hostilities: "The terrain of coming operations is split by lakes, rivers, swamps, and is almost entirely covered by forests... The proper use of our forces will be difficult." However, these doubts were not reflected in his troop deployments. Meretskov announced publicly that the Finnish campaign would take at the most two weeks. Soviet soldiers had even been warned not to cross the border into Sweden by mistake. [68 ]
Stalin's purges had devastated the officer corps of the Red Army; those purged included three of its five marshals, 220 of its 264 division-level commanders or higher, and 36,761 officers of all ranks. Fewer than half of the officers remained in total. [69 ] They were commonly replaced by soldiers who were less competent but more loyal to their superiors. Furthermore, unit commanders were superseded by a political commissar , who ratified military decisions on their political merits, further complicating the Soviet chain of command. [29 ] This system of dual command destroyed the independence of commanding officers. [70 ]
After the Battles of Khalkhin Gol , the Soviet high command had divided into two factions. One side was represented by Spanish Civil War veterans General P. V. Rychagov representing the Red Air Force , Soviet tank expert General Dimitry Pavlov , and Stalin's favorite general, Marshal Grigory Kulik , chief of artillery. [71 ] The other side was led by Khalkhin Gol veterans General Georgy Zhukov ( Red Army ) and General G. P. Kravchenko (Red Air Force). [72 ] Under this divided command structure, the lessons of the Soviet Union's "first real war on a massive scale using tanks, artillery, and aircraft" at Nomonhan went unheeded. [73 ] As a result, during the Winter War, Russian BT tanks were less successful and it took the Soviet Union three months and over a million men to do what Zhukov did at Khalkhin Gol in ten days. [74 ][ verification needed ] [75 ]
[ edit ] Soviet order of battle
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Soviet generals were impressed by the success of the German blitzkrieg tactics . However, the blitzkrieg had been tailored to central European conditions with a dense, well-mapped network of paved roads. Armies fighting in central Europe had recognised supply and communications centres, which could be easily targeted by armoured vehicle regiments. Finnish army centres, by contrast, were deep inside the country. There were no paved roads, and even gravel or dirt roads were scarce; most of the terrain consisted of trackless forests and swamps. Waging a blitzkrieg in Finland was a highly difficult proposition, and the Red Army failed to meet the level of tactical coordination and local initiative required to execute blitzkrieg tactics in the Finnish theatre. [76 ]
The Soviet forces were positioned as follows: [77 ]
The Seventh Army , comprising nine divisions, a tank corps and three tank brigades, [62 ] was located on the Karelian Isthmus . Its objective was the city of Viipuri . The force was later divided into the Seventh and 13th armies .
The Eighth Army , comprising six divisions and a tank brigade, [62 ] was located north of Lake Ladoga . Its mission was to execute a flanking manoeuvre around the northern shore of Lake Ladoga to strike at the rear of the Mannerheim Line .
The Ninth Army was positioned to strike into central Finland. It was composed of three divisions with one additional division on its way. [62 ] Its mission was to thrust westward to cut Finland in half.
The Fourteenth Army , comprising three divisions, [62 ] was based in Murmansk . Its objective was to capture the Arctic port of Petsamo and then advance to the town of Rovaniemi .
[ edit ] Finnish order of battle
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[13] [14] Finnish ski troops in Northern Finland in January 1940See also: Finnish Army (1939) The Finnish strategy was dictated by geography. The frontier with the Soviet Union was more than 1,000 km (620 mi) long but was mostly impassable except along a handful of unpaved roads . In pre-war calculations, the Finnish General Staff, which had established its wartime headquarters at Mikkeli , [77 ] estimated seven Soviet divisions on the Isthmus and no more than five along the whole border north of Lake Ladoga. In that case, the manpower ratio would favour the attacker by a ratio of 3:1. The true ratio was much higher; for example, 12 Soviet divisions were deployed to the north of Lake Ladoga. [78 ]
An even greater problem than lack of soldiers was the lack of materiel ; foreign shipments of antitank weapons and aircraft were arriving in small quantities. The ammunition situation was alarming, as stockpiles had cartridges, shells, and fuel only for 19–60 days. The ammunition shortage meant the Finns could seldom afford counterbattery or saturation fire . Finnish tank forces were operationally non-existent. [78 ]
The Finnish forces were positioned as follows: [79 ]
The Army of the Isthmus was composed of six divisions under the command of Hugo Österman . The II. Army Corps was positioned on its right flank and the III. Army Corps was positioned on its left flank.
The IV. Army Corps was located north of Lake Ladoga. It was composed of two divisions under Juho Heiskanen , who was soon replaced by Woldemar Hägglund .
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[15] [16] The war situation in December. Soviet units have reached the main Finnish defence line, the Mannerheim Line, on the Karelian Isthmus. [81 ]Mannerheim LineFinnish Division (XX) or Corps (XXX)Soviet Division (XX), Corps (XXX) or Army (XXXX)-XX- Finnish Divisional Boundary -XXX- Finnish Corps BoundaryThe Mannerheim Line , an array of Finnish defence structures, was located on the Karelian Isthmus about 30 to 75 km (19 to 47 mi) from the Soviet border. The Red Army soldiers on the Isthmus numbered 250,000 facing 130,000 Finns. [82 ] The Finnish command deployed a covering force of about 21,000 men in the area in front of the Mannerheim Line in order to delay and damage the Red Army before it reached the line. [83 ]
In combat, the biggest cause of confusion among Finnish soldiers were Soviet tanks . The Finns had few anti-tank weapons and insufficient training in modern anti-tank tactics . However, the favoured Soviet armoured tactic was a simple frontal charge, the weaknesses of which could be exploited. The Finns learned that at close range, tanks could be dealt with in many ways; for example, logs and crowbars jammed into the bogie wheels would often immobilise a tank. Soon, Finns fielded a better ad hoc weapon, the Molotov cocktail . It was a glass bottle filled with flammable liquids, with a simple hand-lit fuse . Molotov cocktails were eventually mass-produced by the Finnish Alko corporation and bundled with matches with which to light them. Eighty Soviet tanks were destroyed in the border-zone fighting. [84 ]
By 6 December, all the Finnish covering forces had withdrawn to the Mannerheim Line. The Red Army began its first major attack against the Line in Taipale – the area between the shore of Lake Ladoga, the Taipale river and the Suvanto waterway. Along the Suvanto sector, the Finns had a slight advantage of elevation and dry ground to dig into. The Finnish artillery had scouted the area and made fire plans in advance, anticipating a Soviet assault. The Battle of Taipale began with a forty-hour Soviet artillery preparation. After the barrage , the Soviet infantry attacked across open ground but was repulsed with heavy casualties. From 6–12 December, the Red Army continued trying to engage using only one division. The Red Army next strengthened its artillery and brought tanks and the 10th Rifle Division to the Taipale front. On 14 December, the bolstered Soviet forces launched a new attack but were pushed back again. A third Soviet division entered the fight but performed poorly and panicked under shell fire. The assaults continued without success, and the Red Army suffered heavy losses. One typical Soviet attack during the battle lasted just an hour but left 1,000 dead and 27 tanks strewn on the ice. [85 ]
North of Lake Ladoga, on the Ladoga Karelia front, the defending Finnish units relied on the terrain. Ladoga Karelia, as a large forest wilderness, did not have road networks for the modern Red Army. [86 ] However, the Soviet 8th Army had extended a new railroad line to the border, which could double the supply capability on the front. But on 12 December, the advancing Soviet 139th Rifle Division , supported by the 56th Rifle Division, was defeated by a much smaller Finnish force under Paavo Talvela in the Tolvajärvi , the first Finnish victory of the war. [87 ]
In central and northern Finland, roads were few and the terrain hostile. The Finns did not expect large-scale Soviet attacks, but the Soviets sent eight divisions, heavily supported by armour and artillery. The 155th Rifle Division attacked at Lieksa , and further north the 44th attacked at Kuhmo . The 163rd Rifle Division was deployed at Suomussalmi and charged with cutting Finland in half by marching the Raate Road . In Finnish Lapland , the Soviet 88th and 122nd Rifle Divisions attacked at Salla . The Arctic port of Petsamo was attacked by the 104th Mountain Rifle Division by sea and land, supported by naval gunfire . [88 ]
[ edit ] Defence of Finland
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[17] [18] Major Soviet operations during the winter of 1939–1940The winter of 1939–1940 was exceptionally cold. One location on the Karelian Isthmus experienced a record low temperature of −43 °C (−45 °F) on 16 January 1940. [89 ] At the beginning of the war, only those Finnish soldiers who were in active service had uniforms and weapons . The rest had to make do with their own clothing, which for many soldiers was their normal winter clothing with semblance of an insignia added. Finnish soldiers were skilled in cross-country skiing . [90 ]
The cold, the snow, the forest, and the long hours of darkness were factors that the Finns could turn to their advantage. The Finns dressed in layers, and the ski troopers wore a lightweight white snow cape. This snow-camouflage made the ski troopers almost invisible as the Finns executed guerrilla attacks against Soviet columns. At the beginning of the war, Soviet tanks were painted in standard olive drab and men dressed in regular khaki uniforms. Not until late January 1940 did the Soviets paint their equipment white and issue snowsuits to their infantry. [91 ]
Most Soviet soldiers had proper winter clothes, but this was not the case with every unit. In the battle of Suomussalmi , many Soviet soldiers died of frostbite . The Soviet troops lacked skill in skiing, so soldiers were restricted to movement by road and were forced to move in long columns. Furthermore, the Red Army lacked proper winter tents, and men had to sleep in improvised shelters. [92 ] Some Soviet units had frostbite casualties as high as 10% even before crossing the Finnish border. [91 ] The cold weather did confer one advantage: Soviet tanks were able to move more easily over frozen terrain and bodies of water, rather than being immobilised in swamps and mud. [92 ]
Before the Winter War, no army had fought in such freezing conditions. In Soviet field hospitals, operations were done and limbs were amputated at −20 °C (−4 °F) while just past the canvas tent wall the temperature was -30°C. Injured Finnish soldiers could expect a heated operating room. This improved their fighting abilities while hampering Soviet soldiers.[ citation needed ]
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[19] [20] A Finnish soldier with a Molotov cocktail . The Finns made good use of these improvised incendiary devices against Soviet armor. [21] [22] Trenches on the Mannerheim LineIn battles from Ladoga Karelia all the way north to the Arctic port of Petsamo, the Finns used guerrilla tactics. The Red Army was superior in numbers and materiel , but the Finns used the advantages of speed, tactics, and economy of force . Particularly on the Ladoga Karelia front and during the battle of Raate road , the Finns isolated smaller portions of numerically superior Soviet forces. With Soviet forces divided into smaller pieces, the Finns could deal with them individually and attack from all sides. [93 ]
For many of the encircled Soviet troops in a pocket , ( motti in Finnish), just staying alive was an ordeal comparable to combat. The men were freezing and starving and endured poor sanitary conditions. Historian William R. Trotter describes these conditions thus: "The Soviet soldier had no choice. If he refused to fight, he would be shot. If he tried to sneak through the forest, he would freeze to death. And surrender was no option for him; Soviet propaganda had told him how the Finns would torture prisoners to death." [94 ]
[ edit ] Defense of the Mannerheim Line
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[23] [24] Stone barriers and barbed wire on the Mannerheim Line. Further in the background is the Finnish bunker Sj 5.The terrain on the Karelian Isthmus did not allow the exercise of guerilla tactics, so the Finns were forced to resort to the more conventional Mannerheim Line, with its flanks protected by large bodies of water. Soviet propaganda claimed that it was as strong as or even stronger than the Maginot Line . Finnish historians, for their part, have belittled the line's strength, insisting that it was mostly conventional trenches and log-covered dugouts . [95 ]
The Finns had built 221 strongpoints along the Karelian Isthmus, mostly in the early 1920s. Many were extended in the late 1930s. Despite these defensive preparations, even the most fortified section of the Mannerheim Line had only one reinforced concrete bunker per kilometre. Overall, the line was weaker than similar lines in mainland Europe. [96 ] According to the Finns, the real strength of the line were the "stubborn defenders with a lot of sisu " – a Finnish idiom roughly translated as " guts, fighting spirit ." [95 ]
On the eastern side of the isthmus, the Red Army attempted to break through the Mannerheim Line in the battle of Taipale . On the western side, Soviet units faced the Finnish line at Summa, near the city of Viipuri , on 16 December. The Finns had built 41 reinforced concrete bunkers in the Summa area, making the defensive line in this area stronger than anywhere else on the Karelian Isthmus. However, because of a mistake in planning, the nearby Munasuo swamp had a 1 km (0.62 mi)-wide gap in the line. [97 ] During the first battle of Summa , a number of Soviet tanks broke through the thin line on 19 December, but the Soviets could not benefit from the situation because of insufficient cooperation between branches of service. The Finns remained in their trenches, allowing the Soviet tanks to move freely behind the Finnish line, as the Finns had no proper anti-tank weapons. However, the Finns succeeded in repelling the main Soviet assault. The tanks, stranded behind enemy lines, attacked the strongpoints at random until they were eventually destroyed, 20 in all. By 22 December, the battle ended in a Finnish victory. [98 ]
The Soviet advance was stopped at the Mannerheim Line. Red Army troops suffered from poor morale and a shortage of supplies, eventually refusing to participate in more suicidal frontal attacks . The Finns, led by General Harald Öhquist , decided to launch a counterattack and encircle three Soviet divisions into a motti near Viipuri on 23 December. Öhquist's plan was bold, but it failed. The Finns lost 1,300 men, and the Soviets were later estimated to have lost a similar number. [99 ]
[ edit ] Battles in Ladoga Karelia
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[25] [26] Battles in Ladoga Karelia, north of Lake Ladoga. The attack of the Soviet 8th Army was stopped at the Finnish defence line on 12 December 1939. [27] [28] The most common Finnish artillery was a 76mm gun dating back to around the year 1902 ( 76 K 02 ). The gun stands camouflaged in the city of Viipuri in March 1940.The strength of the Red Army north of Lake Ladoga (in Ladoga Karelia) surprised the Finnish General Staff. Two Finnish divisions were deployed there: the 12th Division led by Lauri Tiainen and the 13th Division led by Hannu Hannuksela . They also had a support group of three brigades , bringing their total strength to over 30,000. The Soviets deployed a division for almost every road leading west to the Finnish border. The Eighth Army was led by Ivan Khabarov , who was replaced by Grigori Shtern on 13 December. [100 ] The Soviets' mission was to destroy the Finnish troops in the area of Ladoga Karelia and advance into the area between Sortavala and Joensuu within 10 days. The Soviets had a 3:1 advantage in manpower and 5:1 advantage in artillery as well as air supremacy . [101 ]
Finnish forces panicked and retreated in front of the overwhelming Red Army. The commander of the Finnish IV Army Corps was replaced by Woldemar Hägglund on 4 December. [102 ] On 7 December, in the middle of the Ladoga Karelian front, Finnish units retreated near the small stream of Kollaa . The waterway itself did not offer protection, but alongside there were ridges up to 10 m (33 ft) high. The battle of Kollaa lasted until the end of the war. A memorable quote, "Kollaa holds" ( Finnish : Kollaa kestää) became a legendary motto among the Finns. [103 ] Further contributing to the legend of Kollaa was the sniper Simo Häyhä , dubbed "the White Death" by Soviets, who served in the Kollaa front. To the north, the Finns retreated from Ägläjärvi to Tolvajärvi on 5 December and then repelled a Soviet offensive in the battle of Tolvajärvi on 11 December. [104 ]
In the south, two Soviet divisions were united on the northern side of the Lake Ladoga coastal road. As before, these divisions were trapped as the more mobile Finnish units were able to counterattack from the north to flank the Soviet columns. On 19 December, the Finns temporarily ceased their assaults, as the soldiers were exhausted. [105 ] It was not until the period 6–16 January 1940 that the Finns went on the offensive again, cutting Soviet division into smaller groups of different-sized mottis. [106 ]
Contrary to Finnish expectations, the encircled Soviet divisions did not try to break through to the east but instead entrenched. They were expecting reinforcements and supplies to arrive by air . As the Finns lacked the necessary heavy artillery equipment and were short of men, they often did not directly attack mottis they had created; instead, they focused on eliminating only the most dangerous threats. Often the motti tactic was not part of pre-planned doctrine but a Finnish adaptation to the behaviour of Soviet troops under fire. [107 ]
In spite of the cold and hunger, the Soviet troops did not surrender easily but fought bravely, often entrenching their tanks to be used as pillboxes and building timber dugouts. Some specialist Finnish soldiers were called in to attack the mottis; the most famous of them was Major Matti Aarnio , or "Motti-Matti," as he became known. [108 ]
In northern Karelia, Soviet forces were outmanoeuvred at Ilomantsi and Lieksa . The Finns used effective guerrilla tactics, taking special advantage of superior skiing skills and snow-white layered clothing and executing many surprise ambushes and raids. By the end of December, the Soviets decided to retreat and transfer resources to more critical fronts. [109 ]
[ edit ] Suomussalmi–Raate double operation
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[29] [30] Soviet equipment and bodies of Red Army soldiers after the Battle of Raate road in January 1940The Suomussalmi–Raate was a double operation, [110 ] which would later be used by military academics as a classic example of what well-led troops and innovative tactics can do against a much larger adversary. Suomussalmi was a small provincial town of 4,000. The area has long lakes, many wild forests and few roads. The Finnish command believed that the Soviets would not attack here, but the Red Army committed two divisions to the area with orders to cross the wilderness, capture the city of Oulu and effectively cut Finland in two. There were two roads leading to Suomussalmi from the frontier: the northern Juntusranta road and the southern Raate road. [111 ]
The battle of Raate road, which occurred during the month-long battle of Suomussalmi , resulted in one of the largest losses in the Winter War. The Soviet 44th and parts of the 163rd Rifle Divisions, comprising about 14,000 troops, [112 ] were almost completely destroyed by a Finnish ambush as they marched along the forest road. A small unit blocked the Soviet advance while Finnish Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo and his 9th Division cut off the retreat route, split the enemy force into smaller fragments, and then proceeded to destroy the remnants in detail as they retreated. The Soviets suffered 7,000–9,000 casualties, [113 ] while the Finnish units lost only 400 men. [114 ] In addition, the Finnish troops captured dozens of tanks, artillery pieces, anti-tank guns, hundreds of trucks, almost 2,000 horses, thousands of rifles, and much-needed ammunition and medical supplies. [115 ]
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[31] [32] A Finnish lotta, a member of the Lotta Svärd women organisation, watching the skies for Soviet aircraft during January 1940 in northern FinlandIn Finnish Lapland , the forests gradually thin out until in the north there are no trees at all. Thus, the area offers more room for tank deployment, but it is vastly underpopulated and experiences copious snowfall. The Finns expected nothing more than raiding parties and reconnaissance patrols, but instead the Soviets sent full divisions. [116 ] On 11 December, the Finns rearranged the defence of Lapland and detached the Lapland Group from the North Finland Group . The group was placed under the command of Kurt Wallenius . [117 ]
In southern Lapland, near the tiny rural village of Salla , the Soviet force advanced with two divisions, the 88th and 112th, totalling 35,000 men. In the battle of Salla the Soviets advanced easily to Salla, where the road forked. The northern branch moved toward Pelkosenniemi while the rest pushed on toward Kemijärvi . On 17 December, the Soviet northern group, comprising an infantry regiment, a battalion, and a company of tanks, was outflanked by a Finnish battalion . The 112th retreated, leaving much of its heavy equipment and vehicles behind. Following this success, the Finns shuttled reinforcements down to the defensive line in front of Kemijärvi. The Soviets hammered the defensive line without success. The Finns counterattacked, and the Soviets were pushed back to a new defensive line where they stayed for the rest of the war. [118 ] [119 ]
To the north was Finland's only ice-free port in the Arctic, Petsamo. The Finns did not have the manpower to defend it fully as the main front was down the Karelian Isthmus. In the battle of Petsamo , the Soviet 104th division attacked the Finnish 104th Independent Cover Company. The Finns gave up Petsamo easily and concentrated on delaying actions. The area was treeless, windy and relatively low, offering little defensible terrain. However, during the winter, the Finns in Lapland had the advantage of almost constant darkness and extreme temperatures. The Finns executed guerrilla attacks against Soviet supply lines and patrols. As a result, the Soviet movements were halted by the efforts of one-fifth as many Finns. [116 ]
[ edit ] Soviet breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line
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[33] [34] Soviet T-26 light tanks of the Soviet 7th Army during its advance on the Karelian IsthmusJoseph Stalin was not pleased with the results of the first month of the Finnish campaign. The Red Army had been humiliated. By the third week of the war, Soviet propaganda was working hard to explain the failures of the Soviet army to the populace: blaming bad terrain and harsh climate, and falsely claiming that the Mannerheim Line was stronger than the Maginot Line , and that the Americans had sent 1,000 of their best pilots to Finland. Chief of Staff Boris Shaposhnikov was given full authority over operations in the Finnish theatre, and he ordered the suspension of frontal assaults in late December. Kliment Voroshilov was replaced with Semyon Timoshenko as the commander of the Soviet forces in the war on 7 January. [120 ]
The main focus of the Soviet attack was switched to the Karelian Isthmus. Timoshenko and Zhdanov reorganised and tightened control between different branches of service in the Red Army. They also changed tactical doctrines to meet the realities of the situation. All Soviet forces on the Karelian Isthmus were divided into two armies: the 7th and the 13th Armies . The 7th Army, now under Kirill Meretskov, would concentrate 75% of its strength against the 16 km (9.9 mi) stretch of the Mannerheim Line between Taipale and the Munasuo swamp. Tactics would be basic: an armoured wedge for the initial breakthrough, followed by the main infantry and vehicle assault force. The Red Army would prepare by pinpointing the Finnish frontline fortifications. The 123rd Assault Division then rehearsed the assault on life-size mockups . The Soviets shipped massive numbers of new tanks and artillery pieces to the theatre. Troops were increased from ten divisions to 25–26 divisions, six or seven tank brigades and several independent tank platoons, totalling 600,000 men. [121 ] On 1 February, the Red Army began a massive offensive, firing 300,000 shells into the Finnish line in the first 24 hours of the bombardment . [122 ]
[ edit ] Soviet all-out offensive on the Karelian Isthmus
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[35] [36] Red Army soldiers in their trenchesAlthough the Karelian Isthmus front was less active in January than in December, the Soviets began increasing bombardments, wearing down the defenders and softening their fortifications. During daylight hours, the Finns took shelter inside their fortifications from the bombardments and repaired damage during the night. The situation led quickly to war exhaustion among the Finns, who lost over 3,000 men in trench warfare . The Soviets also made occasional small infantry assaults with one or two companies. [123 ] Because of the shortage of ammunition, Finnish artillery emplacements were under orders to fire only against directly threatening ground attacks. On 1 February, the Soviets further escalated their artillery and air bombardments. [122 ]
Although the Soviets refined their tactics and morale improved, the generals were still willing to accept massive losses in order to reach their objectives. Attacks were screened by smoke, heavy artillery and armour support, but the infantry charged in the open and in dense formations. [122 ] Unlike their tactics in December, Soviet tanks advanced in smaller numbers. The Finns could not easily eliminate tanks if infantry troops protected them. [124 ] After 10 days of round-the-clock artillery barrages, the Soviets achieved a breakthrough on the western Karelian Isthmus in the second battle of Summa . [125 ]
On 11 February, the Soviets had about 460,000 men, over 3,350 artillery pieces, about 3,000 tanks and about 1,300 aircraft deployed on the Karelian Isthmus. The Red Army was constantly receiving new recruits after the breakthrough. [126 ] Opposing them the Finns had eight divisions, totalling about 150,000 men. One by one, the defenders' strongholds crumbled under the Soviet attacks and the Finns were forced to retreat. On 15 February, Mannerheim authorised a general retreat of the Second Corps to the Intermediate Line. [127 ] On the eastern side of the isthmus, the Finns continued to resist Soviet assaults, repelling them in the battle of Taipale . [128 ]
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Although the Finns attempted to re-open negotiations with Moscow by every means during the war, the Soviets did not respond. In early January, Finnish communist and feminist playwright Hella Wuolijoki contacted the Finnish government. She offered to contact Moscow through the Soviet Union's ambassador to Sweden, Alexandra Kollontai . Wuolijoki departed for Stockholm and met Kollontai secretly at a hotel. Soon Molotov decided to extend recognition to the Ryti – Tanner government as the legal government of Finland and put an end to the puppet Terijoki Government of Kuusinen that the Soviets had set up. [129 ]
By mid-February, it became clear that the Finnish forces were rapidly approaching exhaustion. For the Soviets, casualties were high, the situation was a source of political embarrassment to the Soviet regime, and there was a risk of Franco-British intervention . Furthermore, with the spring thaw approaching, the Soviet forces risked becoming bogged down in the forests. The Finnish foreign minister Väinö Tanner arrived in Stockholm on 12 February and negotiated the peace terms with the Soviets through the Swedes. German representatives, not aware that the negotiations were underway, suggested on 17 February that Finland negotiate with the Soviet Union. [130 ]
Both Germany and Sweden were keen to see an end to the Winter War. The Germans feared losing iron ore fields in northern Sweden and threatened to attack at once if the Swedes granted the Allied forces right of passage. The Germans even had a theoretical invasion plan called the Studie Nord against Scandinavian countries, which later became the full-blown Operation Weserübung . [131 ] As the Finnish Cabinet hesitated in the face of the harsh Soviet conditions, Sweden's King Gustav V made a public statement on 19 February in which he confirmed having declined Finnish pleas for support from Swedish troops. On 25 February, the Soviet peace terms were spelled out in detail. On 29 February, the Finnish government accepted the Soviet terms in principle and was willing to enter into negotiations. [132 ]
[ edit ] Last days of war
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Main article: Aerial warfare in the Winter War Soviet Tupolev SB bombers appear in the sky above Helsinki 30 November 1939.===[ edit ] Soviet bombings=== The Soviet Union enjoyed air supremacy throughout the war. The Soviet Air Force , supporting the Red Army's invasion with about 2,500 aircraft (the most common of which was the Tupolev SB ) was not as effective as the Soviets might have hoped. The material damage by the bomb raids was slight as Finland did not offer many valuable targets for strategic bombing . Very often, targets were small village depots with little value. The country had only a few modern highways in the interior, therefore making railway systems the main targets for bombers. The rail tracks were cut thousands of times, but they were easy to repair and Finns usually had trains running again in a matter of hours. [136 ] The Soviet air force learned from its early mistakes, and by late February they instituted more effective tactics. [137 ]
The largest bombing raid against the capital of Finland, Helsinki , occurred on the first day of the war . The capital was bombed only a few times thereafter. All in all, Finland lost only 5% of total man-hour production time because of Soviet bombings. Nevertheless, Soviet air attacks affected thousands of civilians, killing 957, [138 ] as the Soviets recorded 2,075 bombing attacks in 516 localities. The city of Viipuri, a major Soviet objective close to the Karelian Isthmus front, was almost levelled by nearly 12,000 bombs. [139 ] No attacks on civilian targets were mentioned in Soviet radio or newspaper reports. In January 1940, the Pravda continued to stress that no civilian targets in Finland had been struck, even by accident. [140 ]
[ edit ] Finnish Air Force
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[39] [40] Bristol Blenheim light bomber landed on the frozen lake of Jukajärvi near Juva village. Horses tow the plane to shore for cover.At the beginning of the war, Finland had a very small air force, with only 114 combat planes fit for duty. Missions were very limited, and fighter aircraft were mainly used to repel Soviet bombers. Strategic bombings could also double as opportunities for military reconnaissance . Old-fashioned and few in number, aircraft could not offer support for Finnish ground troops. In spite of losses, the number of planes in the Finnish Air Force had risen by over 50% by the end of the war. [141 ] The Finns received shipments of British, French, Italian, Swedish and American aircraft. [142 ]
Finnish fighter pilots would often fly their motley collection of planes into Soviet formations that outnumbered them 10 or even 20 times. Finnish fighters shot down a confirmed 200 Soviet aircraft, losing 62 of their own. [17 ] In addition, Finnish anti-aircraft brought down more than 300 enemy aircraft. [17 ] Many times, a Finnish forward air base consisted of a frozen lake, a windsock , a telephone set and some tents. Air-raid warnings were given by Finnish women organised by the Lotta Svärd . [143 ] In addition to combat, it is estimated that the Soviet air force lost about 400 aircraft because of inclement weather, lack of fuel and tools, and during transportation to the front. The Soviet Air Force flew approximately 44,000 sorties during the war. [137 ]
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Main article: Naval warfare in the Winter War The Finnish coastal defence ship Ilmarinen anchored at Turku harbour ===[ edit ] Navies in frost=== Naval activity during the Winter War was low. The Baltic Sea began to freeze over by the end of December, which made the movement of warships very difficult; by mid-winter, only ice breakers and submarines could still move. The other reason for low naval activity was the nature of Soviet Navy forces in the area. The Baltic Fleet was a coastal defence force which did not have the training, logistical structure, or landing craft to undertake large-scale operations. The Baltic Fleet possessed two battleships , one heavy cruiser , almost 20 destroyers , 50 motor torpedo boats , 52 submarines, and other miscellaneous vessels. The Soviets used naval bases in Paldiski , Tallinn and Liepāja for their operations. [144 ]
The Finnish Navy was a coastal defence force with two coastal defence ships , five submarines, four gunboats , seven motor torpedo boats, one minelayer and six minesweepers . The two coastal defence ships, Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen , were moved to the harbour in Turku where they were used to bolster the air defences. Their anti-aircraft guns shot down one or two planes over the city, and the ships remained there for the rest of the war. [64 ] In addition to its role in coastal defence, the Finnish Navy protected the Åland islands and Finnish merchant vessels in the Baltic Sea. [145 ]
Soviet aircraft bombed Finnish vessels and harbours and dropped mines into Finnish seaways . Still, Finnish losses were relatively low, numbering 26 merchant vessels, only four of which were lost inside Finnish territorial waters . [146 ]
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[41] [42] Finnish 234 mm (9.2 in) coastal artillery on the island of Russarö during a military exerciseIn addition to its navy, Finland had coastal artillery batteries to defend important harbours and naval bases along its coast. Most batteries were left over from the Russian period , with 152 mm (6.0 in) guns being the most numerous. However, Finland attempted to modernise its old guns and installed a number of new batteries, the largest of which featured a 305 mm (12.0 in) gun battery originally intended to block the Gulf of Finland to Soviet ships with the help of batteries on the Estonian side . [147 ]
The first naval battle took place on 1 December, near the island of Russarö , 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Hanko . That day, the weather was fair and the visibility excellent. The Finns spotted the Soviet cruiser Kirov and two destroyers. After the ships were at a range of 24 km (13 nmi; 15 mi), the Finns opened fire with 234 mm (9.2 in) coastal guns. After five minutes of firing by four coastal guns, the cruiser had been damaged by near misses and retreated. The destroyers remained undamaged, but Kirov suffered 17 dead and 30 wounded. The Soviets already knew the locations of the Finnish coastal batteries, but were surprised by their firing range. [148 ]
The coastal artillery had a greater effect upon the land war by helping to reinforce the defence in conjunction with army artillery. Two sets of fortress artillery made significant contributions to the early battles on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ladoga Karelia. These were located at Kaarnajoki on the eastern isthmus and at Mantsi on the northeastern shore of Lake Ladoga. Furthermore, the fortress of Koivisto provided similar support from the southwestern coast of the isthmus. Coastal artilleries had the ability to fire high-explosive shells of 152 mm (6.0 in) calibre to a range of 25 km (13 nmi; 16 mi). [149 ]
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Main article: Foreign support in the Winter War ===[ edit ] Foreign volunteers=== [43] [44] Norwegian volunteers in Northern Finland [45] [46] On 20 December 1939, a great sympathy meeting for Finland was arranged in Madison Square Garden , New York City. In the picture from the left: former President Herbert Hoover (chairman of the Finland Committee), Doctor Hendrik Willem van Loon , and New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia .World opinion largely supported the Finnish cause, and the Soviet aggression was generally deemed unjustified. The World War had not yet directly affected France, the UK or the US, the Winter War was the only real fighting in Europe at that time and thus held major world interest. Several foreign organisations sent material aid, and many countries granted credit and military materiel to Finland. Nazi Germany allowed arms to pass through Sweden to Finland, but after a Swedish newspaper made this fact public, Adolf Hitler initiated a policy of silence towards Finland, as part of improved German–Soviet relations following the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . [150 ]
Volunteers arrived from various countries. By far, the largest foreign contingent came from neighbouring Sweden, which provided nearly 8,760 volunteers during the war. The Swedish Volunteer Corps ( Svenska Frivilligkåren ), formed from the Swedes, the Norwegians (727 men) and the Danes (1,010 men), fought on the northern front at Salla during the last weeks of the war. A Swedish unit of Gloster Gladiator , named "the Flight Regiment 19" (Lentorykmentti 19, LeR19; 19. flygflottilj, F19). Swedish AA-batteries with Bofors 40mm-guns were responsible for the air defence of northern Finland and the city of Turku . [151 ] Volunteers arrived from Estonia , Italy and Hungary . Also, 350 American nationals of Finnish background volunteered, and 210 volunteers of other nationalities made it to Finland before the war ended. [151 ] Max Manus , a Norwegian , fought in the Winter War before returning to Norway and achieving fame as a resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation of Norway . In total, Finland received 12,000 volunteers of whom 50 died during the war. [152 ]
[ edit ] Franco-British intervention plans
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Main article: Franco-British plans for intervention in the Winter War Franco-British support was offered on the condition their armed forces be given free passage through neutral Norway and Sweden instead of taking the difficult passage through Soviet-occupied Petsamo.France had been one of the earliest supporters of Finland during the Winter War. The French saw an opportunity to weaken Germany's major ally if the Finns were to attack the Soviet Union. France had other motives as well, because it preferred to have a major war in a remote part of Europe over one on French soil. France planned to re-arm the Polish exile units and transport them to the Finnish Arctic port of Petsamo. Another scheme was to execute a massive air strike with Turkish co-operation against the Caucasus oil fields . [153 ]
The British, for their part, wanted to block the flow of iron ore from Swedish mines to Germany because the Swedes supplied up to 40% of Germany's need. [153 ] The matter was raised by the British Admiral Reginald Plunkett on 18 September 1939, and the next day Winston Churchill brought the subject in the Cabinet . [154 ] On 11 December, Churchill opined that the British should gain a foothold in Scandinavia with the objective of helping the Finns but without a war on the Soviet Union. [155 ] Because of the heavy German reliance on Swedish iron, Hitler had made it clear to the Swedish government in December that any Allied troops on Swedish soil would immediately provoke a German invasion. [156 ]
On 19 December, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier introduced his plan to the General Staff and the British War Cabinet . In his plan, Daladier created linkage between the war in Finland and the iron ore in Sweden. [155 ] There was a danger of Finland's collapse under Soviet hegemony. In turn, Nazi Germany could occupy both Norway and Sweden. These two dictatorships could divide Scandinavia between them, as they had already done with Poland. The main motivation of France was to export the European battle front to Scandinavia in order to protect French soil, whereas the British were concerned with reducing the German war-making ability. [157 ]
The Military Coordination Committee met the next day in London, and two days later the French plan was put forward. [157 ] The Supreme War Council elected to send notes to Norway and Sweden on 27 December in which they urged the Norwegians and Swedes to help Finland and offer the Allies their support. Norway and Sweden rejected the offer on 5 January 1940. [156 ] The Allies then came up with a new plan, in which they would demand that Norway and Sweden give them right of passage by citing the League of Nations resolution as justification. The expedition troops would disembark at the Norwegian port of Narvik and proceed by rail toward Finland, passing through the Swedish ore fields on the way. This demand was sent to Norway and Sweden on 6 January, but it too was rejected six days later. [158 ]
Stymied but not yet dissuaded from the possibility of action, the Allies formulated a new plan on 29 January. First, the Finns would make a formal request for assistance. Then the Allies would ask Norway and Sweden for permission to move the "volunteers" across their territory. Finally, in order to protect the supply line from German actions, the Allies would send additional units ashore at Namsos , Bergen , and Trondheim . The operation would require 100,000 British and 35,000 French soldiers with naval and air support. The supply convoys would sail on 12 March and the landings would begin on 20 March. [159 ]
[ edit ] Peace of Moscow
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[47] [48] Winter War: Finland's territorial concessions to the Soviet UnionMain article: Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed on 12 March 1940 and went into effect the following day. Finland ceded a portion of Karelia – the entire Karelian Isthmus as well as a large swath of land north of Lake Ladoga. The area included Finland's second largest city of Viipuri, much of Finland's industrialised territory, and significant parts still held by Finland's army – all in all, 11% of the territory and 30% of the economic assets of pre-war Finland. [31 ] Twelve percent of Finland's population, some 422,000 Karelians, were evacuated and lost their homes . [160 ] [161 ]
Finland also had to cede a part of the region of Salla , the Kalastajansaarento peninsula in the Barents Sea , and four islands in the Gulf of Finland . The Hanko Peninsula was leased to the Soviet Union as a military base for 30 years. The region of Petsamo, captured by the Red Army during the war, was returned to Finland according to the treaty. [162 ]
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Main article: Aftermath of the Winter War ===[ edit ] Finnish views=== The 105-day war had a profound and depressing effect in Finland. Useful international support had been minimal and had arrived late, and the German blockade had prevented most armament shipments. [32 ] The 15-month period between the Winter War and the Continuation War was later called the Interim Peace . [162 ]
After the end of the war, the situation of the Finnish army on the Karelian Isthmus had been the subject of debate in Finland. Orders were already issued to prepare a retreat to the next line of defence in the Taipale sector. Estimates of how long the Red Army could have been held in these kinds of retreat-and-stand operations varied from a few days to a few weeks, [163 ] [164 ] or to a couple of months at most. [165 ]
The Karelian evacuees established an interest group Karjalan Liitto . The group was to defend Karelian rights and interests and to find a way to return ceded regions of Karelia to Finland. [161 ] [166 ]
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[49] [50] Red Army soldiers display a captured Finnish state flagDuring the period between the war and the perestroika in the late 1980s, Soviet historiography leaned solely on Vyacheslav Molotov 's speeches on the Winter War. In his radio speech of 29 November 1939, Molotov argued that the Soviet Union had tried to negotiate guarantees of security for Leningrad for two months. However, the Finns had taken a hostile stance to "please foreign imperialists". Finland had undertaken military provocation, and the Soviet Union could no longer hold to non-aggression pacts. According to Molotov, the Soviet Union did not want to occupy or annex Finland; the goal was purely to secure Leningrad. [167 ]
Another source later used widely in Soviet historiography was Molotov's speech in front of the Supreme Soviet on 29 March 1940, in which he blamed Western countries for starting the war and argued that they had used Finland as a proxy to fight the Soviet Union. The Western Allies had furthermore tried to take neutral Sweden and Norway along with them. Thus, the "masterminds" behind the war were the UK and France, but also Sweden, the U.S., and Italy, who had issued massive amounts of materiel , money, and men to Finland. According to Molotov, the Soviet Union was merciful in peace terms, as the problem of Leningrad security had been solved. [168 ]
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The Supreme Military Soviet met in April 1940, reviewed the lessons of the Finnish campaign, and recommended reforms. The role of frontline political commissars was reduced and old-fashioned ranks and forms of discipline were reintroduced. Clothing, equipment and tactics for winter operations were improved. However, not all of these reforms had been completed when the Germans began Operation Barbarossa 15 months later. [169 ]
That same year, Finland and Sweden negotiated a military alliance, but the negotiations ended once it became clear that both Germany and the Soviet Union opposed such an alliance. [170 ]
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The Winter War was a political success for the Germans. Both the Red Army and the League of Nations were humiliated, and the Allied Supreme War Council had been revealed to be chaotic and powerless. However, the German policy of neutrality was not popular in the homeland, and relations with Italy had suffered badly. After the Peace of Moscow, Germany did not hesitate to move to improve ties with Finland, and within two weeks Finno-German relations were at the top of the agenda. [171 ]
During the Interim Peace , Finland established close ties with Germany in hopes of a chance to reclaim areas ceded to the Soviet Union. Three days after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the Continuation War began. [172 ]
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The Winter War put in question the organisation and effectiveness of the Red Army as well as the Western Allies. The Supreme War Council was unable to formulate a workable plan, revealing its total unsuitability to make effective war in either Britain or France. This failure led to the collapse of the Daladier government in France. [173 ]
(Finnish) Kulju, Mika (2007). Raatteen tie: Talvisodan pohjoinen sankaritarina. Helsinki: Ajatus. ISBN 978-951-20-7218-7 . (The Raate Road: a tale of heroism in the north during the Winter War)
(Finnish) Laaksonen, Lasse (2005) [1999]. Todellisuus ja harhat. Ajatus. ISBN 951-20-6911-3 . (Reality and Illusions)
(Finnish) Leskinen, Jari; Juutilainen, Antti, eds (1999). Talvisodan pikkujättiläinen (Winter War Guidebook). 1st ed. Porvoo: WSOY. ISBN 951-0-23536-9 .
(Finnish) Elfvegren, Eero (1999). "Merisota talvisodassa". Ts Pj. (The Winter War at sea)
(Finnish) Juutilainen, Antti (1999a). "Laatokan karjalan taistelut". Ts Pj. (Battles in Ladoga Karelia)
(Finnish) Juutilainen, Antti (1999b). "Talvisodan ulkomaalaiset vapaaehtoiset". Ts Pj. (Foreign volunteers in the Winter War)
(Finnish) Kilin, Yuri (1999). "Puna-armeijan Stalinin tahdon toteuttajana". Ts Pj. (The Red Army's execution of Stalin's will)
(Finnish) Laaksonen, Lasse (1999). "Kannaksen taistelut". Ts Pj. (Battles in the Isthmus)
Lentilä, Riitta; Juutilainen, Antti (1999). "Talvisodan uhrit". Ts Pj. (Victims of the Winter War)
(Finnish) Leskinen, Jari (1999). "Suomen ja Viron salainen sotilaallinen yhteistyö Neuvostoliiton hyökkäyksen varalta 1930-luvulla". In Leskinen, Jari; Juutilainen, Antti. Ts Pj. (The secret 1930s Finnish and Estonian military collaboration against Soviet invasion)
(Finnish) Leskinen, Jari; Juutilainen, Antti (1999). "Suomen kunnian päivät". Ts Pj. (Finland's glory days)
(Finnish) Malmi, Timo (1999). "Suomalaiset sotavangit". Ts Pj.
(Finnish) Manninen, Ohto (1999a). "Neuvostoliiton tavoitteet ennen talvisotaa ja sen aikana". Ts Pj. (Soviet objectives before and during the Winter War)
(Finnish) Manninen, Ohto (1999b). "Venäläiset sotavangit ja tappiot". Ts Pj. (Russian prisoners of war and casualties)
(Finnish) Palokangas, Markku (1999). "Suomalaisjoukkojen aseistus ja varustus". Ts Pj. (Armament and equipment of the Finnish forces)
(Finnish) Paulaharju, Jyri (1999). "Pakkastalven kourissa". Ts Pj.
(Finnish) Peltonen, Martti (1999). "Ilmasota talvisodassa". Ts Pj. (The Winter War in the air)
(Finnish) Silvast, Pekka (1999). "Merivoimien ensimmäinen voitto: Russarö". Ts Pj. (The Navy's first victory: Russarö)
(Finnish) Soikkanen, Timo (1999). "Talvisodan henki". Ts Pj. (The spirit of the Winter War)
(Finnish) Turtola, Martti (1999a). "Kansainvälinen kehitys Euroopassa ja Suomessa 1930-luvulla". Ts Pj.
(Finnish) Turtola, Martti (1999b). "Katkera rauha ja Suomen ulkopoliittinen asema sodan jälkeen". Ts Pj. (Bitter peace and the postwar status of Finnish foreign policy)
(Finnish) Vihavainen, Timo (1999). "Talvisota neuvostohistoriakirjoituksessa". Ts Pj. (The Winter War in Soviet historiography)
(Finnish) Vuorenmaa, Anssi; Juutilainen, Antti (1999). "Myytti Mannerheim-linjasta". Ts Pj. (Myth of the Mannerheim line)
(Finnish) Leskinen, Jari; Juutilainen, Antti, eds (2005). Jatkosodan pikkujättiläinen (Continuation War Guidebook). 1st ed. Porvoo: WSOY. ISBN 951-0-28690-7 .
(Finnish) Juutilainen, Antti; Koskimaa, Matti (2005). "Maavoimien joukkojen perustaminen". Js Pj. (Formation of the Ground Forces)
(Finnish) Kurenmaa, Pekka; Lentilä, Riitta (2005). "Sodan tappiot". Js Pj. p. 1152. (Casualties of the War)
Lieven, Anatol (1993). The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-200-0552-8 .
(Finnish) Manninen, Ohto (1994). Talvisodan salatut taustat (Hidden background of the Winter War). Helsinki: Kirjaneuvos. ISBN 951-9052-51-0 .
(Finnish) Manninen, Ohto (2002). Stalinin kiusa – Himmlerin täi. Helsinki: Edita. ISBN 951-37-3694-6 . ("Stalin's nuisance, Himmler's louse"—both remarks having been references to Finland)
(Finnish) Manninen, Ohto (2008). Miten Suomi valloitetaan: Puna-armeijan operaatiosuunnitelmat 1939–1944. Helsinki: Edita. ISBN 978-951-37-5278-1 . (How to conquer Finland: Operational plans of the Red Army 1939–1944)
(Russian) Meltiukhov, Mikhail (2000). Упущенный шанс Сталина. Советский Союз и борьба за Европу (Stalin's missed chance). Veche. http://militera.lib.ru/research/meltyukhov/04.html . Retrieved 29 October 2010.
(Finnish) Paasikivi, Juho Kusti (1958). Toimintani Moskovassa ja Suomessa 1939–41. Porvoo: WSOY.
Reiter, Dan (2009). How Wars End (illustrated ed.). Princeton University Press. ISBN 069114060 . http://books.google.com/?id=-_Avp1TNYjMC . Retrieved 29 October 2010.
Ries, Tomas (1988). Cold Will: The Defense of Finland (1st ed.). London: Brassey's Defence Publishers. ISBN 0-08-033592-6 .
Soviet Information Bureau (1948). Falsifiers of History (Historical Survey) (1st ed.). Moscow: Gospolitizdat (Russian 1st ed.); Foreign Languages Publishing House (English 1st. ed). "Edited and partially re-written by Joseph Stalin "
Tanner, Väinö (1957 [1950]). The Winter War: Finland against Russia 1939–1940 . California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0482-3 . http://books.google.com/?id=J1elAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PR1&dq=Tanne%20The%20Winter%20War%3A%20Finland%20against%20Russia&pg=PA1 . Retrieved 29 October 2010. (Originally published in Finnish.)
Tillotson, H.M. (1993). Finland at peace & war 1918–1993. Michael Russell. ISBN 0-85955-196-2 .
Trotter, William R. (2002, 2006) [1991]. The Winter war: The Russo–Finnish War of 1939–40 (5th ed.). New York (Great Britain: London): Workman Publishing Company (Great Britain: Aurum Press). ISBN 1-85410-881-6 . "First published in the United States under the title A Frozen Hell: The Russo–Finnish Winter War of 1939–40"
Van Dyke, Carl (1997). The Soviet Invasion of Finland, 1939–40. Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-4314-9 .
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Molotov cocktail
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What large and complex nation contains varying geographical/ethnic/political regions called 'krais', 'oblasts', 'okrugs' and 'republics'?
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World War II | All The Tropes Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
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"I ask you: Do you want total war? If necessary, do you want a war more total and radical than anything that we can even imagine today?"
—Joseph Goebbels, 1943 [1]
The roots of humanity's greatest conflict go back centuries, but the immediate causes of the war lay in the resolution of the First World War and the Great Depression.
November 1918: All Quiet on the Western Front and everyone breathes a sigh of relief that The Great War has ended. The sigh of relief is justified: more than ten million soldiers were killed over the course of the four-year war (more soldiers died than quite a few countries had people), in addition to more-than-seven million civilian deaths and uncounted numbers of civilian and military wounded. These catastrophic death tolls resulted from military technology outstripping military thinking , and the application of 19th-century tactics to 20th-century weapons resulted in trench warfare and battles on the Western front which were long, indecisive, and horrendously inefficient . The Eastern front was rather different.
The collapse of the German and Habsburg empires after the war led to the creation of many 'new' states and the re-drawing of borders all over central-southern Europe. The Habsburgs' dual-monarchy of Austria-Hungary was divided into Germanic Austria, Magyar Hungary, Czecho-Slovakia (a union of the Czech and Slovak peoples, with large minorities of Germans and Hungarians), Yugoslavia (a pan-Slavic union under Serbia), and Poland. Italy and Romania also received Austrian Trent and Hungarian Transylvania, respectively. Germany itself became a democracy (with numerous inner conflicts due to the spread of communism troughout Europe after the Russian Revolution and military coups) and lost land to Denmark, a large chunk to Poland, and Alsace and Lorraine went back to France. ('Again', after a fashion. Nominally 'German' and 'French' people had been fighting over this region since before the modern nations of Germany or France existed.) And Germany also lost all her overseas colonies, which had been economically useless but nonetheless a great source of national pride before the war.
The monetary cost of the war is literally incalculable - Russia dodged its bill entirely, for instance, by becoming a whole new country - but the average cost to european human capital was about 6%, domestic assets about 11% and national wealth some 10-20%. Furthermore, the conclusion of the war and the creation of so many new, weak states along national lines resulted in a Europe that spent most of its time grappling with great political unrest instead of addressing the fundamental structural economic problems which underpinned much of said unrest. Almost overnight Europe went from a handful of curriences with fixed exchange rates to over a dozen currencies with variable exchange rates. Where there had been a handful of tariff barriers and taxation systems before, there were dozens. Germany, whose economic power would have together with France and Britain been required to 'save' europe from itself, was deliberately weakened and saddled with near-crippling war-reparations debts. London had managed the world's pre-war banking; now, the situation was too complex and London too weak for it to exert any real control over it, and New York refused to step up to the plate and take charge of the situation. Furthermore, the four-year war disrupted the natural trade cycles of europe and resulted in economies that had to be re-geared to peace-time conditions post-1918. Which resulted in mass unemployment and gave impetus to Socialist and Fascist movements through much of Europe. The danger seemed to have passed by about 1923, with things taking a shaky turn for the better... but then came the Great Depression, which saw world industrial production down by a fifth and trade by half. With this came unemployment rates of some 5-30% for many countries, these figures often concealing vast regional and temporal variations. The political implications of all this for social unrest were only intensified given the poor or non-existent state of social welfare throughout the industrial world.
The creation of the 'new' states and the redrawing of national borders left German minorities dotted all over central-eastern Europe. What was more, in some areas bordering Germany and Austria they were actually majorities, such as in now-Italian Trent (in the modern province of Alto- Süd Tirol ) where the Italians had rigged the League of Nations census in their favour in order to obtain a natural border with the Alps. All this would be important later. In the meantime, Austria, Hungary, and Germany had their armed forces heavily regulated, were required to pay heavy reparations to the Allies and were forbidden from a political union with each other.
It is debated to what extent these reparations were exceptionally harsh and what their role was in the later economic collapse. The reparations, while initially high, were greatly reduced in the intervening decades, and much leeway was given to the Germans in how and when to pay them. This is in addition to the fact that, in practice, the reparation payments were for the most part all but ignored, with the Germans often simply refusing to pay.
Nevertheless, many Germans considered the treaty an unforgivable national humiliation and continued to believe that Germany could have won the war, or at least could have avoided making such concessions. A myth of betrayal grew up around Versailles, centered on the incompetence and gutlessness of the German leadership, the betrayal of the German Socialists in abandoning all claims of international workers solidarity to support the government's unwanted war, the Liberals and Democrats for screwing up the economy in the post-war period, and Satan and the Jews because... well, just because. Anything and anyone to justify the "real" cause of their defeat and avoid the conclusion that apparently, against all logic, Germany had been bested, something that did not sit well with the Nationalist and Social Darwinist theories popular at the time.
The League of Nations was also set up, a kind of proto-United Nations, where all states could gather and discuss their problems, solve them diplomatically, and enforce international treaties. However, the United States did not join ( ironic , since the League was conceived by then-President Woodrow Wilson) as it did not like the idea of foreign scrutiny of its informal empire in Latin America, instead turning inward to run its own affairs and avoid "foreign entanglements". The non-involvement of the US was crucial, as the United States accounted for a fifth of world GDP at the time; this was a touch more than Britain, France and all their dependencies combined. Furthermore, the new state of the Soviet Union was refused entry because they were a poor and backwards country of Dirty Communists to be despised by all civilised peoples. As a result, the League's success and implementation was limited. Despite this, the Allies were satisfied with their work and went home, each confidently declaring that there would be no more war.
They were wrong. Unemployment and under-employment combined with inflation and transportation problems to leave millions of post-war workers short of their daily bread. Consequently Europe was swept by revolutionary fervor inspired by the example of the Soviet Union as communist parties tried to seize power in Germany, Italy, Hungary, and elsewhere. The confusion and loss of control that came with suddenly giving the vote to millions of now-hungry people who had never been involved in politics before - in the name of democracy and freedom, of course - looked to have backfired spectacularly. For a period of time, it looked as if the World Revolution, so long foretold, might actually be at hand. To the Marxists' disappointment, many working professionals and skilled workers turned to fascism, a movement which combined mass-politics with dictatorship and nationalism with socialist attitudes to the community and welfare. Fascism was touted as a revolutionary new movement, a 'Third Way' between the evils of fully-fledged International Communism and the chaos of the beleaguered (and apparently economically ruinous) liberal-democracies.
Political elites proved willing to compromise with these new movements or institute their own dictatorial regimes to stave off the advances of 'The Red Hydra'. This political environment allowed the Partito Nazionale Fascista to come to power in Italy in the early twenties, setting a precedent for the rest of Europe. It was over a decade later that one of history's ( least ) favourite and most exclusive parties, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (The Nazi Party or NSDAP, for short), came to power by similar means. Under the leadership of the charismatic demagogue (and frontrunner for the title of " Most Evil Painter Ever ") Adolf Hitler , the Weimar Republic was reformed out of existence, and Germany set up violating every remaining provision of the Versailles Treaty, rearming its military and (after five years of testing the international waters) joining with Austria to create a unified German state in 1938.
One year earlier, a border clash had broken out between the disorganised and factious Republic of China and the Japanese Empire, after a Japanese soldier went missing during exercises near the 'Marco Polo Bridge' (near Beijing). Ironically, after nearly half a century of political and economic expansion at the expense of China, Japan was in the spring of 1937 minded to follow Britain's example in China and gradually disengage (politically and militarily) from the region, viewing the Soviet Union as a far greater threat for reasons both ideological and practical, with some overly-optimistic elements of the military hoping to expand into Siberia. (Urban) Chinese public opinion, on the other hand, would not stand for anything less than firm opposition to Japan, opposing any further political compromises and railing at real and perceived insults to Chinese national pride. So when the Marco Polo Bridge incident turned into yet another border skirmish, the conflict quickly escalated to a scale that the leadership of neither side wanted. Generalissimo Jiang and his entourage would have much preferred to avoid a full-scale war to focus on eliminating Communists, independent-minded Warlords and banditry; The Imperial Cabinet was happy with trading with China and preparing for the seemingly-inevitable war against the Soviets.
As it was Generalissimo Jiang quickly committed his best forces to destroying the Japanese concession in Shanghai, part of his strategy for defending the lower Yangtze delta - the economic heartland of the territory under the control of his Nationalist Party, which dominated the government of the Republic by virtue of the strength his armed forces. This led to a curious spectacle wherein the Japanese government continued to insist that this latest 'China Incident' was not a war , even as they committed half a million men, supported by tanks and aeroplanes and warships, to fight a highly-visible battle which dragged on for three-months. The street-to-street, house-to-house fighting at Shanghai is yet another of the many origin stories for what later became known as the 'Molotov cocktail'. Jiang's men resort to using them against armoured cars and tanks because they don't have enough anti-tank weapons, and the ones they do have usually aren't where they're needed. The Empire's usual spiel about pan-asian co-operation, with Japan as the leader of Asia, rang rather hollow as the battle resulted in some 300 000 military dead and the advancing Japanese army broke discipline for a spot of unpleasantness in the comparatively-lightly defended (now former-)National Capital at Nanjing. The few foreigners remaining in the city tell of events which newspapers in the Occident eye-catchingly call 'the Rape of Nanjing' or 'the Nanjing Massacre'.
In any case, the rapid advance into coastal and riverine China is ground to a halt after just a few months - the Imperial Army's supply chains are stretched to their limits, and they quickly find that to spread themselves any thinner is to invite another series of counter-attacks. This kind of rapid advance is what the Japanese army has been trained and equipped for, and they have executed it brilliantly. This leaves Japan in control of all the most economically and strategically important regions of China... fighting a war of huge expense against the world's most populous nation for no good reason , with no end to the conflict in sight. Well, not for several years, at the least. Furthermore, the Soviets are looking more threatening than ever. What happened was the Imperial Cabinet was persuaded that the Nationalists would either be crushed or brought to the negotiating table in just another year or two of rapid advances, and the Republic's leadership realised that public hostility to Japan left no room for them negotiate anything short of a white peace with the Empire. What followed was years of the messiest partisan fighting ever. This was on top of the standard fare of open warfare which raged on and off between the IJA and Jiang's loyal Nationalist Revolutionary Army forces.
The reaction to the China Incident abroad was one of muted sympathy. People felt sorry for China and had begun to think rather badly of Japan, but non-ethnic Chinese didn't care enough to actually pressure their governments to do anything aboat the War. People related more to the people and events in Europe, which they were more interested in generally. From the Japanese seizure of the France-sized northern province of Manchuria in 1931 to the full-scale invasion and occupation of 1937, the whole mess served to highlight the true uselessness of the League of Nations. Its reaction to the very obvious problems at hand was effectively to sit in a corner with its eyes shut and its fingers in its ears saying 'La la la I can't hear you!'. When they had tried to reprimand Japan for its actions back in '31, Japan simply left the League. This last straw, when taken with incidents like the Italian annexation of Ethiopia, only encouraged the 'Axis' (formed by the Tripartite Pact between Germany, Italy and Japan) powers to take action against what increasingly seemed like tired and weak old democracies which hadn't the stomach to fight. Hitler in particular was convinced that Britain and France were in no way interested in another war with Germany and would likely only fight to defend themselves. This misjudgement was just asking for trouble, as was the belief that having an Empire was an automatic guarantor of prosperity. There was some vague spiel about markets for the fruits of industry, and military might ensuring the prosperity of the nation. Never mind the ginormous costs of war.
Getting back to Europe, the Allies did nothing for a long while. This was the result of feelings of guilt and apathy. Guilt about the treatment of Germany at Versailles, and apathy because what was happening in Germany was in a sense none of their business. But remember all those ethnic German majorities bordering the new Germany? Hitler wanted them back, and that meant taking the territory back. At first it happened with Austria, which the Allies didn't mind so much, despite it being a violation of the Versailles Treaty. They felt they couldn't go to war to stop Germans being attached to other Germans, and after all it was what (Most? We really don't know.) Austrians wanted.
However, this was followed by claims on the Sudetenland and the border areas of Czecho-Slovakia, which both held German majorities. This was a bit more difficult, as Czechoslovakia was overwhelmingly Czech and Slovak, and they were unwilling to simply give up their border areas (which not-coincidentally held all its fortifications and military bases.) War was narrowly avoided with the signing of the Munich Agreement, signed by Germany, Italy, France, and Britain. (Czechoslovakia notably being absent from negotiations.) Czechoslovakia would be forced to give up the Sudetenland. Less well known, Czechoslovakia was also forced to give a slice of territory to Hungary and a scrap to Poland. But Europe and her dependencies breathed a sigh of relief - war had been avoided. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (in)famously announced, "I believe it is peace for our time." Hitler promised this was his last territorial demand.
He lied. Not only was this followed up by an invasion and annexation of what was left, but Hitler then started making claims on Poland. Finally alarmed, Britain and France declared their support for Poland, and that any threat on Poland's independence would mean war .
Well, we all know what happened next.
World War II officially begins on Sept. 1, 1939, with the Nazi invasion of Poland. Britain and France declare war on Germany, but they don't actually do anything to help. Poland tries to fight, but is simultaneously invaded by the Soviet Union from the east, and collapses in a couple of weeks . Next comes a weird eight-month pause variously nicknamed the Phony War, the Sitzkrieg (Sitting War), or the Bore War (a pun on the Boer War), in which the British and French sit quietly and do nothing while Germany does much the same, with a brief spurts of vigor allowing them to conquer Denmark and Norway. When the Germans finally do attack in the West on May 10, 1940, they catch the Allies completely by surprise, punching through the middle of the French line in the Ardennes Forest with tanks (which the French didn't think was possible, and it was admittedly difficult), wheeling around all the way to the English Channel, and cutting off the Allied forces in the north, which includes almost all of the British Expeditionary Force. Hitler orders his panzers to stop short of totally destroying the BEF, believing he can cut a deal with Britian, allowing the BEF to evacuate and avoid capture (the "miracle of Dunkirk"), but the triumphant German army then turns south and attacks the now badly-outnumbered French, who surrender. The whole campaign takes about six weeks . As France collapses, Benito Mussolini decides to imitate his buddy Hitler and attack France too, and the Italian army does badly, despite greatly outnumbering the French. It's a sign of things to come for Germany's worse-than-useless ally. After the dust settles, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France have all fallen to the Axis Powers.
The defeat of the Allies in France can be better understood if one remembers that Britain, Belgium and particularly France, really, really, really didn't want to fight another war. They had just lost nearly an entire generation of young men on the battlefields of the First World War, and neither their soldiers nor their civilian population were at all eager to fight a second. This meant that not only did the Allies do little more than wait to be attacked as Hitler conquered Poland, Denmark, and Norway, but when they were finally attacked themselves and suffered initial defeats (helped by their own strategic blundering) the French, unenthusiastic in the first place, were so stung by defeatism and fatalism that it decisively affected their ability and willingness to wage an effective defense.
Britain now stands alone against the might of Nazi Germany (and Italy too, not that they count for much ). Their army is shattered and in no condition to resist an invasion, but they have the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and the English Channel to protect them. The Germans lack adequate preparations for an invasion and have no way of decisively countering the Royal Navy, establishing supply-lines for invasion forces, or even establishing aerial superiority for any meaningful length of time; they conclude that they need to knock the Royal Air Force out of the skies before an invasion of Britain can begin. However, the Battle of Britain between the RAF and the German Luftwaffe results in undeniable British victory. In what will become a repeated pattern, Nazi leadership meddles in the operation, forcing changes in tactics and targets at the first signs of resistance in order to keep the "victories" coming. Bombing priorities are switched between RAF airfields and British urban centers at the crucial moment so that both suffer, but neither one is dealt a decisive blow. The Germans also fail to knock out the crucial radar installations that give the RAF the ability to detect the incoming waves of planes before they arrive, giving their pilots crucial time to get airborne and intercept. Luftwaffe Commanders had boasted they expected a victory in as little as two weeks, but after three months of fighting fails to win air superiority, the Germans back down in the face of mounting losses. Operation Sea Lion, the German invasion plan (which was never taken all that seriously to begin with), is cancelled. Still, the Germans remain the masters of Fortress Europe. The British have no hope of defeating them unless help arrives... and whatever help they get has to cross the Atlantic Ocean, where German submarines prowl beneath the waves.
Around this time, Russia is busy somehow losing (by most people's definition) a war to Finland... despite having done quite well in a border clash with Japan just a year previously at a place called Khalkhin Gol, which has lead to an informal non-aggression pact with Japan in the Far East (to be formalised next year, expiring in 1946). Despite greatly outnumbering the Finns in almost every conceivable way, the Soviets perform horribly. After six months, the Russians have taken only a few miles of land beyond the border. Part of this is due to Stalin's purges of the 1930s, which left the Red Army in no position to challenge the state, but in an even worse position to wage war. The Finns had neither the population nor the economy to prosecute the war, so they eventually surrendered and gave up some territory that was mostly worthless, but only after they had inflicted incredibly disproportionate losses on their much larger opponent. On a brighter note, the campaign finally gives a name to one of the war's most eponymous improvised weapons. When the Russians started dropping cluster and incendiary bombs on Finnish towns, Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov claimed they were actually dropping food - 'Bread Baskets' - for the starving Finnish proletariat. . The Finns subsequently dub their improvised petrol bombs, of the type used by desperate infantrymen trying to take out tanks in China and Spain, "Molotov cocktails". 'Cocktails', because they're a drink to go down with the 'bread'.
Mussolini feels left out of all this conquest, so the Italians promptly invade the Balkans and Greece -- only to get in over their heads, losing battles, and forcing Germany to divert precious resources to bailing them out . The Wehrmacht then proves their success in France was no fluke by blitzing through Greece and capturing most of the Mediterranean. Only the plucky island of Malta manages to hold on despite near-starvation, an act that gets the entire island awarded the George Cross. Mussolini is humiliated, and Hitler is provided with a whole raft of snide remarks for future cocktail party conversations. (It's worth noting that Italy suffered nearly as much as France in World War One , so the allies weren't the only ones suffering from fatalism and defeatism.) The battle shifts to North Africa, where the British and the Germans (not all that much helped by the increasingly poorly led and supplied Italians) wage vital battles for control over the Suez Canal and access to the priceless oil supplies of the Middle East.
On February 14, 1941, the newly promoted Major General Erwin Rommel (formerly commander of the 7th Panzer Division, notable for its stunning maneuvers in the Battle of France, which earned it the nickname "The Ghost Division".) arrives in Tripoli to begin supervising the offloading of his new command. Leading what is dubbed the "Deutsches Afrikakorps", Rommel finds himself both undermanned and under-equipped. But does that stop him? Nope. He orders his troops to begin moving as quickly as possible, plowing through British positions in Egypt. Only a desperate counterattack drives Rommel back, showcasing how the war in Africa will be fought for the next year. Nevertheless, the African Front will come to be known as the most humane and romanticized combat zone of the war, where Rommel becomes a well-respected commander ( earning praise from Winston Churchill himself ). However, the war in Africa is only seen as a sideshow for the true campaign, where the bulk of German troops and equipment will be used (depriving Rommel of much-needed reinforcement for his offensives).
After failing to bring Britain down, Hitler looks east to his old enemy -- the Soviet Union . Until then, the Soviets weren't officially Hitler's enemy. In 1939, the Germans and Soviets had entered into the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact , in which they agreed not to fight each other, secretly agreed to divide up Poland between them, and Germany licensed the Soviets to build their copy of a BMW motorcycle. This alliance of convenience was useful to both sides, but neither expected it to last, and Hitler's life dream had always been to destroy the "Jewish Communists" in the Soviet Union. Josef Stalin agreed to the pact to buy time to rebuild his army, which was totally disorganized after the political purges of the 1930's and the disaster of an attempted invasion of Finland. Finally on June 22, 1941, exactly one year after the fall of France, Hitler launches Operation Barbarossa. It is the greatest offensive in the history of warfare ever, in which nearly four million men storm across the border into Russia: three German Army Groups of about a million men each, supplemented with Italians, Croats, Romanians and Hungarians and other fascist allies. The battle line stretched from the Arctic Ocean down to the Black Sea.
It's pretty obvious that to effectively wage war on the vast lands of USSR, one would need to avoid open hostility from the non-conscripted populace, ideally gaining their support. The "special" governing practices of Stalin and the Communist Party (which among other things included confiscating land, grain, mass arrests, exiling and executions) made that quite possible. So German propaganda prepared a number of leaflets with slogans like "beat up jew politruk" and "we're not fighting your nation, we're fighting your Communist leader scum". Initially, that kind of propaganda was met with some understanding, which factored into the early German success. However, Hitler's ultimate goal was of expanding Greater Germany into the east, not liberating oppressed peoples. In fact, he viewed the Russians as vermin, that were spoiling the farmland and 'Lebensraum' (living space) he was planning on colonizing. Of course, these "subhumans" had to be replaced with proper Aryan settlers, so whenever the local villagers come out cheering, happy to be liberated from Stalin, the Germans just blasted them anyway .
When the Russian people learned of this reality, which didn't take too long, they stopped paying attention to propaganda and politics and started fighting like a cornered beast. Who would've known?
But even an army of four million isn't enough to conquer Russia, although it seems for a while that it might be . The Germans, inadvertently assisted by Soviet command , who hadn't any real practice in commanding and filtered reports, so only good ones came, initially plunge deep into the USSR, advancing up to fifty kilometers a day. The Soviets reel back in panic and confusion, suffering thousands of casualties. However, Soviet forces continue to fight fiercely, even after they've been bypassed and cut off. The Germans suffer serious difficulties with supplies as they advanced farther and farther east, and the lengthening of the front as the Soviets withdraw into the interior serves to dissipate their forces. Large units of Soviet partisans rise up behind German lines and wage a guerrilla war, and communist partisans also mobilize in Yugoslavia and Greece , forcing the Germans to relocate some units to the Balkans. Stalin is also able to transfer fresh troops from the Soviet Far East after determining that the Japanese in Manchuria have no intention of attacking him in the rear. The Russians move entire manufacturing plants the other way, putting them deep behind the Ural mountains and in western Siberia, where they'll be out of reach of the German bombers.
By September, the Germans are in control of much of Western Russia, from Novgorod to Kiev. Hitler is initially satisfied with the results and plans only limited mop-up operations the following year. However, his generals convince him that Moscow is an easy target and he approves of Operation Typhoon. Winter comes to aid the Soviet defenses: bad weather, hailstorms and snow, culminating in a mind-numbing cold that the German Army is unable to cope with, particularly since Hitler lacked the foresight to outfit his troops with winter uniforms and machinery wasn't sueted to cold weather and failed to even start. These devastating natural conditions reinforce the sheer determination of the Red Army, and the Germans are halted literally within sight of Moscow. Finally, the Soviets launch a surprise counterattack that forces the Germans back. Stalin and the Soviets have avoided defeat, but the Germans remain in possession of the western part of the USSR. In addition, this defeat begins Hitler's distrust of his generals and from this point on, he begins taking more control over military operations.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the third Axis power, Imperial Japan , is going nowhere fast. On paper, the Empire and its puppets control a third of China, half her population and almost all her industry. In reality occupied China teems with bandits and guerillas, and one only has to travel twenty miles from a railroad or river to find territory beyond Imperial control. On paper, the Republic's troops outnumber those of the Empire and her allies by three-to-one; in reality, only half these troops answer to the central government led by the Guomindang, the Chinese Nationalists under Generalissimo Jiang Jieshi we mentioned earlier. The superiority of Japanese equipment, training, unit organisation and command structure - not to mention air-power , which is being used to level Chinese towns and cities more or less with impunity (typically by fire-bombing them) - has counted for nothing in the face of the vast size of China and her massive population. For instance, the Chinese have virtually no anti-tank weapons; but the Japanese have virtually no tanks in working order they can bring to where they are needed except in the on-and-off meat-grinder battles which rage through the hills of southern and central China. The attrition rate for the Guomindang's core armies over the past four years has been at least half. In a relatively unmolested, mountainous province of north-central China, a young Communist official is slowly offing his rivals to become the leader of the socialist commune there, the largest in the country. His name is Mao Ze Dong .
After the fall of France, Japan takes the opportunity to effectively seize the French colony of Indochina -- including modern-day Vietnam -- ostensibly at the "invitation" of the collaborationist Vichy government. President Franklin D Roosevelt has been looking for an excuse to act against them for a while now, so the United States restricts steel and oil exports to Japan in a full embargo in an attempt to bring them to the negotiating table. Since the US is Japan's #1 supplier of both essential commodities, the Japanese government is forced between a rock and a hard place; they cannot be seen as backing down to the USA, but they don't have the strength to take them on and win. With Holland fallen to the Germans and England preoccupied elsewhere the Imperial Navy again proposes, for the umpteenth time, their plan to strike south to seize the oil supplies and rich natural resources of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and British Malaya. This time, however, the Cabinet is willing to listen; the fleet's oil supplies will be depleted within a matter of months and it's not like the Navy and its attached ground forces - the Special Naval Landing Forces - have been making a huge contribution to the China theatre anyway. Taking on the Dutch means taking on Britain, which almost invariably means war with the United States. Given the awkward strategic position of the Philippines, they will have to be taken too if the plan is to 'succeed'.
Rational officers like Admiral Yamamato, who understand the US's real strength - c.30% of World GDP to Japan's c.3%, and nearly 51% of the entire world's industrial capacity, albeit much of it still idled by the Great Depression - object to this Honor Before Reason line of suicidal thinking, but are duty-bound to follow the government's orders. Yamamato decides that, if this course must be taken, Japon's best chance of victory lies in making a preemptive strike at the US Pacific Fleet, then based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; hopefully, the USA will simply drop its sanctions and negotiate a peace treaty instead of going to the enormous expense and inconvenience of replacing much of its fleet and taking the offensive to Japan.
After six months of planning and training, a taskforce based around six Japanese aircraft carriers moves out under complete secrecy and on December 7, 1941, catch the Americans completely off guard, wrecking much of the American fleet. Unfortunately (for them), the US fleet's aircraft carriers are at sea and Yamamoto's subordinate Admiral Nagumo is correspondingly cautious, choosing to withdraw rather than launch a third wave of bombers against the base facilities themselves (thereby leaving the fleet vulnerable to a carrier-based counter-attack). Thus Pearl Harbour's drydocks, machine shops, naval headquarters, storehouses and fuel reserves - without which the remnants of the fleet could have been left stranded - are left intact. [2] All things considered the attack hasn't done a great deal of (permanent) damage, as many of the ships can be - and are - repaired and returned to service with a year or so; only three ships are completely out of commission, and a lot of material is salvaged from them. [3]
The Cabinet has, however, completely misread the motivations of their enemy. Again. Not only does the US enter the war on the side of the Allies, but it begins a massive re-armament program to rebuild its fleet and take the war to Japan. Hitler promptly commits one of the greatest strategic blunders of all time by declaring war on the United States in support of his ally. Thus as 1941 comes to a close the Germans, who six months before had only faced the British Empire and its Commonwealth, are now at war with the three most powerful non-Axis nations on Earth. Econometrics - the discipline of assigning concrete figures to economic factors - tells us that at this point the defeat of the Axis is inevitable, their poor decision-making having doomed them.
However, it isn't immediately apparent that the Japanese are bound to lose, since they promptly sweep the Americans and British nearly out of the Pacific. The Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, Guam and Wake Island all fall to the Japanese. Six months of uninterrupted victories leave Japan the master of the western Pacific. In return the US loads 24 land-based medium bombers on a carrier to launch a symbolic strike of their own on Japan itself, the Doolittle Raid. Although the results of the bombing itself were negligible, the Japanese people were spooked that the Americans could hit them at the height of their power. This prompts the China Expeditionary force to go on an offensive in hills of south-central China with the aim of capturing or destroying all the airbases within range of Japan, to pre-empt this kind of thing happening again. The operation is a success insofar as the airbases are all destroyed, but as usual the Japanese overstretch their supply lines and are forced to withdraw again. For their part, the Imperial Navy decides to seek a decisive battle in which they hope to destroy the US Pacific Fleet, in the hope that this will buy them a year or two of breathing space (or even, the more optimistic among the Imperial Cabinet hope, a negotiated peace).
Meanwhile, Soviet command has already decided that army should launch an offensive in the Ukraine, expecting a renewal of the German assault on Moscow. However, the Germans have already persuaded Hitler to launch an offensive in the Ukraine as well, having convinced him that the bulk of Russian defenses will be concentrated around Moscow. Consequently, the two forces trip over one another; the Soviet one is encircled and almost totally wiped out, having delayed the German offensive for about two days at the most and leaving the entire front significantly weaker as a result. Advancing towards the southern reaches of the Volga River and into the Caucasus with its rich oil reserves, the panzers are on the move again. Hitler takes a lot of territory, but the Soviet armies in the sector fight a retreat all the way to an industrial city called Stalingrad on the banks of the Volga (its original name is Tsaritsyn and its current name is Volgograd, but it had been renamed Stalingrad because Stalin was the commander of Red troops there during the Russian Civil War). Hitler becomes increasingly convinced that taking the city directly by brute force will win the war - in all fairness, the city is a major transport hub through which the products of Soviet industry and Allied lend-lease material make their way to Moscow - and so the Germans and Soviets fight a bloody, titanic battle in the streets and in buildings of the city. As the Spring grinds on, it becomes clear that Germany doesn't quite have the strength to take both Stalingrad and the Caucasus oil, and may end up with neither as a consequence of trying for both.
In November of 1942, the Soviets launch another massive offensive in an attempt to push the German Armies from Moscow. It fails, miserably, and Operation Mars is subsequently swept under the historical carpet along with the Ukrainian offensive of the previous summer, never to be mentioned in Soviet or Russian school textbooks. However, a secondary encirclement offensive meets with success. Striking behind the elite German units in the area around Stalingrad itself, the mechanised units of Operation Uranus break through the virtually-anti-tank-weapon-less Romanian forces guarding the flanks of the Sixth Army - trapping the bulk of it in Stalingrad just as the Russian Winter falls in earnest. Despite repeated requests, Hitler refuses to allow the troops to withdraw. He instead demands they fight to the last man and martyr themselves rather than shame him and his visions of Aryan superiority by retreating and promote commanding officer, Friedrich Paulus, to Field Marshal (with a remainder that no German Field Marshal ever surrendered). Futile efforts to resupply the trapped army by air or punch through the Soviet lines predictably fail and the starving remnants of the Sixth Army surrender on February 2, 1943. It's the largest and costliest defeat the Germans have suffered to that point, the rest of Hitler's troops in southern Russia hastily retreat. From there, the Soviets take the initiative, and the war there becomes a long, slow battle of attrition as the USSR gradually grinds the German army into dust. At the same time, the battles between the Axis and the Allies in North Africa, while much smaller in scale than the titanic conflict in the East, end with more decisive Allied victories. At Kharkov, the Germans win a victory that finally halts the Soviet advance, but the tide in Europe has turned.
The tide of battle has turned in the Pacific as well at the end of Japan's six month window of strategic advantage as Admiral Yamamoto warned would happen. In the mid-Pacific, a Japanese attempt to destroy the American fleet and capture the island of Midway leads to disaster. American code-breakers have managed to crack Japan's primary naval encryption and know the fleet's every move. Even better, American dive bombers just happen to catch the Imperial Japanese Navy at a moment when all its planes are being reloaded for an another attack--meaning the hangars of each ship are covered with fuel, munitions and aircraft . The US Navy sinks three Japanese carriers in the span of five minutes, and a fourth a few hours later, at the loss of only one of its own . The IJN is broken as an offensive threat and the balance of power in the Pacific permanently shifts to the United States--though it would be months before this became apparent.
In the southern Pacific, the Japanese offensive is slowed when an Allied flotilla intercepts the Japanese landing force intended for Southern New Guinea, forcing them to turn back. An overland advance southwards through the mountains is halted by a scratch force of Australian militiamen and regulars and the Americans retake the airbase-island Guadalcanal. Much of the momentum of the southern offensive was lost due to the unanticipated effect of partisan and guerrilla resistance, particularly in the Philippines, while the Guadalcanal campaign turns into a six-month meat grinder of horrific foot-slogging battles and fierce nighttime naval engagements that consumes ships, airplanes and men that Japan can ill afford to lose and lacks the resources to replace. US and Australian forces will eventually go on to liberate the rest of New Guinea together and then part company, the Australians driving west into Indonesia while the US turns north towards the Philippines.
The Imperial Army's advances into Burma cut off the 'Burma Road', China's sole remaining transport link to the Allied world, which forces the Americans to fly everything from bazookas to bandages over 'the Hump' of the Himalayas. As Nationalist-aligned warlord troops and the Sepoys of the British Indian Army bring the offensive to a halt in the Himalayan foothills, Gandhi and the Indian National Congress declare the Quit India movement which advocates Britain's immediate withdrawal from India. Gandhi and the Congress are imprisoned for the duration of the war, and acts of open rebellion and sabotage are quite brutally suppressed. However, Jinna and the Indian Muslim League declare their loyalty to the British Raj - their proposal of an independent or autonomous Indian Muslim state being taken more seriously as a consequence. US forces hop from strategically-important island to island, avoiding fighting non-essential battles and winning each one. But this comes at what the Americans consider frightful costs in the face of garrisons of China-veteran marines who fight almost literally to the last man rather than surrender. The War in the East as a whole is a particularly vicious one, the mutual (racial) hatred and animosity on all sides meaning that quarter is rarely asked or given .
In 1943, the German forces on the Eastern Front are relentlessly pushed back. The last German offensive at Kursk leads to the biggest tank battle in history and a crushing defeat for Hitler (strategically; the Soviet casualties were... extreme, to say the least, but with more and more and more men and machines coming to the front, Stalin had no reason to worry that much about things like losing three hundred thousand men and six thousand tanks ). Stalin sees the success of the operation as a vindication of his growing trust in his Generals and their Staffs, stepping back to let them organise military operations themselves. Hitler sees the outcome as proof of his own Generals' incompetence - though the offensive was his idea - and moves to micromanage the entire German war effort in ever-greater detail . With morale skyrocketing because they just defeated the Germans in the summer, the Soviets spend the rest of the year inexorably pushing the Germans further and further back, bleeding them dry and wearing down their ability to resist.
In southern Europe the Allies follow up on their victory in North Africa by landing in Italy after feeding the Germans false information that the invasion will happen on the Balkan coast. The Germans swallow this, diverting a significant force from Italy to Yugoslavia. After the Allied invasion, the Italian government does a Heel Face Turn , abandoning Germany, deposing Mussolini and signing a peace treaty with the Western Allies. However, German forces quickly occupy the remainder of the Italian boot and the Allied forces in Italy take two years to conquer the peninsula. Mussolini is liberated from house arrest by a German commando raid and installed as the figurehead of a German puppet government in northern Italy. At the very end of the war, on 28 April 1945, he and his mistress are caught by partisans while attempting to flee to Switzerland. They are summarily shot and their bodies are hung upside down in the local town square.
While the war turns against him in Europe, Hitler and his cronies begin planning a thorough program of genocide, one that we know today as ' The Holocaust '. This is an organised response to the problems created by Germany's dominion over various new subject peoples come Operation Barbarossa. Ghettos and Work-camps were only part of the solution; while many Red Army prisoners and able-bodied undesirables could be worked to death in the mines, minefields and factories, there was really no reason to suffer the existence of (male) homosexuals - female homosexuals might yet be cured by corrective sexual activity, it was hoped - gypsies and jews, who by their very natures could never be anything but a blight upon any superior people. To this end a steady stream of un-usable un-desirables was stealthily moved out of the ghettos and concentration camps and sent to dedicated death-camps to be... well, processed for their belongings and used for what materials could be extracted from their corpses. At Auschwitz-Birkenau, over a million Jews from all over Europe are gassed. At Treblinka, dedicated to the extermination of Poliah Jews, over eight hundred thousand are gassed. Estimates vary, but around six million Jews or people of Jewish descent (Nazi race laws meant even people with a single Jewish grandparent could be counted as Jewish, though whether one was brought up on this depended on your connections) are gassed, shot, starved or worked to death before the Reich surrenders. This figure is about half of the prewar Jewish population in Germany and the areas conquered by Hitler. Over 90% of the Jews of Poland are murdered.
It is not known precisely how many Roma (Gypsies) were killed in the Holocaust. While exact figures or percentages cannot be ascertained, historians estimate that the Germans and their allies killed around 25 percent of all European Roma. Of slightly less than one million Roma believed to have been living in Europe before the war, the Germans and their Axis partners killed up to 220,000.
Between 1933 and 1945 the police arrested an estimated 100,000 men as homosexuals. Most of the 50,000 men sentenced by the courts spent time in regular prisons, and between 5,000 and 15,000 were interned in concentration camps.
The Nazis interned some homosexuals in concentration camps immediately after the seizure of power in January 1933. Those interned came from all areas of German society, and often had only the cause of their imprisonment in common. Some homosexuals were interned under other categories by mistake, and the Nazis purposefully miscategorized some political prisoners as homosexuals. Prisoners marked by pink triangles to signify homosexuality were treated harshly in the camps. According to many survivor accounts, homosexuals were among the most abused groups in the camps. Because some Nazis believed homosexuality was a sickness that could be cured - a moderate and progressive view for the time, mind; take for instance the treatment and eventual fate of the father of Computer Science, Alan Turing - they sought, accordingly, to 'cure' homosexuals of their 'disease' through indoctrination, humiliation and labour. With emphasis on the latter two; guards ridiculed and beat homosexual prisoners upon arrival, often separating them from other inmates. There are no reliable figures for the number of homosexuals in the camps, let alone those who died in them.
Trough 5 millions of Soviet POWs were taken, only less than 2 millions were liberated come the end of the war: German treatment of Russians in captivity was diabolical. The Red Army's attitude to repatriated POWs, wasn't good either: ex-prisoners were sent into filtration camps, that was effectively high-secure prisons. After that most was sent back into the Red Army, with officers stripped of rank and sent into penal regiments for the crime of having surrendered. Penal regiments got the hard, dangerous, dirty jobs and the death rate for men condemned to them was far heavier. Policy of reconscripting men, brutalised by German imprisonment, arming them and sending them straight into a battle that more and more was being fought on German soil, was not good for German civilians unfortunate enough to be in the way of angry men with a desire for revenge. Contrary to public belief, many regular Red Army units did not rape and loot their way into Germany and behaved decently, it was released and re-armed POWs who ran amok in this infamous fashion.
Meanwhile the Imperial Army has mobilised just shy of half a million men for a final offensive against the forces of the Nationalist Party - Operation Ichigo. High Command's reasoning is that if the IJA can defeat Jiang Jieshi's 'core armies' in the field, they can go on the offensive and capture the Nationalists' last stronghold in the Sichuan basin. If they can capture this, the last agricultural area outside nominal Japanese control, the Nationalists will be forced to either surrender or starve and the Chinese warlords nominally allied with the Nationalists will (hopefully) join the Japanese rather than be wiped out one by one. If this happens, then China will effectively be secured for Japan and up to a million veterans of the seven-year China Incident will be freed up for duties elsewhere. This is the plan is presented to the ruling clique at home; but the real plan is far more realistic, which speaks volumes about the psychosis at the heart of the Imperial Cabinet. High Command hopes to eliminate certain Nationalist pockets, improving the logistics situation by linking up all their forces and capturing or rendering unsafe - or simply unsupplyable - the American airbases in Nationalist territory in the process. Many of said airbases are fairly close to the front lines and the planes operating from them are threatening Japanese troops and supply lines all over China, forcing valuable fighters into escort duty for strategic fire-bombing missions. The suddenness and intensity of the offensive catches the Nationalists off-guard, but even as the battles rage another offensive on the other side of the world catches the world's attention.
In Europe, Germany's situation goes from bad to worse when the Western Allies -- principally the Americans, British and Canadians -- land in northern France (Normandy) on the 6th of June, 1944 ; Hitler is now fighting a two-front war against larger and arguably better-equipped armies with better air support. Two weeks after the Allies land in France, the Soviets launch their biggest attack of the war: Operation Bagration, which finally completes one of oldest Soviet strategic goals - annihilates Army Group Centre. The Red Army leaps forward some two hundred miles, clearing almost all of the USSR of Germans and advancing to the gates of Warsaw. Stalin has broken the back of the Wehrmacht. Western Allies initially disbelieved that Soviets were able to do so, wich lead to huge "POWs march", where 57 thousands German POWs walked on Moscow streets. In the meantime, while the Soviets are busy wiping out enormous concentrations of German troops, the Western Allies break out of their beachhead in Normandy after two months of savage combat. Increasingly-frequent Allied bombing raids like the one described in Slaughterhouse-Five do enormous damage to the German war effort and citizenry. The bombing grows steadily more intense through the end of the war, leaving almost every major city in Hitler's Reich in ruins. With the Luftwaffe's bombing capabilities rendered as good as ineffective, having lost their airfields sufficiently close to the Channel, Hitler turns to using the newly-developed Vergeltungswaffen (retaliation weapons), the V-1 'Buzz Bomb' and later the V-2 ballistic missile to try and exact some revenge on the British, who by and large consider this nuisance not worth getting worked up about.
At this point, several German officers decide they've had enough, and try to save Germany from total destruction under Hitler's rule. There had been resistance to the Nazis and Hitler ever since they came to power in 1933. However, the spectacular victories in Poland and France quelled these notions for a bit, until the Eastern Front became a massive retreat. On July 20, 1944, Colonel-Count Claus von Stauffenberg plants a bomb in Hitler's Wolf's Lair Headquarters. As part of the plan, other German officers prepare to initiate Operation Valkyrie, a contingency operation in the event of a breakdown in command and control (which they carefully reworded to allow for the arrest of SS and Nazi officials). However, Stauffenberg is interrupted and only packs half the planned amount of explosives into the bomb, which also detonates on the other side of a table leg, creating just enough of a shield for Hitler to survive with minor wounds. While they had intended to launch Valkyrie even if Hitler survived, the plotters in Berlin nonetheless wait several hours for confirmation that he had been killed. By the end of the day, the plot is in shambles and Stauffenberg is summarily executed. More than 5000 people were also executed in connection to the plot by the end of the war, including the famed Erwin Rommel, whose direct connection with the plot (like many others who died) was dubious.
Back at the front, the Allied invasion goes well and by August, Paris is liberated. However, the invasion goes a little too well. Allied forces race forward to confront the rapidly retreating Germans, well ahead of their supply lines (which become dangerously long due to a lack of deep water ports). In addition, the Germans are able to pull back a sizable amount of their forces. This gives the Allied High Command the idea that the Wehrmacht is a spent force which poses little threat. Unable to supply both of his top generals, British field marshal Bernard Montgomery and American general George S. Patton, Dwight Eisenhower is forced to choose which one to give priority of supplies to. Montgomery proposes a daring plan called "Operation Market Garden", which envisions a massive paratrooper deployment in Holland to seize a number of vital bridges. If it succeeds, they will be able to cross the Rhine and seize the Ruhr, the industrial heart of Germany. He claims that this will end the fighting by Christmas. Pressured by civilian leaders to bring a quick end to the war, Eisenhower is forced to agree. Unfortunately, the British are so confident in the plan that they rush to enact it as quickly as possible without ironing out all the details. A combination of bad weather, bad intelligence, bad logistics, and bad equipment causes the operation to fail, particularly the intelligence part. The Dutch Underground managed to pass on several key reports that two SS Panzer Divisions were resting in the area, but the British general staff ignored them. The presence of leadership such as Gerd von Rundstedt and Walter Model allows the Germans to stabilize the frontline just along their border, helped by just how much the Allied supply problems have worsened due to the failure of Market Garden. To add insult to injury, Market Garden delays Allied efforts to make the port of Antwerp usable, which would likely have solved the logistics problems.
Meanwhile, Operation Ichigo has stalled. Many of the Allied airfields in China have been captured or abandoned because of their proximity to the front lines - some actually on the front lines when the Japanese are halted for good. Although Japanese armour and air support has proved troublesome again, American training and Lend-Lease weaponry have proved invaluable - anti-tank weapons like the Bazooka were a great improvement over the Molotov cocktails and grenades that were all that was available before, and with the U.S. Army Air Corps around, the Japanese have lost air superiority over China. In other words, it's a completely different war from seven years ago, one that has swung very much in China's favour. A group of rogue IJA officers persuade their men to attempt one last, desperate attack through the mountains and into the Sichuan basin itself. They fail and the Nationalist counter-attack routs their entire army, forcing them to abandon all the gains made in Ichigo and retreat back to the riverine and coastal areas. The Japanese offensive in British India-Burma has also lead to a disastrous reversal, and after their victory at Imphal the Anglo-Indian army starts to advance slowly but steadily through Burma and into Japanese-allied Thailand.
In the Pacific the Americans capture the island of Saipan after a terrible land and sea battle. The Japanese plan is desperate and mostly involves shore-based aircraft as the Americans outnumber them three to one in carriers, a sure sign that they're about to be crushed under the weight of US industrial production. The sea battle, officially known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea is quickly dubbed the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot when US pilots equipped with a new generation of carrier-borne fighters shoot down nearly 500 aircraft with virtually no losses of their own, effectively exterminating the last of Japan's trained naval aviators. The US Navy in turn loses approximately 100 aircraft (most due to fuel starvation) in their own counter-strike but manage to sink one Japanese carrier and seriously damage three others. Adding injury to further injury, two further Japanese carriers go down at the hands of US submarines, though by this point the loss of their carriers matters little since the Japanese no longer have the pilots to man them. The land battle is the usual horrific slog against deeply entrenched and fanatical Imperial defenders, though Saipan is different in that it is the first island taken to contain a significant population of Japanese civilians, most of whom commit suicide, horrifying all observers.
Saipan (and nearby Tinian, captured soon after) are close enough to allow US bombers to strike the Japanese Home Islands. This is initially of limited effectiveness,as strong winds over Japan make precision bombing impossible. Once someone suggests using fire-bombs (sound familiar?) to set the cities ablaze, the bombing becomes much more effective and the war has finally come full circle as the very nation that started out decrying Japanese "terror bombing" in China is now deliberately targeting civilians themselves. Like many contemporary Chinese buildings, most Japanese buildings of the time used a lot of flammable materials ----wood, bamboo, rattan, rice paper--in their construction. The fire-bombing campaign is super effective, razing entire towns practically overnight and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. What's left of the Imperial Navy sallies forth for one last battle against the Americans and despite one portion of the fleet coming very near to its objective, is promptly annihilated in history's largest naval engagement, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. American soldiers make landfall in the Philippines in late 1944 and after several brutal months of combat, they wrest control of most of their former colony from the Japanese. By now, it is apparent even to the Japanese themselves that Japan's defeat is inevitable.
In Europe, despite Allied control of the air, the loss of their most experienced forces, and destruction of their factories, the Germans have one advantage left: they are no longer trying to defend all of Western Europe and the Allied supply problems are at critical levels. Hitler takes a leaf out of his Eastern Ally's book and gathers what offensive strength he has left to hurl it at the Western Allies in a surprise attack. In December 1944, his legions attack through the Ardennes - the same route by which they snuck into France four and a half years before - in a desperate and ill-advised attempt to cut a wedge between the American and British forces. However, there is a huge difference between the Ardennes of 1939 -- when forests were picketed by only a few detached cavalry vedettes -- and 1944, when the lines are manned by three full (but green) US Army Divisions, backed by Allied tactical airpower and the world's best artillery.
The "Battle of the Bulge" results in German gains for a few days under the cover of bad weather, then an inevitable defeat as Hitler's tanks run out of fuel and are left behind as his troops are pushed back by Allied counter-attacks, especially when the streak of cloudy days runs out and the Allies' air forces can resume operations. This defeat essentially breaks the back of Germany's power to resist in the West. Germany is now a country void of teen- and middle-aged males, who have virtually all been drafted into citizen militias to defend the Fatherland to the last. Meanwhile, the Soviets clear Poland of German forces and push all the way to the Oder river, 56 miles from Berlin, and taking the time to advance through the Balkans, Hungary, and Romania before advancing into Germany proper - so that they will be negotiating the post-war world order from a position of strength. In April of 1945, Soviet and American troops meet at a German village called Torgau. The job of taking Berlin is left to the Soviets, who is ten times closer at the moment, who do so in the latter part of April and at 1st May Red Flag vaves above the Reichstag in an operation, that even Allied generals was forced to remark as highly sucsessfull. Hitler kills himself in his underground bunker on April 30, 1945. On May 8, the Germans officially surrender and the war in Europe is over.
But to everyone's increasing exasperation, Japan fights on. The Americans continue to island-hop closer to their Home Islands, capturing the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa to aid the strategic bombing campaign and planned invasion. The fighting is savage and horrific, bloody and slow, which includes the terrifying kamikaze suicide attacks which amaze the Allies at just how far Japan will go to strike any kind of blow. The sinking of food-importing Japan's almost-entire merchant fleet and the impact of air-raids on agriculture - it's hard to plough a rice paddy when it's full of shrapnel - is compounded by domestic crop failures , which see his majesty's subjects try to survive on 1200 calories a day. It's not all bad, though , as the government publishes a helpful series of articles on how to stave off hunger by padding out one's diet with sawdust, insects and mice. By early 1945 Allied air and naval forces roam Japanese shores and skies virtually at will, shooting up or sinking just about everything that dares to move in daylight. But the Japanese still refuse to give up.
Even as the Empire crumbles, the government pulls every available boat, plane and tank in the Empire back to the Home Islands (though virtually nothing makes it through the blockade) and conscripts as much of the able-bodied population as can be spared into citizen militias in anticipation of the Allied invasion. What petrol remains is issued to the newly-formed kamikaze speedboat and human-piloted torpedo flotillas; the airforce has long since claimed the last of the aviation fuel for its kamikaze squadrons. On paper, the Volunteer Fighting Corps is more than capable of fending off the invasion on its own; in reality, there are few weapons and even less ammunition to go around, so the teenaged and elderly recruits are taught how to fight with knives, spears and petrol-free molotov cocktails. Others are simply handed a grenade, being told to make their deaths meaningful .
Planned for October, there is no attempt to disguise the planned invasion's timing or purpose - not that the Imperial Cabinet has a great track record in accurately anticipating anyone else's actions thus far. Christened Operation Downfall , it is expected to more than double the total number of Allied military casualties . Japanese civilian casualties are expected to surpass Chinese levels, quite a feat considering Japan has only one tenth of China's total population. The Guomindang is on the verge of launching its own offensive, the first of the war, to re-take as much of China as possible before the Soviets get there - Jiang Jieshi fears that the Soviets will turn all the land, weapons and equipment they liberate from the Japanese straight over to the Chinese Communists. [4] Given the terrible inter-unit co-ordination that Jiang's forces have displayed so far, their offensive actions being limited to counter-attacks, the Japanese doubt that the Nationalist Party forces will get very far despite their own (total) lack of air cover and (chronic) supply problems.
A new weapon, a bomb of immense explosive force, has been developed to support the landings. After witnessing the destructive power of the prototype, some dare to hope that the threat of its use may be enough to force Japanese surrender. In the American state of New Mexico, a multinational team of scientists headed by Robert Oppenheimer have test-detonated the first nuclear bomb . The Allies ask Japan to surrender unconditionally; unsurprisingly, they refuse. A nuclear bomb is dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and 70,000-80,000 people die almost instantly, at least as many again will succumb to radiation over the months and years that follow; another dropped on the city of Nagasaki on August 9 has much the same effect. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union honours its promises to the Allies and declares war on Japan in violation of their Non-Aggression Pact of 1941, the mechanised columns of the Red Army making short work of Japan's North China Army. The Allies bargain for the half of Korea south of the 38th parallel north as they tell the Emperor Showa that there are more such atom bombs to come, as if the imminent threat of invasion weren't enough. Facing a looming unstoppable invasion from the sea on two fronts, an unassailable naval blockade that no "Divine Wind" would ever remove and total nuclear destruction from the air, the Emperor himself calls it quits and sues for peace on August 14, effectively commanding his subjects to accept his decision in his first-ever radio broadcast to the whole Empire. A formal surrender is signed on September 2.
World War II is over. The Americans and Soviets try to get the Chinese Nationalists and Communists to form a government together; unsurprisingly they fail, and after a further three years of civil war the Communists proclaim the Peoples' Republic of China in 1949. As the tide of the war turns against the Nationalists, Churchill makes his 'Iron Curtain' speech and the Americans begin to see Communism as a real threat. After years of dithering, America speedily moves to invest in rebuilding the economies and militaries of Germany and Japan, changing the earlier program of peaceful 'nation-building' to create strong Allies.
The horrors of the Holocaust lead to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish nation in what had been British Palestine (thereby leading to the Arab-Israeli Conflict ). Despite talks of unifying Germany, Austria and Korea under neutral democratic governments, both countries and Europe as a whole become increasingly divided between the Soviet-dominated, dictatorial Communist East and the American-backed, eventually fairly democratic West. It is only in 1989 that the Communist '2nd world' crumbles from within and the regimes of eastern Europe go down in a series of revolutions. Germany is officially reunited the next year, largely bringing a close one of the most visible legacies of World War II.
The war killed about 62 to 78 million people, 3-4% of the world's population at that time. The USSR 'won' the numbers of total and total military casualties at about 26.6 million people in all. Next was China, who won out in the numbers of civilian dead for a total at least in the mid-teens of millions. Poland lost a seventh of its population and the Soviet Republic of Belarus - which bore the brunt of both German and Soviet offensives and history's highest-intensity guerilla warfare lost a full quarter of its people, proportionally more than even the Jews. Yugoslavia lost some 1 million of its 15-million population. Hungary and Greece were similarly mauled, losing up to 6% and 10% of their populations respectively. The Commonwealth and France, however, actually had less military deaths than in World War One . This isn't particularly surprising, since the Soviets bore the brunt of the German onslaught, but civilian casualties were much higher, due to the aerial bombings, massacres of civilians (as reprisals) and the occasional spot of genocide.
Anyone looking to relive the war in real-time can check the Twitter feed of Alwyn Collinson who has been tweeting the war from all angles since around September 1st (Where 2011=1939) and plans to continue for the duration of the war (an astounding six years of daily tweeting ). He is taking volunteers for help translating to different languages and sharing the workload if you email him or contact him on Facebook.
Contents
Adventurer Archaeologist : Ralph Bagnold among others. Several of these bear a surprising resemblance to Indiana Jones.
The Nazis had some of their own, too: The Ahnenerbe.
All of Them : An Urban Legend states that on D-Day dawn a German soldier looked out at the English Channel and phoned his superiors:
Soldier: Allied ships in the Channel!
Command: How many?
Soldier: All of them.
However this is based on a real-life occurrence. A local German commander with the rank of Major and the name of Werner Pluskat did sight the invasion force and was so dismayed that he relayed to his superiors that the allies had ten thousand ships coming right at him. At first they thought Pluskat had lost his mind because there was no way his claim could possibly be true, until he assured them that the exact number wasn't important but there was clearly a massive fleet out there. His exaggeration wasn't exceptionally far off either, as the Allies did have several thousand ships involved in Operation Overlord.
It's worth noting that one of the reasons the invasion was planned for Normandy instead of Calais was the English Channel off Calais wasn't wide enough to hold all of the ships.
Another reason was that British intelligence believed (correctly) that the Nazi High Command was inclined to expect the attack at Calais, where the Channel is narrowest. As it is usually easiest to deceive the enemy with the appearance of what they expect, considerable efforts were made to create the illusion that the attack would occur at Calais. The deceit worked so well that Hitler and the Nazi High Command continued to believe that the Normandy landings were diversionary for long enough that they were irrevocably entrenched by the time forces began to be repositioned to try to stop them.
America Wins the War : To this day, many Westerners do not appreciate the extent to which the war in Europe was mainly fought and mostly decided on the Eastern Front. [5]
The World War II monument in Washington DC states " Americans came to liberate, not to conquer ", at least stating we came, we helped, we left.
Anyone Can Die : And they do.
Awakening the Sleeping Giant : Maybe bombing Pearl Harbor wasn't such a good idea.
The actual quote is a case of Beam Me Up, Scotty . No reliable record exists of Yamamoto ever saying this.
He did express sentiments close to it, though, that were ignored by most of the rest of the military leaders, such as "I can run wild for six months to a year. In the second and third years, I have no confidence." Midway was almost exactly six months to the day of Pearl Harbor
He also told the Japanese Government that attacking Pearl Harbor or taking the Philippines, or even capturing Hawaii, would not mean defeating America. He warned that the only way to win a war against the USA was to conquer the entire nation and dictate peace terms in the White House. When the US got wind of the quote, it was misinterpreted as a boast by Yamamoto that he would do exactly that.
Operation Barbarossa by the Axis. Bad idea.
The China Incident . The 'sick old man of Asia' did pretty well to hold his own against the pushy, upstart new kid on the block.
Babies Ever After : Most countries experienced heightened birth rates after the war, America so much so that the generation born in the decade immdeiately following has been known as "Baby Boomers" throughout their lives.
Badass : Lots of them on all sides.
Quite notable were the defenders of Westerplatte, in the first days of the war. Despite being completely unprepared (due to the government's indecisiveness whether to prepare for war or not...), they held their position against overwhelming German forces, who considered them Worthy Opponents to the point of allowing the Poles a surrender with full military honors once they ran out of ammo and food; the outpost commander was even allowed to keep his sabre.
Badass Army : Every army that didn't get curb stomped in a few months was this. And heck, maybe even those who got stomped (the Finnish and Polish armies). And some elements of the Italian military.
Except that the Finnish army didn't get stomped. They valiantly protected their sovereignty in both the Winter War of 1939-40 and the Continuation War of 1941-1944 with far less losses than what the Soviet Union suffered.
Even better, they scored themselves a position in the Grey Zone of the Cold War , meaning they were not obligated to suppress ideas like the other countries on either side of the Cold War had to do, and didn't receive any of the usual propaganda that both Eastern and Western Europe received.
The Polish Army didn't just fall apart, either. A good part of those who managed to flee the invasion soon joined other Allied armies. There were quite a lot of Poles fighting in the Battle of Britain, including the legendary No. 303 Squadron.
Those who fled east and got captured by the Soviets or otherwise ended up on their territory, joined the Polish Army which the Soviets started putting together after Hitler turned on them.
The ones who stayed in German-occupied Poland and managed to avoid capture by the Nazis went undeground and organised themselves into two separate movements : the Home Army (AK) and the People's Army (AL). There were also some smaller, far-right resistance groups who fought both the Nazis and the Soviets.
Badass Bookworm : Admiral Spruance of the US Navy, who may have been America's best Admiral.
Archibald Wavell, an eccentric nerd-like general, under whose command the Italians in North Africa were reduced to near-nothingness even before the Germans arrived (thus making Italy into The Load ).
True story about Wavell: He once asked his adjutant "Have you seen my Browning?" The poor man spent several hours looking for a pistol before he realized Wavell was actually looking for his copy of "The Collected Works..."
Generalleutnant Hans Speidel, Rommel's Chief of Staff in Normandy. Dr. in History and Economy. Also one of the few known conspirators in the July 1944 plot to actually survive.
Badass Grandpa : Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, who was pushing seventy late in the war and still knew that the landings at Normandy were not a diversion.
Best Served Cold : Adolf Eichmann, the micro-manager of the Holocaust, was kidnapped by the Mossad fifteen years after the end of the war and hauled to Israel to be tried and hanged.
Beware the Nice Ones : The stereotypical American GI.
Beyond the Impossible : If the title of "Bloodiest conflict in human history" wasn't enough.
The Soviet Army also counted, given how they were early on. The government had squandered most of their efforts on munitions and personal luxuries, and the army had little food or drink to go on.
Big Badass Bird of Prey : Hawker Aircraft made some of the best planes for the RAF, including the steadfast Hurricane and the absolutely terrifying Typhoon, which was the basis for the Tempest, which probably the best Allied propeller fighter, save possibly for the later Mustang models and the last Spitfires, being lightning fast, armed with several cannons and were very durable .
The German aircraft were no slouches, with the Fw 190 necessitating an entirely new model of Spitfire to counter it.
Soviet Air Force made up for their lack of loud dogfighting successes with ridiculously well-performing dive bombers like Pe-2 and Tu-2. They also had a few ground attack planes called Il-2 that quickly became a scourge of German armies everywhere.
Big Badass Wolf : German submarine flotillas were called wolf-packs.
Hitler had some fondness for wolf-related names, especially for his military headquarters, not to mention his own name.
Big Bulky Bomb : By the middle of the war, the Allies were dropping Blockbuster Bombs on target cities, so named because they could destroy an entire city block. The British also deployed the "Tallboy" and "Grand Slam", single high-explosive bombs that weighed in at 12,000 and 22,000 pounds respectively... they were essentially the over-sized and unguided predecessors of modern bunker-busters. By the end, the U.S. had developed -- and deployed -- the first nuclear weapons .
The Big Guy : On a grand scale, the Soviet Union was this for the Allies, fighting over 80% of the German army.
Black and White Morality : One of the few historical wars to still routinely get this treatment in fiction. The Axis were bad, the Allies were good. The reality was a lot closer to Black and Grey Morality ; most of the Axis forces were most certainly bad by any sane measure, but the Allies ( especially Stalin {{[[[And Zoidberg]] and Jiang}}]) were no saints.
Perhaps closer to Grey and Grey Morality . It was generally seen that way at the time. It was only after the war that it became clear exactly what the Axis powers had been doing with civilians in their spare time.
It is kind of rare among wars, though, that in the aftermath no one argued the need to fight it. Even the losers seemed to agree they lost, fair and square.
Admiral Halsey was Patton's naval counterpart. At Leyte Gulf though, he was too much of a Blood Knight .
Brother-Sister Team : Hans and Sophie Scholl, two idealistic students who circled letters of protest against the Nazi government and got guillotined for it .
Bunny Ears Lawyer : A remarkable number of these. The sudden leaps in military science and the expansion of the various armed forces far beyond the regular services brought a lot of these into the limelight in several nations. These were people with some tactical , or technological idea for winning the war and they could have an almost tribalistic fanaticism about their particular specialties. Some could genuinely qualify as a Mad Scientist .
Winston Churchill encouraged these and appointed a number to high position, and arguably, he was the greatest Bunny Ears Lawyer of them all. As some of these projects turned out to be very useful, and might not have been encouraged if he was not in charge, he deserves some credit for that to balance recent criticism of his strategic eccentricities.
The codebreakers of Bletchley Park definitely fit this trope. A highly eccentric bunch (mathematicians, the odd chess player, and a man who wore a gasmask to his interview among other folks), these were highly competent yet slightly crazy folks who were charged with breaking the Enigma cipher, the supposedly unbreakable code used by the Germans. By and large, they succeeded.
Catch Phrase : The letter V standing for "victory" in English (and assorted similarly rousing messages in other languages) was the Allied call-sign. La Résistance would draw it in graffiti, Winston Churchill would be photographed showing the V sign with his fingers and so on.
The Morse Code for V is dot dot dot dash, hence British radio news broadcasts opened with the opening bar of Beethoven's Fifth [6] .
There is a photo of some Chinese people after the Japanese surrendered. It gets kind of humourous when you notice they're doing the V backwards, which is an obscene gesture in Britain .
Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys : The Trope Maker in the American consciousness. The actual truth behind the trope is mixed. It is true that the French generals were quite badly outwitted by the Germans in 1940. It is also true that the French installed an appeaser as Prime Minister (Petain) as soon as Paris was occupied and then signed an armistice with the Germans. Signing an armistice took the powerful French Navy and France's empire out of the war. However, the French Army actually fought very hard and took a lot of casualties in 1940, they were just badly led and lacked of modern means of communication. The troops manning the perimeter at Dunkirk while the British Expeditionary Force withdrew so it could continue the war and protect its home nation were mostly French, , and the Free French Forces led by General Charles De Gaulle kept fighting throughout the whole war . The French Resistance's bravery and daring is rightly the stuff of legend too.
The Chessmaster : Stalin is one of the most skillful and probably the most gruesomely cold-blooded, but there were others.
His Chessmastery improved as the war went on and the Red Army started winning battles, but at war's start he came within a hair's breadth of being Out-Gambitted ; his complete failure to recognize Hitler's plan to invade as early as in the summer of 1941 was one of the greatest factors in the string of defeats suffered by the Soviets in that year, and by some sources nearly caused Stalin to have a Villainous Breakdown .
His dealings with Churchill and Roosevelt definitely put him in Chessmaster territory.
Child Soldiers : As in every war, there was lots of them on every side.
Polish Boy Scouts. They were Badass and the Warsaw revolt was their Crowning Moment of Awesome . The Hitler Youth were this on the other side.
The Chinese Nationalists used child soldiers as couriers and scouts too, and many Chinese warlord armies had teenagers and children serve as infantrymen as well.
Basically all the partisan groups used child soldiers.
The Japanese had trained high school students (both male and female) to attack any force invading the Home Islands with little more than spears, knives and grenades.
Many Soviet soldiers were under 18 — when you get invaded, your entire population tends to take it personally and sign up even when underage, and the officers tended to be a bit more loose with their definition of 18. The Red Army adopted orphans and took them on the march to Berlin. They found (as others have found since) that making warriors out of children seriously stuffs up their heads.
This was happening all over the world, although some countries did do background checks.
Cloak and Dagger : Many of the more interesting Real Life spy stories happened during this period and obviously many of the fictional ones too.
This in stark contrast to the Cold War, in which almost bugger-all happened internally.
Cold Sniper : Simo Häyhä .
Cool Car : The Willys Jeep and the Volkswagen Kübelwagen.
Cool Horse : The Cavalry actually had something of a minor comeback in this era because you can buy or steal fodder from peasants, whereas fuel for tanks and other vehicles depended on supply routes. Furthermore, horses can sometimes go where tanks can't. However, they were used as scouts and mounted infantry and were not likely to make a charge unless they caught someone off guard. And even the most chauvinistic of horsemen didn't really think a saber or lance could penetrate a tank's armor.
While you are correct that charging tanks on horseback was suicidal, there were several famous cavalry actions on the Eastern Front, including the recapture of the cities of Taganrog and Rostov by Cossacks under Kirichenko, and charges by Red Cavalry under Dovator, one at Smolensk in August 1941, and another — through the snow! — during the battle for Moscow.
All of which involved flanking the enemy and charging from behind. The Cossacks, being the ultimate Combat Pragmatists , always preferred to shoot their enemies in the back, if possible.
Finland had laughably few men and motorised vehicles compared to Soviet Russia, but with those men and farm horses they did rather well in the Winter War. After the war, Russia didn't want to hear about their own captured horses but did accept Finnish horses for indemnity payment.
It's worth noting that horses were still a vital part of many armies in the form of draft animals hauling supplies and artillery.
Cool Versus Awesome : Two Badass Navies , the United States Navy versus the Imperial Japanese Navy in what seems to an Armchair Admiral the most awesome technological Valhalla the ocean has ever seen. The IJN was just as brave as the Japanese Army but far more sophisticated. It was a rigorous adherent to The Spartan Way , and even though it was infected by extremist nationalism too, they seem to have had more in common with their enemies than the respective armies did. The USN had a tradition almost as strong as the Royal Navy and was stubborn at the beginning when material was short and experience and training were lacking. At the end it was a vast armada with many a Cool Ship and Cool Plane . The USN even fielded its own counterpart to the Imperial Special Naval Landing Forces.
The US Navy actually had two traditions where they trumped all others, including the Royal Navy: Fire Control and Damage Control.
Cowboy Bebop at His Computer : Aryan was originally a linguistic category, now called Indo-European due to the Unfortunate Implications of Aryan. Hitler never assumed all Aryans were blue-eyed blonds; in fact, Persia was renamed Iran, from Aryan, in 1935. The Japanese were (of course) considered Aryans as well, and Tibet was the homeland of the Aryan race. So there's Cowboy Bebop at His Computer all around.
Cycle of Revenge : Partisan warfare in Belarus, Ukraine and Poland, especially in what is now Western Ukraine, which was a part of Poland, annexed by the USSR and had the Polish Home Army, Ukrainian Nationalists and Soviet Partisans fighting each other AND the Wehrmacht .
Death From Above : The war saw the first widespread and effective use of Close-Air-Support in the German invasion of France, and the other powers were quick to catch on. Also quite important to the War in the Pacific, where the actions of ship-based aircraft decided the length of the war. Also the first war to see the widespread use of Strategic Bombing, or 'Terror Bombing' to the Germans. Given the inaccuracy of targeting systems, razing entire urban areas was really the only way to be sure of destroying small strategic targets. Often involved shaking things up a bit with regular bombing and then finishing often with incendiary bombs to create fire-storms, which is where this overlaps with Kill It with Fire . Also applied to the Netherlands (Rotterdam), the UK (London, Coventry, Liverpool &c), China (Chongqing, the world's most heavily bombed city) and Japan (Tokyo, Osaka & co.)
Determinator : Numerous on Eastern front, where soldiers of both armies often were ready to fight to the last.
There is famous writings on walls of the Brest Fortress: "We'll die but we'll not leave the fortress". "I'm dying but I won't surrender. Farewell, Motherland. 20.VII.41." - after month under assault and being surrounded.
Isolated Japanese soldiers continued to "fight" the war until as late as 1974.
Distant Finale - the reunification of Germany. The war fully ended when the independent German state signed a peace treaty with the independent Polish state. In 1992.
The proper finale being still in the future, as Japan and Russia have yet to finalize treaty terms due to continuing dispute over what Japan calls the Hoppo Ryodo and Russia knows as the Southern Kurile Islands.
Don't Split Us Up : Having learned the hard way from WWI, the European powers fielded mixed brigades composed of recruits from large mixes of villages and towns. The last war had had the bizarre effect of leaving many villages totally depopulated whilst leaving others virtually untouched. This time, the deaths were more evenly distributed. In the USA, the example of the Sullivan Brothers is held up as a justification for this practice.
History lesson: the Sullivans were a family of five brothers who joined the Navy and insisted on being posted together. They were. The ship they were on was destroyed. In one fell swoop, the poor Sullivan parents lost every single one of their sons.
Eagle Squadron : Many. The Trope Namer was an American unit of volunteers flying with the RAF when the USA was neutral. The Nazis used several -- the last troops defending Hitler's Chancellery and bunker were volunteer French Waffen SS.
Known for Soviets is French Normandie-Niemen fighter squadron, that fought along with Soviet troops and in the end were permitted to keep planes they flew after their return to France.
Earth Is a Battlefield : Also the last time in Real Life this has been done so far, thanks to the development of nuclear weapons .
The Empire : The Axis in general, with Japan even being called that.
Germany, too, if you translate from German [7] .
Elites Are More Glamorous : In general, this war is recognized as the first one in which major nations fielded unconventional units on a large scale. Let's break it down by country:
Germany: Rudimentary commando tactics were utilized to take down a massive fortress on the Polish border , they would later field the Brandenburgers , and the SS generally served as their Elite Mooks .
Britain: Both the Special Air Service and Royal Marine Commandos originated in this war, and were the first "special forces" units as we understand them. They'd later field the Special Boat Service for purposes of beach recon, riverine infiltration, and generally being badass. It's definitely worth noting that they pulled off some absolutely insane shit, just read a few entires from this list.
America: Their first commando unit was a new and improved Army Rangers regiment, who proceeded to kick ass and take names in Italy. Regular grunts could volunteer to be trained by the British and earn a Green Beret. Marine Raiders and Navy UDTs aren't around anymore, but their tactics and training laid the groundwork for Force Recon and the SEALs.
USSR: Guards regiments - promoted from normal stats for exeptional behaviour in combat, both in terms of effectiveness and moral. Were better supplied, had more combat experiance than usual and thus fought much more effectively that rest.
Enemy Mine : A lot of this. The alliance between the Soviets and the Western Allies wasn't very natural.
Finland and Nazi Germany as well. Both of them hated the Soviets, so they teamed up against them. Finland was the only democratic, non-racist and non-fascist Axis country.
Evil Army : The Wehrmacht, the Japanese army, The Red Army, and especially the Waffen SS were considered this.
In the IJA's case, the nations of Southeast Asia (except Taiwan) viewed them this way. Even Okinawa, a long-time part of the Japanese Empire, felt this way.
Evilutionary Biologist : Mengele. Also, Nazi eugenic ideals in general.
Evil Versus Oblivion : The Russian front between Stalinist tyranny and Nazi Generalplan Ost.
Final Solution : Trope Maker , Trope Namer , Trope Codifier . Germans referred to die Endlösung der Judenfrage, "the Final Solution to the Jewish Question."
For Want of a Nail : There were several tank divisions in Normandy that could have stopped the D-Day landings, but the only person with the authority to send them out was Hitler, and the night before D-Day, he announced that he did not wish for his rest to be disturbed for any reason and then slept in. By the time he woke up, the Allies had their beachhead.
Much ink has been spilled wondering whether Britain might have been forced to surrender in 1940 if the Germans had continued advancing and captured Dunkirk, thus capturing the entire BEF. Instead, the Germans paused to consolidate their forces and the BEF escaped by sea.
A Friend in Need : Raoul Wallenberg. Oskar Schindler. Chiune Sugihara .
Friendly Enemy : The British Eighth Army and the Afrika Korps in North Africa which respected each other and treated each others wounded impartially. This did not stop them from enthusiastically killing one another.
Friend or Foe : Type D, and usually attributed to the Americans. There was a joke that if German/Italian planes went over, the British ducked; if British planes went over, the Germans/Italians ducked; and if American planes went over, everyone ducked.
Gambit Pileup : While it is remembered in a straightforward way by many people, the dozens of factions trying to survive qualify it for this.
Glamorous Wartime Singer : Marlene Dietrich stands out. Her "Lili Marleen" has been called the theme song of the entire war.
It was not "her" song in the first place, it was Lale Andersen's, who sang it on the German radio set in Belgrade. The song proved to be extremely popular among both Germans and Western Allies.
Vera Lynn was extremely popular among the British forces, she was called "The Forces' Sweetheart."
The Good Captain
Government in Exile : Many of the countries Hitler conquered formed these. France's decision to NOT do this, but instead formally surrender, did not go over well.
Charles De Gaulle formed his own Free French government in exile in London, which was considered illegal by the Vichy government, of course. He later moved it to Algiers until Paris was freed in August 1944.
Heroic BSOD :
Churchill, when told of the loss of Singapore:
"I put the telephone down. I was thankful to be alone. In all the war I never received a more direct shock."
Admiral Kimmel's office had a picture window with a lovely view of Pearl Harbor. As he stood and watched his fleet being annihilated, a spent Japanese machine-gun round punched through the window, bounced off his chest, and fell to the ground, leaving a black smudge on his uniform. He was heard to say to no one in particular, "It would have been more merciful if it had killed me."
The first thing Kimmel did at the attack's conclusion was to remove two stars from his four-star uniform. In the American military system, only ranks up to two star general/admiral officer are considered permanent; three- and four-star ranks are awarded by assignment and are removed when that officer's tour is complete. The act of removing his stars was symbolic of Kimmel's realization that there was no possible way he would retain his command in the investigation to follow.
During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Halsey's Task Force 34 was drawn north by a diversionary Japanese fleet, leaving the invasion force without most of its defenses. Nimitz, from Pearl Harbor, was seeing messages of the battle at Leyte Gulf and seeing no sign of Halsey sent the following message: "Where is Task Force 34? The world wonders." The second part was not part of the original message, but was padding that was supposed to be discarded after decoding (and itself was from The Charge of the Light Brigade), though some think the decoder deliberately left it in. Reportably Halsey broke into tears at the message and its implications about him.
Heroic Neutral : For a given value of both 'heroic' and 'neutral', until the Japanese Cabinet ordered an attack on the US Fleet.
Sums up the attitude of most US citizens, at any rate. The US government was just itching for a war with the Axis. The Japanese saw that and the Germans did as well - especially given the undeclared naval war between US naval forces in the Atlantic and the U-boats, not to mention Lend-Lease.
Honor Before Reason : ...We Shall Never Surrender!
The Japanese variety was perhaps closer to Honor Without Reason. This contributed to their loss of air superiority. Not only did many pilots refuse to bail out of their fighters or to retreat, the Navy saw recovering downed pilots as their least important problem. Meanwhile, the Americans put considerable effort into saving theirs. The result was that the Japanese lost more and more experienced pilots and found their method of replacing them was wildly inadequate, while the number of experienced American pilots grew and they could send some of their best home to train new pilots.
This was compounded by the fact that the Kamikaze system forced many would-be pilots to die far before their time. Dying in a Kamikaze divebomb was considered to be an honor, but it would lead to the deaths of almost all young aspiring pilots the Japanese had, pilots who would have been great replacements for the veterans they were loosing daily.
The brutalization of their conscripts and the peer pressure of the honour system contributed to the mistreatment of POWs and civilians. By mistreatment , we mean all sorts of unpleasant things that one does not mention in most company, polite or otherwise.
Germany and Italy also suffer from this, having decided to declare war on America alongside Japan.
Also, Hitler's refusal to let his armies retreat... which lead to disasters like Stalingrad and the entrapment of an entire Army Group of 200,000 troops in the Courland Pocket in the Baltics. Also, not evacuating civilians or allowing evacuations when the Soviet Army would kill/rape/deport them anyway in revenge.
The Horde : In Weimar Germany , before the war, much of the politics centered around what was a power struggle between rival gangs of street thugs, some being Dirty Communists and some being Those Wacky Nazis .
The Hunter Becomes the Hunted : Early in the war, the U-boats enjoyed an uncontested advantage against merchant shipping, a period referred as "The Happy Days" by the Germans. The Allies reversed the situation with the introduction of the radar, long rage aerial surveillance and improvements in the convoy and sonar systems that rendered most U-boats deadly obsolete. The Germans Can't Catch Up .
Idiot Ball : Franklin Roosevelt did all he could to support the British and later the Soviets against Hitler, going so far as to issue shoot-to-kill orders against German U-boats stalking Atlantic convoys, but there simply wasn't very much support in America for an active intervention in the war . Even after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and FDR got a declaration of war the next day, there was little pressure for a formal declaration against Germany and Roosevelt didn't even ask for one. Then, three days later, Hitler declared war on the United States. Whoops.
I'm a Humanitarian : Towards the end of the war, a few groups of Japanese soldiers sometimes roasted and cannibalized their captives. Other Asians were referred to as "black pigs" and American soldiers were "white pigs".
Also during the Battle of Stalingrad due to supply shortages.
During the worst of the Siege of Leningrad, as food shortages led to widespread death by starvation, this happened quite a bit.
Ironic Echo : Enforced. Hitler signed the peace with France in the same rail carriage where the Germans had signed the 1918 armistice.
I Shall Return : Trope Maker , from Gen. MacArthur after he left the Phillippines to avoid capture by the Japanese.
It Got Worse : People called WWI "The war to end all wars". They were very wrong.
It's Personal : The reason both the United States and the Soviet Union entered the war: being attacked by the Axis directly. Until that point, they attempted to remain neutral.
It's Raining Men : Happened many times during the war, from the use of glider-borne troops to capture Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium in May 1940 to Operation Varsity, Montgomery's use of a parachute drop in crossing the Rhine in March 1945. Generally, paratroops were shown to be effective in small-scale, targeted operations (Eben-Emael as noted above, the seizure of Pegasus Bridge on D-Day). They were less effective in large-scale drops like the D-day drops and Operation Market Garden, (dramatized in the films The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far ), when getting the troops on the ground in an organized manner and then expecting them to fend off attacks with armor proved difficult to impossible.
Just Following Orders : The oft-repeated testimony at the Nuremberg trials is the Trope Namer .
Kick the Son of a Bitch : When Allied troops marched into a concentration camp, it was sometimes known for them to conduct a mass Vigilante Execution of the guards. Apparently, no one went out of their way to prosecute it too strenuously, for obvious reasons .
Knight in Shining Armor : This was the last war in which the warrior caste had a strong and fairly traditional influence.
Knight Templar : Several, on both sides. Hitler was probably the craziest one.
La Résistance : The Trope Namer was active during this war in France, of course, but every occupied country had a resistance movement to one degree or another. Some countries actually had more than one movement - e.g. a communist one plus a monarchist one ( it wasn't unusual for them to end up fighting each other as well ). China had so many turncoats-turned-resistance fighters-turned-bandits that the historical community generally wrings its hands and splits it up into local and regional warlords, nationalist guerrillas, communist guerrillas and Chinese Communist Party guerrillas, with some room for overlap.
There was big partizan movement in USSR by soldiers that was surrounded, escaped, but didn't manajed to rejoin army and civilians. Partizans, where able, were supported, with paradropped supplies and even soldiers and officers. Best known aspect is railroad war, when partisans mined and disabled tracks in different fasions, sending trains downhill and destroying briges.
They played huge role in operation Bagration: Germans were led to belive that attack will be trough Ukrain and immediadly before attack all roads were disabled and troops in Belarus were left without help.
Poland's is very famous for its attempted uprising.
Make that two uprisings: one in 1943 by the Jews in the Ghetto, the other by the Home Army in 1944.
Many people like to forget (or don't even know in the first place) that the Home Army was also the largest, most successful organized resistance force in occupied Europe, creating an entire Underground State , complete with its own universities, postal service, courts and, well, army. And if Stalin didn't want pretty much every smarter-than-average Pole that's not under his direct control (the PKWN puppet government estabilished in the USSR), the uprising would succeed and the original, pre-War government could return from exile. C'est la vie.
Yugoslavia and Greece had particularly strong movements.
The Yugoslavians were arguably the most successful of the various resistance movements: they managed to kick the Nazis out without their country being liberated by the forces of any other country - a fact which contributed to Yugoslavia's relative independence from the Eastern Bloc in the Cold War era.
Last Stand : Many of them.
The Laws and Customs of War : Incredibly mixed. As a general rule, Nazi Germany treated the Western Allies as Worthy Opponents and the Soviets as subhuman scum. Kept one moment with an almost courtly adherence to the Good Old Ways , but at other times, stomped on Beyond the Impossible .
Japanese treatment of Chinese POWs was mixed. Generally they would be bayoneted upon capture or conscripted into the armies of Japanese puppet-warlords. Japanese soldiers were a law unto themselves as far as civilians were concerned, and the IJA holds the dubious honour of being the force with the most sexual assaults to its name. Their treatment of Allied POWs varied a great deal. See the treatment of POWs in the "Bataan Death March" - some got nice comfy rides in vehicles and food and chances to freshen up, others got stabbed to death, shat their pants and were forced to walk while diseased and hungry in the hot sun with no food or water. Sometimes, the Japanese would be very nice and provide food and refreshments or talk to the US soldiers - some were in the same graduation ceremonies in universities in the case of officers - and sometimes the very same people would beat other POWs to death the next day.
In March 1941, Hitler issued what has come to be known as the ‘Commissar Order,’ which clearly spelled out the future nature of the war in Russia. The coming conflict was to be "one of ideologies and racial differences and will have to be waged with unprecedented, unmerciful, and unrelenting hardness." It also instructed Hitler’s subordinates to execute commissars and exonerated his soldiers of any future excess. "Any German soldier who breaks international law will be pardoned," the Führer stated. At a subsequent gathering to explain the application of this order to senior army officers, General Edwin Reinecke, the officer responsible for the treatment of POWs, told his audience, "The war between Germany and Russia is not a war between two states or two armies, but between two ideologies — namely, the National Socialist and the Bolshevist ideology. The Red Army soldier must be looked upon not as a soldier in the sense of the word applying to our Western opponents, but as an ideological enemy. He must be regarded as the archenemy of National Socialism and must be treated accordingly."
A High Command Wehrmacht officer (NOT a member of the SS) gave an order along the lines of "Women in uniform are to be shot." Given the Soviet Army was full of women in the front lines, guess what happened....
Let's Get Dangerous : Too many countries to name, but America, Britain and the Soviets all had their standout moments.
Light Is Not Good : The swastika and the Rising Sun are symbols of the sun. The Rising Sun has a lot to do with Japanese mythology, which states that the Japanese people are the perfect, first-created race and the Emperor is part-divine as he is descended, however distantly, from the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu.
The swastika, for its part, was based off a symbol of Buddhism, Hiduism and Janism.
The Load : Italy. Every significant military accomplishment of theirs came before the war, when they managed the ' huge ' feats of conquering Ethiopia and Albania. During actual hostilities, their record was horrible, with Germany having to bail them out after they got in over their head. Upon entering the war against France, 32 Italian divisions were held at bay by five French divisions. They almost immediately lost their colonies in Somalia and Ethiopia to the British, and the attempt to invade British Egypt from Libya almost led to the total loss of Libya, with only the arrival of Rommel's Afrika Corps prolonging the war there for another two years. Their invasion of Greece likewise stalled, and, again, the Germans had to be called in to finish the job. Then, after defeat in Africa and the conquest of Sicily by the Allies, they switched sides (where they weren't much more effectual), requiring the Germans to occupy and defend Italy all by themselves.
Hence Hetalia.
Some say that Hitler having to bail them out of Greece caused a crucial delay in his invasion of the Soviet Union. We all know the might of General Winter. Invading Yugoslavia also delayed him, something that was likely not needed as the Yugoslav government post-coup would still follow through with their treaty obligations. The major reason why the Germans invaded that country was because Hitler felt the Yugoslavs had personally insulted him with the coup-d'état. They even called the bombing of Belgrade "Operation Punishment".
Italy wasn't ready for the war for a series of reasons, the most evident of which being that the Italian industry, while capable to produce some fine equipment and in full expansion, was just too small to adequately support its armed forces in such a vast war (in fact, Mussolini knew this, and had Italy enter the war when France was all but conquered and Britain seemed about to sue for peace. Then Britain choose to fight, and Mussolini started to realize he was holding the Idiot Ball ). Then there were the problems of the armed forces. The air force, while equipped with capable attack aircrafts (best known of which is the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero , Sparviero being Italian for Sparrowhawk ), had bombs too little to do the job (nicknamed cowshit drops by the Italian Navy for their ineffectiveness) was still equipped with very manouverable but too slow biplane fighters, and the new monoplane fighters, while on par and sometimes superior to the ones of other powers, were too little and too late. The navy was powerful and arguably the best of the Italian armed forces, but lacked carriers and torpedo boats due rivalry with the air force and Mussolini thinking that the Italian peninsula was an unsinkable carrier by itself, was insufficiently supported by the air force (that usually arrived on the battlefield too late and had the unfortunate tendence to mistake the Italian ships for the British ones . That's also how the Italian navy learned of the ineffectiveness of the air force bombs), suffered from an extremely restrictive operative doctrine that included the fleet being directed from Rome until a few minutes before the battle (meaning the Royal Navy always knew where the Italians were by tracking the radio signals), and the fact they weren't fighting the French Navy (that the Italian Navy was tailored to counter and defeat with a combination of speed advantage in the lesser ships and four battleships that outgunned everything in the world save for the Yamato and the most massive American battleships) but the Royal Navy, that the Italian sailors admired and feared and whose ships and aggressive operative doctrine seemed tailored to take advantage of the Italian ships sacrificing protection for speed and their restrictive operative doctrine. Finally the army suffered of severe morale problems (a reflection of the Italian people lack of enthusiasm for the war), shortage of modern or efficient equipment and most high officers and generals getting their ranks from politics rather than actual ability impairing the ability and, most important, the will to fight of most units in spite of the soldiers combat capability (Rommel, whose troops included both Germans and Italians, admitted that the Italian soldiers were superior to the German ones, but the officers were a disaster). As partisans the now motivated Italians fared much better, even taking control of enclaves and defending them against overwhelming force for short periods and, on April 25, 1945, launching a general insurrection that prevented the Germans from regrouping and hold off the Allies at the Po river.
Local Angle : Every nation's newspapers tended to focus on their own war efforts, though some did this more than others. The biggest campaigns and battles usually made the headlines everywhere, though.
Macross Missile Massacre : First occasion was then, when Soviets used BM series, better known as Katyushas - system, that wasn't used before. Being able to launch as much explosives in seconds as big battery in minutes, it had huge psychological effect on both friends and foes.
Soon followed by Germans' Nebelwefers and US Calliopes.
Mad Scientist : Josef Mengele and the scientists of the Japanese Unit 731.
Magnetic Hero : Churchill, indirectly. Not the most charismatic man in person - he once ran through several secretaries in the space of a month when he was being particularly insufferable - but his effect on the people of the British Empire was electrifying. Contrast Hitler, a very charismatic man of more down-to-earth roots.
Memetic Mutation : Tons of books, movies, TV shows and odd references.
From the time period itself was Kilroy was here , a graffito that may have originated among American servicemen - like many Memes, it's hard to pin down a source. First appearances were in 1936-1938. The "Kilroy" had several phrases (sort of like some of the memes on the Internet today) which were used with the graffito "Kilroy was here", and "Wot, no X?":
Wot, no [bacon, sugar, bread, tea or other rationed product]?
Wot, no engines? (on the side of a British glider)
Wot, no Fuehrer ? (On a train in Austria, after the war)
Music to Invade Poland To : Hirohito, to show solidarity with Germany, started a tradition, which continues to this day, of singing "Ode to Joy" on New Years. Never mind that Beethoven himself would've despised what the Axis Powers were doing. But, well, see Prophecy Twist .
Music for Courage : The glory days of military orchestras and Glamorous Wartime Singers .
All Resistance movements throughout Europe had songs in their native languages. Among the most famous, the French "Chant des Partisans" .
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain : It was 1941, and all of America was asleep. Then Yamamoto bombed Pearl Harbor, and all of America woke up.
In December 1941, Hitler was simultaneously facing the United Kingdom, its Commonwealth and the Soviet Union, which together comprised a rather significant portion of the Earth's surface and population. This wasn't enough for him, however, so he decided to antagonize the one major power left on Earth that was not (actively) trying to crush him beyond hope of recognition by declaring war on the United States. Which left the share of world population and GDP actively working against him and his allies at over two thirds each, roughly, to his less than a fifth on both counts. Herr Derr indeed.
Invading the Soviet Union -- thus splitting Germany between two fronts against major powers -- counts as this. Drawing America in the European conflict too was just the cherry on top of the stupidity sundae.
Especially noting, that Hitler said that fighting in two fronts will ruin Germany.
Nightmare Fuel : If overall War Is Hell isn't enough, there's always Dr. Mengele, the people he worked with and the people he didn't work with - Japan's Kwantung Army Group, who did similar things and some even worse.
No Swastikas : The entire rationale behind the taboos on the swastika and the Rising Sun, in fact.
Not So Different : Defendants at the Nuremberg trials were specifically prohibited from accusing the Allies of atrocities.
Not-So-Harmless Villain : Japan and China. Some contemporary racialist classification theories explain at length the docile and effeminate nature of Asians and Orientals, which accounts for their innate obedience to authority and willingness to co-operate rather than compete and advance technologically. By all accounts, they ought to have been fairly harmless, really...
One-Way Trip : Operation Ten-Go by the Japanese. The participants had absolutely no illusions about the fate that awaited them. but they believed they were going to die in a heroic stand and thus possibly help to save Japan , rather than be annihilated in a Curb Stomp Battle without accomplishing anything."
The High Command and the Emperor believed that they would make a difference (largely, it was just the Emperor, who asked what the Navy was doing to help defend Okinawa. Called out and feeling pressured, they decided to make a gesture. That gesture was Ten-Go). One sailor noted "What country demonstrated to the world what aircraft can do to battleships?" Tolstoy was also apparently in vogue on the Yamato's last days. Oddly enough, the Yamato and Musashi, the two most powerful battleships of the war, were the only two sunk in open water by carrier-launched planes.
Operation Blank : Say "D-day" and most people think the Normandy landings - but "D-day" is standard shorthand for "whenever the big push is". The operational name for the Normandy Landings was Operation Overlord.
Path of Inspiration : The Nazis set up their own "German Church", which was Protestant Christianity with a nationalist, racist flavor.
Patriotic Fervor : Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany are famous as perversions of this into Jingoistic Ultra-Nationalism. All other countries encouraged it as sort of a collective "fight or flight mechanism". Winston Churchill was notable among the Allies for his ability to stir up this kind of thing, especially with a Rousing Speech or two.
Pragmatic Villainy : Generalissimo Francisco Franco , who didn't enter the war because he was satisfied with his power (except for raising a division of volunteers for the Russian front). He also was relatively low on the atrocity scale compared to Hitler and Stalin and didn't persecute Jews, because there was no particular reason to and he had Jewish relations. Franco avoided overly extravagant evil because he was practical and Genre Savvy , not because he was virtuous. There is a reason why he outlived fellow Fascist dictators Hitler and Mussolini by 30 years.
Precision F-Strike : Averted in the Battle of the Bulge. Rumors abounded that General Anthony McAuliffe's famed reply to German demands for the surrender of Bastogne was not "Nuts!" but, according to The Other Wiki , "a four-letter expletive that was changed for propaganda purposes for domestic consumption." However, one of his aides claimed in 2004 that McAuliffe was the ONLY clean-mouthed general he ever knew, and that "Nuts" was completely in character for him.
Played straight, however, by the adjutant who hand-delivered the message. When the Germans demanded to know what was meant by "Nuts!", the Major replied that it meant "Go to Hell."
Prophecy Twist : Hakkoo ichiu, or "eight cords, one roof", attributed to Emperor Jimmu. The Japanese didn't conquer the world, but between the Axis countries, there were enough war crimes to actually require creating an international body to stop this. Note that while hakkoo ichiu can mean "universal brotherhood" (and indeed this is a common revisionist idea about Japanese imperialism), it translated as "We're equal to caucasoids, but we act as the leader of mongoloids."
Proud Warrior Race : Of course. Those Wacky Nazis were obsessed with being this. They cared little for the Real Life Germany and only wanted to make Germany into an idealized, pure Utopia .
Japan was this as well. The whole country was ruled by a militaristic frenzy, and even generals were in danger of being "fragged" if they weren't warlike enough. Italy wanted to do this but was too lazy to quite cut it and instead became mocked for years after, even though they did put up a better showing than is generally made out.
The British Empire contained a lot of examples of a Proud Warrior Race , some fairly traditional with a rather condescending Noble Savage reputation. Several were from The Raj , like Nepali , Sikhs and Pushtans . Aside from that, Australians might qualify very well. The pre-Israel "Yishuv" was also part of The British Empire at the time and no one can tell a Highlander that he is not part of a Proud Warrior Race .
And the most legendary fighters in the war, so effective that German soldiers feared meeting them in battle more than any other foe on the Western front: the Canadians . Seriously .
Given what they were fighting with, the Poles gave a pretty good account of themselves.
The United States had a few themselves.
The Quisling : Trope Namer Vidkun Quisling , who betrayed his country to the Nazis and got stood up in front of a firing squad after the war. Other Quislings of World War II include President Wang Jingwei, Marshal Petain from France and Andrei Vlasov from the Soviet Union.
A third of what was on paper the Army of the Republic of China remained loyal to what was in theory the government, i.e. half the Guomindang Divisions remained loyal to Jiang Jieshi. Most of the others weren't killed, though there was a high turnover rate. China had so many turncoats-turned-resistance fighters-turned-bandits that the historical community generally despairs of cataloguing them all, wringing its hands and splitting them up into local and regional warlords, nationalist guerrillas, communist guerrillas and Chinese Communist Party guerrillas, with some room for overlap. Ironically, the Nationalist Party's willingness to deal with Quisling Warlords after the war ended did a lot to alienate Chinese nationalists, though few people had problems with turncoat soldiers. A job was a job, after all.
The United States had a few , but it was mostly subverted. On the "played straight" side, a few of the business class sided with fascism, as did the German-American Bund (with shades of The Mole ). On the subverted side...
Japanese-Americans did not betray the United States, though Americans assumed they would. (It seems most of the left Imperial Japan for a reason, hmmm?)
Goebbels, trying to create an entire race of Quislings, declared the Sioux to be Aryan. It backfired horribly ; National Socialist activity was quickly outlawed on many reservations and they declared war on Germany before the United States declared war on Japan. (The Iroquois never retracted their last declaration of war.)
An example with a particularly nasty end was General Andrey Vlasov . A very promising General in the Red Army, he was captured by the Germans during the 1941-1942 Winter Counter-Offensives. He promptly volunteered to help raise and command an anti-Soviet Army out of Russian prisoners of war. At the end of the war he was (re)captured by the Soviets, who were extremely public about his fate.
Rape, Pillage and Burn :
'Kill All, Burn All, Seize All' - General Okamura's eloquently-put policy on the pacification of north-central China. Rape wasn't officially on the agenda, but it managed to accumulate a certain priority of its own in practice. Mass rape wasn't part of the programme for the pacification of the lower Yangtze delta, for instance, but something that happened off the books albeit on a large and somewhat organised scale.
The aptly named "Nanjing Massacre" began with a simple order from Prince Asaka: "Kill all captives". His forces ended up branching into wanton destruction, looting and sexual assault. Thus the moniker 'the Rape of Nanking '.
The German army did this quite often during their invasion. Russian families would be busted out of their own homes, doomed to a slow death. Many monuments were also destroyed, including Tolstoy's house, and of course, the "rape" part of the trope was not figurative.
When the men of the Red Army finally entered Germany in 1945, after four years of death and destruction in the Soviet Union at the hands of the Germans, they were very angry. Despite direct orders from Stalin tot to treat all Germans as fasists there were many instanses of bloody revenges. Not that they had been all that well-disciplined when marching through eastern and southern europe, either. Or would when 'liberating' Japanese-occupied areas, for that matter. This did a lot to breed anti-Russian resentment throughout communist central-eastern Europe and China.
There are many instances of rape being dealt with quietly and confidentially and being covered up, even on the Allied side. The potential for political damage inherent in such crimes could be immense, as the reaction to such offences in subsequent - less well-censored - conflicts has shown. Nothing causes people to openly question a War of Liberation so much as a good spot of Rape, Pillage and Burn.
Reasonable Authority Figure : Most Allied leaders. The Axis leaders, however...
Showa, i.e. Hirohito, seems a reasonable guy when one considers his decision to surrender once it became obvious that America would just Nuke'Em until they capitulated. However, even if he had not been the driving force behind the China Incident and the War in the Pacific, he certainly didn't do anything to stop or limit them. It's speculated that Tojo Hideki took a lot of the fall for Hirohito's own ideas.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto also qualifies considering he was a leading dissenter about the wisdom of fighting the United States.
We can also assume Stalin was not "most allied leaders", but during the war he was said to receive much more reasonable attitude.
The Prussian and Bavarian officer corps were pretty damn reasonable. Unfortunately for them, they swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler and were bound by that , though it broke in places - like ordering retreats even when Hitler ordered otherwise and a few assassination attempts. But in general, that oath of loyalty locked them into the path of destuction.
General Homma of the Japanese military was pretty reasonable. In fact, he was so reasonable, he was recalled for being too reasonable to POWs in the Philippines and was dishonored by the general staff. He was also so reasonable, the Allies tried him for war crimes and executed him, mostly for the "crime" of humiliating Douglas Mac Arthur .
The Japanese general who commanded the Philippines garrison during the US reconquest ordered his forces to retreat from Manila to keep the city from being destroyed. A subordinate stationed in the city refused to obey those orders and fought in the city, resulting in the devastation of the city. The Allies executed him too.
Red Oni, Blue Oni : Admirals Halsey and Spruance were the US Navy's Those Two Guys in the Pacific. Halsey was a red oni and Spruance was blue.
Roosevelt (blue) and Churchill (red). Amusingly, Stalin's personality was blue even though he was definitely a red in every other way.
Eisenhower was a Blue Oni to Red Onis Patton and Montgomery, whose personal rivalry both men allowed to get in the way of the real fight.
Recycled in Space : Boy was it ever. By now the generic Space Opera picture of space tactics is a rip-off of World War Two naval tactics.
The Remnant : Surprisingly rare. The Axis armies were completely broken after the war, and only a handful of die-hards continued a very limited level insurgency. Some Axis troops in Yugoslavia did continue fighting for a couple of weeks after Germany surrendered, though.
A few bands of Japanese soldiers continued to fight years after the war ended. Hiroo Onoda and Teruo Nakamura only surrendered in 1974! Onoda only surrendered when his ex-commander personally arrived to relieve him of duty.
A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside An Enigma : Winston Churchill became the first to utter this phrase in a statement made after Soviet Russia's invasion of Poland.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge : Essentially the American attitude towards the war with Japan and even more so the attitude of the Red Army when they turned the tide of the war. Since much of the Soviet Union had been ruined by Germany's invasion, the avenging hordes of Red Army soldiers were not merciful to German civilians.
Most ethnic Germans were driven out of Eastern Europe after the war. Many died in the process, often because food and supplies were scarce and the Germans were last in the line to receive them. Even in Western Europe German POWs were often neglected.
American policy on German and Japanese reconstruction was a mess, but the gist of it was that their economies should be left to flounder at the best, and deliberately de-industrialised at the worst. When the Cold War got going, though, the reconstruction money started pouring in soon enough.
Also Germany's attitude. Germany's treatment after World War One was the whole reason Hitler came to power, and something he constantly cited.
Resistance fighters were usually not merciful to captured Axis soldiers, and often killed SS and Gestapo prisoners outright.
And there was repayment in kind. But, since the actual Resistance fighters were not usually identifiable, the practical form of revenge was usually annihilating the nearest village for rural attacks, and murdering the handiest several dozen passersby for attacks in a town.
Let's be honest. "Wollt ihr den totalen Krieg?"
At 3rd July, during official appeal to people, Stalin gave impressive speech and said phrase, that became slogan for entire war: "Our way is right, enemy will be defeated, victory will be ours".
Levitan was radio announcer and gave plenty of them, and Nazis hated him for that, Hitler even declared him personal enemy. Germans tried hard to kill him, and there were even reports of German shooting active loudspeakers to silence him.
Charles De Gaulle's Appeal of 18 June 1940.
"This war is a worldwide war. All the mistakes, all the delays, all the suffering, do not alter the fact that there are, in the world, all the means necessary to crush our enemies one day. Vanquished today by mechanical force, in the future we will be able to overcome by a superior mechanical force. The fate of the world depends on it."
Schizo-Tech : This is a war in which they had electronic sensors, rockets and jet planes. This was also a war in which a large part of the Red Army and Wehrmacht was hauled by horses and several neutral merchant vessels still used sails. It's one of the more fascinating things about this war. Materials shortages later in the war lead to wooden jetfighters .
Fun fact: In 1939, the British Army's UK-based regular units were completely motorized. Some units policing the the Empire overseas went into action on horseback as late 1940. The Scots Greys kept their horses until 1941. Even the technologically advanced Wehrmacht used horses for rear-echelon transportation for the entire war.
The US Army had cavalry units in the Pacific War.
Secret Weapon : The nuclear bomb. Even many of the people involved in the project weren't clear on what they were doing.
Sex Slave : "Comfort women", who were enslaved by the (tens of? figures are sketchy) thousands by both Japanese. Japan has never apologized for this, which tends to be a sore point, and some Japanese have called into the question the testimony of the conscripts - the first 'comfort woman' to come forward about her conscription only spoke out in the '90s. Which probably says something for the nature of the experience.
And while sex with 'sub-humans' was frowned upon in the racialist climates of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, most of the abuses that went on in the concentration camps have gone unspoken and undocumented. This gives us hilariously horrifying testimonies to the effect of 'They were only human when we raped them'.
Shark Pool : The fate of the USS Indianapolis .
Snow Means Death : The Eastern Front and the Winter War.
Of particular note: The White Death.
Inmates in concentration camps were forced to be outside in the winter for hours at a time. Predictably, many died.
The Spock : Spruance. He was so cold-blooded that he could probably sink Japanese ships by breathing ice on them .
Stop Drowning and Stand Up : There is an amusing story recounted in Stephen Ambrose's D-Day by Corporal George Ryan as he got off his landing craft at Omaha Beach.
Shells were bursting around the LCT. "We gotta get off this thing," someone in Ryan's crew shouted, and they all jumped into the water. Ryan held back. ""I wasn't so much afraid of them bullets or the shells as I was of the cold Channel water. I cannot swim."
Ryan threw off all his equipment, inflated his Mae West (Not the actress, his life preserver), and began to tiptoe in off the ramp when "some German opened up on the side of the LCT with his machine gun, blblblblang. That convinced me. Into the water I dove. I pushed with all my might and started going. I'm swimming and I'm swimming. Somebody taps me on the shoulder and I look up . I was in a foot of water, swimming. You talk about a will to live. If they hadn't stopped me I would have swam two miles inland."
And let's not forget China (both Mao Ze Dong 's communists and Chiang Kai Shek 's nationalists qualify).
Token Good Teammate : Finland was this to the Axis. A democratic, non-fascist, non-racist country which was only fighting to retake their territory from the Soviets. Of course, the fact that they did this alongside Hitler was a bit of a moral gray spot; they were merely caught between two monsters.
Just to specify how strange Finland was among the other Axis powers: The Finns had many Jews in their army who fought alongside Nazi volunteers. The only thing that united them, really, was the goal of defending Finland from invasion.
When Himmler asked if they need help in solving Jevish question they answered: "We have no Jewish question".
Don't forget the a battlefield synagogue of Finnish/Jewish soldiers right next to the German section of their shared military camp.
Jewish Finnish soldiers often did not accept German decorations.
Too Dumb to Live : The attack on Pearl Harbor . Unfortunately, the nature of politics in Japan made this inevitable once the Army had failed to deliver in their attack on China and the Cabinet refused to negotiate a peace settlement with the Guomindang. Then, Hitler and his decision to declare war on the United States immediately thereafter. Less egregioiusly, there was Hitler's decision to launch a war of conquest against the massive Soviet Union. The leadership of the Axis was just a tad barmy.
Trope Codifier : How many pop culture icons of The Forties , The Fifties , and The Sixties have their genesis here?
Truce Zone : Any given neutral country. If strategically important, these tended to become a City of Spies .
Underground Railroad : Yet another service provided by La Résistance : Helping Allied pilots escape capture and return to either friendly or neutral countries.
Also, people in various occupied countries who helped to hide Jews from the Nazis, or some cases, such as the Danish Resistance, helping thousands escape to neutral countries such as Sweden.
Unobtanium : Oil, rubber and metals of all kinds. In fact, there were way too many types of materials that counted as Unobtanium at this time.
Especially oil though. Oil was why the Japanese decided to attack the United States. Oil was one reason why Hitler attacked Russia. The lack thereof hastened the end of the war in Europe, as the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe literally ran out of fuel.
And, of course, uranium and plutonium .
Villainous Breakdown : Hitler was prone to these. He had a particularly nasty one in the bunker after being informed that his general in charge of the defense of Berlin had refused to attack because the assault was hopeless , the result being Hitler screeching that the war was lost and that he would kill himself in Berlin. (This was dramatized in the movie Downfall and later became a famous Internet meme ).
Violence Is the Only Option : The Dutch pinned their hopes of staying neutral again like last time , when they had a bit of an economic depression, but at least didn't get the land turned into Mordor like their neighbours, the Belgians. It didn't work out this time, and without Allied backup they lasted 4 days . Then again, the Belgians lasted 10, so it might not have mattered much.
First, the Netherlands only surrendered because Germany threatened to bomb Rotterdam, since the German army couldn't break the Grebbeline. And yes, the bombing did continue, but that was because the airplanes were already in the air. Second, the Dutch army managed to destroy a lot of the German Luftwaffe (specifically the landing material), much of which they never recovered.
Wartime Cartoon
Wartime Wedding : The creepiest one of all time, between Hitler and Eva Braun in the bunker.
War Is Glorious : What Nazis, Fascists and Japanese Nationalists taught as a religion. Also, to some degree, what most countries' propaganda implied.
The War to End All Wars : Kind of. There hasn't been a conflict even remotely its scale since, but there's been plenty of smaller scale wars.
The invention of the Atomic Bomb all but ensured this. If there is going to be a war of this scale, it will only last a few hours, or as long as it will take for the world's nuclear stockpile to go off.
We Have Reserves : Was used widely in Soviet Union in early years of war and the Japanese used it as well (with lesser success).
Altogether the Nationalist Party, various Communist Parties and local and regional Warlords of China mobilised 14 million men over the course of the China Incident. At the end of 1945, there were 5 million troops in China, half of them Warlord troops. Granted, there was a lot of shoddy book-keeping and desertion, but the nationalists alone lost some 1.5 million troops.
The US Marines in the Pacific campaign seemed to act like ants given the casualty rates in the first waves in some cases.
Justified for the Marines: it is important to keep on pushing after the initial landing. This is one reason why Army casualties at Normandy were so high, they just sat there once they established a beachhead.
Even the US Army Air Forces fit here, given their preferred strategy of sending formations of hundreds or thousands of bombers in broad daylight with orders to take no evasive action when under fire [8] . The Army Air Forces suffered even more casualties than the Marines until the P-51 Mustangs began escorting the bombers.
Justified in that the Bomber Command specifically designated American bombers for daylight operations (while British bombers would be for night operations). So the only way to be effective in daylight operations is the "send lots of bombers and hope for the best" way.
Wham! Line : After the Germans had broken through the French lines at Sedan in 1940 and had made their right wheel towards the English Channel, Winston Churchill flew to Paris to confer with the French. After assessing the situation, Churchill asked the French commander, General Gamelin, "Where is the strategic reserve?". Gamelin answered "There is none." Churchill described it as one of the most shocking moments of his life. Also, for Churchill at least, news the Surrender of the British Army at Singapore.
With This Herring : The Japanese citizen-militias drafted in anticipation of Operation Downfall. The Army didn't have enough weapons and ammunition to equip its regular divisions, so most were trained in the use of knives, spears, and grenades .
What Could Have Been : Operation Downfall , the Allied invasion of Japan. Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the entire fire-bombing campaign - actually, Japan's losses throughout the entire war - would have had nothing on the casualties that would have resulted from Operation Downfall being executed. There was also a pretty good chance the Soviets would have taken Hokkaido, which would have had all sorts of implications in the post-war .
What Have I Become? : In the postwar era, UNESCO's statement "The Race Question". Data discrediting race had been in anthropological literature for quite some time, but it never left until it became quite embarrassing.
The White Prince : Emperor Hirohito, who asked the Japanese nation to "endure the unendurable" while never missing a meal in his long, comfortable life.
Arguably starts out as a type two, but becomes a type three in later years.
And Queen Elizabeth, The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask .
Worthy Opponent : Many Allied generals and leaders considered German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel , leader of the Afrikakorps (and co-trope namer of Magnificent Bastard ), this. He outright refused many of Hitler's more evil orders several times, kept conditions for POWs humane (in fact, under his command, the Afrikakorps never committed any war crimes), was a pretty damned good general and was actually forced to commit suicide during what was alleged to be a Heel Face Turn (the attempt to kill Hitler in the 20 July 1944 plot). He's the only German officer to have a museum in his name and has a display at the National Holocaust Museum in his honor.
For it to have been a Heel Face Turn , Rommel would first have had to have been a Heel.
Young Future Famous People : Even more true than of World War One . Basically, almost any politician or other important figure from The Fifties up until at least The Eighties will have been involved in the war somehow.
What do J. D. Salinger , Charles Durning , John Ford , James Doohan , and Sir Alec Guinness have in common? They were all storming the beaches or transporting troops there during the D-Day Invasion of Normandy.
It took Durning 50 years to open up about his experiences of that day to his family.
Doohan landed on Juno Beach on D-Day as a member of the Royal Canadian Artillery. Soon after, while walking across a mine field, he and his unit were attacked by enemy fire, as the Germans shot at them with machine guns. He was hit by four bullets to the leg, his middle finger of his right hand was shot off, and a bullet struck his chest. His life was saved when it hit a silver cigarette case which had been given to him by his brother.
You Will Be Spared : This trope most likely lay at the heart of the cynical German-Japanese military alliance from at least the Nazis' perspective (but possibly the Japanese as well). A paranoid, virulently racist, white supremacist country decides to team up against other enemies with a nation they probably deem subhuman when it gets down to it. This article from Our Dumb Century puts it best.
The article is somewhat Did Not Do the Research , as Nazi=white supremacist is a long sought after and misleading understanding. Lots of high ranking Nazis express interest and respect for the Orient, their racism ranges specifically for Jewish, Roma, Slav and all the rest that you already know. In general, East Asians got better off than the rest in Germany, who was supporting the Nationalist China with weapon and advisers, and only drew their support after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, Chiang Kai Shek 's second son was in German military as an exchange student and actually took part in the invasion of Poland, and only came back after the Nazi-Japanese Alliance was made.
Works set in this time period are:
Edit
Captain America punched Hitler in his very first issue. Most Golden Age superheroes, since they were published during the war, fought Nazis at some point.
This was lampshaded in Watchmen . In an Easter Egg during the course of the novel we learn that The Comedian saw action in his masked identity against the Japanese in the South Pacific in 1942.
The Desert Peach is a well-researched comic you've probably never heard of based in Africa, about the Desert Fox's fictional gay younger brother.
Snoopy from Peanuts showed up a few times; Charles Schulz (himself having been in the military in this time) had these show up around 06 June during the later years.
A time-travel story in Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew had the team's speedster Fastback forcibly sent back in time to Earth-C's D-Day, where he winds up briefly helping the Allies fight the Ratzis alongside Golden Age DC funny-animal hero, the Terrific Whatzit (who turns out to be Fastback's uncle).
Biggles appeared in a number of comics set in WW 2
Film
Edit
A complete list can be found here . A number of the works below cover multiple categories and are grouped according to their main setting. Quite a few of these film titles were shoehorned into the above paragraphs.
In an era where the only major forms of mass entertainment were radio, theatre and cinema (British television went off for the duration), it is not surprising that a very large number of movies were made during the war. Most of them were patriotic flag-wavers of some form or another, but some of these films (including said flag-wavers) have stood the test of time, such as Casablanca , In Which We Serve and Went The Day Well?.
The Pacific Front
Most of the works here focus on the American and Japanese part in the Far East, although Commonwealth forces also played a major role (primarily the ANZAC forces, for obvious reasons). Only recently have films dealing with the China Incident started to appear, unsurprisingly given the delicate politics of the matter.
Think partisan warfare, big naval battles (most famously Midway), jungles, starving civilians, and the inconsistent (mis)treatment of non-combatants.
The Pacific - follows a group of US Marines through the Pacific island-hopping campaign
They Were Expendable
Lust, Caution - focuses on the Japanese occupation of China and local Chinese resistance.
Memoirs of a Geisha - a stylised account of the life of a Japanese entertainer-courtesan
City of Life and Death - aka 'Nanjing, Nanjing', focuses on the aftermath of the Battle of Shanghai and the pacification of the lower Yangtze
Guadalcanal Diary - made during the war, based on a 1943 memoir
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
The Eastern Front
The bloodiest theatre of the war (the number of deaths there alone- over 25 million- would make the Eastern Front the worst war in history in its own right). Has been covered in film quite a bit (the Soviet film industry apparently made scores of them), but most of the examples aren't that well known outside of Eastern Europe. In most of the former USSR focus is not one WWII in general, but on "The Great Patriotic War " of 1941-45 - Soviet-German war.
It is common to see Germans in comedic works threatened with being sent to the Eastern Front - a posting there was nothing but trouble, and became a near-certain-death-sentence from '43 onwards. Saw the sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad, for a start. Also many real-life cases of the Macross Missile Massacre , as the "Katyusha" multiple rocket launcher was designed for this purpose.
The Alive and the Dead
At war like at war
The Finnish Front
A special case of the above, covering the struggles of the Winter War of 1939-40 and the Continuation war of 1941-44. Has been depicted several times on film, but these films are little known outside Finland. Christopher Lee volunteered to fight here, but never actually saw any combat on it.
Kukushka/The Cuckoo, a Russian film.
Tuntematon Sotilas/The Unknown Soldier, based on a novel by war veteran Väinö Linna. Two versions exist, one from 1955 and another made 30 years later.
Talvisota, a Finnish film set in the Winter War
The Western Front
The fighting around northern and western Europe, where the Americans play a large role. The British, Canadians and Free French (as well as a considerable number of other nationalities) were involved, but they tend to be forgotten in US films . The early part of the war, from the invasion of Poland to the fall of France, is rarely depicted.
The Guns of Navarone
The Air War
In which the two sides of the war try to bomb each other into submission. A fair chunk of these are British and a number are based on true stories.
The Blitz , which followed the Battle of Britain, was a German attempt to bomb the UK into surrendering, which didn't really work. The Battle of Britain had been a close run thing, as the British had spent much of the 1930s not investing in their fighter force as they had believed "the bomber will always get through". It took Winston Churchill to persuade them otherwise- the Spitfire and the Hurricane arriving just in time.
The Blitz largely occurred in 1940-1941 and 1944-1945, the latter mostly using V1 and V2 missiles. There were more minor attacks on the United Kingdom during 1941-1944, but Hitler was focusing on the USSR.
While the actions of the Allied bombing missions in Germany have been subject to quite a bit of historical debate (although the bombing of civilians was actually legal at that time and there were legitimate industrial targets in German cities, it did not have the planned effect of destroying German industry or morale- it made them more resolved), it should be noted that these bombing raids were very dangerous for British airmen. They flew at night, unlike the USAAF (US Army Air Force) who did the day missions. Of every 100 airmen, 55 on average would end up dead. The issue of not awarding separate medals for the British Bomber Command crews (who got the Air Crew Europe star that everyone else who flew over Europe did) is raised from time to time.
This is not to say that the USAAF had it any better. Flying by day meant they had a monstrously high casualty rate, particularly before P-51s were available for long range escort. There was a policy of "25 and out". Once an airman had done 25 missions, his war was over. The ball turret gunner, despite not having a parachute close to hand and being exposed to ground fire, wasn't actually that dangerous, relatively speaking. Just unpleasant, as they ended up doing somersaults in a tiny, cold, plexiglass and metal ball looking at a really long drop. The 25 got upped to 30 and then 35. The average crew got shot down around the 20th mission .
The Air War in the Pacific has received comparatively less attention, even though the scope and nature of the Pacific theater meant that air power played an even larger role there than it did in Europe. The strategic bombing campaign against Japan in particular has not received much attention, perhaps because it's difficult to portray massive fire raids against civilians in a heroic light. Even those who participated rarely considered it to be anything more than a necessary evil .
Though less common there are several movies about the Air War in the Pacific:
Air Force - one of the earliest examples
God Is My Copilot - about the Flying Tigers
The Flying Leathernecks
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Submarines / The Battle of the Atlantic
In which the German U-boats try to starve Britain into submission and stop equipment from getting to the Allies. The subs (on both sides) are hot, cramped and nasty. In fact, calling them submarines is slightly inaccurate, considering that most of their time was spent on the surface.
This campaign started pretty much on day one of the war, making it the longest battle in human history. A German U-boat mistook a passenger liner running without lights for an armed merchant ship... You get the idea .
Three-quarters of those who went out in the U-boats did not return.
Das Boot -- a German movie.
U-571 --an American movie that caused outrage in Britain due to showing the first captured Enigma machine to be recovered by an American submarine crew .
Enigma
We Dive at Dawn -- a British movie made in 1942, set on a British submarine.
Lifeboat -- an Alfred Hitchcock movie made in 1943, involving the survivors of a sunk merchant ship.
The Enemy Below -- an American destroyer escort and a German U-boat duel on the high seas. Inspired the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Balance of Terror."
The Americans carried out their own sub warfare against Japan, which did succeed in starving the Japanese.
Run Silent, Run Deep
Operation Petticoat -- a comedy, Very, Very Loosely Based on a True Story about evacuating nurses from Indonesia to Australia.
Destination Tokyo
The early years of the war in the Atlantic also saw some combat between surface ships, in particular the raids of the German battleships Admiral Graf Spee and the (in)famous Bismarck.
The Battle of the River Plate
Sink the Bismarck!
La Résistance /Special Forces
Most people tend to focus on the French Resistance, but the Greeks and Poles did a very good job too. The Yugoslav partisans were actually so good at their job, they effectively liberated their country themselves before the Red Army could get there.
The Sorrow and the Pity is an excellent Documentary about both the French Resistance and the Vichy regime that they opposed.
The Heroes Of Telemark
The Len Deighton novel City of Gold, set in North Africa. Also Bomber. Also SS-GB which is about what it would be if England was occupied .
Jack Higgins has written quite a few.
Catch-22, set in Italy.
The Guernsey / Armishire books in the Chalet School series are set during the Second World War, and the effects of the war on the school are a major part of the plots of The Chalet School in Exile, The Chalet School Goes To It and The Highland Twins at the Chalet School.
Robert Ludlum has a few too.
Dean Koontz' Lightning at least, that's Stefan's time period of origin and where various pivotal events take place. Other events range from 1955 to 1988.
Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, featuring an fictional invasion of England.
Poul Anderson 's alternate history Operation Chaos . In fact, one of the first things the narrator says is, better too much information than too little, and if you already know who won World War II, let me say it anyhow. Turns out you don't even know who fought World War II or where. (The timelines diverged early in the twentieth century.)
Jane Yolen's fairytale adaption Briar Rose is one of these. Definitely falls under True Art Is Angsty , even if it doesn't COMPLETELY manage a Downer Ending .
Also by Jane Yolen, "The Devil's Arithmetic" – The Holocaust, the Grandfather Paradox , and sadly, a bucketload of teachable moments.
Also, Number the Stars takes place in Denmark, World War II.
Snow Treasure by Marie Mcswigan is based on a true story about a bunch of Norwegian kids that snuck their country's gold past Nazis in the winter of 1939-1940 and adults who got it to America.
Anne Frank's diary, coincidentally.
The English Patient , set mostly in Italy and North Africa, with a bit of Britain, India, and Canada.
The Barrett Tillman novel Dauntless set during Midway. One character killed during the story is the father of Bud Callaway, President in his earlier novel The Sixth Battle .
Atonement , or about two-thirds of the story - set in Dunkirk and the English homefront.
The Book Thief is about Liesel Meminger growing up in a foster home in WWII Nazi Germany. And with a foster family that ends up hiding a Jew in their basement, too.
The Caine Mutiny . Set on the Pacific front, but hardly features any combat.
The Winds of War / War and Remembrance is practically a grand tour of World War II.
Douglas Reeman has written at least twenty novels of the Royal Navy in WWII, including several set on the Pacific front (both The Pride and the Anguish and Strike from the Sea focus on the fall of Singapore).
Night by Elie Wiesel, an autobiography about his time in the concentration camps and on the way there.
The novels by Sven Hassel on the 27th Penal Panzer Regiment.
Settling Accounts (Harry Turtledove Alternate History pitting the USA against the Confederate States of America; CSA president Jake Featherston is pretty much Hitler in all but name. What minority is he wiping out in the death camps? Confederate Negroes).
Also by Harry Turtledove , the Darkness series, which is WWII set in a fantasy environment, with each side replaced with a Fantasy Counterpart Culture and magic wands and dragons instead of guns and bombers .
a third Harry Turtledove book set is the Worldwar series, about an alien invasion in May, 1942, following to the end of that war, plus further series looking at the 1960s and the 1990s
The Wing Commander novelizations are explicitly intended as sci-fi remakes of certain key points in WW 2 .
Memoirs of a Geisha mainly took place during the Great Depression, though it was the start of the war that changed many things for the main character Sayuri.
A Thread of Grace takes place in the year and a half between Italy's surrender and V-E day.
Silent Ship Silent Sea : A coming of age story aboard a damaged destroyer at Guadelcanal.
Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall is Spike Milligan 's account of serving in the Royal Artillery in North Africa during the war.
Shanghai Girls starts out in China in 1937, around the time Japanese soldiers invade.
The Blindness of the Hearts (Die Mittagsfrau) takes place in Germany and starts out in the World War I era, and then things get worse for the characters when the war begins: at least one character dies in the camps, and the main character is forced to deny her Jewish heritage and carry falsified Aryan papers.
Biggles appears in a number of books set in WW 2
The Animorphs book "Elfangor's Secret" has the heroes chasing a time-traveling Controller. By the time they get to World War II, things have been changed enough that Hitler is now a lowly jeep driver, though the war still happens, including the D-Day invasion happening on the same day.
Robert Westall set several of his books and short stories during World War II, most famously The Machine Gunners but also, Blitzcat, The Blitz , and Blackham's Wimpey from the anthology Break of Dark .
Live Action TV
The first season of the Wonder Woman TV series.
The Twilight Zone had several episodes set in, or strongly relating to, WWII.
Magnum, P.I. (Johnathan Quayle Higgins is a Retired Badass from those days and has a number of stories which annoy his companions but which sometimes seem quite good to this tropper.)
Private Schulz
The Torchwood episode "Captain Jack Harkness" reveals where Jack, first introduced in Doctor Who 's "The Empty Child", stole his identity from.
The The Sarah Jane Adventures episode Lost in Time has Clyde on the shores of Britain in 1941, discovering a Nazi plot involving alien tech.
Many theatrical cartoons made in the early half of the 1940s had popular characters like Donald Duck , Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck , and Popeye doing their part in the war effort.
Histeria! had an episode about World War II featuring Franklin Roosevelt , Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin as a group of superheroes fighting off an evil group led by a Satanic Adolf Hitler.
In one episode of Justice League , the League has to go back in time and help out in the Normandy invasion to prevent Vandal Savage's plan of taking Hitler's place and using his knowledge of the future to win the war.
Like Justice League, Gargoyles had a WWII time travel episode. Goliath fights in the Battle of Britain.
Webcomics
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i don't know
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The disgraced fraudulent head of failed monster corporation Polly Peck, Asil Nadir, fled to what country in 1993?
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Classic Financial and Corporate Scandals - part 2
Classic Financial and Corporate Scandals
Part 2
Nigeria-Related Financial Crime: links with Britain by Michael Peel
This type of financial crime has become a large and pressing problem for the UK authorities. This 65 page report, by the independent research body Chatham House, looks at how it is currently tackled and makes recommendations as what further actions authorities might take. November 2006.
Microsoft will provide technical support and training to Nigeria�s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who will in turn trace and prosecute those found guilty of e-mail scams. ABC Money, 16 October 2005.
Nigeria's biggest fraud case has been dismissed after the judge said he had no jurisdiction to hear it. Three people had denied stealing more than $242m from a bank in Brazil. BBC, 20 July, 2004.
$242m 419 scam trial collapses
A Nigerian judge dismissed to case against two people who, posing as the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, defrauded Banco Noroeste in Brazil of $242 million. The judge claimed he had no jurisdiction to hear the case. 20 July 2004.
An article from the Observer about scam-baiting websites set up for the purpose of stringing fraudsters along and wasting their time. The Observer, November 16, 2003.
A website created to fight the A Five Billion US$ (to date) worldwide Scam which has run since the early 1980's under Successive Governments of Nigeria.
More information about the Nigerian 419 Scam from Brian Wizard who has written a book based on his investigations. More recently he has published a book with the title
. Both are available as e-books from his website.
Information from the Freeman Institute about the scams that are damaging to the reputations of legitimate African business people.
Advice from Shropshire County Council Trading Standards Service on how to deal with the messages.
A detailed explanation of how to recognise fraudulent e-mail messages offering financial rewards. It also includes some information about the role of Internet service providers (ISPs) and suggestions for reporting the senders of fraudulent messages.
An explanation of the scam, including a copy of a typical e-mail message from the fraudsters, provided by About.com.
More information about how the scam works.
How to use the web to find information about the "Nigerian 419" scam, by Lucy Farmer, the Guardian, November 21, 2002.
Lottery / Sweepstake Offers
This is a variation of the "Nigerian" advance fee scam, above. Typically it starts with an unsolicited e-mail message telling you that you have won a large sum in a lottery you did not take part in.
A warning from the US Federal Trade Commission for the Consumer of fraudulent messages about lottery winnings.
A directory of articles from different countries.
The New Zealand Ministry of Consumer Affairs maintains a long list of many of the known lottery scams.
The author of the book Big Bets Gone Bad: Derivatives and Bankruptcy in Orange County, maintains this page which describes that bankruptcy and the role that value at risk could have played in preventing the calamity.
Re-examining the Metallgesellschaft affair and its implication for oil traders
The Metallgesellschaft AG (MG) affair of 1993-94 conveyed three central messages to the petroleum industry: one pertaining to the relationship between hedging and speculating, one pertaining to corporate governance, and one pertaining to commodity market dynamics. Ed Krapels, Oil & Gas Journal March 26, 2001
Solv-ex proposed to extract bitumen from oily sand. Peter Young, a money manager at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management, is said to have violated British securities laws by using several shell companies to purchase essentially all the shares offered by Solv-Ex.
A review of a book by Manny Asensio, a short seller, which contains information about connections between Morgan Grenfell and Solv-Ex.
A jury unanimously declared Peter Young unfit to stand trial and he was dismissed under the 1964 Insanity Act. The Guardian, January 25, 2002.
Peter Young, aged 40, who sacked from Morgan Grenfell two years ago, was sent for trial by City of London magistrates on charges of conspiracy to defraud and alleged breaches of the Financial Services Act. BBC, April 30, 1999.
In 1994 the Journal accepted for publication a study of Nasdaq spreads by two assistant professors. Then the fireworks began.
NatWest Markets
This affair involved the use of mispriced options to conceal losses. For a novel with a plot based on mispriced derivatives read Into the Fire by Linda Davies.
SFA Disciplines Natwest and 2 Individuals
The Securities and Futures Authority has concluded disciplinary proceedings against NatWest Capital Markets Ltd ("NWCM"), National Westminster Bank Plc, Kyriacos Papouis and Neil Dodgson. 18 May 2000. NatWest Capital Markets failed to spot losses totalling £90.5m that were concealed by overvaluing options.
A detailed analysis by Eric Wolfe of how NWM's troubles started with a systematic mispricing of various options and swaptions by traders in its rate risk management group.
Lloyd's of London and the Insurance Industry in General
Lloyd's
10 July 2003. The rapporteur was Roy Perry MEP.
The European Commission (EC) has begun legal action against the UK government by askingfor more information about its regulation of the Lloyd's of London insurance market. BBC, 20 December 2001.
A new round of controversy over actions taken by former California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush has been triggered by articles recently published in the Los Angeles Times. June 2001.
Insurance market Lloyd's of London has won its multi-million pound legal battle with 200 'Names' - the individuals who pledged their wealth to support it. BBC, 3 November 2000.
A legendary institution has barely escaped bankruptcy and is now accused of perpetrating the greatest swindle ever. Time Magazine (Europe) 21 February, 2000.
A web site produced by disgruntled Names or investors in Lloyd's of London claiming to tell the truth about the loss of approximately $20 billion in investors' funds since 1988.
Michael Bright gets maximum seven years for Independent Insurance fraud
Michael Bright, the founder and former chief executive of Independent Insurance, has been sentenced to seven years in jail for committing fraud that helped to cause the company�s downfall with the loss of more than 1,000 jobs and costing the Financial Services Authority �357 million in compensation. The Times, October 25, 2007.
The giant insurance broker has agreed to pay $850 million in restitution to policyholders harmed by its actions and adopt a new business model that avoids similar conflicts of interest. January 31, 2005.
Aon Corporation, America's second largest insurance brokerage, has entered into an agreement to resolve allegations of fraud and anti-competitive practices. March 9, 2005.
Operation Wooden Nickel
Wooden Nickel Announcement
The United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, announced the filing of criminal charges against 47 defendants. The arrests of many of the suspects were made after an 18-month undercover investigation, dubbed �Operation Wooden Nickel,� and principally involve a variety of alleged criminal conduct in the foreign exchange markets. November 19, 2003.
Authorities have announced charges against 47 people, including traders from some of Wall Street's best-known firms, in a foreign currency trading scandal allegedly involving bogus transactions that officials say defrauded investors of millions of dollars. CNN, November 20 2003.
Parmalat
An archive of articles on all aspects of the scandal.
Follow the development of the crisis as it was reported.
Questions and Answers from the BBC.
The inside story of Parmalat, the biggest, most brazen corporate fraud in European history. Time Magazine, 7 December 2004.
The metals trader Madhav Patel and Solo Industries are accused of the biggest fraud in maritime history. From the Guardian October 31, 1999.
Salomon Brothers and the Treasury Bonds Scandal
Department of Justice and SEC enter $290 million settlement with Salomon Brothers in Treasury Securities Case
Salomon Inc. will pay $290 million to settle fraud charges stemming from its role in the US Treasury bond auction scandal in 1991. The settlement is one of the largest ever paid for wrongdoing in the securities industry. Department of Justice, May 20, 1992.
Financial powerhouse Salomon Brothers digs a huge hole for itself by cheating in the most sacrosanct of markets. Time Magazine, August 26, 1991.
An article about the Savings and Loan crisis by the Israeli economist Shmuel Vaknin.
A series of articles by Franklin Mancusco.
Prudential-Bache Securities Scandal
An extract from the book Serpent on the Rock: The Shocking Truth Behind the Prudential-Bache Securities Scandal by Kurt Eichenwald, Harper Business. ISBN 0-88730-720-5. Kurt Eichenwald, an award-winning financial reporter for the New York Times, tells the explosive story behind Wall Street's most destructive scandal of the 1980s - the massive securities fraud perpetrated by Prudential Bache. Half a million people lost enormous sums and names like Onassis and Bush numbered among the victims.
a select bibliography by Elaine Hopkins.
A federal grand jury in Houston has charged Harold Deavours, a former Smith Barney financial consultant with defrauding foreign investors of more than $40 million. An article from the Houston Business Journal, December 8, 1997.
The British media tycoon was murdered by the Israeli secret services according to a book by Gordon Thomas and Martin Dillon which also alleges that Maxwell was an Israeli spy and had links to organized crime in Eastern Europe.
Layers of guilt peel off to reveal vipers in the Square Mile
The Maxwell report tars the City with the dirtiest of brushes. Anybody reading its damning conclusions could be forgiven for thinking the Square Mile is a nest of vipers ready to collude with any crook, facilitate any fraud, and pillage any pension fund. The Guardian, April 1, 2001.
DTI inspectors appointed in 1992, following the tycoon's death, to investigate what happened to the £500 million raised by the Mirror Group from the flotation will finally report this week. The Guardian March 25, 2001.
By Prem Sikka, Professor of Accounting, University of Essex. The Maxwell story is the story of fraud and the watchdogs that routinely aped the three unwise monkeys.
Pension Funds, Mortgages, Sub-Prime Crisis, Split Capital Investment Trusts, Precipice Bonds
Pension Fund Scandals
In addition to the Maxwell case (see the previous section, above) there have been many other pension fund scandals.
The latest information on the crisis that started in the US subprime mortgage market.
Accounts of a range of cases from a website providing information about UK pensions.
The court ruled that the government was wrong to completely reject the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report into collapsed pension schemes. BBC, 21 February 2007.
A summary of the conclusions and an outline of their implications. Guardian, February 21, 2007.
A report by the Parliamentary Ombudsman accusing the British government of maladministration. 15 March 2006.
The government has come under pressure to respond to a report that called for a compensation fund for policyholders in Equitable Life. BBC, 31 October 2008.
This website has been set up by a group of Equitable Life members as a non profit making, non commercial enterprise for the good of all those associated with the Equitable Life Assurance Society.
A former director for the insurance group was expelled from The Institute of Actuaries while two other senior figures were reprimanded after a tribunal found them in breach of its rules. 2 March 2007.
The report of the Equitable life inquiry, by Lord Penrose, published on 8 March 2004.
A review of what went wrong. The Guardian, March 8, 2004.
A report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration or ombudsman.
What was the sequence of events that saw the world's oldest insurer end in such dire disrepute? BBC, 8 February 2002.
The Financial Services Authority imposed on on Royal & Sun Alliance the largest fine yet in connection with the pensions mis-selling scandal of the 1980s. Abigail Townsend, The Independent, 27 August 2002.
Articles from the Financial Times on the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis.
Reports from the Financial Times about the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States and its international effects.
An article from the Wikipedia.
The downturn in facts and figures, from the BBC.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. House of Representatives and a U.S. district attorney are all investigating a possible accounting scandal at Freddie Mac. Forbes, June 12, 2003.
A web page with advice for for people in the UK who may have been been mis-sold an endowment mortgage.
British homeowners will be forced to find �48 billion from their own pockets over the next 15 years to make good the mortgage shortfalls caused by poorly performing endowments, a Financial Mail survey revealed. 22 June 2003.
Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo is accusing a handful of senior UK metals brokers of dishonestly assisting one of the largest rogue traders ever to operate through the London markets - convicted copper dealer Yasuo Hamanaka. Guardian, October 4, 2004.
The Sumitomo Corp. filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against Japanese bank seeks $760M for alleged copper-trade abuses; UBS rejects claim. 3 June 1999.
Merrill Settles Copper Suit
The Sumitomo Corp. filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed on Wednesday 30 June 1999 to pay $25 million to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the London Metal Exchange to settle allegations of involvement in Sumitomo Corp.'s efforts to fix copper prices more than three years ago.
Sumitomo's robber-baron tactics make the case for regulation. By Paul Krugman.
Ebbers is the highest-ranking of six WorldCom executives and accountants who were charged by federal prosecutors in the fraud. Seattle Times, July 14, 2005.
A leader on the conviction of Bernard Ebbers, the former chief executive of WorldCom, was found guilty by a US federal jury of fraud charges related to the $11bn accounting scandal at the telecommunications company. Silicon.com, March 16, 2005.
WorldCom's former boss Bernie Ebbers ordered adjustments to the company's books, the telecoms firm's ex-financial chief has testified at a fraud trial in the United States. The Scotsman, 9 February 2005.
Telecoms firm takes title of America's biggest corporate failure from Enron as it seeks protection from creditors. The Guardian, July 22, 2002.
An Accountancy Age special report.
The original rogue trader says it is hard to believe Navinder Singh Sarao was solely responsible for market crash which saw the Dow Jones lose almost 1,000 points within minutes. Telegraph, 3 April 2015.
Navinder Singh Sarao, who operated from his parents� home, invested in a company connected to a former judge, a City grandee and private equity tycoons. Guardian, 24 April 2015.
The next Hound of Hounslow could do far worse damage: If a man working in the suburbs can wipe billions off the markets, what does the future hold?
The biggest question of all is how can a guy working from his parents� house in suburban England whose only actionable orders were to buy stock market futures cause such a sensational collapse in US stocks? Independent, 24 April 2015.
Nigel Cannings on the implications of the affair. Huffington Post, 20 September 2013.
JP Morgan's $6.2bn loss caused by 'deceptive conduct'
�Deceptive conduct� by JP Morgan�s London staff was to blame for the $6.2bn (�4.1bn) trading loss racked up last year, the former head of the division responsible told Congress. The Telegraph, 16 March 2013.
Bruno Michel Iksil a London Based Trader behind JP Morgan's $2bn loss?
Speculation is mounting that a British-based trader dubbed 'Voldemort' is behind a $2billion loss for America's largest bank. The man, also nicknamed the 'London Whale' and the 'White Whale', is suspected by financial analysts of making massive and hugely risky trades for JPMorgan Chase when he should have been mitigating risk.
The London-based trader at the center of JPMorgan Chase�s $2 billion trading loss will be leaving the bank, according to reporting by The New York Times, although he still remains employed there. Forbes, 16 May 2012.
SFO offered to do �50m deal over Tchenguiz arrests
The SFO investigation into the Tchenguiz brothers centres on their dealings with Icelandic bank Kaupthing in the lead up to its collapse in four years ago. It is alleged the SFO offered to announce it had dropped its investigation if Robert Tchenguiz donated �50m to charity. Telegraph, 18 May 2012.
Hedge fund titan Steven A Cohen's firm, long the focus of a federal investigation into insider trading, is paying more than $600m to US securities regulators to settle allegations arising from improper trading in two stocks. Guardian, 15 March 2013.
An account of developments in �Operation Perfect Hedge,� the FBI�s systematic targeting of insider trading in the hedge fund industry. FBI New York, January 18, 2012.
Raj Rajaratnam who has been convicted of insider trading had amassed a fortune of just over $1bn (�611m) by creating one of the biggest hedge funds in the world � Galleon. Guardian, 11 May 2011.
US government watchdog says action by consultants could have reduced losses. Guardian, 11 May 2011.
A secret investigation may implicate dozens of high-ranking government officials, by Dexter Filkins, the New Yorker, February 14, 2011.
Ex-Dresdner financier given longest ever jail term for insider trading
Former Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein corporate financier Christian Littlewood has been jailed for three years and four months for his role at the centre of an eight-year insider dealing ring involving his wife and her best friend. His sentence is the longest term handed down in the UK for insider trading since the Financial Services Authorities took over responsibility for prosecuting the offence. Guardian, 3 February 2011.
Windle Stops Swindle by Permanent TSB - �339 Million Fraud
TSB Dublin and Cork & Limerick Savings Bank defrauded most depositors from 1958 to 1993 by paying less than the advertised interest on the savings and investment accounts. This website gives a very detailed account of the case, including the long period in which various regulatory authorities and judges failed to put an end to the scandal, the convictions of some of the people involved, and the eventual outcome.
A string of successful convictions, three live court cases and a series of high-profile raids has made little impact on insider trading in the City, according to one of the finance industry's biggest trade organisations. Daily Telegraph, 22 April 2010.
Seven men, including two former print room workers of JP Morgan Cazenove and UBS, have been accused of making �2.5m from trading on inside information. Daily Telegraph, 31 March 2010.
The report into demise of the British car manufacturer reveals that the owners bought software to wipe clean hard drives and ran tax avoidance schemes. Guardian, 11 September 2009.
Alexis Stenfors, a currency investor working for Merrill Lynch in London, has been suspended in an inquiry into �trading irregularities� with losses that could reach several hundred million dollars. The Times, 7 March 2009.
Disgraced tycoon Allen Stanford has been sentenced to 110 years in jail for operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of more than $7bn (�4.5bn).BBC, 14 June 2012.
Sir Allen Stanford, the Antigua based American billionaire, philanthropist and cricket promoter and enthusiast, has been accused of a massive, $8 billion fraud by the U S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 19 February 2009.
Bagger: Seven years for vast fraud
The former CEO of the now defunct IT Factory, Stein Bagger, has been found guilty as charged on 61 counts of fraud and forgery of almost one billion kroner and sentenced to seven years in prison, had DKK 50 million confiscated, was ordered to pay court costs and is not permitted to run a company again. Politiken, 12 June 2009.
Stein Bagger, the chief executive officer of bankrupt Danish computer firm IT Factory A/S, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in what local media are describing as the country�s biggest ever white-collar criminal case. Bloomberg, December 16, 2008.
Hedge funds lose billions as VW share price dives
Hedge funds nursing multi-billion-dollar losses from a wrong-way bet on Volkswagen shares have launched a furious attack on the German financial authorities, branding their handling of Porsche�s move to control its rival as a "fiasco" and "criminally irresponsible". Daily Telegraph 30 October 2008.
Watchdog on alert after Volkswagen shares plunge
Germany's financial services authority, BaFin, launched a formal investigation yesterday into alleged market manipulation in Volkswagen shares after the carmaker's stock lost almost half its value. VW shares slumped 45% to �517 after Porsche, a suspected villain behind frenzied trading in recent days, said it would offer up to 5% of the Volkswagen options it held. Guardian, October 30 2008.
Rogue trader Matthew Piper lost Morgan Stanley �60m suspended
Matthew Piper, a rogue trader who lost Morgan Stanley, one of the City's biggest banks around �60 million, has been suspended after over-estimating the profits he had earned from his investments at the end of each trading session. Daily Telegraph, 20 June 2008.
Credit Suisse, a leading City of London investment bank has uncovered a �1.4bn scam by rogue traders desperately trying to protect their bonuses. Evening Standard, 20 March 2008.
French judges have placed Noel Forgeard, the former co-head of Airbus owner EADS, under formal investigation over allegations of insider trading. BBC 30 May 2008.
A biographical article about the fugitive American financier who was responsible for one of the biggest frauds in history. Guardian, May 21 2008.
Police are investigating an alleged attempted fraud at Britain's biggest bank, HSBC Holdings. Jagmeet Channa, 25, was charged with conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and abusing a position of trust. Reuters 1 May 2008.
A directory of resources on the problem of exploitation of the elderly in the United States. (The problem is obviously not unique to America and therefore some of the resources may be of interest to people around the world).
A blog on the subject of exploitation of the elderly.
US music mogul admits $300m fraud
Pop music mogul Lou "Big Poppa" Pearlman admitted in a Florida court that he had defrauded thousands of people � and 10 or so banks - out of hundreds of millions of dollars over about 20 years. As part of his scam, Pearlman created his own accounting firm, independent auditors and even a German bank to fool investors. Guardian, March 7 2008.
Information from Bloomberg, Daily Telegraph, 24 January 2008.
The corruption scandal engulfing Siemens grew when angry shareholder groups' demanded the resignation of the German group's supervisory board chairman and investors said they had lost confidence in the firm's chief executive. The Guardian, December 14, 2006.
Investors demand action after a testimony that high-level Siemens management and members of the company's anti-corruption division knew about illegal funds for kickbacks. Deutsche Welle, 27 November 2006.
Online bank fraud up by 55%
Losses from online banking fraud have risen sharply following a surge of nearly 1,500% in the number of bogus bank websites used by criminals to plunder people's accounts, new figures from APACS in the UK show. The Guardian, November 7 2006.
Fairfax suit takes another twist
The normally media-shy Fairfax created a stir by filing a $6-billion (U.S.) lawsuit against several powerful U.S. hedge funds and a pair of their �shadowy operatives" but one of them, Spyro Contogouris, claims he was working on a special assignment for the FBI. Globe and Mail, 3 October 2006.
A crisis in the world's hedge fund industry is in prospect after one of the world's largest derivatives brokers is forced to freeze trades potentially worth billions of pounds. Guardian, October 14, 2005.
With Phillip Bennett its former CEO charged in a securities fraud scheme and its stock price in free fall the future of the the derivatives broker is in doubt. Business Week, October 12, 2005.
Man Group, the hedge fund manager regarded as the heart of London's new financial establishment, has been accused of trying to conceal a "rogue trader" style scandal involving one of its senior employees. Guardian, October 1, 2005.
Billionaire financier Ron Perelman won $604.3 million in compensatory damages yesterday in a lawsuit accusing the investment bank Morgan Stanley of duping him about a takeover deal. Seattle Times, May 17, 2005.
UK police foil massive bank theft
Police in London foiled a plan to steal �220m ($423m) from the London offices of the Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui. Computer experts are believed to have tried to transfer the money electronically after hacking into the bank's systems. BBC, 17 March 2005.
A judge has ordered Spain's top banker, Emilio Botin, chairman of Santander Central Hispano, to stand trial on charges of tax fraud. Mr Botin, has been leading the Spanish bank's recent bid for the UK's Abbey. BBC, 6 October 2004.
The former chief executive of US software firm Computer Associates has been charged with securities fraud over a $2.2bn (�1.2bn) accounting scandal. BBC, 22 September 2004.
According to Howard Palmer, an expert witness in fraud cases and a former banker, there is a wave of insider crime engulfing London's banks. Daily Telegraph, 4 September 2004.
Regulator confirms �17m fine and accuses group of 'unprecedented misconduct' in oil and gas reserves scandal. Guardian, August 25, 2004.
The fine was imposed because of Citigroup's controversial trades the previous year. 28 June 2005.
Traders at US banking giant Citigroup are facing a criminal investigation in Germany over the controversial government bond deal. BBC 25 January 2005.
The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has launched a formal investigation into "unusual trading activity" by Citigroup. The FSA's focus will be on trades in the European government bond and derivatives markets. BBC, 18 August 2004.
Mark Tran explains all the background to allegations of illegal insider dealing at M&S. Guardian, June 28, 2004.
Carl Cushnie has been jailed for six years for swindling millions of pounds out of investors at the finance company which he founded. BBC, 9 June 2004.
Founder of failed Versailles group convicted of defrauding backers of �23 million. Guardian, May 26 2004.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission accuse two officers of AremisSoft of engaging in massive insider trading.
Details of a allegations against Savin (Ricoh-USA) involving stolen purchase orders and fraudulent invoices.
Trader jailed over �152m NAB rogue deals
Luke Edward Duffy, former head of currency trading at National Australia Bank, the country's largest was has been jailed for 29 months for his part in a rogue-trading scandal that cost the lender A$360m (�152m). Evening Standard, 16 June 2005.
National Australia Bank yesterday revealed that its "rogue trader" scandal will cost it A$360m (�154m), as it gives up its chance to take over Australian financial services firm AMP. Guardian, January 28, 2004.
Like the Natwest case the rogue trades at the National Australia Bank involved the use of mispriced options to conceal losses. For a treatment of mispriced derivates in fiction read Into the Fire by Linda Davies.
ImClone, Martha Stewart, Merrill Lynch, Enron, Arthur Anderson, Global Crossing, Tyco, WorldCom, Adelphia, et. al.
A British pensioner was yesterday convicted of trying to pull off one of the biggest frauds in history, using $2.5 trillion worth of faked US government bonds. Guardian, 19 September 2003.
Keeping tainted money from corrupt Polly Peck tycoon shames the Tories, says ex-Treasurer
Lord McAlpine, the man who was Tory Treasurer when the party accepted almost �500,000 from corrupt Polly Peck tycoon Asil Nadir, said last night that David Cameron was under a �moral duty� to give the money back. Daily Mail, 24 August 2012.
Former fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir has been jailed for 10 years today after a judge said he stole millions out of �pure greed�. The Independent, 23 August 2012.
Asil Nadir built a business fortune, was feted by the government - and fled to Cyprus when his Polly Peck empire crumbled. Guardian, September 3, 2003.
Three accountants involved in auditing parts of Polly Peck, the conglomerate run by Asil Nadir which collapsed more than a decade ago, have been reprimanded and fined by their regulatory body. Guardian, May 1, 2003.
Dutch prosecutors have started a probe into the accounting irregularities at embattled Dutch retail giant. BBC, 16 April 2003.
After revealing Europe's worst accounting scandal, the future of Dutch food giant Ahold looks shaky. 2 March 2003.
Ahold, one of the world's biggest retailers, was last night facing a series of regulatory investigations and lawsuits following the discovery of a multimillion-euro accountancy scandal at its US operations. Guardian, February 27, 2003.
Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has been fined 2.2m euros (£1.4m; $2.3m) for insider trading. BBC 20 December, 2002.
Links to stories about the Royal Commission investigating the $2.8 billion collapse of HIH Insurance, the largest corporate failure in Australian history.
A website set up to defend Martha Stewart and support her appeal against conviction. It contains a lot of material on why her trial was unfair.
Martha Pal Gets 7-Year Jail Term
ImClone Systems Inc. founder Samuel Waksal has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison and ordered to pay almost $4.3 million because of his role in the insider trading scandal that engulfed members of his family and led to the indictment of his friend Martha Stewart. CBS News, 10 June 2003.
Martha Stewart was sentenced for lying to police over an alleged insider-dealing scam. Guardian, July 16, 2004.
The Martha Stewart scandal may cripple a media empire built on an image of perfection. The Economist, September 12, 2002.
With the avalanche of corporate accounting scandals that have rocked the markets recently, it's getting hard to keep track of all the transgressions. The Corporate Scandal Sheet does the job.
It may be involved in the biggest accounting debacle ever, but financial scandals are nothing new. CNN, June 27, 2002.
A brief review of each of the main scandals from Enron onwards. BBC, 26 June 2002.
A brief outline of notable cases from Charles Ponzi in 1920 to price fixing by Sotheby's and Christie's in 2000. Fortune, March 2002.
Former Tyco International CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski and finance chief Mark Swartz have been sentenced to eight and one-third to 25 years for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the company. Seattle Times, September 19, 2005.
The huge industrial group Tyco has discovered a new black hole to add to its accounting scandals. BBC, 30 April 2003.
Three former executives of Tyco, including its ex-chief executive, Dennis Kozlowski, have been indicted for running a "criminal enterprise" that stole millions from the firm. BBC, 12 September, 2002.
Investment bank Merrill Lynch has said it is to pay $100m to settle an investigation by the New York attorney general into allegations its analysts misled tech stock investors. BBC, 21 May 2001.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon criticised the Bank of Israel at a government meeting, in which the ministers discussed the collapse of Trade Bank. 27 May 2002.
Prosecutors allege that Kim and his associates organized what they believe is Asia's biggest single financial fraud - false accounting between 1997 and 1998 that inflated the value of the Korean company's equity by $32 billion. Business Week, February 19, 2001.
A Japanese court found Credit Suisse Financial Products guilty of obstructing a government inspection. The Tokyo District Court also ordered the defunct unit's parent to pay a fine of $333,490, or ¥40 million. March 8, 2001
The feds say the former offshore hedge fund manager scammed investors out of $1 billion. But the imprisoned armstrong says he’s only guilty of knowing the whereabouts of too many financial skeletons.
A web site was started by friends and clients of Marty Armstrong who feel that he is being sacrificed on the "regulatory altar" by those much more influential and powerful than he
Republic Ducked Red Flags?
According to the Wall Street Journal, Republic New York Corp. took on investment advisor Martin A. Armstrong who is accused of defrauding Japanese investors of about $1 billion, even though red flags prompted a competitor to stop doing business with him.
In December 2001, the claims of the Princeton Note investors against the company owned by Martin A. Armstrong were settled.
The inventor of Bowie bonds claims that other firms have stolen his ideas.
For background information about Bowie bonds, in fact and in fiction, see Something Wild .
An article about J. Knox McConnell and the rise and fall of the First National Bank of Keystone which may rank among the 10 biggest American bank failures of the past 20 years.
A hearing for two former officials of the failed First Bank of Keystone was held on 23 November 1999.
A brief account of the attempt by Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt to corner the world market for silver in the 1970s.
Ending a mystery over the death of the banker Edmond Safra, his American nurse has been found guilty of the fatal arson attack. 5 December 2002.
According to Bill Parish: Microsoft is a great company with terrific employees. Sadly, many of these brilliant people ... [are] .. unable to see that Microsoft is also the key architect of the greatest financial fraud/pyramid scheme this century.
Another article by Bill Parish who argues that the scheme will disable Microsoft and Cisco Systems, destroy consumer privacy and unplug the New Economy.
Scams, scandals and swindles: a look at the seamy side of 20th century wealth by Martha Slud, CNN, December 29, 1999.
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Cyprus
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The 'Occam's Razor' (or Ockham's Razor) principle asserts that reliable theories and explanations tend to entail minimal?
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On This Day
halfaperson wrote:
Quote:
1986 The 'Hand of God' football match. England were beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Mexico. Both Argentine goals were scored by Diego Maradona - the first with the deliberate use of his hand which went unseen by the referee. It was the first match between the two countries since the Falklands War in 1982. Cheating bastard - I don't care how good a player he was, he'll always be remember for being a cheat.
Chuff me that was 22 years ago and it seems like last year. That was a sunday night as well wasnt it? Remember it clear as a bell. Actually watched it in a pub that is now my local. Absolutely fuming. Then he goes and scores that brilliant goal. I know he was a cheating pillock ravey but hes still one of the greates players ever. Ive read a couple of books, one by him (ghost written) and one by a an English fella. He sounds an utter shyster to boot. Even in his own words he comes across as a jumped up self important tosser who his own team mates generally despised.
Aye, 22 years ago - what a pair of old gits we are. And to think there are people at work who weren't even born then who think they can tell me what to do...
Not denying he was a great player, just saying that despite that he'll be remembered as a cheat.
A cocaine snorting cheat as well!! raveydavey
June 23rd:
1683 William Penn, the English Quaker, signed a treaty with the Indian chiefs of the Lenni Lenade Tribe in an attempt to ensure peace in his new American colony, Pennsylvania.
1757 British troops, commanded by Robert Clive (the legendary Clive of India), won the Battle of Plassey in Bengal - laying the foundations of the British Empire in India.
1894 Birth of Edward, Duke of Windsor who was King Edward VIII from 20th January to 10th December 1936 before abdicating to marry twice-divorced Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson.
1916: Sir Len Hutton, one of the all-time great England cricketers, was born. He was the first professional captain of the England Test side and his innings of 364 against Australia at The Oval in 1938 stood as a Test record for nearly 20 years. He died in 1990 aged 74.
1939 The Government of Eire declared membership of the IRA (Irish Republican Army) to be illegal.
1940 The BBC�s Music While You Work programme was first broadcast on radio to brighten up the lives of munitions workers doing boring factory jobs.
1951 Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, missing diplomats, fled to the USSR as Russian spies before the British authorities had the opportunity to arrest them for spying. They 'surfaced' in Moscow in 1956.
1970 The world�s first all-metal liner, Brunel�s 'Great Britain' returned to Bristol from the Falkland Islands where it had lain rusting since 1886. How well engineered is that? Left rusting for nearly 100 years and still in good enough condition to be towed nearly the full length of the Atlantic! Brunel was a bloody genius. More here: http://www.ssgreatbritain.org/Home.aspx
1985 A passenger jet disintegrated in mid-air off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people on board.
1986 Brighton bomber Patrick Magee, found guilty of planting the bomb at the Grand Hotel, Brighton during the Conservative Party Conference in 1983, was jailed for a minimum of 35 years.
1989 The Home secretary announced that the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad had been disbanded in the wake of allegations of malpractice.
1994 It was announced that the Royal Yacht Britannia would be sold or scrapped.
1997 Diana, Princess of Wales apologized for taking her two sons, Princes William and Harry, to see the 15 certificated film The Devil's Own, about an IRA assassin. raveydavey
June 24th:
1314 Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II at Bannockburn and so completed his expulsion of the English from Scotland.
1509 Henry VIII's coronation took place.
1559 The Elizabethan Prayer Book was first used.
1717 The Grand Lodge of the English Freemasons was founded in London.
1825 William Henry Smith, English newsagent and bookseller, born.
1850 The birth of Horatio Herbert, Earl Kitchener, British field marshal, born in County Kerry. He achieved notable victories in foreign parts fighting for the Empire, and was Secretary of State for War at the outbreak of hostilities in 1914. He mounted a major recruitment campaign and appeared on posters to exhort, �Your country needs you!�
1859: Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman travelling through Italy, saw the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino and was inspired to found the International Red Cross.
1878 Formation of the St John Ambulance - originally called the St John Ambulance Association.
1921 The world's largest airship, the R-38, built in the U.K. for the U.S. Navy, made its maiden flight at Bedford.
1948: The Berlin Airlift began when the USSR blockaded Berlin, requiring the Allies to fly in food and other essential supplies.
1953: Jacqueline Bouvier announced her engagement to John F Kennedy, US senator.
1968 The country's rail network was thrown into disarray as the National Union of Railwaymen began its work-to-rule and ban on overtime.
1968 Start of the first Open Wimbledon lawn tennis championships - open to both professional and amateur players.
1974 The Labour Government admitted that Britain had exploded a nuclear device in the United States a few weeks previously. The announcement sparked a row amongst senior ministers about Britain's involvement in the arms race.
1986 Hard-line unionist leader the Reverend Ian Paisley warned that Northern Ireland was on the verge of civil war.
1993 Northern Ireland Minister Michael Mates resigned over his links with fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir, Chief Executive Officer of the Polly Peck company. Mort
A few more:
0972 Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces.
1128 Battle of So Mamede, near Guimares. Portuguese forces led by Alfonso I defeat his mother D.Teresa and D.Ferno Peres de Trava. After this battle, the future king calls himself "Prince of Portugal", the first step towards "official independence" in 1143.
1340 UK hist Edward III personally commands the English fleet in their victory over the French off Sluys (who were trying to blockade English export of wool to Flanders)
1348 UK hist Order of the Garter founded by King Edward III of England � motto 'Honi soit qui mal y pense'
1374 A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
1441 Eton College founded by Henry VI
1497 Cornish traitors Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank executed at Tyburn, London
1497 John Cabot lands on North America in Newfoundland; first European exploration of the region since the Vikings. Claims eastern Canada for England
1509 Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon crowned King and Queen of England. cardboardbox?Youwerelucky
Mort wrote:
1374 A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
I had never heard of this so I looked it up
Quote:
St. John's Dance (known as Johannistanz or Johannestanz in Germany) was the medieval name for a phenomenon which emerged during the time of the Black Death. The medical term is chorea imagnativa aestimative. Basically, it is a form of apraxia expressing itself as "dancing rage," as uncontrolled ecstatic body movements. In the eyes of the church, those suffering from St. John's Dance were possessed by the devil.
The following excerpt (translated from German) describes a bit of detail surrounding St. John's Dance and its sociological effects:
"This dancing rage doubtlessly had no organic reasons but was caused by mass hysteria breaking out as a result of fear of the Black Death. It started in Aachen [Germany] in 1374 and spread over large parts of Europe. It was Germany where this phenomenon was called 'St. Johannestanz' [St. John's Dance] first. John the Baptist was the patron saint against epilepsy and other kinds of apraxia. The 'dancing epidemic' received its name as an expression for the hope for healing. Later, 'St. John's Dance' was renamed 'St. Vitustanz' or 'Veitstanz' [St. Vitus' Dance], because of a legend about St. Vitus, a Sicilian youth who died during the anti-Christian pogroms of the 4th century. According to this legend, St. Vitus had prayed to God to relieve all those from the dancing rage who fasted the evening before his dying day. The tradition claims that immediately after that a voice from heaven was heard saying: 'Vitus, your prayers are answered'. Thus St. Vitus became the patron saint of all those suffering from the dancing rage."
Although no real consensus exists as to what caused the mania, some cases, especially the one in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), may have had an explainable physical cause. The symptoms of the sufferers can be attributed to ergot poisoning, or ergotism, known in the Middle Ages as "St. Anthony's Fire". It is caused by eating rye infected with Claviceps purpurea, a small fungus that contains toxic and psychoactive chemicals (alkaloids), including lysergic acid (used in modern times to synthesize the non-toxic chemical LSD). Symptoms of ergot poisoning include nervous spasms, psychotic delusions, spontaneous abortion, convulsions and gangrene; some dancers claimed to have experienced visions of a religious nature.
Quote:
Ergotism can easily be fatal, and thus fatalities amongst dancers are described in the early 17th century Strasbourg Chronicle of Kleinkawel. Ironically, if this was the cause of the dancing mania, then the contemporary cure of playing music to the dancers would only have prolonged their mania by stimulating further convulsions and hallucinations.
Well - you learn something new everyday (at least I did)
raveydavey
June 25th: (only 6 months to Christmas!)
1646 The surrender of Oxford to the Roundheads virtually signified the end of the English Civil War.
1797 During the battle off Santa Cruz in the Canary Islands Admiral Nelson was wounded in the right arm by grapeshot and had it amputated later that afternoon. This followed the loss of his sight in his right eye some three years earlier.
1891 The first episode of an Arthur Conan Doyle novel involving the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes was printed in the Strand Magazine in London.
1900 Lord Louis Mountbatten of Burma was born. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy in South East Asia during the Second World War, and later Viceroy of India during the transfer of power from Britain to India.
1903 The birth of George Orwell, English novelist of 'Animal Farm' and '1984'. His real surname was Blair. Makes you wonder doesn't it?
1912 The Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith was bitterly attacked in the Commons for the 'torture' of force-feeding suffragettes in prison.
1953 John Christie was sentenced to hang for murdering his wife and then hiding her body under the floorboards of their Notting Hill home in London. Christie, 54, had admitted murder but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. It took the jury an hour and 22 minutes to reject his defence and declare him guilty. He was from Halifax, apparently.
1967 400 million viewers in 26 nations watched the world�s first televised satellite hook up; the Beatles recording of 'All you need is love' at Abbey Road
1969 Wimbledon saw the longest men�s singles match ever when Charlie Passarell was beaten by Pancho Gonzalez 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9.
2001 Race violence erupted in Burnley, Lancashire. Asian youths were involved in a series of overnight attacks on pubs, shops and restaurants. Many vehicles were also damaged or destroyed. raveydavey
June 26th:
1483 Richard, Duke of Gloucester, began to rule England as Richard III, having deposed his nephew, Edward V. Edward and his brother, Richard, Duke of York, were soon afterwards murdered in the Tower of London.
1830 George IV died. His brother, William VI ascended the throne.
1857 The first investiture ceremony for Victoria Cross awards took place in Hyde Park, London. Queen Victoria presented 62 servicemen with Britain's highest military honour.
1862 Joseph Wells (father of sci-fi writer H.G. Wells) was a Kent cricketer and became the first man to take four first class wickets with four consecutive balls, playing against Sussex.
1906: The first Grand Prix took place at Le Mans. The Hungarian Ferenc Szisz was the winner, driving a Renault at an average speed of 63 mph.
1909 London's Victoria & Albert Museum opened to the public
1937 Britain's Duke of Windsor married American divorcee Wallis Simpson in France following his abdication from the throne as Edward VIII.
1939 Britain's first National Serviceman, Private Rupert Alexander, signed up for the Middlesex Regiment. His service number was 10000001.
1945 Delegates from nations around the world signed the United Nations Charter, designed to help ensure future world peace. The first meeting of the U.N. General Assembly occurred in London early the following year. Sadly it's proved to be little more than an impotent talking shop.
1959 The St. Lawrence Seaway, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and President Eisenhower.
1963: Kennedy: 'Ich bin ein Berliner'. President Kennedy inspires the people of West Germany with a morale-boosting speech of defiance to the Soviet Union. The phrase translates, literally, as "I am a doughnut"
1974 British actor Richard Burton divorced his wife, American actress Elizabeth Taylor.
1986 Entrepreneur Richard Branson set off on his second attempt to claim the transatlantic powerboat record for Britain.
1991 After campaigning to prove their innocence for 15 years, the 'Maguire Seven' were cleared by the Court of Appeal of running an IRA bomb factory in England.
1997 Dresses belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales were auctioned for more than �2million in New York. raveydavey
June 27th:
It's unlikely I'll get to update this section tomorrow (Friday 27th).
If you fancy a go, feel free!
Garp
1974 British actor Richard Burton divorced his wife, American actress Elizabeth Taylor
say it aint so. I always had her down as the perfect English Rose. NE1
June 27:
Veterans' Day in the United Kingdom; Mixed Race Day in Brazil
678 � Saint Agatho began his reign as Pope.
1898 � Canadian-American seaman and adventurer Joshua Slocum completed the first solo circumnavigation of the globe sailing on his refitted sloop-rigged fishing boat Spray (pictured), a distance of more than 46,000 miles (74,000 km).
1967 � The world's first electronic automated teller machine was installed in Enfield Town, London by Barclays Bank.
1991 � Yugoslavia invaded Slovenia, two days after the latter's declaration of independence from the former, starting the Ten-Day War.
2007 � An operation by the Rio de Janeiro Military Police against drug dealers in the Complexo do Alem�o in Rio de Janeiro killed at least nineteen people, many of whom had no relations with drug trafficking. NE1
halfaperson wrote:
Quote:
1974 British actor Richard Burton divorced his wife, American actress Elizabeth Taylor
say it aint so. �I always had her down as the perfect English Rose.
She was born in Hampstead
NE1 wrote:
June 27:
1967 � The world's first electronic automated teller machine was installed in Enfield Town, London by Barclays Bank.
Which celebrity marked the event by withdrawing the first cash from the machine? raveydavey
June 28th:
1491 The birth of Henry VIII, King of England and second son of Henry VII. He married six times, beheaded two wives, broke away from the Catholic church to form the Church of England, executed Catholics who failed to recognize the church and executed Protestants who complained that he should execute more Catholics! Yet he still managed to remain a popular king.
1645 In the English Civil War, the Royalists lost Carlisle.
1703 John Wesley, English evangelical preacher and founder of Methodism, was born. (He was born on 17th June in the 'old style' calendar - or ..... 28th June in the 'new style' calendar, after 1752!)
1838 Queen Victoria was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London. She was just 19 years old.
1919 The Allies and a reluctant Germany signed the Peace Treaty of Versailles - officially ending the First World War. The financial demands made by the Allies on the defeated Germans of 20 billion gold marks dragged the nation down and allowed the Nazis to appear as saviours.
1930 English engineer Frank Whittle patented the jet engine.
1930 Mick the Miller becomes the first dog to win the Greyhound Derby for a second time.
1935 The first 'Rupert Bear' cartoon appeared in the Daily Express newspaper.
1950 A novice U.S. team beat the highly fancied England players 1-0 in the first round of the World Cup in Brazil. The English team included Billy Wright and Tom Finney.
1956 Sydney Silverman's bill for the abolition of the death penalty was passed by the House of Commons. It was defeated in the Lords on 10th July.
1960 45 men were killed in a gas explosion at a coal mine in Monmouthshire, Wales.
1991 Margaret Thatcher announced that she was to retire from the House of Commons at the next general election. The former prime minister, who held her Finchley seat for more than thirty years, said she intended to remain in politics and wanted to go to the House of Lords.
2004 The US handed sovereignty back to Iraq in a low-key ceremony in Baghdad. Baldy
raveydavey wrote:
NE1 wrote:
June 27:
1967 � The world's first electronic automated teller machine was installed in Enfield Town, London by Barclays Bank.
Which celebrity marked the event by withdrawing the first cash from the machine?
Reg Varney raveydavey
NE1 wrote:
June 27:
1967 � The world's first electronic automated teller machine was installed in Enfield Town, London by Barclays Bank.
Which celebrity marked the event by withdrawing the first cash from the machine?
Reg Varney
Course I am, google is a wonderful thing
raveydavey
June 29th:
1613 The original Globe Theatre in London burned down after a cannon was fired during a performance of a Shakespearean play and set fire to the straw roof. The theatre was totally destroyed, but rose again in June 1614, this time with a tiled roof.
1620 After denouncing smoking as a health hazard, King James I of England banned the growing of tobacco in Britain.
1801 Britain held its first population census - producing a population figure of 8,800,000.
1829 The first policeman to be murdered in Britain was Constable William Grantham in Somers Town. He went to the aid of a woman involved in a fight between drunken men and when he fell, all three proceeded to kick him to death.
1855 Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper was first published, a result of the publisher's anger over the Crimean War and a desire to express it.
1871 The Trade Union Act was passed, giving trade unions legal status for the first time.
1905 The Automobile Association was set up by motorists angered by police harassment and to warn drivers of speed traps. In some respects, nowt changes.
1927 For the first time in 200 years, a total eclipse of the sun was seen in Britain. Those at Giggleswick in Yorkshire were able to see a perfect, full eclipse which lasted for less than 1/2 minute.
1956: Arthur Miller, US playwright, married Marilyn Monroe in London.
1960: BBC unveils TV 'factory'. The BBC's new Television Centre will be the "Hollywood" of the small screen, the corporation's director of TV announces.
1966 In Britain, Barclays Bank introduced the Barclaycard - the UK's first credit card.
1986 Millionaire Richard Branson smashed the world record for the fastest powerboat crossing of the Atlantic.
1995 Lisa Clayton, from Birmingham, became the first British woman to sail solo around the world from the northern hemisphere. Her voyage, in a 39 ft sloop, Spirit of Birmingham, took 285 days.
2001 The government announced that a memorial fountain in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, was to be built in London's Hyde Park. raveydavey
June 30th:
1596 An English expedition under Lord Howard of Effingham and the Earl of Essex (a mate of Gophers?) attacked Cadiz, ravaged the Spanish coast, and captured much booty. Philip II was thus prevented from sending an Armada against England.
1643 The Battle of Adwalton Moor (also called Atherton Moor) in the English Civil War. The Royalists under the Earl of Newcastle defeated the Parliamentarians.
1837 Punishment by pillory was finally abolished in Britain. Shame, they should bring it back, with free tomatoes for all.
1859: The great tightrope walker, Blondin, crossed Niagara Falls from the US to Canada in just eight minutes. The rope was stretched 1,100 feet (335.28 m) and suspended 160 feet (48.76 m) above the Falls. Over 25,000 people watched him make the return with a tripod camera, stop midway and photograph the crowds. Many fainted.
1893 Birth of Harold (Joseph) Laski, English politician and economist who campaigned for social reforms. He became chairman of the Labour Party in 1945.
1894 London's Tower Bridge was officially opened to traffic by the Prince of Wales. After the ceremony the bascules were raised to allow a flotilla of ships and boats to sail down the Thames. Several years later John Wayne jumped the gap in a Ford Capri, but misjudged his landing and ended up in a skip.
1954 A total eclipse of the sun spread from America, through Europe and on to Asia.
1956 �I�m Walking Backwards For Christmas�, written and performed by arch-Goon Spike Milligan, entered the British singles chart ..... six months after Christmas.
1957 The British Egg Marketing Board stamped a crowned lion on British eggs as a sign of freshness. In the first week 80% of all eggs sold carried the stamp.
1960 The London production of the stage musical Oliver opened in the West End.
1973 Observers aboard the Concorde jet observed a 72 minute solar eclipse.
1974: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Soviet-born ballet dancer, defected while on tour in Canada with the Kirov Ballet.
1981 A youth fired a blank pistol at the Queen during the Trooping of the Colour ceremony.
1992 Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher took her place in the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.
1997 Britain handed Hong Kong back to China at midnight, when the 99 year lease expired. raveydavey
1st July:
1837 Compulsory registration of births, marriages and deaths came into effect in England and Wales.
1838 Charles Darwin presented a paper to the Linnaean Society in London, setting out his theory of the evolution of species.
1911 The introduction of the British Copyright Act - protecting an author's works for 50 years after their death.
1916 World War I: At least 20,000 British soldiers were killed and a further 40,000 were injured on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. It was the greatest number of British casualties in a single day's fighting in modern history.
1921 The formation of the British Legion.
1937 The telephone emergency service, 999, became operational in Britain.
1941 World War II: In North Africa, the German advance under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was halted at El Alemein.
1961 Diana, the Princess of Wales, was born.
1967 Colour television came to Europe with a seven hour transmission on BBC 2 in Britain from the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships.
1969 Prince Charles was invested Prince of Wales by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at Caernarfon Castle in north Wales.
1977 British tennis player Virginia Wade won the Women's Singles Championship at Wimbledon in its Centenary Year and during Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee year.
1996 In addition to a practical exam, learner drivers in Britain had to pass a written exam for the first time.
1998 The first meeting of the historic Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast, following the signing of the Good Friday Peace Agreement. raveydavey
July 2nd:
1489 Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury was born.
1644 English Civil War: The Battle of Marston Moor. The first victory of the war for the Parliamentary forces, with Cromwell's Roundhead Army defeating the Royalist Cavaliers, commanded by Prince Rupert.
1819 The first Factory Act was passed in Britain. This banned the employment of children younger than 9 from working in textile factories, whilst those under 16 were allowed to work for 'only' 12 hours a day!
1865 At a revivalist meeting at Whitechapel, London, William Booth formed the Salvation Army.
1904: The first recorded speedway race was held at Portman Road, Ipswich.
1940 Kenneth Clarke, British politician was born.
1940 World War II: Adolf Hitler ordered German military commanders to draw up plans for the invasion of England.
1948 Champion English golfer Henry Cotton won the British Open Golf Championship for the third time.
1964: President Johnson signs Civil Rights Bill. The Civil Rights Bill - one of the most important piece of legislation in American history - becomes law.
1985 The ordination of women as deacons was approved by the General Synod
1987 Moors murderer Ian Brady offered to assist police searches of Saddleworth Moor for the first time since his conviction.
1996 Weather experts predicted that global warming would have the effect of moving Britain 100 miles south in the next 25 years, bringing summer droughts and winter rainstorms. Lying barstewards.
1997 Six IRA terrorists who plotted to blow up electricity supply stations in the Home Counties were each jailed for 35 years.
2001 Barry George was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of television presenter Jill Dando.
2004: James Milner agreed a five-year contract with Newcastle to complete a �5million move from Leeds.
2005 The world's biggest music stars united in Live8 concerts around the globe to press political leaders to tackle poverty in Africa. raveydavey
July 3rd:
1920 The first RAF air display took place at Hendon, near London.
1928 A policeman's helmet and a bunch of roses were among the pictures shown on John Logie Baird's first colour television test transmission at Baird Studios, in London.
1938 LNER locomotive No.4468 'Mallard' achieved the world speed record for steam traction. A maximum speed 126 mph was reached between Grantham and Peterborough. LNER Chief Engineer Sir Nigel Gresley saw taking the record from Nazi Germany who had previously held it as a matter of national pride and specifically designed the A4 class to be the fastest steam trains ever built. A magnificent achievement when you consider this was 70 years ago and even today the fastest trains on Britains railways are slower at 125mph. More great British engineering.
1940 World War II: British warships destroyed the French fleet to prevent their ships falling into German hands. More than 1,000 French sailors were killed.
1954 The end of food rationing in Britain - almost 9 years after the end of World War II. Smithfield Meat Market in London opened at midnight instead of 6am to cope with the demand for beef.
1966 Demonstrators in London were arrested after their protest against the Vietnam War turned violent.
1969 Brian Jones, a founding member of the British rock group Rolling Stones, drowned in his swimming pool from a drug overdose.
1970 112 people died when a flight from Scumchester went missing over Spain.
1971: Doors' singer Jim Morrison found dead. The lead singer of American rock group The Doors dies of heart failure in Paris, aged 27.
1974 Don Revie was appointed manager of the England football team.
1976: 103 hostages were rescued by Israeli commandos in a night raid on Entebbe Airport, Uganda. An Air France airliner had been diverted there by Palestinian hijackers who had counted on help from Idi Amin. The Israeli commandos flew 2,500 miles and landed in three large transport planes in the dark. It took only 35 minutes for them to kill all the hijackers and 20 Ugandan troops who were guarding the hostages. Three hostages and one commando were killed in the crossfire. As a parting gesture, the commandos destroyed 11 Russian Mig aircraft on the ground before taking off for Nairobi, where they refuelled before the flight back to Tel Aviv.
1984 Derek Underwood (Kent's left arm spin bowler) scored his first cricket century, after 22 years of playing in first-class cricket.
1986 The government abandoned its water privatisation plans
1996 It was announced that the Stone of Scone, the symbol of Scottish nationalism, stolen by Edward I of England in 1296, was to be returned to Scotland from Westminster Abbey where it has been used in the coronation of 30 British monarchs.
2000 In his first speech as Mayor of London Ken Livingstone announced that he would stand up to the Government if they were not acting in the capital's best interests. raveydavey
July 4th:
4th July
1776 Britain decided it was sick of beggaring about, and granted America independence. Bloody Yanks.
1829 Britain's first regular scheduled bus service began running, between Marylebone Road and the Bank of England, in London.
1840 The Cunard Shipping Line began its first Atlantic crossing when the paddle steamer Britannia sailed from Liverpool en route to Halifax. The voyage took 14 days.
1862 Lewis Carroll created Alice in Wonderland.
1892 The General Election saw the appointment of Britain's first socialist MP - James Keir Hardie, elected for Holytown, Lanarkshire. A real Labour politician. You don't see many of them any more.
1968 Round-the-world yachtsman Alec Rose received a hero's welcome as he sailed into Portsmouth in his boat Lively Lady, after his 354-day trip.
1969 British tennis player Ann Jones won the Wimbledon women's singles title, beating American Billie Jean King in the final.
1969 British group The Rolling Stones release Honky Tonk Women.
1977 Scumchester United manager Tommy Docherty was sacked by the club's directors. Yet he still leeches a living from his time there.
1985 Ruth Lawrence achieved the best first-class mathematics degree at the University of Oxford, at the age of 13.
1990 Footballer Paul Gascoigne's booking, (that would have excluded him from the World Cup Final, had England got there), resulted in the famous on pitch crying scenes from Gascoigne.
1995 John Major emerged as the winner in an unprecedented parliamentary election for leadership of the ruling Conservative Party.
1996 Prince Charles, Prince of Wales delivered his terms for a divorce from Diana, Princess of Wales - an offer of �15m reportedly backed by the Queen.
2000 The campaigning organization 'Tidy Britain Group' condemned local councils for failing to enforce litter laws. halfaperson
Quote:
1940 World War II: British warships destroyed the French fleet to prevent their ships falling into German hands. More than 1,000 French sailors were killed.
Chuffing hell, did not know that. No something to brag about though
Quote:
1969 Brian Jones, a founding member of the British rock group Rolling Stones, drowned in his swimming pool from a drug overdose.
Quote:
1969 British group The Rolling Stones release Honky Tonk Women.
Business is business eh?
Quote:
1840 The Cunard Shipping Line began its first Atlantic crossing when the paddle steamer Britannia sailed from Liverpool en route to Halifax. The voyage took 14 days.
Im not suprised, those Peninnes can be pretty trick going raveydavey
July 5th:
1817 The first gold coin sovereigns were issued in Britain.
1853 The birth of Cecil John Rhodes, English colonialist and financier. Rhodes was noted for his commercial exploitation of southern Africa, where he gained control of the world�s major diamond and gold mines. He took part in the notorious Jameson Raid, an attempt to overthrown the Boers in the gold-rich Transvaal, and the incident led to his resignation as Prime Minister. He expanded further north and formed the country of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), which was named after him.
1865 The Locomotives and Highways Act in Britain introduced a speed limit for road vehicles of 4 mph in rural areas and 2 mph in urban areas.
1832 Charles Darwin ('Theory of Evolution') departed Rio de Janeiro in HMS Beagle.
1841 Thomas Cook, a Baptist cabinet maker, founded the first travel agency. The first official 'Cook's Tour' involved almost 600 teatotallers taking the train from Leicester to Loughborough to attend a temperance meeting. Oh, the irony!
1888 Three match girls were fired at the Bryant and May match factory in London for giving information about working conditions. The other 672 employees went on strike, a landmark for women workers in Britain that led to the formation of a Matchgirls' Union. Match girls strike? See what I did there?
1945 Churchill lost the General Election after leading Britain throughout World War II. Attlee�s Labour Party won 393 seats to the Tories� 213.
1946: Bikinis introduced. On July 5, 1946, French designer Louis Reard unveils a daring two-piece swimsuit at a swimming pool in Paris. Micheline Bernardini, a Parisian showgirl who didn�t object to appearing nearly nude in public, modeled the new fashion. Unsure of what to call his creation, Reard spontaneously dubbed it bikini, inspired by news-making U.S. nuclear tests taking place off the Bikini Atoll that week. Before long, bold young women in bikinis were causing a sensation along the Mediterranean coast. For a time in Spain and Italy, the wearing of the swimsuit on public beaches was banned. Give that man a medal.
1948 Britain's National Health Service came into operation.
1954 The BBC broadcast its first daily television news programme.
1969 The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in Hyde Park, London, two days after the death of guitarist Brian Jones. It was attended by 250,000 people. Well, they did have a single to promote...
1975: Ashe's Wimbledon win makes history. American tennis player Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles' championship.
1979 The Queen presided over the 1000th annual open-air sitting of the Isle of Man's Parliament, Tynwald.
1981: Police attacked in Liverpool riots. Up to 30 police officers are injured by bricks and other missiles as rioting and looting breaks out in Toxteth, Liverpool. The riots caused millions of �'s of improvements to the area.
1991 The Bank of England closed down UK branches of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International over allegations of fraud. raveydavey
July 6th:
1483 England's King Richard III was crowned.
1535 Sir Thomas More was beheaded on London's Tower Hill for refusing to accept Henry VIII as head of the church. He lifted his beard from the axe, on the basis that it had committed no offences against the king!
1553 Mary I acceded to the throne, becoming the first queen to rule England in her own right.
1685 James II defeated the Duke of Monmouth, claimant to the throne, at the Battle of Sedgemoor, the last major battle to be fought on English soil.
1892 Britain's first non-white MP was elected when Dadabhai Naoraji won the Central Finsbury seat.
1907 The opening of Brooklands - the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit.
1919 The first airship to cross the Atlantic, the British-built R34, arrived in New York.
1924 The first photo was sent experimentally across Atlantic by radio, from the US to England.
1942 World War II: Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family take refuge from the Nazis by hiding in the attic of a house in Amsterdam.
1952 After nearly a century of service, trams made their final appearance in London.
1965 The Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night was premiered in London, with royal attendance.
1978 Eleven people died and seventeen were injured in a blaze on the Penzance to Paddington sleeper train.
1978 Three bags of horse manure were hurled from the public gallery in the House of Commons during a debate on Scottish Home Rule. Yana Mintoff, daughter of the Prime Minister of Malta, was later arrested and fined.
1988 An explosion aboard the North Sea oil rig Piper Alpha resulted in the loss of 166 lives.
2000: Prime Minister's son arrested for drunkenness. The Prime Minister Tony Blair's eldest son, Euan, is arrested for being drunk and incapable. As opposed to his father, who (as far as I am aware) is not a drunk.
2005 The International Olympic Committee announced that the 2012 Olympic Games would be held in London. halfaperson
Quote:
1981: Police attacked in Liverpool riots. Up to 30 police officers are injured by bricks and other missiles as rioting and looting breaks out in Toxteth, Liverpool. The riots caused millions of �'s of improvements to the area.
could have been put differently but i know what you mean
Quote:
2005 The International Olympic Committee announced that the 2012 Olympic Games would be held in London.
Oh dear, know whats coming next
raveydavey
July 7th:
1307 England's King Edward I, conqueror of Wales and 'Hammer of the Scots' died on the way to Scotland to fight Robert the Bruce. He was succeeded by Edward II.
1927 Christopher Stone became the first 'disc jockey' on British radio when he presented his 'Record Round-up' from Savoy Hill.
1940 Ringo Starr, English drummer with the Beatles, was born.
1944 Tony Jacklin, English golfer was born.
1955 Dixon Of Dock Green began on BBC TV with Jack Warner as George Dixon. The programme ran for 367 episodes for the next 21 years.
1967 England's round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. For the ceremony, the Queen used a sword that had originally belonged to Sir Francis Drake.
1981 The Church of England decided that divorcees would be allowed to re-marry in a church ceremony.
1984 Georgina Clark became the first woman to umpire a Wimbledon final when she presided over the Martina Navratilova victory against Chris Evert.
1985 German tennis player Boris Becker, an unseeded 17 year old, became the youngest player to win the men's singles championship at Wimbledon.
1990 England goalkeeper Peter Shilton played the last of his 125 games for his country in the World Cup third-place play-off against Italy in Bari.
2001 The Prince of Wales answered a question about whether he planned to marry Camilla Parker Bowles with: "You can't be certain about anything."
2001 Two people were stabbed and many more were injured in running battles between white and Asian gangs in Bradford, Yorkshire.
2005 A series of bomb attacks on London's transport network killed 52 people and injured 700 others. It was the largest and deadliest terrorist attack in London's history.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the bombings had "the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda-related attack".
Prime Minister Tony Blair promised the "most intense police and security service action to make sure we bring those responsible to justice".
Mr Blair, who had returned to London from the G8 summit in Gleneagles, condemned the terrorists and paid tribute to the stoicism and resilience of the people of London.
"They are trying to use the slaughter of innocent people to cow us, to frighten us out of doing the things that we want to do," he said in a televised statement from Downing Street.
They "should not and they must not succeed," he said.
"We know that these people act in the name of Islam but we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims here and abroad are decent and law-abiding people who abhor those who do this every bit as much as we do," he added.
The Queen, who will visit some of those involved in the tragedy on Friday, said she was "deeply shocked" and sent her sympathy to those affected. The union jack flag was flying at half mast over Buckingham Palace.
Further details of the Queen's visit will be announced on Friday morning.
Blast timeline
0851 Seven people die in a blast on a train 100 yards from Liverpool Street station
0856 21 people die in a blast on a train between Russell Square and King's Cross stations
0917 Seven people die in blast on a train at Edgware Road station
0947 Two people die in a blast on a number 30 bus at Tavistock Place
US President George Bush told reporters at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles "the war on terror goes on."
Hundreds of thousands of commuters faced difficult journeys home from London on Thursday night after a day of travel chaos.
Many opted to walk while some booked into hotels.
By late afternoon, major routes out of London, including the M25 and M4, were jammed and motorists have been urged not to drive into the centre as many roads are shut.
All London Underground services have been suspended until at least Friday. Bus services have resumed in central London (Zone One) with diversions in affected areas. Most mainline train stations are open.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick confirmed 35 people had died in the blasts on the Underground.
He said there were 21 confirmed fatalities following the blast at 0856 BST on a Piccadilly Line train in a tunnel between King's Cross and Russell Square.
There were seven confirmed deaths after a blast at 0851 BST 100 yards into a tunnel from Liverpool Street station. The train involved was a Circle Line train.
And at 0917 BST an explosion on another Circle Line train coming into Edgware Road underground station blew a hole through a wall onto another train at an adjoining platform.
Three trains were thought to be involved and there were seven confirmed deaths so far, Mr Paddick said.
He said two had died in the bus blast at 0947 at the junction of Upper Woburn Place and Tavistock Square.
Two people died in the bus blast
There were also 700 people injured, Mr Paddick said.
London Ambulance Service said it had treated 45 patients with serious or critical injuries including burns, amputations, chest and blast injuries and fractured limbs. raveydavey
July 8th:
1497: Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon with four ships, in search of a sea route to India.
1822 Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet died. He drowned in Italy while sailing his small schooner Ariel to his home on the Gulf of Spezia. Hywel Bennet starred in a series based on his life whuich screened in the late 70's and early 80's.
1884 The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) was founded in London.
1918 National Savings stamps were introduced in Britain.
1941 Twenty B-17s flew on their first mission with the RAF over Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Watch The Memphis Belle for an idea of these lads bravery.
1961 For the first time since 1941, Britain provided both women finalists for the Wimbledon Ladies' singles title - Christine Truman and Angela Mortimer
1965 Ronald Biggs who was serving a 30-year prison sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery escaped from Wandsworth prison.
1967 Vivien Leigh, English film actress (films included Gone With The Wind) died.
1985 Britain lifted its trade ban with Argentina after the Falklands crisis ended. The Falklands was over in 1982 - was there much demand for Argie corned beef?
1986 British Steel made a profit for the first time in 17 years.
1988 A London double-decker bus parked in Battersea, was put on sale for �40,000. It had been converted into a luxury home to overcome rising property prices in the capital. I wonder what it's worth now?
1996 Three young children and four adults were attacked by a man with a machete at an infant school in Wolverhampton. Teacher Lisa Potts, (later awarded for her bravery), was badly injured protecting the children.
1996 A patent was filed by two British scientists to use genetically engineered mosquitoes to immunize their victims against malaria by transferring a protein in their saliva.
2000 J. K. Rowling's fourth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire went on sale, breaking all publishing records.
2005 The G8 summit in Gleneagles ended with a deal to boost aid for developing countries by almost �28 billion. raveydavey
July 9th:
1540 England's King Henry VIII had his six-month marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled. She was nicknamed The Flanders Mare.
1553 Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen of England in succession to Edward VI. Her reign lasted only nine days. Her successor was Mary I.
1877 The first Wimbledon Lawn Tennis championship was held at its original site at Worple Road. The men's singles title was won by Spencer Gore - beating fellow British player W.C. Marshall in three sets.
1887: Paper manufacturers John Dickenson introduced the first paper napkins at their annual dinner at the Castle Hotel, Hastings.
1900 Queen Victoria gave the Royal Assent to the Australian Federation Bill which set up of the Commonwealth of Australia in January 1901.
1901 Barbara Cartland, romantic novelist was born. She wrote more than 500 books.
1916 Edward Heath, British politician was born.
1922: 18-year-old Johnny Weissmuller swam the 100 metres in 58.6 seconds. He went on to play Tarzan in Hollywood.
1938 In anticipation of World War II, 35 million gas masks were issued to Britain's civilian population.
1947 Princess Elizabeth (the Queen) and Philip Mountbatten announced their engagement.
1973 Prince Charles enjoyed the Bahamas' last day as a British colony. He had hosted a formal reception at Government House, Nassau, the previous night for dignitaries from 52 countries overseeing the end of over 300 years of British sovereignty.
1982 Queen Elizabeth II woke to find an intruder (Michael Fagan) sitting at the end of her bed, raising further concerns about poor Palace security.
1984 A massive fire, caused by a lightning strike, devastated large parts of York Minster causing an estimated �1m damage.
1991 The closure of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International lost about 20 local councils up to �30m in investments.
1996 Nelson Mandela, on a state visit to Britain, was welcomed by crowds at Horse Guards Parade and the Mall. raveydavey
July 10th:
138 The death of the Roman Emperor Hadrian who ordered the building of a wall across northern England to keep out the 'barbarian Scottish tribes'.
1040 Lady Godiva rode naked on horseback through the streets of Coventry to force her husband, the Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes.
1460 In England's Wars of the Roses, the Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians and captured Henry VI at the Battle of Northampton.
1917: Birth of Reg Smythe, English cartoonist and creator of Andy Capp, a working-class anti-hero.
1940 World War II: The first in a long series of German bombing raids against Great Britain, as the Battle of Britain, which lasted three and a half months, began.
1943: Western Allies invade Sicily. British, Canadian and American troops arrive on the Mediterranean island of Sicily - largely unopposed.
1947 The Government announced that Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) would get extra clothing coupons for her wedding dress.
1954 Gordon Richards rode his last mount, at Sandown; the 21,834th of his almost 34-year racing career.
1958 Britain's first parking meters were installed, in Mayfair, London.
1972 William Whitelaw, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, broke the news that he had been involved in secret talks with the provisional IRA in London, as he announced that the two week ceasefire in Northern Ireland had come to an end.
1985 The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior was blown up in Auckland harbour, New Zealand. By the French, apparently.
1989: Footballer Maurice Johnson was transferred to Scotland�s Rangers FC for �1.5 million. He had to have a police guard, being the first Catholic to play for the club which had been exclusively Protestant.
1996 The battered bodies of Lin Russell, 6 year-old daughter Megan and 9 year old daughter Josie, were found half a mile from their home in Kent. Michael Stone, 38, was later found guilty of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and given three life sentences.
1996 Nelson Mandela received eight honorary degrees at Buckingham Palace.
1997 More than 100,000 people packed Hyde Park in London for a countryside rally to protest against Government proposals to ban fox hunting. The were ignored, in true New Labour fashion.
2000 Figures released by the government showed that one in four British homes were using the Internet. raveydavey
July 11th:
1274: Birth of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, who seized the throne in 1306, won the Battle of Bannockburn against the English in 1314, and united the clans.
1656 Ann Austin and Mary Fisher became the first Quakers to arrive in America and were promptly arrested. Five weeks later they were deported, back to England.
1776 Yorkshires Captain Cook sailed from Plymouth in the Resolution, accompanied by the Discovery, on his last expedition.
1848 London's Waterloo Station was officially opened.
1859 A Tale Of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, was published.
1884 Old Trafford (Scumchester) became England's 2nd official Test Match cricket ground (after the Kennington Oval in London).
1950 Puppets Andy Pandy, Teddy and Looby Loo first appeared on BBC TV. The episodes were repeated for more than 25 years, until the film wore out.
1974 The World Football League played its first games.
1977 In Britain, Gay News was fined �1,000 for publishing a poem that portrayed Jesus as homosexual.
1979: Skylab tumbles back to Earth. The space laboratory, Skylab I, plunges to Earth scattering debris across the southern Indian Ocean and the sparsely populated Australian desert.
1986 Inflation in Britain fell to 2.5%, the lowest since Dec 1967.
1987 War veterans returned to the scene of the bloodiest battle of World War I to commemorate its 70th anniversary. The fields of Passchendaele in Belgium claimed the lives of 250,000 troops of the British Commonwealth between July and November 1917.
1989 Laurence Olivier, English actor and director died.
1991 Labour MP Terry Fields was sentenced to 60 days in prison for refusing to pay his poll tax.
2000 The World Aids Conference in South Africa announced that trials for a new HIV vaccine would begin in Britain. raveydavey
July 12th:
100 BC: Birth of Gaius Julius Caesar. At the time of his birth this month was called Quintilis, but was renamed in honour of the most famous general in Roman history, who became a dictator.
290 Jews were expelled from England by order of King Edward I.
1543 England's Henry VIII married Catherine Parr, his sixth and last wife, at Hampton Court Palace.
1690 William of Orange defeated the deposed Catholic, King James II, at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.
1730 Josiah Wedgewood, pottery designer and manufacturer was born.
1794 British admiral Horatio Nelson lost his right eye at the siege of Calvi, in Corsica.
1910 Charles Rolls, aged 33, pioneering pilot and co-founder of Rolls-Royce, was killed when he crashed his biplane in a flying competition at Bournemouth.
1930: Don Bradman, the Australian batsman, hit 309 runs in one day in the Test at Headingley, Leeds. He broke records not only for the most runs in a single day, but with his final score of 334.
1932 Yorkshire cricketer Hedley Verity took 10 wickets for 10 runs in a county championship match against Nottinghamshire at Headingley, Leeds.
1969 Tony Jacklin became the first British golfer since 1951 to win the Open Championship.
1974 The manager of Liverpool football club, Bill Shankly announced his retirement.
1982 Kenneth More, British actor died.
1984 Robert Maxwell bought the Mirror Group newspapers.
1986 Dozens were injured in the second consecutive night of violent riots in Portadown, County Armagh. Violence flared when Orangemen converged on the town after their annual marches to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne (1690).
1989 Judy Leden became the first woman to cross the English Channel by hang glider. She was launched from a hot air balloon 13,500 ft above Dover and completed the flight in less than 30 minutes.
1989: In a court in Cleveland, Ohio, a shouting woman, who had been convicted for stealing jewellery, was ordered by the judge to have her mouth taped shut. This is the sort of judiciary we need.
2000 House of Commons Speaker Betty Boothroyd announced that she would resign from the high-profile post and her seat before the General Election. raveydavey
July 13th:
1527: Birth of John Dee, English alchemist and mathematician. He was astrologer to Mary Tudor before being imprisoned for practising magic. He was not disgraced for long, casting horoscopes for Elizabeth I and naming the day for her coronation. He also advised navigators and explorers. The real importance of his work lay in encouraging an interest in mathematics, though he was more popular for the �magic shows� which he gave while touring the courts of Europe.
1713 A treaty signed between Great Britain and Spain at Utrecht ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity.
1837 Queen Victoria became the first sovereign to move into Buckingham Palace.
1911 The night of the 1911 census. A suffragette hid in a broom cupboard in the House of Commons so that she could record The House of Commons as her address, �thus making my claim to the same right as men�.
1919 The British airship R-34 crossed the Atlantic, both ways, in 13 days.
1943 The Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history, involving some 6,000 tanks, 2,000,000 troops, and 4,000 aircraft, ended in defeat for Germany.
1955 Nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis became the last woman to be hanged in Britain - executed at Holloway Prison for the murder of her lover David Blakely.
1967 In the heat of the mountain stage of the Tour de France, British cyclist Tony Simpson, 29, collapsed and died.
1973: The Everly Brothers disbanded in mid-concert in California: Phil smashed his guitar and left Don on stage to finish the gig by himself.
1983 The House of Commons voted 361-245 against the restoration of the death penalty.
1985 Two simultaneous 'Live Aid' concerts, one in London (Wembley Stadium) and one in Philadelphia, raised over �50 million for famine victims in Africa. Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially opened Live Aid (so it says here, I thought it was Richard Skinner instroducing Status Quo myself) . The 16-hour 'super concert' was globally linked by satellite to more than a billion viewers in 110 nations.
1991 Bryan Adams went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Everything I Do I Do It For You from the film Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves. It stayed at No.1 for a record breaking 16 weeks, and was also a No.1 in the US and 16 other countries. Robin Hood is of course from Yorkshire.
1993 Officials in Scumchester bidding to hold the 2000 Olympic Games were told that their chances were 'very, very high'. Their bid was not successful.
1995 The first man in Britain to be prosecuted under the War Crimes Act appeared at Epsom Magistrates, when Szymon Serafimowicz, aged 84, was charged with murdering 4 million Jews in 1941 and 1942. Garp
raveydavey wrote:
July 13th:
1713 A treaty signed between Great Britain and Spain at Utrecht ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity.
Sounds like a long time
raveydavey
July 14th:
Bastille Day, the national day of France, commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789. The Bastille in Paris was the notorious state prison. It was razed to the ground, marking the beginning of the Revolution.
1766 The official opening of the 137 mile long Grand Union Canal (Britain's longest canal) that links London to Birmingham.
1858 Emmeline Pankhurst, the English suffragette who led the fight for women's suffrage in Britain by violent means, was born.
1865 British climber Edward Whymper led the first team of climbers to reach the summit of the Matterhorn in the Alps. As they made their way down, Douglas Hadow, aged 19, slipped and dragged 2 English climbers and a guide after him. The rope snapped and they plunged to their deaths down a 4,000 ft precipice.
1867 Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel demonstrated dynamite for the first time, at a quarry in Redhill, Surrey.
1903 It became known that the government would reject proposals to introduce driving tests, vehicle inspections and penalties for drunken drivers. How times have changed.
1939 The government announced that all infants and nursing mothers would get fresh milk free or at no more than two pence a pint.
1940 World War II: Britain tackled the threat of a German invasion by forming the Home Guard - a part-time volunteer army, generally comprising men too old for national service.
1958 Iraq became a republic after the assassignation of King Faisal.
1962 The Beatles played their first gig in Wales when they appeared at The Regent Dansette Theatre in Rhyl. The tickets cost five shillings.
1967 Abortion was legalized in Britain.
1991 British troops protecting the Kurdish population in Iraq began to pull out of the region.
1996 A bomb exploded in a hotel at Enniskillen in Northern Ireland in which 40 people were injured. It was the first bomb in the province for two years.
1997 Convicted murderer and former London gangster Reggie Kray married Roberta Jones at Maidstone Prison in Kent. Even he'd be shocked at "Broken Britain" today if he were still alive. raveydavey
July 15th:
971 According to the legend of St. Swithin, if it rains today, it will be the start of forty days of rain. St Swithin was bishop of Winchester Cathedral, and asked to be buried outside it so that he would be exposed to �the feet of passers-by and the drops falling from above�. Oh bugger - it's raining here...
1099: The Muslim governor of Jerusalem surrendered to the Crusaders in the Tower of David. The Crusaders were led by Godfrey and Robert of Flanders and Tancred of Normandy.
1685 Charles II's illegitimate son (the Duke of Monmouth) was executed for rebelling against James II. His head was then put back on his shoulders so that his portrait could be painted.
1815 French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to Captain Maitland aboard the English ship Bellerophon, at Rochefort, before being sent into exile on the island of St Helena.
1857 200 British men, women and children were chopped up by local butchers and thrown down a well at Cawnpore, as the Indian Mutiny continued.
1865 The birth of Alfred (Charles William) Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe. Northcliffe introduced the first tabloid newspaper, the Daily Mail, followed later by the Daily Mirror. He also took over The Times in 1908, and improved its declining sales.
1881: Death of Billy the Kid (William H Bonney), the notorious outlaw. He had broken out of jail and was trying to escape re-arrest, when he was shot in New Mexico by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Billy the Kid was 12 when he first killed a man, and went on to murder 21 more people.
1912 National Insurance payments began in Britain.
1948 Alcoholics Anonymous, in existence in the USA since 1935, was founded in London.
1953 Murderer John Christie, responsible for the deaths of at least six women in his home at 10, Rillington Place, London, was hanged. He was from Halifax, you know.
1966 A West Indian, refused a job at Euston Station was later employed there after managers overturned a ban on black workers.
1971 The British Government endorsed a cull of 350 baby seals in The Wash, under legislation aimed at protecting the seal population from over-crowding and being killed indiscriminately.
1977 The government announced a 10% pay restriction on wages to help curb inflation.
1996 Prince Charles and Princess Diana were granted a decree nisi. Princess Diana could no longer be addressed as Her Royal Highness but was to be known as Diana, Princess of Wales.
1997: Versace murdered on his doorstep. Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace is shot dead on the steps of his Miami mansion.
2000 Two men caught on camera for dangerous driving escaped prosecution in a landmark case, as it had violated their human rights. raveydavey
July 16th:
This day in 622 is traditionally regarded as the beginning of the Islamic Era. Muhammad fled to Medina from persecution in Mecca, in what is known as the hegira, Arabic for �flight�.
1439 Kissing was banned in England because of the Plague.
1902 Eight bills for the building of London underground lines received their second reading in the House of Commons.
1918: In a cellar in a house in Ekaterinburg, the entire Russian royal family was shot by the Bolsheviks: Tsar Nicholas II, the princesses, the servants, the family doctor, and even the dog.
1945 The leaders of the three Allied nations (Winston Churchill, Harry S Truman and Josef Stalin) gathered in the German city of Potsdam to decide the future of a defeated Germany.
1945: In New Mexico, the first atomic bomb developed by Robert Oppenheimer and his team at Los Alamos was detonated. It was the official beginning of the atomic age.
1950: 205,000 people formed the largest crowd ever to attend a football match. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil lost 1-2 in the Brazil-Uruguay World Cup match.
1955 Stirling Moss won the British Grand Prix at the Aintree track near Liverpool - the first time an Englishman had triumphed in the race.
1964 The Rolling Stones had their first UK No.1 single with It's All Over Now.
1969: Apollo 11 takes off for the Moon. The Apollo 11 space rocket takes off from Cape Kennedy at the start of the first attempt to land a man on the Moon.
1970 Prime Minister Edward Heath declared a state of emergency following the start of a national dock strike - the first state of emergency issued in Britain since 1926.
1987 The two biggest airlines in the UK (One time rivals British Caledonian and British Airways) merged in order to compete with America's giant air corporations.
1988 Lord Harewood, the Queen�s cousin, brought in police to investigate the theft of the world�s smallest horse, Pernod, a 27-inch-high Shetland stallion.
1993 Britain's internal security service, MI5, held the first photocall in its 84-year history when Stella Rimington (Director General) posed openly for cameras at the launch of a brochure outlining the organisation's activities.
1996 Diana, Princess of Wales, announced that she was severing links with more than 100 charities.
2000 Footballer George Best's doctor begged every barman in Britain to refuse to serve alcohol to the footballing legend to help him beat his addiction.
2001 Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged that public services could not be transformed totally within the coming Parliament. Or indeed the following one, it would seem....
2001 The Labour Government was defeated in the House of Commons for the first time since it came to power in 1997. 30 Mill
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1988 Lord Harewood, the Queen�s cousin, brought in police to investigate the theft of the world�s smallest horse, Pernod, a 27-inch-high Shetland stallion.
July 16th 1988 - Do you have an alibi for this date Armley? raveydavey
July 17th:
1761 The official opening of the Bridgewater canal.
1790: The first sewing machine was patented by Thomas Saint of London.
1841 The first issue of the humorous magazine Punch was published in London. It ceased publication in 1992 but was re-launched in 1996.
1917 World War 1: The British Royal Family adopted the name of the House of Windsor in place of their German family name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
1958 British troops were sent to Jordan to deal with unrest there. Peter Andre was less than happy at this news.
1960 The Beatles began a three-month engagement at The Indra Club in Hamburg, Germany, their first appearance outside Britain.
1964 British speed pioneer Sir Donald Campbell set a new land speed world record of 429mph in his car, Bluebird.
1968: Premiere of Yellow Submarine, the animated film with a soundtrack by the Beatles.
1974 An explosion in the Tower of London left one person dead and 41 injured. The incident happened without the coded warning typical of the IRA.
1981 The Humber Estuary Bridge was officially opened by the Queen. For 16 years after its construction it was the world's longest single-span structure.
1987 Former Guinness director Thomas Ward was ordered to repay �5.2m to the brewing giants after being found guilty of illegal practices during the takeover of drinks company Distillers Group the previous year.
1995 Robbie Williams left Take That, leaving them as a 'fab four'. The group had scored six UK No.1 singles with Robbie in the group.
2000 British supermarket Tesco decided to revive imperial measures in its stores after shoppers' pressure.
2001 Michael Portillo was dropped from the Tory leadership contest after coming third in a final ballot of MPs. raveydavey
July 18th:
1817 Jane Austen, English novelist of Pride and Prejudice died, aged 41.
1848 W.G Grace, cricketing legend, was born
1870: The Vatican Council proclaimed the dogma of Papal infallibility in faith and morals - that is, that the Pope could not be mistaken in these matters.
1872 Britain introduced the concept of voting by secret ballot.
1877: Edison had his first success in his experiments with recording and storing the sounds of the human voice. He worked to improve his methods, and early the next year he demonstrated his invention at the offices of the Scientific American.
1901 The water supply was turned off in Scumchester as a heat wave hit the U.K. with the temperature reaching 35 degrees Centigrade.
1920 The unveiling of the Cenotaph War memorial in Whitehall, London to commemorate the war dead. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and takes its name from the Greek words kenos and taphos meaning empty tomb.
1923 Under the Matrimonial Causes Bill, British women were given equal divorce rights with men.
1925: Publication of Hitler�s Mein Kampf (My Struggle), written while he was in jail.
1934 The official opening, by King George V, of the first Mersey Road Tunnel in Liverpool.
1936: General Francisco Franco led the army in a revolt against Spain�s Republican government, beginning over three years of Civil War.
1950 Richard Branson, British entrepreneur, was born.
1955: Disneyland opened at Anaheim, California. It had cost $17 million to build Walt Disney�s 160-acre theme park.
1970 Radio 1 DJ Kenny Everett was sacked after he joked on air that the wife of the conservative transport minister, Mary Peyton, had 'crammed a fiver into the examiner's hand', when taking her driving test.
1975 Former British MP John Stonehouse was flown back from Australia to face charges relating to his attempt to falsify his own death.
1992 John Smith was elected leader of the Labour party, with Margaret Beckett as his deputy. How different things could have been.
2000 Police confirmed that the body they had found in a West Sussex field the previous day was that of missing eight-year old Sarah Payne.
2003 The body of government scientist Dr David Kelly was found in woodland, in Oxfordshire. Dr Kelly had been at the centre of a row between the British Government and the BBC about the use of intelligence reports in the run up to the war against Iraq. raveydavey
July 19th:
1545 The Mary Rose, the pride of Henry VIII's battle fleet, sank in the Solent with the loss of 700 lives. (The ship was raised on 11th October 1982 to be taken to Portsmouth Dockyard.)
1553 Lady Jane Grey was replaced by Mary I as Queen of England after having the title for just nine days.
1814: Birth of Samuel Colt. Colt spent time at sea, during which he created a six-shot revolver out of wood. He patented his invention in 1835, but it was not immediately successful, and his manufacturing business suffered. His guns had gained popularity by the time he invented the first remote-controlled naval mine, and Colt made his fortune. He was a progressive businessman, with advanced ideas about the welfare of his workers.
1837 Isambard Kingdom Brunel's 236 ft steamship, the Great Western, was launched at Bristol. On the same day in 1843, his 'Great Britain', the first Atlantic liner built of iron, was launched at Wapping Dock. It ended up a rusting ruin in the Falkland Islands, but was brought back to Britain on this day in 1970.
1903: The first Tour de France cycle race, devised and promoted by journalist Henri Desgranger, saw its first winner as Maurice Garin crossed the finish line.
1918 The end of World War I approached as the German army began retreating across the Marne River in France.
1941 Winston Churchill introduced his 'V for Victory" campaign which rapidly spread through Europe. The BBC took the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which matched the dot-dot-dot-dash Morse code for the letter V, and played it before news bulletins.
1969 British rower John Fairfax arrived at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after becoming the first person to row across the Atlantic alone. He had left the Canary Islands on January 20th in a 24� rowing boat and after 180 days and 4000 miles he had finished his journey. Three years later, with his girl friend, he rowed the 8000 miles from San Francisco to the Hayman Islands off the Queensland Coast
1976 British fishermen urged the Foreign Secretary, Anthony Crosland, to secure a 50-mile fishing zone around the UK.
1986 English boxer Frank Bruno was beaten in a heavyweight world championship contender fight by American Tim Witherspoon.
1990 MPs voted in favour of permanent televising of the House of Commons.
1997 The Irish Republican Army (IRA) restored its cease-fire (broken on 9 February 1996) in order to participate in talks on the future of Northern Ireland.
1999 An academic study revealed that four million children in Britain were living in "poverty". While many of the aims of this study are laudable, the fact you are living in "poverty" if you don't have central heating in your home is laughable.
2001 Ex Conservative MP Lord Jeffrey Archer, was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice and sentenced to four years in prison. raveydavey
July 20th:
1588: The Spanish Armada set sail from Coru�a. They had originally intended to sail a month earlier, but a severe storm forced the fleet to disperse.
1807 Round-arm (over-arm) bowling was introduced to English cricket by John Willes in the Kent v England match at Fenenden Heath.
1837 London�s first railway station opened, in Euston Grove. The new Euston station was described as �mightier than the pyramids of Egypt�.
1871 The English Football Association Challenge Cup Competition was formed, to become better known as the FA Cup. The first final saw the Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers by one goal to nil, watched by a crowd of 2,000.
1875: Professional football was legalized in England.
1889 John Reith, Scottish engineer and first director general of the BBC, was born.
1938 Diana Rigg, English actress, was born.
1940: In the US, Billboard published the first singles charts. No. 1 was �I�ll Never Smile Again� by the Tommy Dorsey Band, vocal by Frank Sinatra.
1944 World War II: Adolf Hitler escaped death after a third attempt on his life when a bomb exploded in Rastenberg.
1957: British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan invited ridicule when he said �Let�s be frank about it. Most of our people have never had it so good,� at a meeting in Bradford, and again five days later in the House of Commons. It became a catchphrase, spoken in the same derisory tones as his nickname, �Supermac�.
1968 During a BBC radio interview, actress Jane Asher announced that her engagement to Beatle Paul McCartney was off. He was not the first to find out!
1982 An IRA terrorist bomb in Hyde Park, London, killed 3 members of the Blues and Royals during the Changing of the Guard ceremony. Two hours later 8 bandsmen were killed by an IRA bomb planted at the bandstand in Regent's Park.
1990 An IRA bomb blew a 10-foot hole in the London Stock Exchange.
2000 Families of the victims of serial killer GP Harold Shipman won their High Court battle for an open inquiry into how their loved ones came to die.
2002 Charles Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, and his fiancee Sarah Gurling, were married in the House of Commons chapel.
2003 The BBC confirmed that weapons expert Dr David Kelly, found dead two days earlier, was the source for reports that the government had "sexed up" an Iraq dossier. raveydavey
July 21st:
National day of Belgium, marking the day in 1831 when Belgium broke from the Netherlands to become a kingdom in its own right. Prince Leopold became King Leopold I of Belgium. This is quite possibly the most interesting fact about Belgium.
1796 Robert Burns, Scottish poet died, aged 37.
1897 London's Tate Gallery, built on the site of the Millbank Prison, was opened, with 67 paintings.
1909 Six suffragettes, jailed for breaking windows in Whitehall, were released for insubordination, kicking and biting female wardens and for going on strike.
1931 A Bill proposing the sterilisation of the mentally defective was defeated in the House of Commons.
1960 English yachtsman Francis Chichester docked in New York in his boat Gypsy Moth II - setting a new record of 40 days for a solo crossing of the Atlantic.
1962 British group The Rolling Stones made their first public appearance at the Marquee Club in London.
1969: Man takes first steps on the Moon. American Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the Moon. Possibly.
1974 The Police national computer (PNC) began operating.
1976 The British Ambassador to Ireland, Christopher Ewart-Biggs, was killed by a terrorist car bomb in Dublin.
1982 The flagship of the British taskforce to the Falklands, HMS Hermes, arrived back in Portsmouth.
1994 The MP for Sedgefield, Tony Blair, was confirmed as the new leader of the Labour Party following the unexpected death of John Smith. The euphoria would soon be replaced with contempt and shame.
2000 Downing Street insisted they would not intervene after Home Secretary Jack Straw's car was stopped by the police for speeding. As well all know it's one rule for them and another for the rest of us....
2001 Police met community leaders in Brixton after a demonstration against the fatal shooting by police of a man waving a cigarette lighter shaped like a gun.
2005 London's underground network was plunged into chaos after explosions on two trains and a bus - exactly a fortnight after four suicide bomb blasted the capital. 30 Mill
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2001 Police met community leaders in Brixton after a demonstration against the fatal shooting by police of a man waving a cigarette lighter shaped like a gun.
A darwin award candidate raveydavey
July 22nd:
National day of Poland.
1298 The English used longbows for the first time, when they defeated the Scots at the Battle of Falkirk. The Scottish pikemen were cut to pieces by Edward I's archers.
1812 The Duke of Wellington defeated the French in the Battle of Salamanca, in Spain.
1844 The Rev. William Archibald Spooner, Anglican clergyman and warden of New College, Oxford, was born. He was famous for 'Spoonerisms' such as 'Come into the arms of the shoving leopard' instead of 'Come into the arms of the loving shepherd'.
1934: Death of bank robber John Dillinger, �public enemy No. 1�. J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, had offered a $10,000 reward for his capture, dead or alive. FBI agents received a tip-off that a particular man coming out of the Biograph Cinema, Chicago, would be Dillinger. The man appeared in the crowd, and when he appeared to reach for a gun, the agents shot him dead. However, some people have compared US Naval records of Dillinger�s description when he was a crewman, and suspect that he was not the man who was shot.
1938 Terence Stamp, actor, was born, in Stepney, London. He had an off-screen romance with Julie Christie, while they were filming Far from the Madding Crowd.
1946 More than a year after the end of World War Two, bread was rationed in Britain. The shortage was blamed on a poor harvest and drought.
1965 The leader of the Opposition, Alec Douglas-Home, surprised colleagues by resigning from his post.
1972 Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Sweden for possession of drugs.
1986 MPs voted to abolish corporal punishment in state schools.
1991 British prime minister John Major unveiled the government's Citizen's Charter aimed at improving public services.
1997 Diana, Princess of Wales was among 3,000 people at a Mass in Milan in memory of murdered Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace.
1999 The first Royal Horticultural Society Flower Show in the North of England was held at Tatton Park in Cheshire.
2003 Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein, were killed in a gun battle in northern Iraq.
2005 Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was mistaken for a terrorist suspect and was shot dead at Stockwell Tube station in south London. raveydavey
July 23rd:
The National days of Ethiopia and the United Arab Republic.
1745 Charles Stuart, the 'Young Pretender' landed in the Outer Hebrides in his attempt to win back the throne for the Stuarts.
1884: The Australian owner and crew of four on a yacht sailing from Britain to Sydney, were forced to abandon ship when the pump failed during a storm. Their provisions ran out; the cabin boy drank sea water and went mad. The others dealt with the problem by killing and eating him on this day. They were eventually rescued, and made no effort to hide what they had done. They were tried and sentenced to death, but as a result of public sympathy their sentence was reduced to six months� imprisonment.
1886 Arthur Whitten Brown, British aviator was born. He was the navigator of the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight, (14th June 1919), with John Alcock as pilot.
1892: Birth of Ras Tafari Makonnen, Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia. He modernized his country, but went into exile when the Italians invaded in 1936. Ethiopia was liberated by British and Ethiopian forces in 1941, whereupon he returned and resumed his position.
1901 Tim Henman's great-grandmother (Ellen Stawell Brown) became the first woman to serve overarm at the All England Tennis Club.
1913 Michael Foot, Former Labour Party leader (1980-83), was born.
1940 The Local Defence Volunteers were renamed the Home Guard by Winston Churchill.
1943: In Essex, there was a huge explosion when a grenade mine designed to blow up tanks, went off under the seat of a wheelchair occupied by a domestic tyrant. The man was accompanied by a resident nurse, and she survived, but there was no trace left of the wheelchair or its occupant. The man�s son, Eric, a soldier, who had been on the receiving end of his father�s tyranny, was charged with murder. He was found guilty, but insane. Parents, eh?
1955 British speed enthusiast Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record on Ullswater in the Lake District when he reached 202.32mph in his craft 'Bluebird'.
1957 There were violent scenes around Britain as the strike by busmen entered its fourth day.
1980 Cliff Richard received his OBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
1984 A government report into cancer levels near the controversial nuclear plant at Sellafield in Cumbria confirmed suspicions of higher than-normal levels of leukaemia in the area, but said it could not definitely link this to the nuclear plant itself.
1986 Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson and was created Duke of York.
1995 Britain sent 1,200 troops to relieve the besieged Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.
1996 The BSE scare was extended to sheep after research showed that mad cow disease could be transmitted to sheep in laboratory tests.
1997 Tony Blair's Government announced that students would have to pay tuition fees and that maintenance grants would be abolished.
1997 History was made when for the first time in 127 years hen harriers were raised in Derbyshire, 1500 feet above the Goyt Valley near Buxton. raveydavey
July 24th:
1567 Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned and forced to abdicate her throne to her 1 year old son, James VI of Scotland - (James I of England).
1701: The city of Detroit was founded by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, administrator in French North America, as a fur trading post which he called Font-Pontchartain du D�troit.
1704: Gibraltar was captured from Spain by Admiral Sir George Rooke and Sir Cloudesley Shovel.
1837 Robert Cocking made a parachute jump from a hot air balloon 5,000 feet above Kennington Common. Unfortunately the cone-shaped parachute inverted and he became the first person to die in a parachute jump.
1851 The window tax in Britain was abolished.
1883 Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English channel (1875) drowned whilst attempting to swim the rapids at Niagara Falls.
1908 Fifty six runners began the London Marathon from Windsor Castle as part of the London Olympic Games.
1926 The first greyhound racing track in the UK was opened, at Belle Vue, in Scumchester.
1936 The GPO (General Post Office) introduced TIM - the automated speaking clock using the voice of Miss Ethel Cain - a telephonist at the GPO's Victoria telephone exchange in London.
1966 After a local and national campaign, the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles first performed, was re-opened. Prime Minister Harold Wilson performed the opening ceremony.
1986 'Live Aid' organiser Bob Geldof was made an honorary knight of the most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
1987 Former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, Jeffrey Archer, was awarded record libel damages at the High Court. The Daily Star newspaper was ordered to pay the MP �500,000 damages, along with up to �700,000 costs, for a front-page story in November 1986 alleging that Mr. Archer had paid to have sex with a prostitute.
1996 Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen's Christmas broadcast would no longer be a BBC exclusive.
2000 Loyalist paramilitary hit man Michael Stone was released from the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. He was given a 684 year sentence in 1989 for six murders and five attempted murders, but was set free as part of the Good Friday peace agreement. 30 Mill
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Now THAT is an oustandingly British name, none of your Jermaine's Dwayne's, or Brooklyn's raveydavey
July 25th:
1797 British naval commander Horatio Nelson's right arm was shattered by grapeshot during an assault on Tenerife. The injured arm was amputated later. He's not the only Brit to have sustained an injury there.
1814 The chief engineer at the Killingworth colliery, George Stevenson, unveiled Blutcher, his steam powered locomotive that could haul eight carriages loaded with 30 tons of coal at the break-neck speed of 4 mph.
1834 Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet (whose works included 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner') died.
1843 Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and inventor died. He invented waterproof clothing, hence the term macintosh or mac.
1865 Dr. James (Jane) Barry, the first woman doctor (because she masqueraded as a man), died.
1907 Sir Robert Baden-Powell began an experimental camp on Brownsea Island near Poole to test the feasibility of Scouting. Four days later he formed the Boy Scout organisation.
1917: The Dutch spy Mata Hari (Margaretha Geertruida Zelle) was sentenced to death.
1944 The first jet fighter to engage an enemy in combat was a Messerschmitt 262, over Munich, when it was intercepted by a Mosquito of 544 Squadron.
1948 Bread rationing in Britain ended.
1959 A hovercraft, the SRN 1, made its first English Channel crossing from Dover to Calais.
1962 In London, the Buckingham Palace Art Gallery officially opened to the public.
1978 The first test-tube baby in Britain was born Louise Joy Brown, at Oldham General Hospital, Lancashire. It had taken 12 years of research by gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe and Dr Robert Edwards to make the birth possible. Louise weighed 5lb 12 oz and was delivered by caesarean section.
1992: World unites at Barcelona Olympics. The Olympic Games opens in Barcelona with all countries present for the first time in modern history.
2000: Concorde crash kills 113. Concorde crashes minutes after take-off from Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris killing 113 people.
2002 The Queen opened the Commonwealth Games in Scumchester. Around one million visitors are thought to have gone to Scumchester to see the event live and the world television audience was estimated to top one billion. raveydavey
July 26th:
1745 The first recorded women's cricket match was played near Guildford, Surrey, between teams from Hambledon and Bramley.
1845 The Great Britain, (the first iron ship designed by Brunel), sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage.
1858 Lionel Rothschild took his seat in the House of Commons to become Britain's first Jewish member of Parliament.
1890 From the roof of the General Post Office in Aldersgate, Guglielmo Marconi made the first public transmission of wireless (radio) signals.
1943 Mick Jagger, British rock singer with the Rolling Stones, was born.
1943 World War II: The Allies mounted one of the largest raids of the war � sending more than 1,000 aircraft to bomb the German industrial city of Hamburg. An estimated 60,000 people were killed.
1945 Winston Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister after his Conservatives were defeated by the Labour Party in a landslide victory. Clement Attlee became Prime Minister. He said: 'Labour can deliver the goods'.
1958 In Britain, debutantes were presented at the Royal Court for the last time.
1983 A mother of 10 failed to prevent doctors prescribing contraception to under 16s without parental consent.
1989 56-year-old Leslie Merry was knocked off his feet, a rib broken and his spleen ruptured, by a turnip thrown from a passing car in east London. He finally died of respiratory failure brought on by the accident.
1990 It was announced that the Fraud Squad would investigate the National Union of Mineworkers' accounts over Soviet miners' untraced donations.
2001 Prime Minister Tony Blair was greeted by dozens of angry farmers in crisis-torn Cumbria on a visit to help boost the region's struggling tourist industry following the foot and mouth crisis. eddiesleftfoot
Jagger becomes a pensioner today?? Time to quit methinks. raveydavey
July 27th:
1586 Sir Walter Raleigh brought the first tobacco to England, from Virginia.
Within hours groups of youths were hanging round outside his house asking if he had any spare....
1694 The Bank of England was founded by act of Parliament.
1866 The Great Eastern arrived at Heart's Content in Newfoundland, having successfully laid the transatlantic telegraph cable. More good work courtesy of Mr Brunel.
1914 British troops invaded the streets of Dublin, Ireland, and began to disarm Irish rebels.
1929: Birth of Jack Higgins (Harry Patterson), author of The Eagle Has Landed. He was a senior lecturer in education for mature students at a Leeds college.
1942 The Battle of El Alamein ended after 17 days, with the British having prevented the German and Italian advance into Egypt.
1944 The first British jet fighter was used in combat, the Gloster Meteor.
1949 The British De Havilland Comet, the first jet-propelled airliner, made its maiden flight. It was a 40-passenger airliner.
1958 Christopher Dean, British ice skater was born.
1965 Shadow Chancellor Edward Heath beat off his rivals to become the new leader of the Conservative Party.
1969 English rower Tom McLean arrived off the Irish coast to become the first man to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean - from west to east - a distance of 2000 miles. His voyage took 72 days.
1974 At Ascot, another win for English champion jockey Lester Piggott in his 3,000th race.
1978 Two British balloonists battling to be the first to cross the Atlantic got into difficulties half way across the ocean. Their balloon finally collapsed into the sea, just 110 miles from land.
1985 English athlete Steve Cram set a new world record for the mile at 3 minutes 46.32 seconds in Oslo.
1988 British pole vault record holder Jeff Gutteridge was banned for life by the British Amateur Athletic Board for taking steroids.
2000: Labour publishes plans to revolutionise NHS. The Labour Government announces the most radical re-organisation of the NHS since it was founded in 1948. Looking back I think we'd all agree that it has been a roaring success.
2003: Comic legend Bob Hope dies. American icon and legendary comedian Bob Hope dies just two months after celebrating his 100th birthday. raveydavey
July 28th:
1540 Thomas Cromwell, Chancellor to Henry VIII and his chief minister, was executed. He was beheaded on Tower Hill for promoting the king's failed marriage to Anne of Cleves. Henry also married Catherine Howard (his 5th wife) on the same day.
1586 Thomas Harriot was credited with bringing the first potato to Britain, (from Colombia) ahead of Sir Walter Raleigh.
1858 Fingerprints were first used as a means of identification by William Herschel, who later established a fingerprint register.
1865 A crowd of 100,000 watched the last public execution in Scotland when Dr. Edward Pritchard was hanged for poisoning his wife and mother-in-law.
1866 Beatrix Potter, English author and illustrator was born. When she died in 1943 she left her house to the National Trust, conditionally that it be kept exactly as she left it.
1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, beginning World War I.
1929: Birth of Jacqueline Bouvier, later Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of John F Kennedy. After Kennedy was assassinated, she went on to marry the millionaire shipowner Aristotle Onassis after he rejected Maria Callas.
1937: The former Rector of Stiffkey, Harold Davidson, was mauled by a lion. He was reduced to performing in showgrounds to earn a living, and part of his act involved putting his head into a lion�s mouth. He died two days after the incident.
1943 The worst British bombing raid on Hamburg so far during World War II virtually set the city on fire. In just 43 minutes, 2,326 tons of bombs killed 42,000 German civilians.
1959: The Postmaster-General introduced postcodes and new sorting machines into the Royal Mail. LS11 0ES is my favourite postcode.
1972 Thousands of British dockers began an official strike to safeguard jobs.
1977 Cricketer Ian Botham made his Test debut for England.
1986: Disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh, a 25-year-old executive for a London estate agent. She left her office in Fulham at 12.40 pm to show a house to a �Mr Kipper�. Her car was later found abandoned, but Lamplugh herself remains missing.
1987 23 year old British golfer Laura Davis won the U.S. Women's Open, becoming the first British woman ever to win the prestigious event.
1988 The MP for Yeovil, Paddy Ashdown, was elected the first leader of the new Social and Liberal Democrat Party.
2005 The IRA formally ordered an end to its armed campaign and said it would pursue exclusively peaceful means. raveydavey
July 29th:
1565 Mary, Queen of Scots married her cousin Lord Darnley (Henry Stuart) in the Old Abbey Chapel at Holyrood, Edinburgh, thus alienating Scottish protestants and England because Darnley was a Catholic heir to the throne. Married her cousin? Was she from Dewsbury?
1588 The Spanish Armada was sighted off the coast of Cornwall. The English fleet under the command of Charles Howard and Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth, to establish the birth of British naval supremacy.
1833 William Wilberforce, English campaigner for the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire died, a month before the Slavery Abolition Act was passed.
1907: Baden-Powell officially formed the Boy Scouts. This was the fruition of his earlier success in creating a camp on Brownsea Island, off Poole, Dorset.
1913 The birth of Jo Grimond, British politician and Liberal party leader.
1930 The airship R100 began its first passenger-carrying flight from England to Canada.
1938 Dennis the Menace first appeared in the 'Beano' comic
1948 King George VI opened the 14th Olympic Games opened in London - the first time the Games had been held in 12 years, due to World War II.
1964 The Brook Advisory Clinic opened to give family planning advice to unmarried couples.
1966 British pop group The Beatles made their last live appearance - in San Francisco.
1970 John Barbirolli, English conductor died.
1976 Fire destroyed the famous pierhead at the end of the world's longest pier, in Southend, on England's south-east coast.
1981 The Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer at London's St Paul's Cathedral. The televised ceremony was watched by over 700 million viewers around the world.
1993 Charges were dropped against two youths accused of murdering black teenager Stephen Lawrence.
2001 A victim support group condemned a reported �11,000 compensation offer to the parents of murdered seven-year-old Sarah Payne as 'derisory'. raveydavey
July 30th:
1718 William Penn, English Quaker leader and founder of the American colony of Pennsylvania died.
1818 Emily Bront�, English novelist and author of Wuthering Heights was born in Thornton, near Bradford, Yorkshire. The family later moved to Haworth where the world famous Bronte parsonage remains to this day.
1900 London Underground's Central Line was opened by the Prince of Wales, with a two pence (tuppence) fare for all destinations.
1935 'Penguin' paperback books, founded by Allen Lane, went on sale in Britain.
1940 Sir Clive Sinclair, inventor and pioneer of the first home computers (Sinclair ZX81 and Spectrum) was born.
1948 The world's first radar station was opened, to assist shipping at the port of Liverpool.
1958 Daley Thompson, British athlete was born.
1963 Kim Philby, British intelligence officer from 1940 and Soviet agent from 1933, fled to the USSR.
1966 England won the Football World Cup in London, beating West Germany 4 - 2. This was England's first (and only) win since the tournament began in 1930. England forward Geoff Hurst became the only man to score a hat-trick in a world cup final.
1968 The Beatles closed the Apple Boutique, and gave clothes away for free to passers-by.
1968: Don Jones of Ventura County, the Californian state public defender, was fined for being too fat. He weighed 238 lb, or 17 stone.
1973 British victims of the drug Thalidomide were awarded �20 million compensation as their 11 year case against the Distillers company ended in victory.
1991 Italian tenor Pavarotti celebrated 30 years in opera with a huge, free concert in Hyde Park.
2000 The News of the World came under mounting pressure to end its 'name and shame' campaign against paedophiles. raveydavey
July 31st:
1498: Columbus arrived at the island which he named Trinidad. He had been hoping to discover the Amazon, having three days earlier changed from a parallel course with the mainland. He was on his third voyage of exploration.
1703 English novelist Daniel Defoe was made to stand in the pillory as punishment for offending the government and church with his satire The Shortest Way With Dissenters.
1910 Dr Crippen was arrested aboard the SS Montrose as it was docking at Quebec. He was charged with the murder of his wife and was the first criminal to be caught by the use of radio.
1917 The third Battle of Ypres (World War I) commenced as the British attacked the German lines.
1920 The formation of the British Communist Party.
1942 The Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (later called Oxfam) was founded.
1944 Jonathan Dimbleby, broadcaster and TV presenter was born.
1950 Britain's first self-service store, (Sainsbury's) opened in Croydon.
1956 English cricketer Jim Laker took all 10 Australian wickets in the second innings of the Test Match at Old Trafford, Scumchester.
1959 Cliff Richard had his first British No.1 with 'Living Doll'.
1962: Violence flares at Mosley rally. Former fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley is assaulted at a rally in London's east end. Police were forced to close the meeting within three minutes and made 54 arrests - including Sir Oswald's son Max (I wonder if he got a spanking then?).
1965 Cigarette advertising on British television was banned.
1969 The halfpenny ceased to be legal tender in Britain. I assume this means the old pre-decimal halfpenny..?
1973 Militant Protestants, led by Rev Ian Paisley, disrupted the first sitting of the new Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast.
1990 In the England v India Test Match at Lords, a total of 1603 runs were scored, in exactly 1603 minutes. Graham Gooch broke records by completing 333 and 123 in the same game.
1991: Superpowers to cut nuclear warheads. The US and the Soviet Union sign the Start treaty to reduce stockpiles of nuclear warheads by about a third.
1992 Leonard Cheshire, British pilot and philanthropist died. A true British hero, in every sense of the word. Read more about his work here http://www.lcdisability.org/
1998 The British Government announced a total ban on landmines, a month before the first anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. raveydavey
August 1st:
Yorkshire Day
10 BC: Birth of Claudius I (Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus), in Lugdunum (now Lyons). He became Roman emperor, and invaded Britain in 43 to make it a province.
1740 Rule Britannia was sung for the first time, for the then Prince of Wales's daughter's third birthday.
1774 Yorkshire chemist Joseph Priestley identified oxygen, which he called 'a new species of air'.
1798 The English, under Nelson, destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile, in Aboukir Bay stopping Napoleon Bonaparte's plans to invade the Middle East.
1831 New London Bridge was opened by King William IV. It lasted for 140 years and was sold and rebuilt in Arizona.
1883 Parcel post started in Britain.
1834 Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. An estimated 770 000 slaves were freed.
1914 World War I began with Germany's invasion of Luxembourg. The same day, Germany and Russia declared war against each other.
1932: The first Mars Bar, made in Slough, Berkshire, went on sale.
1944: Uprising to free Warsaw begins. The Polish Underground Army begins battle to liberate Warsaw, the first European city to fall to the Germans.
1966 The British Empire officially came to an end as the Colonial Office closed its doors and lowered its flag, giving way to the Commonwealth.
1975 In Britain, cigarette advertising was banned on television.
1976 Elizabeth Taylor got her 6th divorce when she re-divorced Richard Burton.
1976: Lauda fights for life after Grand Prix crash. F1 racing driver Niki Lauda is in a critical condition in hospital after crashing at the German Grand Prix.
1989 Britain's oldest person, Charlotte Marion Hughes from Cleveland, celebrated her 112th birthday.
1992 Linford Christie won the 100m gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics.
1999 Ronan Keating scored his first UK No.1 solo single with the song When You Say Nothing At All.
2001 Officers from Scotland Yard's Child Protection Team investigated a boy's claims that he was held captive in his own home for eight years. raveydavey
August 2nd:
1100 King William II of England, son of William the Conqueror, was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest after allegedly being mistaken for a deer.
1784 The first specially-built Royal Mail coach began its scheduled service from Bristol to London.
1788 Thomas Gainsborough, English painter died.
1865 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was published but was soon withdrawn because of bad printing. Only 21 copies of the first edition survived, making it one of the rarest 19th century books.
1875 Britain's first roller-skating rink was opened to the public, in Belgravia, London.
1894 Death duties, now known as inheritance tax, were introduced in Britain.
1925 Alan Whicker, broadcaster and writer was born.
1957 The official Elvis Presley Fan Club was launched in the UK.
1970 The British army used rubber bullets for the first time to quell a riot in Northern Ireland.
1973 More than 30 people were killed when fire swept through the Summerland Amusement Centre at Douglas on the Isle of Man.
1984 A Surrey businessman who accused the police of illegally tapping his phone celebrated after the European Court of Human Rights ruled in his favour.
1989 Trade restrictions between Britain and Argentina were lifted for the first time since the 1982 Falklands war.
1990: Iraq invades Kuwait. More than 100,000 Iraqi soldiers backed up by 700 tanks invade the Gulf state of Kuwait in the early hours of this morning.
1993 Following speculative pressure on currencies in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the Mechanism collapsed and currencies were allowed to fluctuate within broad band of 15% on either side of central rates.
2001 Speed cameras should be made 'bright and visible' said a senior police officer, while a poll showed 50% of drivers backed having more cameras. Eh?
raveydavey
August 3rd:
216: Hannibal won the Battle of Cannae despite being outnumbered by the Roman infantry, and then seized the large Roman army supply depot.
1460 James II, King of Scotland, died after being injured by an exploding cannon at Kelso, in the Scottish Borders.
1492: Columbus set sail in the Santa Mar�a from Palos de la Frontera in Andaluc�a, Spain. The Pinta and the Ni�a accompanied him on his first voyage of discovery.
1792 The death, at Cromford, of Richard Arkwright, one of the central figures of the Industrial Revolution and founder of the factory system that transformed England into the workshop of the world.
1805 The first recorded cricket match between English public schools Eton and Harrow.
1856 London was divided into postal districts, in order to speed up letter deliveries.
1858 Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, was discovered by the explorer John Speke.
1867 The birth of Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister from 1923-29. This term of office saw the General Strike of 1926, and during his third term, (1935-7), Edward VIII abdicated.
1908 The Post Office sent its first parcel mail to the US on the White Star liner, Teutonic
1916 Sir Roger Casement, Irish nationalist, was hanged in London for treason, following his attempts to induce Germany to support the cause of Irish independence.
1926 Britain installed its first traffic lights - at Piccadilly Circus, in London.
1936: Jesse Owens, the great black US athlete, began his series of victories at the Berlin Olympics, lasting from this day until August 5. In that time he won gold medals in the long jump, the 100 metres, and the 200 metres. This conspicuously disproved Hitler�s ideas of Aryan superiority.
1957 Footballer John Charles was transferred from Leeds United to Juventus for a �65,000 fee. He was the first British footballer to be transferred to a foreign club.
1963 The Beatles performed in the Cavern in their home town, Liverpool, for the 294th, and last time. �Please, Please Me� had just been released.
1978 The Queen officially opened the 11th Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.
1990: UK temperatures reach record high. A weather station in Leicestershire records the highest temperature ever known in Britain of 37.1C, or 99F. The record was broken on 10 August 2003 - first when 37.9C (100.2F) was recorded at Heathrow Airport, then later by a temperature of 38.1C (100.6F) in Gravesend, Kent
2001 A bomb exploded in a busy west London street, injuring seven people. Dissident Irish republicans were blamed for the atrocity. raveydavey
August 4th:
1265 The Battle of Evesham took place, in which Simon de Montfort was defeated by Royalist forces led by the future King Edward I.
1792 Percy Shelley, English poet, was born.
1870 The British Red Cross Society was founded, by Lord Wantage.
1900: Birth of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon).
1914 Britain declared war on Germany after the Germans had violated the Treaty of London, and so began 'the war to end all wars'.
1917 Captain Noel Chavasse, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, only the second man to be awarded the additional bar to the Victorian Cross for bravery, died from injuries sustained in battle four days earlier.
1923 The BBC began using the 'pips' as a time signal in its broadcasts.
1954 Britain's first supersonic fighter plane, the English Electric Lightning P-1, made its maiden flight.
1966 In a US radio interview, John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were probably more popular than Jesus Christ. Beatles' records were consequently banned in many US states and in South Africa.
1972 President Idi Amin declared that Uganda would expel 50,000 Asians with British passports to Britain within three months.
1987 Moors murderer Ian Brady claimed that he was involved in another five killings.
1981 Three British mountaineers were killed climbing the East Face of the Matterhorn
1984: During the 3000 metres in the Los Angeles Olympics, Zola Budd accidentally tripped the US champion Mary Decker. The incident created one of the most dramatic upsets in the history of the Games.
2000 Celebrations took place all over the United Kingdom to mark the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She was the first ever member of the Royal Family to reach her centenary.
2002 Police in Cambridgeshire were 'extremely concerned' over the disappearance of two 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Their school caretaker Ian Huntley was later found guilty of their murder. raveydavey
August 5th:
1305 Sir William Wallace, Scottish hero and champion of Scottish independence who beat Edward I at the battle of Stirling Bridge, was captured by the English and later executed as a traitor.
1583 English soldier and navigator Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for Elizabeth I.
1729 Thomas Newcomen, English inventor (steam engines) died.
1792 Lord Frederick North, British Prime Minister whose indecisive leadership led to the loss of the American colonies, died.
1815: Birth of Edward John Eyre, English administrator in Jamaica, and explorer in Australia. While in Jamaica he brutally suppressed an uprising, but despite this incident, he became a magistrate and protector of Australia�s Aborigines, learning their language and culture and earning their respect. Lake Eyre and the Eyre Peninsula are named after him.
1858 The first transatlantic cable was officially opened, with Queen Victoria sending a telegraphic message to US President James Buchanan.
1901 Britain's first cinema, the Mohawk, opened in Islington, north London. Films were accompanied by the 16-piece Fonobian Orchestra. At the height of their popularity in the 1940s, cinemas in Britain had average weekly attendances of 30 million.
1908: Birth of Harold (Edward) Holt, Australian Prime Minister from 1966-7 following Menzies. He sent Australian troops to Vietnam to support US intervention.
1962: Marilyn Monroe found dead. Film actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her bed with an empty bottle of sleeping tablets by her side.
1963 A Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow by Russia, the United States and Britain. Under the treaty, nuclear tests in the Earth's atmosphere, in space or under the sea were outlawed.
1970 Hull City and Scumchester United were tied 1-1 after extra time, and for the first time in an English first division football match penalty kicks were used to break the tie. United won 4-3 on penalties.
1973: Athens attack leaves three dead. Three people are killed and 55 wounded when two Arab gunmen open fire on a crowded passenger lounge at Athens airport.
1975 Forestry Commission officials announced that Dutch elm disease, which had attacked more than three million trees in Britain, was spreading.
1976 The clock overlooking the Houses of Parliament stopped for the first time in 117 years.
1983 Twenty two members of the IRA were jailed for a total of more than 4,000 years following Northern Ireland's biggest-ever terrorist trial.
1984 Richard Burton, Welsh actor died. He was aged 58.
1986 Princess Anne rode Gulfland to win the 3.45 at Redcar; her first victory as a jockey. halfaperson
Quote:
1914 Britain declared war on Germany after the Germans had violated the Treaty of London, and so began 'the war to end all wars'.
I think you'll find the war started because A bloke called Archie Duke got hungry and killed an ostrich raveydavey
halfaperson wrote:
Quote:
1914 Britain declared war on Germany after the Germans had violated the Treaty of London, and so began 'the war to end all wars'.
I think you'll find the war started because A bloke called Archie Duke got hungry and killed an ostrich
Weren't Scottish band Franz Ferdinand also implicated?
raveydavey
August 6th:
National day of Bolivia, marking the occasion in 1825 when the country freed itself from 300 years of Spanish rule.
1504 Matthew Parker, archbishop of Canterbury was born. He had an extremely long nose and was extremely inquisitive, hence the expression 'Nosy Parker'.
1623 Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare died.
1809 Alfred Tennyson, English poet was born. He is the second most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, (after Shakespeare). Tennyson wrote a number of phrases that have become commonplaces of the English language, including "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all", and "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die".
1844 The first UK press telegram was sent, to The Times, announcing the birth of Prince Alfred to Queen Victoria.
1859: The first known advertising slogan appeared on Beechams Powders� packets and in separate advertisements. It read �Worth a guinea a box�.
1880 Five horses crossed the line in a quintuple dead-heat at the Astley Stakes in Lewes, England.
1881 Sir Alexander Fleming, scientist, Scottish bacteriologist and discoverer of penicillin was born.
1889 The Savoy Hotel in London was opened.
1934 Chris Bonington, British mountaineer was born.
1945: US drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The first atomic bomb is dropped by a United States aircraft on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
1949 The 'acid bath murderer' John Haigh was executed. He was convicted of the murders of six people, although he claimed to have killed a total of nine, dissolving their bodies in concentrated sulphuric acid before forging papers in order to sell their possessions and collect substantial sums of money.
1961: Russian cosmonaut spends day in space. The Soviet Union astonishes the world by launching Major Gherman Titov into orbit for a whole day.
1962 Jamaica became independent, after being a British colony for 300 years.
1971 Chay Blyth became the first to sail the world solo, non-stop, in the "wrong" direction i.e. east to west - against the prevailing winds and currents. His journey took 292 days.
1976 The government passed the Drought Act to combat the continued UK drought.
1987 SDP leader Dr David Owen resigned after members of his party voted to merge with the Liberals.
1988: Ballerina Natalia Makarova danced with the Kirov Ballet in London for the first time since she defected to the West eighteen years before. She danced the role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, and earned a 35-minute standing ovation. raveydavey
August 7th:
1556: A contemporary illustration on a woodcut depicts a UFO or flying saucer, which appeared over the city of Basle in Switzerland.
1657 The death of Robert Blake, British naval commander who captured the Spanish treasure fleet off Santa Cruz.
1711 The first race meeting was held at Ascot, established by Queen Anne, thus giving them the status of 'Royal Ascot'.
1840 The employment of climbing boys as chimney sweeps was prohibited by an Act of Parliament.
1913 In Britain's first aviation tragedy, US airman 'Colonel' Samuel Cody was killed when his aircraft crashed at Farnborough.
1925 Britain introduced the Daylight Saving Act - bringing in British summer time so the nation changed clocks by one hour twice a year.
1926 The first British motor racing Grand Prix was staged at Brooklands; 110 laps of the track for a total distance of 287 miles. The winner was Robert Senechal in just over 4 hours, at an average speed of almost 72 miles an hour.
1958 The Litter Act came into force in London as part of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign. Offenders could be fined up to �10 for dropping litter. In the first year nearly 1000 were prosecuted.
1990: Consider this - at twelve-thirty-four and fifty-six seconds, the time and date could be expressed in this way: 12:34:56, 7/8/90. The sequence of numbers runs from 1 to 0 only once a century.
1993 The public got its first glimpse inside Buckingham Palace as people were given the opportunity to tour the London home of Queen Elizabeth II. Proceeds from ticket sales were earmarked to help repair fire damage at Windsor Castle.
1995 British athlete Jonathan Edwards twice broke his own world triple jump record, becoming the first man to clear 18 metres - whilst winning the gold medal in the World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.
1999: Newcastle striker Alan Shearer was sent off for the first time in his career as Aston Villa won 1-0 at St James' Park. Referee Uriah Rennie dismissed Shearer for a 71st-minute challenge on Ian Taylor. Surprising isn't it considering his typical game?
2001 The government bought and re-nationalised a private hospital for the first time. The Department of Health paid �27m for the luxury private Heart Hospital just off Harley Street in central London.
2002 The Queen held the first ever garden party at Balmoral Castle in Scotland to end her Jubilee Year. 3000 people were invited to attend. raveydavey
August 8th:
Today is 08/08/08.
The Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing started at eight minutes past eight, local time. As you may have guessed, the number 8 has great significance to the Chinese.
117: Hadrian became Roman emperor on the death of Trajan, his father.
1296 The Stone of Scone, on which Scottish kings had been crowned for centuries, was seized by King Edward I of England.
1588 In a nine-hour battle off Gravelines, the English fleet engaged with the Spaniards in their last naval confrontation. The defeat of the Armada saved England from invasion and the action has enduring historical significance as the first major naval gun battle under sail.
1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act was passed in Britain. The Act dropped the system whereby parishes cared for their poor by a rate of poor relief and replaced it with the workhouse.
1918 World War I -The start of the Battle of Amiens - Allied troops advanced against 20 German divisions and took 16,000 prisoners within 2 hours.
1940 The German Luftwaffe began a series of daylight air raids on Britain and so began The Battle of Britain which would continue into October.
1953 Nigel Mansell, British racing driver was born.
1958 In Britain, Columbia Records signed a 17 year old singer called Cliff Richard.
1963 The Great Train Robbery, in which over �2.5 million was stolen, took place near Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. The day of the train robbery also happened to be the 34th birthday of Ronnie Biggs, one of the robbers.
1988: The Chinese regard this as the luckiest day of the century, because the date is a palindrome: 8/8/88. See above.
1988: Birth of Beatrice, first child of Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York.
1991 John McCarthy, Britain's longest-held hostage in Lebanon, was freed after more than five years in captivity. He had been held hostage since April 17, 1986 - a total of 1,943 days.
1996 Sir Frank Whittle, aviation engineer and pilot who invented the jet engine, died.
1997 British newspapers romantically linked Diana, Princess of Wales with Dodi Al Fayed - the son of Mohammed Al Fayed, the owner of the London store Harrods.
2001: Hollywood's 'golden couple' divorce. The final decree ending the marriage of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise comes through hours after they attend the premiere of their latest movie, The Others.
2002 The UK's biggest undertakers Co-op funeral services, reported that bereaved families preferred pop songs to hymns at funerals. There were some unusual choices recorded, including 'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen and 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' by Wham! Mort
raveydavey wrote:
August 8th:
2002 The UK's biggest undertakers Co-op funeral services, reported that bereaved families preferred pop songs to hymns at funerals. There were some unusual choices recorded, including 'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen and 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' by Wham!
A Friend last year decided to go off to the tune of "Baggy Trousers" by Madness! raveydavey
August 9th:
1721 Prisoners at Newgate Jail were used as 'guinea pigs' to test vaccines used against disease.
1757 Thomas Telford, Scottish civil engineer was born. He built the Menai suspension bridge in Wales plus a further 1200 bridges and more than 1000 miles of roads in Britain. The new town of Telford in Shropshire is named after him.
1796 Horatio Nelson captured from the French, the island of Elba, to which Napoleon Bonaparte was later exiled.
1870 The Elementary Education Act was passed. It gave compulsory, free education to every child in England and Wales between the age of five and 13.
1902 Following a six-week delay due to an emergency appendectomy, Edward VII was crowned in Westminster Abbey following the death of his mother Queen Victoria.
1914 World War I: HMS Birmingham sank a German submarine, the first to be sunk by the Royal Navy.
1945: Atom bomb hits Nagasaki. American forces drop an atomic bomb on Nagasaki - the second such attack on Japan in the past three days.
1958 Cliff Richard performed at Butlin's Holiday Camp in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, as Cliff Richard and The Drifters.
1963 ITV transmitted the first edition of the pop music programme Ready Steady Go to rival the BBC's Top of the Pops. The presenter was Cathy McGowan.
1969 The webmaster of this web site was married in Enderby village church, Leicestershire!
1979 Brighton established the first nudist beach in Britain, despite protests from those fearing depravity.
1981 Six English lifeguards set a relay swim record of the English Channel of 7 hours 17 minutes.
1984 Daley Thompson won the Olympic decathlon at the Summer Games in Los Angeles.
1996 A West Midlands woman Mandy Allwood announced that she was expecting octuplets.
1999 Charles Kennedy won the race to succeed Paddy Ashdown as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Garp
raveydavey wrote:
1796 Horatio Nelson captured from the French, the island of Elba, to which Napoleon Bonaparte was later exiled.
Dontcha love it when the French get it up 'em
raveydavey
August 10th:
1675 King Charles II laid the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London. The observatory was built to provide English navigators with accurate tables of the positions of the moon and stars.
1787: Mozart completed Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
1842 Britain passed the Mines Act - forbidding women and children from working underground.
1889 The screw bottle top was patented by Dan Rylands of Hope Glass Works, Barnsley, Yorkshire.
1893: Dr Rudolf Diesel�s prototype engine underwent testing at Krupps. It was produced commercially four years later.
1895 The first Promenade Concert (The Proms) was held at the Queen's Hall, London, conducted by Henry Wood.
1897 The founding the the RAC - the Royal Automobile Club - originally known as the Automobile Club of Great Britain.
1911 British MPs voted to receive salaries for the first time.
1954 Sir Gordon Richards announced his retirement as a racing jockey to become a trainer. Sir Gordon rode 4,870 winners in his 34-year racing career.
1961 Britain applied for membership of the EEC - the European Economic Community.
1966 Charlie Dimmock, TV gardener was born.
1977 The Queen visited Northern Ireland for the first time in 11 years as part of her Silver Jubilee tour.
1986 English cricketer Ian Botham scored a record 175 in a one day Sunday League match - including 13 sixes.
1988 Scientists feared that a disease which killed more than 6,000 seals in the North Sea and the Baltic had reached British waters.
1998 English football club Scumchester United became the first club in the world to have its own TV channel - MUTV.
2003 The hottest day ever in Britain. Temperatures exceeded 100� F. for the first time. Garp
raveydavey wrote:
1842 Britain passed the Mines Act - forbidding women and children from working underground.
Ageist and sexist. It should be repealed. raveydavey
August 11th:
1576 English navigator Martin Frobisher, on his search for the Northwest Passage, entered the bay in Canada now named after him.
1587 Walter Raleigh's second expedition to the New World landed in North Carolina.
1673: Birth of Richard Meade, English doctor. Meade did much to further preventative medicine, and produced papers on the treatment of smallpox, measles, the plague, and scurvy. He counted two British kings, a queen, and the prime minister among his patients.
1873 Bertram Mills, British circus proprietor, was born.
1897 Enid Blyton, English author, was born.
1909 The first recorded use of the new emergency wireless signal SOS.
1941 President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter, largely to demonstrate public solidarity between the Allies.
1942 Barnes Wallis patented his 'bouncing bomb', used successfully to destroy German dams in the 2nd World War.
1960: Chad gained its independence from France. It celebrated by peering over a grafiti'd wall.
1968 The start of National Apple Week in England. The Beatles launched their new record label, Apple.
1971 The Prime Minister, Edward Heath, steered the British yachting team to victory in the Admiral's Cup.
1975 The Government took ownership of British Leyland, the only major British-owned car company.
1982 The notorious East End gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray were allowed out of prison for the funeral of their mother.
1994 Peter Cushing, English actor died.
1998 British Petroleum stunned the money markets by announcing it had agreed to merge with Amoco Corp of the United States in a deal billed as the largest industrial merger.
1999 Up to 350m people throughout Europe and Asia witnessed the last total solar eclipse of the century. Garp
raveydavey wrote:
1897 Enid Blyton, English author, was born.
Celebrating right now with cake and lashings of ginger beer. raveydavey
Garp wrote:
1897 Enid Blyton, English author, was born.
Celebrating right now with cake and lashings of ginger beer.
You are on top form this evening, what-ho
Garp
Did I ever tell you about my estranged uncle's secret passage?
raveydavey
August 12th:
The Glorious Twelfth...unless you're a grouse
1762: Birth of George IV, King of England, eldest son of the insane George III. He was a dissolute man, �too fond of women and wine�. His first marriage, to the Roman Catholic Maria Fitzherbert in 1785, was performed in secret but proved to be invalid. Ten years later, mired in financial trouble, he was forced to make a loveless marriage with his cousin Caroline to persuade Parliament to pay his debts.
1848 George Stephenson, the engineer who built the steam locomotive Rocket, died.
1851 The Hundred Guinea Cup was offered to the winner of a yacht race around the Isle of Wight. It was won by the US schooner 'America', and the trophy became 'the America's Cup'.
1865 Joseph Lister became the first doctor to use disinfectant during surgery.
1877 British explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley reached the mouth of the Congo River.
1883: The world�s last quagga died in Amsterdam Zoo.
1908: The first �Tin Lizzie�, or Ford Model T, was made, replacing the Model A.
1944 The first PLUTO (Pipe Line Under the Ocean) supplying fuel across the English Channel to the Allied forces in France, went into operation from the Isle of Wight. It could transfer up to 700 tons of fuel a day.
1949 Big Ben ran at its slowest for 90 years as flocks of starlings took roost on the minute hands, slowing it by four and a half minutes.
1964 A massive manhunt got under way across Britain after Charlie Wilson, one of the gang involved in the Great Train Robbery, broke out of a high-security prison in Birmingham.
1964 Ian Fleming, English novelist died.
1969 The Royal Ulster Constabulary used tear gas for the first time in its history after nine hours of rioting in the Bogside area of Londonderry.
1991 England defeated the West Indies in the fifth Test Match at the Oval, to draw the summer series 2 - 2.
1997 The British Tourist Authority came under fire for dropping the Union Flag from its publicity material.
2000 The families of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne were joined by friends and hundreds of members of the public for a memorial service.
2003 BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan answered questions from the Hutton Inquiry over his report that the government "sexed up" a weapons dossier on Iraq. raveydavey
August 13th:
1704 French and Bavarian forces were routed by a combined British, German and Dutch army at the Battle of Blenheim. The victors lost 6,000 soldiers compared with 21,000 French and Bavarian troops.
1814 The Cape of Good Hope Province became a British colony when it was given over to the British by the Dutch for �6 million.
1860: Birth of Annie Oakley (Phoebe Anne Oakley Moses/Mozee), American sharpshooter. She beat Frank E. Butler, a champion crackshot, and later married him. She became a star of Buffalo Bill�s Wild West Show, and was nicknamed �Little Sure Shot�. It is said that she could hit the edge of a playing card at 30 paces, a nickel tossed into the air, and the end of a cigarette in Butler�s mouth. She was the subject of a biographical musical, Annie Get Your Gun.
1888 John Logie Baird, Scottish television pioneer was born.
1899 Alfred Hitchcock, English film director was born.
1908 The tenor Enrico Caruso was fond of posing in his many motor cars but never learned to drive. On 13th August 1908, in London, his wife Ada Giachetti eloped with their chauffeur.
1910 Florence Nightingale, English nurse died.
1915 The 'Brides In The Bath' murderer George Joseph Smith, who drowned his brides in a zinc bath after ensuring their finances were in his favour, was hanged.
1927: Birth of Fidel (Ruz) Castro. In the early 1950s, Castro led a guerrilla campaign to overthrow the Batista regime in Cuba. Helped by Che Guevara and other supporters, he gained power in 1959 and brought about reforms.
1961: Berliners wake to divided city. Troops in East Germany seal off the border between East and West Berlin, shutting off the escape route for thousands of refugees from the East.
1964 The last hangings in Britain took place when two men were executed for murder at Liverpool and Scumchester. Peter Allen, in Liverpool, and John Walby, in Scumchester.
1966: China announces Cultural Revolution. China announces plans for a "new leap forward" after the first meeting in four years of the Communist Party's Central Committee.
1989: 13 people died in the worst-ever hot-air balloon disaster near Alice Springs, central Australia. Two balloons collided at 600 feet, and one fell to the ground, killing the pilot and 12 passengers.
1991 The Prince of Wales resigned as the patron of Scotland's National Museum over a competition to design a new building.
1991 Britain introduced the Dangerous Dog Act in which aggressive dogs must be muzzled and held on a leash in public.
1995 Alison Hargreaves, British mountaineer, and the first woman to make a solo summit of Mt. Everest without supplemental oxygen, died descending K2 during a severe storm.
1997 Following worldwide press speculation, Diana, Princess of Wales issued a statement insisting she had no plans to marry Dodi Al Fayed.
2001 A Government announcement paved the way for more speed cameras, that would also be harder to evade. raveydavey
August 14th:
1040 King Duncan of Scotland was murdered by Macbeth, who then became king and ruled for 17 years.
1852 The first public lavatory was opened, on London's Fleet Street.
1893: The world�s first car registration plates, driving licences and parking restrictions were introduced in France. The licences were issued when the driver passed the test carried out by the Chief Engineer of Mines.
1908 The world's first international beauty contest was held at Folkestone, Kent.
1930 The 'cautious' (!) use of contraceptives was approved by the Church of England.
1941 The last execution in the Tower of London took place.
1945 World War II: Following the dropping of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II.
1948 Australian cricketer Don Bradman played his last Test match innings at the Oval Cricket Ground in London. After receiving a standing ovation, he was bowled out for nought - blinded, it's claimed, by the tears in his eyes.
1948 The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in London.
1967 All UK offshore pirate radio stations were closed down when the marine broadcasting act came into force, except Radio Caroline which continued to broadcast until March 1968.
1969 The first British troops were deployed in Northern Ireland to restore order. It was initially to be a "limited operation".
1979 John Stonehouse, the former government minister who faked his own death, was freed from prison.
1979 The Fastnet Race was struck by tragedy when gales and mountainous seas claimed the lives of 15 sailors.
1990 A survey revealed that many people had yet to pay anything towards the new community charge - or poll tax.
2000: Rescuers race to save stricken Kursk. A rescue operation is underway to save the lives of more than 100 sailors on board a Russian submarine grounded at the bottom of the Barents Sea.
2001 The IRA said it was withdrawing a proposal it had made the previous week about putting its weapons beyond use.
2003: Lights go out across NE America. Massive power failures cause chaos across the eastern United States and Canada, hitting cities such as New York and Ottawa. raveydavey
August 15th:
1842 The first regular British detective force was formed as a division of the Metropolitan Police, under the joint command of Inspector Pearce and Inspector John Haynes. In 1878 it became known as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
1856 The birth of James Keir Hardie, Scottish politician. He founded the British Labour Party and was its leader from 1906.
1872 The first voting by ballot in Great Britain took place in a by-election at Pontefract, when Hugh Childers, a Liberal MP and minister was re-elected
1888 T.E. Lawrence, Welsh soldier and writer known as 'Lawrence of Arabia', was born, in Tremadog, Gwynedd.
1939 The Cunard liner Queen Mary recaptured the Blue Riband from the SS Normandie, crossing the Atlantic in 3 days, 22 hours and 40 minutes.
1945: Allied nations celebrate VJ Day. Allied nations across the globe rejoice on Victory in Japan day that marks the end of World War II.
1947 Pakistan was founded when British rule over the region ended. India gained independence from Britain, and the Union Jack was lowered in New Delhi for the last time. Pandit Nehru became India�s first Prime Minister.
1950 Princess Anne, Britain's Princess Royal was born.
1971 Controversial horse rider Harvey Smith was stripped of his �2,000 winnings and a major show jumping title for allegedly making a rude V-sign gesture.
1985 Richard Branson's speedboat Virgin Atlantic Challenger capsized off the south-west of England. He was just two hours short of completing the fastest-ever Atlantic crossing.
1987 Caning was officially banned in British schools (excluding independent schools).
1988 Glasgow passport office started to issue the new EEC passports. It was the first office to be computerised to dispense the burgundy coloured documents, which replaced the traditional blue ones. Reception to them was mixed. (I seem to remember that no-one liked or wanted them at the time)
1998 A bomb blast in Omagh, Northern Ireland, killed 28 people and injured more than 300 others. A 29th victim died a month later. It was the worst attack in 29 years of paramilitary violence in Ulster. EW
1987 Caning was officially banned in British schools (excluding independent schools).
The start of the downfall of this country!!
raveydavey
August 16th:
1513 King Henry VIII of England and his troops defeated the French in the Battle of the Spurs, at Guinigatte, NW France.
1743 The earliest prize-ring code of boxing rules was formulated in England by the champion fighter Jack Broughton.
1819 The Peterloo massacre took place in Scumchester when militia opened fire on a crowd gathered to hear discussion of reform, killing 11 people.
1858 A telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to US President Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.
1897 Endowed by the sugar merchant Henry Tate, the Tate Gallery, in London, was opened.
1930 Ted Hughes, English poet & former Poet Laureate, was born.
1930 The first British Empire Games (now the Commonwealth Games) were held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
1952 Twelve bodies were recovered and 24 people were missing, feared dead, in the flood which swept through Lynmouth in north Devon.
1960 Britain granted independence to the crown colony of Cyprus.
1962 Unhappy with Pete Best's role in The Beatles, Brian Epstein and the other three members decided to sack him. He played his last gig the following night at The Cavern, Liverpool.
1977: Rock and roll 'king' Presley dies. Elvis Presley, whose singing and style revolutionized popular music in the 1950s, dies after collapsing at his home.
1984 John De Lorean was acquitted in Los Angeles of charges that he conspired to import 100 kg of cocaine, and used the proceeds to save his financially-troubled Northern Ireland sports car company.
2001 Paul Burrell, former butler to Diana, Princess of Wales, was charged with theft from her estate relating to a total of 342 items, reportedly worth �5m.
2004 Flash floods devastated the north Cornwall coastal village of Boscastle after the area's average August rainfall fell in just two hours. eddiesleftfoot
Elvis - still the King raveydavey
August 17th:
1483 The date presumed that two young princes, the uncrowned Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, were killed in the Tower of London.
1786: Birth of Davy (David) Crockett, US frontiersman and politician. He grew up in the woods and had little formal education during his childhood. He was elected to Congress in 1827, and a legend grew up around him which was renewed in 1955 by a Disney film about his life. He was portrayed as a raw backwoodsman, hunting bears and raccoons and wearing a trademark �coonskin� hat. In fact, he was not entirely without sophistication; much of the myth was encouraged. He was actually quite articulate and showed good business sense in a number of deals.
1796 English ships, under the command of Admiral George Keith Elphinstone, were responsible for trapping the Dutch Fleet in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, paving the way for South Africa becoming part of the British Empire.
1836 Under the Registration Act, the compulsory registration of births, deaths and marriages was introduced in Britain.
1869 The first international boat race (on the River Thames: Oxford beat Harvard)
1896 Mrs. Bridget Driscoll of Croydon, Surrey, became the first pedestrian in Britain to die after being hit by a car. It is said she froze in panic at the sight of the oncoming car, which was travelling at just four miles per hour. No speed cameras back then see. If there had been the driver wouldn't have been going so fast.
1926 George Melly, English jazz singer, was born.
1951 Alan Minter, middleweight boxer, was born.
1957 Robin Cousins, ice-skater who won Gold at the 1976 Winter Olympics and is now a panelist on Dancing On Ice, was born.
1958 Britain announced plans to continue nuclear testing on Christmas Island.
1989 Electronic tagging was used for the first time in Britain, on Richard Hart, accused of theft.
1989: The first non-stop flight from London to Sydney was achieved by an Australian commercial airliner. It's amazing that it happened so late, don't you think?
1990 The National Trust for Scotland admitted that the Glenfinnan monument, marking the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in 1745 was almost certainly in the wrong place and was probably chosen for its scenic value.
1992 It was announced that 9 pigs were to take part in Britain's first pig race in Bellingham. The favourites in the race were Lester Piglet and Miss Piggy.
1998: Clinton admits Lewinsky affair. President of the United States, Bill Clinton, admits having an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
2000 Prince William passed three A-levels and secured a place to study history of art at the oldest university in Scotland, St Andrews. Tommo
18th August
1587 An expedition led by Sir Walter Raleigh landed at what is now Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Seven days later, Virginia Dare became the first child of English parentage to be born in America.
1825 Scottish explorer Alexander Gordon Laing became the first European to reach Timbuktu, now in Mali. He was murdered there the following month.
1932 Scottish aviator Jim Mollison made the first westbound solo transatlantic flight in a light aircraft when he arrived in New Brunswick after leaving Portmarnock in Ireland 30 hours earlier.
1941 Britain's National Fire Service was established.
1948 Jockey Lester Piggott, aged 12, rode his first winner on only his seventh ride.
1959 The proposed route of the M1 was altered to save a forest from destruction.
1962 Ringo Starr joined The Beatles - Lennon, McCartney and Harrison - as drummer, and made his debut with them at the horticultural society dance in Birkenhead.
1966 The Tay road bridge was opened by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
1967 The luxury liner Queen Mary was sold to the Southern Californian town of Long Beach.
1971 The British Army was accused of shooting dead an unarmed, disabled man during disturbances in Northern Ireland. Soldiers said that Eamon McDevitt, 24, was brandishing a pistol when he was shot, but civilian witnesses said that the man, who was born deaf and dumb, was simply waving his arms about, his way of attracting attention.
1982 The City of Liverpool named four Streets after the fab four, John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive.
1989 Scumchester United Football Club was sold for �20m in the biggest takeover deal in the history of British football.
1998 Pilot Peter Diamond was jailed for 2 years for helping businessman fraudster Azil Nadir (Polly Peck company) escape from Britain in May 1993. halfaperson
Quote:
1989: The first non-stop flight from London to Sydney was achieved by an Australian commercial airliner. It's amazing that it happened so late, don't you think?
Wouldnt have managed it if Viduka was in his way home on it
19th August
1274 The coronation of Edward I.
1561 Mary Queen of Scots arrived in Scotland to assume the throne after spending 13 years in France.
1631 John Dryden, English poet and dramatist was born. He was the first official Poet Laureate of Great Britain.
1685 The beginning of the 'Bloody Assizes' in England with Judge Jeffreys regularly sentencing people to death.
1879 The laying of the foundation stone for the Eddystone Lighthouse.
1897 The London Electric Cab Company began operating the electric-powered taxi cabs in London's West End and the City. They had a range of up to 30 miles, and a top speed of 9 miles an hour. The cabs prove uneconomical and were withdrawn in 1900.
1942 British and Canadian troops launched a disastrous attack on German-held Dieppe. Of the 6,000 troops involved, only about 2,500 returned. The rest were killed or captured.
1953 The England cricket team, under captain Len Hutton, won The Ashes against Australia for the first time since the tour of 1932-1933.
1960 Penguin Books received a summons in response to their plans to publish Lady Chatterley's Lover.
1969 The British Army took over control of security in Northern Ireland.
1970 The 1000th episode of Coronation Street was broadcast.
1975 Campaigners calling for the release of robber George Davis from prison vandalised the pitch at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds.
1987 27 year old gunman Michael Ryan shot dead 16 people during a rampage through Hungerford. 14 people were wounded, and one of the dead was Ryan�s own mother. He proceeded to set fire to his mother�s house, and the worst civil massacre in modern British history ended when he shot himself. Tommo
August 20th
1912 William Booth, British founder of the Salvation Army died.
1913 In Britain, Harry Brearley of Sheffield cast the first stainless steel.
1916 World War I: Captain Leefe Robinson became the first Allied pilot to shoot down a German Zeppelin airship during a raid on London. The airship caught fire and crashed in Cuffley, Hertfordshire. Captain Robinson was later awarded the Victoria Cross.
1924 Although considered the likely winner, British sprinter Eric Liddel refused to run in the 100m heats at the Paris Olympics because it took place on a Sunday. He went on to set a new record when he won the 400 metres on a weekday.
1940 As the aerial Battle of Britain raged, Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Parliament: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
1944 World war II: American and British forces destroyed the German Seventh Army at Falaise-Argentan Gap, west of Paris, capturing 50,000 German troops.
1956 Calder Hall, Britain's first nuclear power station, began operating.
1970 England's soccer captain, Bobby Moore, was cleared of charges of stealing, in a trial in Colombia.
1971 Prince Charles got his 'wings' at RAF College Cranwell, in Lincolnshire.
1989 In London, the pleasure cruiser Marchioness was hit by a dredger, the Bowbelle, on the River Thames - 51 people attending a party on the boat were killed.
1990 Iraq confirmed that Western hostages held after the outbreak of the Gulf War were being moved to military and other vital installations as a human shield to deter attacks.
1992 The Daily Mirror published compromising photographs of the Duchess of York on holiday in France with a Texan 'financial adviser'.
1992 Iraq sentenced a British man (Paul Ride, a catering manager from east London) to seven years in jail for alleged "illegal entry" into the country. raveydavey
August 21st
1754 William Murdock, the Scottish engineer who invented coal-gas lighting, was born.
1765: Birth of William IV, King of England. William joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13, and was a close friend of Nelson. This, and his action during the American Revolution, earned him the nickname �the sailor king�. He was a legendary womanizer, and had ten illegitimate children by Dorothea Jordan, an Irish actress who had great success at Drury Lane.
1808 The French forces, under General Junot, were defeated by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Vimiero.
1858 Victoria Cross winner Sir Sam Browne invented the Sam Browne belt to hold his sword and pistol after he had lost an arm in action. It soon became standard military kit.
1879 English pioneer aviator Claude Grahame-White was born. He gained the first English aviator�s certificate of proficiency, established the Hendon Aerodrome and entered many flying races.
1930 Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and sister of England's Queen Elizabeth II, was born in Glamis Castle, Scotland.
1936 The BBC made its first television broadcast from Alexandra Palace.
1939 Civil Defence, to mitigate the effects of enemy attack, was started in Britain.
1965: Keith Peacock was the first substitute to be permitted by the Football League when he went on for his team, Charlton Athletic.
1973 The coroner presiding over the Derry / Londonderry 'Bloody Sunday' inquest accused the British army of 'sheer unadulterated murder' after 13 were killed in a civil rights march on 30th Jan. 1972.
1976 Mary Langdon became Britain's first female firefighter when she joined the East Sussex Brigade.
1988 More flexible licensing laws allowed public houses to stay open 12 hours in the day, except on Sunday. Ah, happy days...
1990 British conservationist George Adamson, whose work featured in the film Born Free, was murdered by bandits in Kenya.
1996 The new Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in Southwark, London, opened with a production of Two Gentlemen of Verona.
2000 The NHS revealed that missed appointments cost the organisation �18.5 million a year.
2001 Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel began legal action to shut the Sangatte camp in France used by asylum seekers. 30 Mill
Quote:
and had ten illegitimate children by Dorothea Jordan, an Irish actress who had great success at Drury Lane.
amongst other things, obviously!!!
raveydavey
August 22nd:
565 St Columba reported seeing a monster in Loch Ness. It was the first reported sighting of the monster.
1138 The English defeated the Scots at Cowton Moor. The battle was fought as part of King David's support for Matilda, a claimant of the English throne. David had already twice invaded England in support of Matilda, and had twice between repulsed by forces loyal to the English King Stephen. This time he was to be no more successful as local English militias halted his army's progress in Yorkshire. These militia forces marched under the banners of the patron saints of their towns, known as standards, and these gave their name to the battle.
1485 Richard III of England was defeated and killed at The Battle of Bosworth Field, the last of the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York. He was the last English king to die in battle.
1642 The English Civil War began, between the supporters of Charles I (Cavaliers) and of Parliament (Roundheads), when the king raised his standard at Nottingham.
1770 Yorkshires Captain James Cook, having landed at Australia, claimed it for the British crown.
1788 The British settlement in Sierra Leone was founded, the purpose of which was to secure a home in Africa for freed slaves from England.
1922 Irish republican Michael Collins, the founder of Sinn Fein, was assassinated by extremist republicans in an ambush in Ireland.
1962 The first TV appearance of the Beatles was recorded by Granada, in a lunchtime session at The Cavern Club, Liverpool.
1963 William Richard Morris, British car manufacturer died.
1985 Following an aborted take-off, a Boeing 737 burst into flames on the runway at Scumchester Airport. 55 people were killed. (Almost 23 years to the day, on 20th Aug. 2008, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 burst into flames at Madrid Airport, killing 153 people, following a previously aborted take-off.)
1986 Deputy chief constable of Greater Scumchester police John Stalker was cleared of misconduct. It had been alleged that he was associating with criminals. Now he sells awnings and roller shutters on satellite TV.
1989: The world�s first pocketphones - small radio handsets which operated within 100 yards of a public base station - were introduced by British Telecom.
1998 The Republican terrorist group the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) announced a 'complete ceasefire'.
1999 Farmer Tony Martin was arrested after a burglar was killed at his house in Norfolk. Bloody hell, was that NINE years ago?!?!?! raveydavey
August 23rd:
410: The end of the Roman empire arrived as the Visigoths sacked Rome.
1305 Scottish patriot William Wallace was hanged, beheaded, and quartered in London, and his body parts were later displayed in different cities. His barbaric murder came as a result of Wallace's efforts to free Scotland from the occupying English forces. The 1995 movie Braveheart was based on Wallace's life.
1754: Birth of Louis XVI, the last king of France. His actions, and those of his wife Marie Antoinette, provoked the Revolution.
1617 The first one-way streets were introduced in London.
1914 World War I: The Battle of Mons - the first major battle of World War I.
1938 England's Test cricketer Len Hutton scored what was then a new world record test score of 364 against Australia at the Oval.
1939: At Bonneville Flats, Utah, the British driver John Cobb attained a speed of 368.85 mph.
1940 The German Luftwaffe began night bombing London.
1961 Police launched a murder hunt after a man was found shot dead and his companion seriously wounded in a lay-by in Bedfordshire. Valerie Storie, who survived the shooting, identified James Hanratty as her attacker. Hanratty was convicted of the murder in 1962 and sentenced to death, becoming one of the last people to be hanged in Britain before capital punishment was abolished.
1962 John Lennon, founder-member of The Beatles, married his childhood sweetheart Cynthia Powell.
1965 Security guards at a Scumchester TV Studio hosed down 200 Rolling Stones fans who broke down barriers while waiting for the band to arrive for a performance.
1977 New, smaller pound notes, were introduced into the UK.
1990 Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein appeared on state television with western hostages, provoking a storm of outrage.
2001 J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter creator) was given the Walpole Medal of Excellence for promoting British Excellence.
2005 Hilary Lister, from Kent, became the first quadriplegic sailor to cross the English Channel. She achieved this by using controls powered by her breath to navigate her boat and made the crossing in six hours thirteen minutes. Garp
raveydavey wrote:
1305 Scottish patriot William Wallace was hanged, beheaded, and quartered in London.
Gives me ideas for Brown and Salmond
raveydavey
Feast day of Bartholomew, patron saint of tanners and shoemakers.
79: Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash.
1680 Colonel Blood, an Irish adventurer who stole the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London in 1671, died. He had been captured after the theft, but insisted on seeing King Charles II, who pardoned him.
1759 William Wilberforce, English philanthropist, was born. He campaigned for many important causes, most notably the abolition of slavery in Britain and its colonies.
1787 James Wedell, English explorer, was born. He explored the edge of the Antarctic, reaching the most southern point at that time, three degrees below Cook�s furthest journey.
1814 British forces captured Washington DC and set the White House on fire.
1847 Charlotte Bront�, alias Currer Bell, sent her manuscript for Jane Eyre to her London publishers, Smith, Elder & Company. More about the Bront�s.
1875 Matthew Webb (Captain Webb) started his attempt from Dover England to become the first person to swim the English Channel. He reached Calais, France at 10.40 am the following morning, having been in the water for 22 hours.
1903 Graham Sutherland, painter of the tapestry in Coventry Cathedral, was born.
1947 The first Edinburgh Festival was held.
1967 Two penguins from Chessington Zoo were taken on a day trip to a local ice-rink to cool off during sweltering London temperatures.
1975 The first ever nude performance in a British opera took place at Glyndebourne.
1981 American Mark Chapman was given a 20 year life sentence for shooting John Lennon - the former member of the British group, The Beatles - in New York.
1985 A five-year-old boy, John Shorthouse, was shot dead in a police raid on his home in Birmingham after armed officers stormed into the house looking for his father.
1998 Britain, the United States and the Netherlands agreed to put two Libyans on trial for planting the bomb which blew up a Pan Am airliner over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all those on board and several on the ground. Garp
Bit of a scallywag that Blood chappy.
Is this where the phrase "luck of the Irish" comes from?
http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/ColonelBlood.htm halfaperson
Quote:
1967 Two penguins from Chessington Zoo were taken on a day trip to a local ice-rink to cool off during sweltering London temperatures.
Good job we've manged to sort that global warming malarkey out then since then isnt it raveydavey
August 25th:
Only 4 months to Christmas - have you bought anything yet?
1804 Alicia Meynell rode Vingarillo over a four-mile racecourse at York to become the first recorded woman jockey. She was in the lead most of the way against only one other contestant, but lost.
1830 Stephenson�s locomotive 'Northumbrian' took a trial run to prepare for the opening of the Liverpool and Scumchester Railway. Actress Fanny Kemble rode on the footplate, the first woman to do so.
1837 Henry William Crawford, of London, patented the production process for galvanized iron.
1917 The Order of the British Empire (OBE), and the Companion of Honour (CH), were awarded for the first time
1919 The world's first international daily air service began between London and Paris.
1928 The opening of the famous Kop End at Liverpool Football Club's ground at Anfield. It was most likely named after the Battle of Spion Kop during the Boer War, the word 'Kopje' meaning 'small hill'.
1931 Ramsay MacDonald formed a National Government.
1940 The RAF made the first air raid on Berlin.
1942 The Duke of Kent, youngest brother of King George VI, was killed in a plane crash during a war mission to Iceland. He was the first member of the Royal family to be killed on active service.
1944: Paris is liberated as Germans surrender. General Charles de Gaulle enters the capital of France after French and US troops force a German surrender.
1978: The Shroud of Turin was displayed for the first time on the high altar of St John�s Cathedral, Turin.
1986 Britain staged its first street motor race - along roads around the centre of Birmingham.
1988 The first GCSE results were published.
1988 Romanian Chess master Mihai Suba & his son defected to the West during an international tournament in London. Baldy
raveydavey wrote:
August 25th:
1917 The Order of the British Empire (OBE), and the Companion of Honour (CH), were awarded for the first time
And I still aint received mine �
raveydavey
August 26th:
55BC Julius Caesar crossed the English Channel for his invasion of Britain.
1346 The English, led by Edward III and his son Edward the Black Prince, won the Battle of Cr�cy against Philip VI of France. It was at this battle that the English first used the gesture of holding up two fingers as an insult, as this was how they held their new, and far superior weapon, the crossbow. The Black Prince is commemorated with a magnificent statue in City Square, Leeds.
1676 Sir Robert Walpole was born. He was a Whig politician who became the first Prime Minister. He was also the first Lord of the Treasury and the first Chancellor of the Exchequer.
1819 Prince Albert, (Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) and consort to Queen Victoria, was born in Bavaria. He persuaded Victoria towards more progressive views in some areas, took a keen interest in the arts, and organized the Great Exhibition of 1851 in the Crystal Palace.
1936 Over 7,000 people queued to see the first high definition television pictures on sets at the Olympia Radio Show, west London. The pictures were transmitted by the BBC from Alexandra Palace, introduced by Leslie Mitchell, their first announcer.
1940: The RAF retaliated against attacks on London by bombing Berlin for the first time. Take that, Jerry!
1959 British car manufacturers Austin and Morris launched a small family car - the 'Mini'.
1959 The Radio Show opened at Earls Court in London, with the appearance of some of the first 'transistor' radios.
1963 Cilla Black made her first major concert appearance at The Odeon Cinema, Southport, on a bill with the Beatles.
1981 Steve Ovett recaptured the mile-run record which had been taken from him just a week earlier by Sebastian Coe. Ovett's new world record time was 3:48.40.
1985: Budd smashes 5,000m record. Controversial athlete Zola Budd breaks the world 5,000m record.
1994 A man was given the world's first battery-operated heart in a pioneering operation in Britain.
1997 Diana, Princess of Wales, condemned the previous Conservative Government as 'hopeless' over the issue of the banning of landmines.
2001 It was announced that thousands of patients facing long delays in British hospitals could have the chance to be treated abroad in a Government bid to reduce waiting lists.
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i don't know
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What word, equating to check, is given to the amplified sound system for performers at a concert venue?
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Concerts
How To Produce and Promote Small Concerts
by
Jeff Brown
Here's a guide to producing small concerts I put together several years ago. We updated it a bit, but the the basic information is still invaluable for those who wish to organize a concert or similar fund-raiser. Thanks to Lis Saya and Mike Sakarias for their help and contributions.
INTRODUCTION
Think back to the last concert you went to. Why did you enjoy it? The sound was great, an intimate atmosphere suited both the performer and the audience, you were able to have cookies and coffee during the intermission, and, all in all, you had a great evening.
The sound was probably good because they had a sound engineer who spent the afternoon setting and testing microphones, running cables, and adjusting the PA to fit the acoustics of the room.
The atmosphere suited the occasion because someone took the time to find lights, set them up, and focus them onto the performing area, which had been arranged with appropriate furniture, plants, and perhaps a wall hanging. You even noticed that all this was done before you arrived for the concert (early, because you wanted a good seat), including a small, attractive pitcher of water for the performer(s). Cookies, juice, and coffee were waiting at intermission, thanks to volunteer bakers. Someone picked them up earlier in the day, along with a coffee maker, coffee, juice, cups, napkins, cream & sugar, and stirring implements.
As the time for the concert approached, the lights dimmed and the emcee gave a short welcome to the audience, introduced the performer(s), and the evening went off without a hitch, except for the one excited person who spilled their juice on their lap and let out an untimely 'Whoop!"
Pretty easy, right? Well, only if you've got an unlimited budget and can hire everyone you need. Most of the time, putting on a concert is serious work. It can be fun too. But if you're putting on a concert, be ready to do all of the above yourself, including a whole lot more. You'll probably have help, but be ready to commit a great deal of time and energy. It will be work, but if you're the type of person who likes seeing happy faces on people, it will be worth it.
It should be stated right now, that if you're in it for the money, stop reading now. The ultimate objective here is to create a magical communication between the performer(s) and the audience be it mellow new-age or hard-assed rock and roll. Your job is to make it possible for that magic to take place.
That's not to say there are no financial rewards. Concerts can be an effective way of generating income for radio stations, collectives, or what have you. But they certainly are not cost-effective in terms of the hours spent straightening out the myriad of details. As with most small organizations, volunteer-power is necessary, important, and besides, it's fun to work together.
This guide is divided into several sections. The flrst is an overview of the whole process, followed by detailed sections on planning, promoters, publicity, lighting, sound, and finally, a few collected philosophies.
It's probably safe to say that no one gets into the concert business on purpose. Your organization was approached by an agent, performers themselves, or maybe you got a good deal on a sound system at a garage sale. It's too late to turn back...here you are!
OVERVIEW
For the purposes of demonstration, we'll use a fictional trio, THE REVERB BROTHERS, as our featured performers. They are represented by George Washington, who also handles several other acts (including THE REVERB SISTERS).
"THE REVERB BROTHERS have always wanted to come to/enjoyed their last visit so much/have never seen (insert city). Would you like to do a concert with them?" asks George Washington. After haggling over the price, you finally agree on a date two months away. THE REVERB BROTHERS will arrive at the airport in the late morning, check the hall out, do an interview on radio/TV, do a sound check, rest a bit, have a light dinner, arrive at the hall, and begin playing at eight p.m.
They will do two forty-five minute sets, probably an encore, and leave the next morning to their next gig. You and the promoter, George, will probably talk on the phone every week until the concert, after which you will not hear from him again until he calls with another great offer.
You are able to talk a local artist into doing a poster for you. Your contact at the newspaper is alerted of the event. The Arts Council is notified so other events don't get scheduled to conflict with "your baby." Press releases get typed and sent to anyone who can use them, local and regional.
THE REVERB BROTHERS need a mixer with eight inputs, two direct boxes, good stage monitors, and plenty of reverb. They play guitars, bass, mandolin, musical saw, and fiddle. Fortunately, one of your volunteers has a sound system they got at a garage sale and is willing to mix the sound. The hall you've rented has a small stage with lights already in place.
Deciding to sell tickets in advance, you have your artist make up a ticket also and maybe a newspaper ad if you've got the budget. After the tickets are printed at the local copy center, you can number them and give them to bookstores to sell. Some tickets are saved as "comps" to be given out to folks who help with the show, bookstores, and radio stations to give away on the air, and other invaluable folks.
You've already contacted the radio stations and provided them with albums or cassettes of THE REVERB BROTHERS to air. Maybe you've even got a station volunteer to make a recorded public service announcement for you.
By the time THE REVERB BROTHERS arrive, the hall is being prepared. For an eight p.m. concert, you should start your set up no later than 4 p.m. And if you want some time to relax, start even earlier. There are ALWAYS things that need doing at the last minute. The stage is set with mikes, one high-backed chair, and a table with a pitcher of room temperature water. By five, the lights and the sound system should be ready for the infamous sound check. Although the band is a little late, and one mike goes belly-up, the sound check really starts at 5:30, and finishes at 6:30, too late for the dinner you've spent the previous evening preparing, so you go to the local quick stop. This is the kind of food the band is used to, so it's no big deal.
By the time you've gotten back to the hall, one speaker has blown a fuse, and it only gets replaced twenty minutes before the show, although no one notices because you have impressed upon your crew the notion of calmness in a storm. After the speaker is fixed, appropriate music is piped in from a cassette player running through the board up until concert time (also during intermission).
The audience files in slowly, then a massive pile-up occurs at the door five minutes before the scheduled start time. Slowly, but surely, the audience fills the space, the lights dim, the emcee takes the stage, and your worries are over. Well, not exactly right yet.
Nervously, you pace back and forth in the back of the hall, hearing every word spoken by audience members who came to talk rather than listen. You ask a couple of them to please be quiet, but by the end of the evening you've tuned everything out except the idea of sleep. Perhaps you try to hide a bit when the emcee thanks you for organizing the whole evening, although you have already handed them a list of all the people to thank.
The concert ends and a crowd of happy folks file out with smiles on their faces. Hopefully you have succeeded in your efforts and a truly magical event took place. Look carefully at the smiles. That's what you work for.
Okay, back to finishing things up. Planning ahead, you have arranged for a clean-up crew to help you move speakers & amps, wind cords, sweep and mop, and the thousand of other tasks necessary to bring the hall back to its original or better shape. (You DO want to use the hall again, don't you?)
After you've helped the clean-up crew (Here's a good point in leadership: Don't EVER ask anyone to do something unless you are willing to help out!), get with your folks who kept track of the door receipts, and figure out how much to give THE REVERB BROTHERS, if they receive a certain percentage of the gate.
THE REVERB BROTHERS do not live in your town, and it's common courtesy to make sure they have a good time on the town if they want to. And so, next, you guide them to areas of enjoyment for them; be it bars, restaurants, or just back to their hotel (or a local resident's house where they are staying). Most people can take care of themselves from this point, but THE REVERB BROTHERS may need a ride to the airport with their equipment on the first plane in the morning. Keep reading, you're just about finished.
Who helped? Thank them, either in person, by letter, or by a letter to the paper. A letter to the paper is nice because it reaches a lot of people, and it gives your organization a little bit more exposure in a positive light. For really big events, a certificate of appreciation is great.
Let's break the whole process down into smaller pieces.
CHOOSING A HALL
Where is this event going to take place? A good question, and one that can only be answered by a good knowledge of the halls available. Right now, pull out a piece of paper and write down all the halls you can think of in your community. The list should include place, location, cost, contact name & phone number, and a big space for philosophical considerations. Parking, acoustics, seating, "feeling", electrical, handicapped access, kitchen & bathroom facilities. Can you serve alcohol there? If you're in a small community, is it easily accessible for everyone? If you're in a larger one, does everyone know where it is?
Figured it out yet? Now, see if it's available. Talk to the manager and let them know exactly what's happening. If they want you to sign something, read it carefully. Your act may cancel, and leave you minus one rental deposit. Make sure the hall manager or staff knows exactly what you will need, including sound & lighting gear, security personnel (if needed), and electrical outlets. It's hard to count the number of times we've found the closest electrical outlet five feet further than our longest extension cord. If time permits, a site-check ahead of time by your sound and light people can solve many problems before they have a chance to develop.
PERFORMERS' FEES
Being one of the major expenses in producing a concert (unless you can get your performers for free), it's good to take a look at how you can pay your performer(s) for services rendered.
STRAIGHT GUARANTEE
The performer(s) get a certain amount. The promoter takes the biggest risk here. THE REVERB BROTHERS usually ask for $1000 guaranteed.
PERCENTAGE
The performer(s) get a percentage of the profits. The performer(s) assume the greater risk here, hoping that they will be able to meet expenses. To get them to agree to a percentage, you must convince them that you can promote the concert to the best of your ability AND that people will show up in droves. THE REVERB BROTHERS will agree to no lower than 90%.
GUARANTEE PLUS PERCENTAGE
This is fairly common. It allows the risk to be shared by both parties involved. THE REVERB BROTHERS will accept a guarantee of $500, plus 50% of the net profits.
A word to the wise: The performer's agent will try to get the best deal they can for their artist(s). It's their job, and they get a percentage of it. Most of them are good at it. Don't be intimidated. If you've just got to have this performer in concert, you might have to make some concessions.
Otherwise, make sure you get a good deal for both you and the performer(s). Most performers struggle to "make it" and deserve a fair shake. The agents help spread great music all across the country. They have expenses you couldn't even dream of. Don't let them take advantage of you, and don't take advantage of them.
On the other hand, you've got to break even. There are a lot of hidden expenses. Make sure you have everything under control before agreeing to any terms with anyone.
PUBLICITY
It's a shame to arrange a concert, and have minimal attendance because no one knew about it. Please, if you're going to promote a concert, PROMOTE IT! Make press releases and send them to everyone who can possibly use the information; television & radio stations, individual DJ's, local and regional newspapers, newsletters, the area college, local schools, etc.
Sometimes, a good poster design can draw more people than the performers themselves. If you have to pay for it, pay for it, but try to appeal to the designer's community spirit to get a good deal. You have lots of choices; silk screened posters, hand-made, professionally offset-printed, or the ever-popular results from your local copy center. Computers can make some dynamite posters, and with the reasonable cost of color copies, you can really go to town. Use the best that you feel you can afford and one that will convey the feeling of your event.
See if you can get your performers' music played on the radio. See if they can be interviewed. If they have recordings, call their record company and ask for them to give to radio stations.
Take as much promotional material as you can to your local newspaper and talk to the person who does the "What's Happening" stuff. You might get the cover of the weekend section if you're lucky.
Local cable companies may allow public service announcements. Call them.
Talk to all your friends about it. Get them involved. At least they'll be going to the event, and they'll probably tell their friends about it too.
In short, be creative. We dressed in bright orange jumpsuits and walked around downtown Bellingham to promote a DEVO concert and wore dog-bones on lapel pins to promote the rock group BOW-WOW-WOW. Any others?
Make sure you get the date and time right on the poster. Get a good image to match your performer(s) style. Some photos work great; some don't. Dover Publications, the Internet (search for "clip art"), and your local library are good resources with art specifically designed for you to cut out and use.
TICKETS
Okay, you've got to let people in. What's the best way? Admission at the door? Tickets in advance? How much to charge? For adults? For kids? These are all questions you've got to ask yourself, or else risk talking them to death at a committee meeting.
TICKETS AT THE DOOR
Easiest, the audience pays their way right at the event. The chief advantage is the ease; no tickets to print. The disadvantages are: 1) you have no accurate count of how many people attended (unless you give everyone half of a two-part ticket) and 2) you lose a few dollars in advance ticket sales.
TICKETS IN ADVANCE
For a little more work you have accountability, somewhat of an idea as to how many people might attend ahead of time, and your event has more visibility. You'll have to design, print, and distribute tickets. Distribution can be by local outlets (music & bookstores), or by members of your organization. To get an accurate count of tickets, you'll have to number them. You can do that by hand, by a self-advancing rubber stamp unit, or, for really large events, you will have to have them printed by a professional, bonded ticket-printing business.
PRICING YOUR TICKETS
You might ask several people about how much to charge. If you want to break even, you might plan out a budget, and, thinking how many people might attend, divide your cost plus profit by that number. Or you just might look at other events in your community like yours, and go from there.
Think about lower prices for children, and group prices for families.
Water, or whatever the performer works best on.
Microphone stands.
A chair, stools, or table.
Monitors (if used).
A plant? Wall hanging? You decide. Keep in mind that the show should be focused on the performer, and not the environment. Usually, the performer will be doing all they can to keep the audience listening; they won't need the distractions.
Oh yes, make sure there's room for the musicians, their amps, and any other gear they might need on stage with them. Their tech rider might have some specifications.
WHAT TO TELL THE EMCEE
The emcee is the person that greets the audience and makes them feel at home.
The emcee reminds everyone to respect the performers and their fellow audience members.
The emcee should know at least two jokes. (For an evening containing multiple acts they should know at least seven jokes, the line-up for the evening, and several long stories to pass the time while the microphones are being moved.)
The emcee should have heard the performer(s) music, like it, and be able to express their thoughts concisely.
The emcee should talk with the performer(s) before the show to see if they want anything in particular announced.
The emcee should not have to do anything but emcee.
The emcee might help keep the listening environment clean, which means the emcee might discreetly remind people to shut up.
The emcee announces upcoming events in the community of interest to the audience.
The emcee thanks everyone who helped.
The emcee thanks everyone for coming and being such a great audience.
Then, you thank the emcee.
Remember, thank EVERYONE.
SOUND - A Completely Simple Explanation
It wouldn't be a concert without sound (well, usually!). The bigger the hall, the bigger the system. Although some groups play without sound reinforcement or travel with their own gear, most will require some sort of amplification. And the more you know about it, the easier you can talk with them or their agent before the event. In this section, we'll try not to get too technical. But for the most part, if you don't know anything about sound, get someone who has done it before.
Basically speaking, sound goes into a microphone, changed into an electrical signal, and sent through a wire to a mixer to get "mixed" with other microphones. Then it gets amplified, using an amplifier, and sent via wires to speakers, which then turn it back into sound. Pretty simple, eh?
Sound either goes into microphones or into Direct Input (DI) boxes. DIs are used to get the signal directly from a guitar, bass, or keyboard rather than use a microphone.
The microphones and DIs are plugged into cords, which go straight into the mixer, or, if the mixer is more than a few feet away, you could use a "snake". A snake is just one large cord with several (6-24 or more) mike cords inside. They have a box at the stage end, and connectors at the other end. These plug into the mixer. They are really handy.
At the mixer, the signals from the various mikes and DI's are mixed together. Most good mixers have controls similar to "bass" and "treble" controls on a stereo. They can boost or reduce the heavy bass or the high treble sounds.
Many halls you will be mixing in are somewhat less than perfect. Hard walls reflect sound, and people and carpets soak it up. Wherever you are, the hall will "color" the sound. To counter-act the negative effects of the room, you can "equalize" (EQ) the sound coming from the speakers.
Equalizing is a fancy way of using the bass and treble controls. Some mixing boards come with equalizers built in. Even then, some really good sound techs use additional EQ units that split the audio spectrum into more than just bass and treble frequencies. That means they can compensate for many of the problems in the hall and make for a really clean sound.
A word of caution: If you don't know how to use an equalizer, don't experiment during a concert. Every time you change one aspect of the sound you don't like, you are taking away from the true color of the sound. Moderation is the rule here, unless you want your talent sounding like they're singing through a telephone. From the mixer, part of the sound goes to the main speakers for the audience, and part of it goes to smaller speakers for the musicians. These are called monitor speakers, to help them monitor the sound and to get a good feeling of what everyone else is playing.
You will find that some performers do not need monitors. But most will perform better with them. Some just can't get along without them. Most good mixers are able to provide a separate mix for the audience and the musicians. Better ones will be able to make different mixes for each performer. The idea is to get good sound to the performers.
All in all, you might want to discuss hiring a sound engineer. You might want to discuss the fear and uncertainty performers have on each gig as to whether or not the "sound person" will really know what they are doing. Also, performers will, or should tell you, their sound needs so that you can arrange for what they might need (ask them if they don't tell you).
HOSPITALlTY
At the minimum, this means making sure your performer has a full water glass on stage. (No ice water, please. It constricts the vocal cords.) From there, it's up to you.
Some performers will have a "rider" attached to their contract. In addition to their technical requirements, there might be other "non-technical" requirements. These can range from dietary restrictions to the vintage of wine served at dinner. Most are fairly reasonable, and help the performer keep some sense of order in the crazy world of touring. Please try to honor their demands. It will make them comfortable and perform at their best.
Where will your performer(s) stay? A hotel, a local resident's house, your place? As usual, try to arrange this in advance. If they stay at a local resident's house, make sure they get free tickets. If they stay at a hotel, see if you can get it donated, or at a discount for mention or tickets. This is a way you can keep your costs down. You may ask the performer what they want to do after the concert. Some just want to sleep, although many enjoy an easy wind-down after the concert and are happy to relax in an informal setting rather than a sterile hotel room. These informal settings sometimes become fine pickin' parties and help round out the evening for everyone. Let the performer(s) decide for themselves what's best for them. You may have to get up early to take them to the airport tomorrow morning, but they may have an afternoon concert in the next town.
REFRESHMENTS
Serving cookies, juices, coffee and tea is not only a welcome treat for many concertgoers, but it also can bring in a few extra dollars. Many times local folks can help out baking, or you may work out a good deal with a local bakery. And it's another chance to allow volunteers to take part in the fun, or to "work" for their ticket.
Whatever you're serving, here are a few things you may want to be sure to remember:
Coffee: Besides the coffee, you'll need to brew it. A multi-cup brewer can eat a lot of electricity brewing, so watch your circuit breakers! If you can, get good coffee - people will remember it. Cream, sugar and/or honey, stirrers, styrofoam or heat-resistant cups.
Tea: Some of the above, especially honey.
Cookies: Napkins
Juices: A good variety, and some paper cups. (Everyone's got their recipe for great juices, but here's an easy one from Leah Weiss: Red Zinger tea and fresh apple juice in equal parts...mmmmmm!)
All of the above: A table to serve the food & drinks from.
Some folks are able to work with local restaurants and provide a meal before the concert, tastefully prepared to match the music. (Jambalaya for Cajun music, nachos for Latin, ?)
When you serve anything you charge for, you'll need a change fund. Don't forget it!
ALCOHOL
The availability of alcohol can serve as a draw to some concerts, and in some cases, can help to make or break an event, financially speaking. It can also offset the tone of the evening. Beer and wine can be great during dances, but for most acoustic performances, the serving of the suds invites conversation, not only near the bar, but all around the hall in general. I don't know about everyone, but when I go to a concert, I like to hear the music, and prefer to do my socializing during the break or after the concert.
To serve alcohol, you'll need a permit. Depending upon your community, a temporary permit might need to be registered with the state's Alcohol Beverage Control Board. At the very least, it will require paperwork, and perhaps a fee. There are a few other regulations you have to keep mind of, such as security to keep the underage and unaccompanied from entering the drinking area.
You may neglect to do all this. It is up to you, but you "takes your chances." I'm not sure what the fines are, but for a local upstanding community organization such as your own, well......
All in all, in this author's opinion, alcohol is a problem if you have to deal with it. If you decide to include it in your event, the easiest way out is to let someone else handle the responsibility. These days, the drunk driving laws can come back at you, and realistically speaking, a lawsuit can ruin your whole day.
My best bet: Let the professionals handle it. It may cut in on your overall take, but remember, we aren't in it for the money, right?
Another consideration here is that the inclusion of alcohol usually means it can't be an all-ages event.
SOME NOTES ON CONCERTS WITH MORE THAN TWO ACTS
Festival-type concerts, with seven or more acts, are great. They can highlight the best of a wide variety of music. They can also be a challenge to put together. A few observations:
Well in advance of the evening, make an order of performers. It will help everyone involved. Performers will know about when they are playing. their friends will know when they are playing. The emcee will know when they are playing. If possible, depending on the event, consider printing programs if the order is not printed on the posters.
Your sound person will need a stage crew trained in how to move microphones and microphone stands. These people are important. A badly placed microphone can make the guitar sound like a crushed ukulele.
Make stage diagrams. They will help your stage crew, your sound techs, and make the whole evening run smoother. For the Alaska Folk Festival, we use forms printed on NCR paper to make two copies of every form, one for the mixer crew, one for the stage crew.
When setting our mikes for the evening, we set them up, in order, on the stage, and check them one at a time. We also use BIG numbers (6") on painted wood circles the diameter of a three-pound coffee can. From the soundboard, it really helps. And now that we've taken the time to make them look nice, we aren't ashamed to use them.
Don't forget that all this stuff is fairly easy. You should not be afraid to try things a little different. These are only suggestions and may be too detailed for your event. Keep it simple, please.
Don't forget to thank all your performers after the concert.
Profit split 50% with performers means the total profit for organization is $360
This is a simple budget.
Adding in extras costs like transportation, lodging, meals, newspaper/radio advertising, and decorations can be confusing. The simple answer is to keep accurate records. Keep track of details like long-distance calls and grocery store receipts. They will help you get an accurate picture of what it costs now, and for future events.
SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE
The sounds of unrestrained folk music can be heard this Friday at the Big Potato Clubhouse as THE REVERB BROTHERS perform in a benefit concert for the local food bank.
THE REVERB BROTHERS, known throughout the Northwest as some of the most contemporary practitioners of acoustic music with a powerful, full-hall sound, first drew national attention with their original blend of Cajun, rock, folk, and heavy metal. Their seven albums continue to be popular with an ever changing audience.
THE REVERB BROTHERS will be performing two shows this Friday evening, at nine and eleven, at the Big Potato Clubhouse. The Crazed Coconuts, an improvisational comedy team, will open each performance. Admission is $8 per person, and benefits the local food bank. Tickets are available in advance at The Book Eatery or at the door.
For more information, call Janosch at 568-0902.
Things usually go smoother with a check list. Here's one that will help you remember the many small details you have to keep track of. Thanks to Lis Saya for making it up.
Lis Saya's Handy Concert Check List
Concert Title ______________________________
All material © 2002 Jeff Brown
Here are some other thoughts from a variety of people. Thanks!
From Trudy Heffernan in Fairbanks
-Most times the fee given by the agent can be used as a guide only, give
what you can afford and don't be afraid to walk away if it gets to risky in
the negotiation stage.
-Don't let anyone talk you into an act you don't really want.
-re. percentage deals: Take 15% of expenses before splitting percent profit
with the artist. The agencies are used to this, it's like overhead. And
the percentage they usually want starts at 70 and goes up. It's weird but
it is usually either a flat guarantee or if not it leaps to 70 or 80 percent
of profit over the guarantee.
-to promote a concert in Alaska you legally need a State of Alaska Promoters
License which is special licensing and requires a $5,000 bond (which you can
have an insurance company put in for about $500 a year). If you want to
avoid the Promoter License requirement just don't sell tickets in advance
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Monitor
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What is Europe's largest island?
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A Guide to Church Sound Systems | Benton Electronics
Basic Concepts
Image from Sound System Manual Courtesy of JBL
The purpose of the sound system is to amplify an otherwise in-audible sound and project it to the most people possible in a comfortable pleasing way. Secondly, it should be able to satisfy the performers by way of a good monitoring system.
One of the goals of the sound system is to be invisible and not noticed. If it is doing its job correctly, the audience should not really notice it especially after listening for a while. Usually the sound system is noticed when its doing something wrong. Too loud, feedback, distortion etc.
In a traditional venue, sound should come from the stage and instruments. This may seem obvious but I have encountered Churches where the sound system speakers were in the back of the church hanging on the wall, pointing toward the Pulpit! If you think about it, walking into a building with a stage or pulpit, you would expect the sound to come from there, not the back. People will tend to seat themselves according to how close they are to the stage so they can control the depth of their involvement. For example some may not like loud volume and seat themselves accordingly. Having speakers in unusual places can ambush the unsuspecting person and leave them with a negative experience.
The soundboard (mixer) should be located in front of the stage where the soundman can hear for the most part what the audience hears. Placing the soundboard on the stage or in a booth behind glass isolates it and limits the ability to adjust the board according to the needs of the audience.
Learn more specific information on the pros and cons of miking instruments off stage
Mono and Stereo
Should you run your system in mono or stereo?
Past conventional wisdom was to run a system in mono. The reasoning was and still is that a system running in mono, will have the proper mix to all audience members no matter where they sit. Since the same sound is present in all speakers, you would hear the same thing on one side of the room as you would on the other. Since stereo usually means that there is a difference in the material from one speaker to the next, then it could mean that the only good seating would be in the middle of the stereo field and sitting on the sides would create the possibility of an improper mix. Other advantages to mono are less number of EQ’s, simpler wiring.
More recently, stereo systems are becoming more common due to a number of reasons. First, source material such as CD’s, Cassette tapes, and effects are in stereo. Also, main speakers are being placed up high in the center of the stage so that the separation of left and right is minimal. So if the distance of left and right is minimal, why run in stereo at all?
Source material that is created in stereo, will sound closer to what it was intended to sound like when played back in stereo. If you connect a stereo keyboard for example to a mono system, you have to make a choice of taking one channel, or mixing both channels. Taking one channel will cause the sound to be somewhat less full than the normal stereo sound. Mixing both channels into mono can be worse because you are forcing together signals that are in phase, out of phase, or changing phase dynamically. When signals are out of phase, they cancel each other out. When they are in phase, they increase in volume. When the channels are kept separate, these phase cancellations occur in the room acoustics and are less obvious. However, the effect is greatly exaggerated by combining the channels electronically. This exaggerated effect is undesirable. It can make a keyboard for example sound synthetic and too electronic. It can make the effects sound like this also.
Microphone Tips
TYPES
The microphone is the first device to capture the source material into the sound system. Using quality microphones makes a very positive difference to the over all system. Vocal microphones should have built in wind screens. Wind screens are not needed for instrument microphones. Pulpit microphones are great for a permanently mounted microphone. They have a very small profile and a huge sound. Choir microphones are similar to pulpit microphones but hang from the ceiling over the choir. Wireless microphone come in hand held and lavaliere types. A minister may want to use a lavaliere wireless so they can be free to move around. These also work well with drama members. A hand held wireless microphone works well soloist, guest singers, or events where the mic needs to be passed around.
IMPEDANCE
Professional microphones are wired as low impedance. Low impedance wiring allows for longer cables and lower noise. The sound board can typically be 100′ from the stage. This means the cables from the microphone to the board equal 100′ or more. Only low impedance wiring should be used for any length of cable over 20′.
MICROPHONES for INSTRUMENTS
Obviously microphones are used for speakers and singers but they are also used for certain instruments. Instruments that may require a microphone include acoustic guitars, guitar amps, piano, drums etc. When you mic an instrument, the position of the microphone will make a big difference. It is usually trial and error to find the best microphone position. In general, positioning the microphone as close as possible to the source is best. The closer the microphone is to the source, the better capture of the source and the better noise rejection of nearby sound sources. Placing the microphone too close to a really loud source could cause distortion. If the source is loud enough to do this, it may not need a mic or the microphone can be placed farther away.
WHEN TO MIC AN INSTRUMENT
More and more, churches are investing in larger sound systems that are very sophisticated. To gain more control over the entire sound, instruments are being sent through the sound system giving the sound person complete control over the mix. In a smaller church, it usually isn’t necessary to add instruments into the sound system. If however, an instrument is weak in volume compared to the mix in the system, it may need a microphone to help it balance to the other instruments.
Another technique being used is to add an instrument into the sound system to make is quieter. For example, say the electric guitar player tends to play too loud, you can have him or her face their amp to the back of the stage with a microphone on it. This way, the amplifier acts as their monitor and the sound system can put the proper amount of guitar into the mix out front.
The drums can be isolated acoustically with clear plastic dividers and adding microphones behind the plastic allows the sound person to bring just the right amount of drum volume into the mix. This also accounts for the growing popularity of electronic drums, which make no sound outside its electronic outputs connected to speakers.
In large churches, some instrument speakers may even be located off stage with a microphone. An example might be locating the Organ Leslie speaker off stage and placing two microphones on it, one for the top rotor and one for the bottom rotor. Now in this case, remember the organist still needs to hear the organ in order to play it so a very strong monitor will be necessary.
Here’s what you can do to reduce or eliminate feedback in order of preference:
(Most people try the last step first!)
Move microphone closer to sources.
Move loudspeakers farther from microphones.
Move loudspeakers closer to listeners.
Reduce the number of open microphones.
Use directional microphones and loudspeakers.
Eliminate acoustic reflections near microphones.
Reduce room reverberation with acoustic treatment.
Use equalizers to reduce system gain at feedback frequencies.
Mixer Tips
FADERS
Set the faders at the unity gain position or about 2/3’s the way up. Then use the input gain controls to reach a basic balance or mix. Then use the faders to fine tune the mix. This way, your faders will be more uniform and it makes it easier to “see” the mix by looking at the faders.
OUTPUT LEVEL
While playing music through your system, adjust the amplifier volume controls so that your mixer output levels will be set where the output meters give a good reading. For “normal” room volume, your meters should read close to zero DB, or unity. Check out the following Link from Rane.
Setting Sound System Levels Courtesy of Rane Corp.
TONE
When adjusting the tone controls, always try to reduce an unwanted band rather than boost one. For example, if the bass is weak, try reducing the treble a little and compensate by turning up the fader. Also, use the tone controls minimally. Too much adjustment creates more distortion of the signal. A very handy type of tone control is the sweep-able controls. They will offer a cut/gain and a frequency select. A very quick fix for feedback is to set the sweep gain high, and slowly turn the frequency control until you find the feedback spot. Then turn down the gain to cut that frequency. For a vocal track I like to boost the sweep gain and slowly turn the freq to find the spot where the vocalist sounds crisp and airy. Then cut the gain back for a more modest boost. The point here is to exaggerate the gain of the sweep control to “find” the frequency your looking for, then reduce it to a normal setting.
EFFECTS
Each channel has an effects send control (Some have more than one) which allow you to send an amount of each channel to the effects processor. For example, a singers voice may be enhanced by adding a touch of reverb. An acoustic guitar can be enhanced by adding a little chorus. If you have two sends per channel, you could have different effects on each send. Keep in mind that effects are easily over used and not always needed. An example might be when a singer finishes singing and begins to speak, the effects should be muted or greatly reduced. Most effect processors have stereo outputs. Many sound operators like to run the output of the effect to unused channels. This way you have the benefit of tone controls and the ability to send effects to the monitors.
AUXILIARY
The auxiliary control sends are usually used for monitor mixes. A single monitor mix is probably the most common. However, many boards have more than one Aux control so multiple monitor mixes are possible. Say the singers mainly want to hear the vocals and not any instruments in their monitors. Then, the instrumentalist want to hear each other and the lead vocalist in their monitors. With two Aux sends per channel, you can create two different mixes in your monitors. Remember that each monitor “mix” will require separate amps and graphic EQ’s. Many Aux sends have the ability to be set as “PRE” or “POST”. This means pre or post fader. Pre means the Aux signal will be taken before the fader. This means that any changes to the fader will not affect the Aux signal. Post means the signal is taken after the fader so any changes to the fader will also be applied to the Aux signal. Usually, pre fader is appropriate for monitors. If the level of a vocalist is increased for example, their monitor would remain unchanged. If the Aux was set as post, then increasing the level of the vocalist channel would also increase their monitor signal and could cause feedback.
PANNING
The pan control will adjust the channel from left to right in the main speakers if running in stereo. These are mostly set to equal left and right. However, if you were using two channels for a stereo source, one channel would be panned left and the other right. Also, you could use a slight amount of panning the adjust the signal according to where the source is located. For example, if you had your singers on the left side of the stage, you could slightly pan their channels to the left to give the listener a sense of their voices coming from them, not the speakers. These kind of settings should be minimal so to not cause listeners on opposite sides of the room to be unable to hear everything. If two channels were being used for the effect returns, they would also be set one panned left, the other panned right. If your system is being run in mono, then the pan controls have no real purpose.
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Equalizer Tips
The most common Equalizer is the graphic equalizer. These come in both number of channels and number of bands. The number of channels simply means one or two channels. A two channel EQ can be used in a stereo system. You could also use it on two different monitor mixes. The number of bands refers to how many bands the EQ divides the sound spectrum up into. Common models are 10, 12, 15, 31. The more bands you have, the better control you will have.
One purpose of the graphic EQ is to adjust your speakers so that they better match the room acoustics. If you had a “ring” in the sound caused by the room, you could “find” the band that controls that frequency and reduce its gain. Another purpose of graphic EQ’s is to allow the system to have more volume with less feedback. As you turn up your system, feedback will occur. The EQ can be adjusted to reduce the feedback allowing the volume to be turned up even higher. This is especially important on monitor speakers. Since they are so close to the mics, feedback almost always occurs there. The graphics can be adjusted to tame this problem.
Another purpose of EQ’s is simply to make the system sound better. For example singers usually perform better if they can hear themselves with a lot of clarity and fullness. Remember that an EQ isn’t going to make a bad system sound like a good one. Like the tone controls on the board, the goal is to use the least amount of adjustment to get the job done as too much EQ causes distortion.
When setting up a system it’s a good idea to rent a spectrum analyzer. This device runs a signal into your system called pink noise. This is a signal that has the same energy in all bands. The analyzer portion has a display that shows how much energy each channel has. There is a calibrated microphone attached. While looking at the display, you can quickly identify room acoustic problems. Then you can use the graphic EQ to compensate for the room. This won’t be the final say on these adjustments, but you get into the ball park real fast.
From there, run different music you are familiar with through the system and make fine adjustments. If your EQ has an in/out switch, compare your EQ’ed signal to no EQ. This also helps you to not over use it. Once the EQ’s are set, hide them. Covers are available to prevent anyone from changing the settings. You shouldn’t have to adjust them during normal operation.
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Amplifier Tips
Amplifiers are an essential part of the system. They determine to overall power of the system. The basic specification of an amplifier is the power rating. This rating is usually listed per channel at a certain load (ohms) with a rating in watts. An example is 200 watts RMS per Channel into 8 ohms. A more precise rating would be 200 watts RMS at .1% HD both channels driven into 8 ohms 20hz to 20Khz. This means the amplifier is being tested with both channels running which is the way you will be using it. Also, the .1% Harmonic Distortion means the amp is providing this amount of power at a low distortion level throughout the entire hearing range. The amp should also give a power rating at 4 ohms. This rating should be about 50% higher than the 8 ohm rating. In this example, the 4 ohm rating should be 300 watts.
Single speakers are commonly rated at 8 ohms. If you connect two 8 ohm speakers to one channel of an amplifier, the load changes to 4 ohms. (Parallel resistance divides) So in the above amplifier example, a single speaker would be driven with 200 watts, while two would be driven with 150 watts each. Some amps can certainly go lower than 4 ohms and some even have ratings at 2 ohms. I personally think not going lower than 4 ohms is a good idea. This means not connecting more than two 8 ohm speakers per channel. This may require more amplifiers in the system but it also means not pushing the amps too hard and having the benefit of redundant amp channels.
Power Ratings
How to Compare Amplifier Power Ratings by Patrick Quilter
The pastor has just given you the OK to purchase a much-needed power amplifier. So you start your hunt, collecting stacks of product specification sheets to compare the specifications. After all, you can count on the numbers, right?Wrong. Unfortunately, the reality is that product specifications aren’t as straightforward as they seem, and can easily be misinterpreted. But you wont get stuck comparing apples to oranges if you know how to decipher the numbers to get the story behind the specs.Although there are numerous specifications used to measure amplifier performance including noise, harmonic distortion, etc., this article will focus on comparing amplifier power ratings, one of the most important specs when looking for the right amplifier to match your speakers. Most amplifiers from reputable companies will have good performance within their power ratings.Variables
Measuring amplifier power depends on several variables. The first variable is the level of distortion present in the amplifier output when making the measurement. If you drive an amplifier so that it occasionally clips (let’s say with 1% THD), you will measure more power than if you reduce the output so you only have 0.1% THD. This is one way manufacturers can show higher power numbers.The second variable is the frequency range across which the power is measured. If you measure power at a single frequency, typically mid-band at 1 Khz, you will see higher numbers than if you measure over the entire audio spectrum (20 Hz- 20Khz). This is because power tends to roll off at lower frequencies, and distortion tends to rise at high frequencies.
A Tale of Two Standards
Thankfully, there are two common standards that make it easier to compare amplifier output ratings: FTC and EIA. The FTC standard, established by the Federal Trade Commission, requires a manufacturer’s stated power rating must be met, with both channels driven, over the advertised frequency range – usually 20 Hz to 20 Khz – at no more than the rated total harmonic distortion (or THD). See Example 1.
The EIA rating, established by The Electronic Industries Association, reflects the power output for a single channel driven at mid-band – typically 1 Khz – with 1% THD clipping. This standard (shown in Example 2) inflates the amplifier’s power points to 10 to 20% higher than the FTC ratings.
Of the two, the FTC rating tells you much more about the product than the EIA rating. The FTC rating gives you the average power output for both channels over a wide frequency range and lower distortion level. This is a much more conservative – and realistic – measure of an amplifier’s average output power. But in order to claim more power, some manufacturers might list only the EIA numbers; others will disclose both FTC and EIA output ratings enabling you to easily compare manufacturer’s specs.
Two-ohm Catch
Most manufacturers, however, don’t publish a 2-ohm FTC spec even if the amplifier can easily handle normal program material into a 2-ohm load. An FTC rating requires that the amp undergo a “warm-up” test, meaning the amp’s output ratings are measured after 60 minutes at 1/3 power and five minutes at full-rated power. Since 2-ohm operation is right on the edge of where an amp’s current-limiting protection circuits will kick in, the amp will automatically go into protection mode before the five-minute threshold. Fortunately, music waveforms are less demanding than constant-level sine waves or pink noise used for testing. Because of this, most manufacturers only list the EIA power rating for 2-ohm operation.
More Than Just Power
Now that you know how to read the numbers, should you always buy the amplifier that has an extra 10% more power? Not necessarily. To hear a difference in loudness, you typically need to double the power going to your speakers. In other words, you will hear the difference between 400 watts to 800 watts, a 3 dB increase, but you won’t hear a difference between 400 watts and 440 watts (+0.4 dB). Bottom line: A minimal difference in watts isn’t audible, so don’t trade off other important amplifier features, such as reliability and sonic clarity, for a little more power.
Read the Fine Print
Just like all product specifications, read advertised power points carefully. The numbers can be misleading unless you know what you’re comparing. Whether you use FTC or EIA ratings, the important thing is that you compare measurements using the same standards for frequency range and distortion.
Understanding what ratings standards are behind power point claims is a fundamental first step in choosing the right amplifiers for your speakers. And that can mean the difference between a downed sound system on Sunday and one that’s perfectly matched so that the show – or service – goes on.
Example 1
A “170W amp” as measured by the EIA Standard Specification
8 ohms, 1 Khz, 1 % THD = 170 watts
(The unpublished FTC rating might be as low as 135W, 20Hz to 20kHz, 0.1% THD).
Patrick H. Quilter is founder and chief technical officer of QSC Audio Products, Inc. www.qscaudio.com or [email protected]
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Effect Processor Tips
Effect processors are typically used to “sweeten” the sound. There are numerous applications FX’s are used in.
REVERB
Reverb is a series of reflections made from the walls, ceiling, floor, and other hard surfaces in a room. The larger the room, the longer reverb times you will realize. If you clap your hands one time in a room and then listen for how long the reflections lasts, this is the reverb time. A small room may have .5 to 1.5 seconds. A very large room may have upwards to 5 seconds.
If your room has plenty of natural reverb, you may not need any additional reverb from an effects processor. If on the other hand, if you have little natural reverb, then additional reverb may give you a deeper dimension to your sound.
Reverb is a great effect for vocals. Not only does it add depth to the overall sound, today’s processors add space in the sense that they are stereo devices. Reverb will seem to make the room sound larger. It can actually be applied to many instruments with great results.
Please understand that reverb is commonly over-used. It should be added just to the point of perception. Too much reverb causes the original sound to loose it’s clarity and definition. Also, reverb does not sound natural on the spoken word. Or I should say that the amount that might sound great on singing, would likely be too much for speaking. Some method of reducing or even turning off the reverb when a singer starts to talk for example would make for a more professional sound.
Reverb is also useful in the vocal monitors. Singers tend to sing in a more inspired fashion if they hear themselves with some reverb on their voice.
CHORUS
Chorus effects are used to widen or thicken a sound. Chorus effects shift the pitch of the source in a regular repeating fashion. Some processors will use their stereo outputs to create a stereo sound from a mono source. So chorus may be used to make a mono source sound stereo.
Chorus can also make a source sound like multiple sources. You could apply it to a 6-string guitar and actually make it sound “like” a 12-string. Chorus processors have many adjustments to accomplish these differing effects. Again, too much chorus will sound bad. Usually adjusting it just to the point of perception will be a nice starting place. Too much will make the source sound artificial.
Another variation of chorus is pitch shifting. This is where a pitch is shifted to a specific amount and it doesn’t change. This is useful again for making the source sound larger and fuller. If your processor can send the unaffected signal to one output, and the shifted signal to the other output, then with these outputs applied to the soundboard, it can be adjusted to create the sense if a larger room like reverb does but without the reflections and loss of definition. In other words, you can apply much more of this effect for the “larger space” effect without detrimental consequences.
DELAY
Delay is an effect that simply delays a signal by an adjustable amount. You could even have each output of the processor have a different amount of delay. There is a ping pong delay that bounces back and forth between the outputs. Delay would normally be considered a special effect. An effect that might be used on certain songs or maybe certain instruments on certain songs. This effect is very obvious and can be easily over-used.
Delay can also be used as a tool to help tame long buildings. For example, the sound reaching the rear of a long building will be delayed slightly from the sound leaving the stage. If you placed reinforcement speakers in the rear of the church the sound in those speakers would sound like they were ahead of the sound from the stage causing a delayed effect. By using a delay processor, you could apply an equal amount of delay into the rear speakers that matches the delay from the stage. This way, the sound from the speakers will not sound out of sync with the sound from the stage.
EFFECT RETURNS
The sound board has inputs labeled as effect returns. Usually you would connect the output of the effect processor into the effect returns. Then, with the return effect volume controls, you can adjust the volume of the effects into the mix. However, many sound professionals prefer to use unused channels as effect returns, rather than the ones provided. This is because with the regular channels, you have all the extra controls such as tone, aux sends, panning, buss assignments etc. An example would be the tone controls. You can adjust the tone of the effects separately from the source. You can also send effects to the monitors by simply adjusting the aux sends on the effects return channels.
DUAL EFFECTS
Most effect processors these days can produce more than one effect at a time. There are two styles of dual effects. Series and parallel. Series effects place different effects in series while parallel effects place them “side by side”. Parallel effects actually allow two completely separate effects at one time.
For example, the source material sent in to the left channel of the FX unit could be reverb while the source material sent into the right channel could be chorus. The reverb and chorus stereo signals are mixed and sent to the FX outputs. You could then have effect send 1 on your sound board going to the left channel and the effect send 2 going to the right channel. If the effect processor is setup as a dual parallel effect, you would have two different effects one on each send with only one processor.
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Monitor Speaker Tips
Monitors are speakers used on stage for the performers. Ideally, each performer might have his or her own monitor. In reality, this would be a lot of speakers and some sharing is usually employed.
Monitors help the performers hear themselves and each other. Setting up a good monitor system can be harder than setting up the mains. In designing a monitor system you must decide how many monitors you will use and how many monitor mixes will be needed. Each separate mix will need a separate EQ and amp. Different mixes refers to having different material in different speakers.
For example, the singers may want primarily to hear themselves and a little guitar or keyboard. There will be plenty of drums and bass right on the stage and may not be necessary to put those into the monitors. The guitar player will want plenty of guitar and maybe keyboards plus vocals. These are different mixes that can be realized by how many aux sends your board has.
I have worked with three monitor mixes. We had a vocal mix. We had a different vocal mix. And we had a vocal plus instruments mix. Understand that the more mixes you have, the more complicated it is to run the monitors. There is certainly a good argument for keeping it simple. Still, two mixes is more flexible than one.
Many acoustic guitar players don’t use an amp and rely completely on the sound system. Well, if you just put the guitar into the monitors, you will find that the tone is not suited for the guitar if it was initially setup for vocals. A separate mix will allow for a different EQ and a different mix. I prefer that the guitar player use his or her own amp.
In fact let’s talk about instruments in the sound system for a minute. More and more as sound systems become more sophisticated, players want to be in the system. In fact, the sound board operator wants everything in the system so he or she can control it. If you have a really strong system with plenty of channels AND a good operator, this is certainly possible. However, the complexity becomes daunting.
I always prefer to keep it simple. If every player has their own sound source they should be able to find a good mix without any assistance from the monitors. If the drums are acoustic then they will for the most part set the initial volume. Then, each player brings their volume up so that a balance is reached with the group. This is something that has to be worked on all the time. It has to be rehearsed and the sound board operator should offer advice from his or her perspective.
Primarily the monitors should be used for vocals. After the initial balance is formed, the monitor system can be used to “fix” any problems the players may have of not hearing each other etc. I think it should be used as a last resort instead of just throwing everything into the monitors right off. Also while talking about monitors, the stage volume should not be excessive. If it is, the sound board operator will have little control over the sound.
Main Speakers
PA Speakers, also known as club speakers, are considerably different than “Home Stereo Speakers”. The difference is the way the speaker projects or “throws” the sound. Stereo speakers may sound great in a small room but aren’t built to throw the sound for long distances. Club speakers are designed to throw the sound farther and are better suited for large room installations.
A typical setup for PA speakers is two speakers placed up high for good coverage, placing them in front of the most forward microphone to reduce feedback. They are usually located one on each side of the stage or hanging from the ceiling in the center. Recently trends are to hang them in the center. This way, you can run your system in stereo and still have the proper mix no matter where you sit.
The speakers should be up high so that the audience has a line of site no matter where they sit. Larger speakers generally means fuller sound. This also means more power needed in the amplifiers. With large speakers and plenty of power you will have a system that is versatile, sounds good, and doesn’t have to be pushed hard to accomplish good coverage. In very large buildings that are long, a speaker system called side arrays could be employed. This is where additional speakers are placed on the side walls a equal distance locations from front to back.
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i don't know
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What item very commonly worn by people has a hoop, shoulder, mounting and bezel?
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Fine Diamond Jewelry Glossary
Baby/Youth
Describes items small in scale to be worn by babies, toddlers, and teens. Earring posts are usually shorter and are often threaded or have some sort of safety clasp. Rings are usually sizes 0–3. Bracelets are usually 5–5½" long. Necklaces are usually 15"–16" long.
Bail
An arched (often oval, teardrop, or d-shaped) metal component used to hang a pendant from a chain or cord. It is meant to slide onto the chain rather than being soldered to it so that the pendant moves independently from the chain and is not a permanent part of the chain or cord.
Band
A ring, usually uniform in width, with no distinguishable “topâ€; may be set with gemstones.
Bangle Bracelet
A closed, rigid bracelet – with or without hinge and clasp – that slides over the hand.
Baroque
An irregular-shaped stone or pearl. Also an art style characterized by ornate detail.
Bar Set
A setting technique where the gemstone is secured between two parallel bars, while the sides of the gem remain open.
Base Metal
A term informally referring to non-precious metals (such as copper, zinc, tin, nickel, lead, or iron), which are commonly used in costume jewelry.
Basket Setting
A type of prong setting with open sides similar to a basket weave, that allows the lower portion of the gemstone to be visible.
Basse-taille
An enameling technique in which a low-relief pattern is created in metal by engraving or chasing, then the entire pattern is filled with translucent enamel (similar to French " low height " champlevé). See Enamel.
Bead
A small, usually spherical component made from a variety of materials, which may be partially drilled or fully drilled. A full drilled bead will have one or more holes through it, allowing it to be strung singularly or with others in a sequence. Beads in shapes other than round are sometimes described as "fancy."
Bead Set
A method for securing a gemstone where a small bur of metal is raised with a graver and pushed over the edge of the gemstone.
Belcher
A ring mounting in which the prongs for the setting are formed from the shank of the ring so that the gemstone does not extend above the circumference of the shank.
Bezel-Set
A method for securing a gemstone in which a band of metal encircles the girdle of the gemstone and is folded over the gem to hold it in place.
Birthstone
A precious or semi-precious gemstone popularly associated with the month of birth.
January - Garnet
Jewelry that was manufactured specifically for use in body piercing.
Bracelet
An ornamental band or circlet for the wrist, arm, or sometimes for the ankle.
Bracelet Slide
A bead-type adornment designed with two sets of holes to allow it to be strung onto a bracelet constructed of two rows of chain. The resulting bracelet is known as a slide bracelet.
Bridal Set
A matching set of rings that includes an engagement ring and a wedding band, which are worn stacked together.
Bridge
The structural portion of a mounting that connects one side of the shank to the other.
Bridge Accent
A design element located beneath the center stone that can be seen when looking at the ring in the through finger view.
Bright-Cut
A metal engraving technique created by chiseling the metal with a polished tool creating a highly reflective surface.
Brilliance
Pertaining to diamonds, this term has two components: brightness and contrast. Brightness refers to the amount of light returned from the diamond 's surroundings and back to the observer. To be brilliant, a diamond also needs contrast, intensity of the white light from the crown of a polished diamond or other gemstone. Brilliance is affected by: hardness, refractive index, reflectivity, polish, luster, and proportions.
Brooch
A piece of jewelry that may be fastened to clothing, usually with a mechanism that consists of a straight, sharp pin finding, a hinge, and a catch.
Bulk Chain
Chain that does not include a clasp assembly. It has raw, cut ends and cannot be worn in its current state.
Buttercup Setting
A setting usually consisting of six prongs connected to a scalloped-shaped base that resembles a buttercup flower.
Bypass
A ring mounting design in which the two sides of the band do not meet in a straight line, but overlap or crisscross each other as seen in the top/looking down view.
The main gemstone in the design which is usually the focal point of the jewelry.
Chain
A series of connected metal links or loops with an attached clasp assembly.
Clasp Assembly
The mechanism used to secure a chain and typically consists of a chain end and clasp.
Chain End
The hoop located on one end of a chain, through which the other end can be looped.
Chain Tag
A flat metal piece with a hole in each end where the quality mark or trademark can be stamped.
champlevé
An enameling technique of decoration in which the design is made by lines or cells cut into a metal base. Similar to cloisonné, but the partitions are part of the base. See Enamel.
Chandelier Earring
One of a pair of long ornate earrings that dangle from the earlobes, usually dropping more than one level.
Channel-Set
A setting style in which a series of gemstones are set close together into grooves in two parallel walls.
Charm
A miniature object that may depict symbols, figures, letters, etc., usually attached to a bracelet using a spring-type clasp or a jump ring.
A Dangle Charm has a jump ring or bail-type clasp allowing it to swing to and fro. A Bead Charm is a large, fancy bead with large holes allowing it to be strung onto a bracelet.
Charm Bracelet
A bracelet to which charms may be or have been attached.
Chevron or V-Prong
A prong in the shape of a V usually found on gemstone shapes with sharp corners.
Choker
A non-rigid necklace that fits snugly around the throat, usually 14"‐15" in length.
Claddagh
A traditional Irish ring design depicting two hands holding a crowned heart, representing friendship or love.
Clarity
A term used to describe the absence or presence of internal or external flaws in a gemstone. See 4 Cs.
Clasp
A mechanism used to attach objects or parts together, such as both ends of a chain.
Claw (Prong)
A wire used to fasten and hold a gemstone in a setting.
Cloisonné
An ancient enameling technique in which a design is outlined on a metal base with bent wire of metal strips (typically soldered to the base) forming individual sections or compartments that are filled in with colored enamel (French “cloison” = cell or partition). See Enamel.
Cluster
Multiple gemstones grouped together in a setting, which may or may not overlap each other.
Clutch Back
A rigid choker-style necklace that fits snugly around the neck.
Color Grade
As it pertains to diamonds, color is one of the characteristics used to define the quality of a diamond. The GIA color scale ranges from D to Z,
D being considered colorless and higher in value. See 4 Cs.
Comfort-Fit
Describes the convex interior of a ring or band.
Contemporary
Designs that are up-to-date with current trends in the industry with a modern flair.
Contemporary Metal
Metal alloys and industrial metals that are not part of the traditional “precious metal†group. These low-cost alternatives include, but are not limited to, titanium, tungsten carbide, stainless steel, and cobalt chrome.
Contour Band
Jewelry made with inexpensive materials or imitation gems.
Cord
A long, thin, flexible strand that can be used instead of chain for necklaces and bracelets. Cord can be made from satin, leather, rubber, and other alternative materials.
Crown
As it refers to a cut gemstone, the faceted area of a gemstone located above the girdle, but below the table.
Cuff Bracelet
A rigid bracelet designed with an opening for easily slipping the bracelet onto the wrist.
Cuff Link
A decorative fastener ━ similar to a button ━ which is used to secure the ends of a shirt cuff. It may consist of two buttons or button-like parts connected with a chain or peg that passes through two slits in the cuff.
Culet
Refers to the base point of a diamond.
Cut
As it refers to a round diamond, cut is the factor that determines the diamond ’s brilliance. Cut qualifies the brilliance, fire, and scintillation of a round, brilliant cut diamond by analyzing the diamond’s symmetry, proportions, and polish. See 4 Cs.
CZ
Short for Cubic Zirconia, a man-made gemstone created to simulate a diamond. Approximately 64% heavier than diamond.
An earring that extends below the earlobe and is designed to swing to and fro.
Danish Modern
A design style using elements from the period of the 1960s. The designs are of the “form follows function†genre and are minimalist in presentation. See Minimalist.
Depth
In reference to a gemstone, it is the length from table to culet. See Table/Culet.
Design Element
An attribute type used to describe features of a jewelry item.
Diameter
In reference to a gemstone, it is the overall width.
Diamond-Cut Chain
Sharp edges cut onto the surface of a chain so that the links flash and catch the light.
Die Struck
A process for manufacturing heads in which the item is stamped under extreme pressure, resulting in a work-hardened rigid part. See Anneal.
Dispersion
The power of a diamond when breaking up its light into its constituent colors. See Fire.
Drop Earring
An earring that extends below the earlobe and is stationary.
Dura Colbalt
A corrosion and wear resistant contemporary metal alloy consisting of cobalt and chromium.
DWT
An earring designed to follow the contour of the ear.
Earring
A piece of jewelry worn on the lobe or edge of the ear. Popular earring types are chandelier, cluster, dangle, drop, earring jacket, ear trim, huggie, hinged, hoop, lever back, and stud.
Earring Jacket
An adornment for the ear that is an accessory to an earring, designed to be secured to the lobe with a stud.
Earring Post
A pin-like or wire finding attached to the back of an earring that passes through a pierced earlobe. Examples included screw posts and friction posts.
Earring Back
A disc or bead with a hole, through which an earring post is threaded for the purpose of securing the earring to the earlobe. Examples include nut, screw, tension, omega, and clutch.
Earring Clutch
A type of earring back that attaches to an earring post after it passes through a hole in the earlobe. The earring clutch is used to secure an earring in place.
Earwire
A wire used for pierced earrings. Popular styles include French hooks, lever back, and kidney.
Edwardian
Characteristically containing lace-like, fine filigree work with milgrain set-tings. Popular from 1900-1914, it was usually produced in platinum for strength. Intricate, airy, and feminine. See Filigree and Milgrain.
Enamel
An opaque or semi-transparent glass or substance applied to a metal surface for protection or ornamental purposes.
Engagement Ring
Traditionally worn only by women (especially in Western cultures), an engagement ring is a ring indicating that the person wearing it is engaged to be married.
Enhancer
An enhancer attaches to an existing jewelry item to create a new look. Some examples of enhancers include ring enhancers, pearl enhancers, and pendant enhancers.
Engraving
The process or art of cutting or carving a design into a hard surface.
Eternity Band
The flat, polished surface of a gemstone that affects a gemstone's brilliance and sparkle.
Fancy
Describes any jewelry that incorporates whimsy, fun, and innovation in its design. It is trendy and stylish and may not become a classic or be considered a basic item. It makes a great fashion statement or conversation starter.
Family Jewelry
A jewelry item created with personal significance to the family usually using birthstones to represent each member of the family.
Fancy Wedding Band
A wedding band with more decorative styling than a simple, traditional band.
Fashion Ring
A type of ring worn to express style or a current trend.
Filigree
Lace-like ornamental work formed from thin wires of intricately arranged intertwined precious metal. May be plain, twisted, or plaited.
Finding
A component or part used in the making of a piece of jewelry.
Finish
A decorative texture applied to the surface to enhance its appearance.
Fire
Dispersed light that appears as flashes of spectral colors (rainbow) on a diamond. See Dispersion.
Fishtail Setting
A setting technique consisting of four prominent triangular corners cut from the existing shank that hold the gemstone in place. When viewed through the finger view it looks like the tail of a fish.
Fitted Band
See Shadow Band.
Flush-Set
A setting technique in which the gemstone is embedded within the band and the metal from the band is used to secure the gemstone, leaving only the top of the gem visible.
Fluted
An ornamental groove in a surface which creates visual interest.
Freeform
An asymmetrical, flowing shape or design.
French Hook
The negative space located on a head/setting.
Gemstone
A mineral or organic material with sufficient beauty, rarity, and durability to be set into jewelry.
Gallery Rail/Bearing
The metal rim located on a head/setting, below the girdle of a gemstone.
Gemstone Shape
Referring to the potential options of shape and size that a gemstone can be cut. The outline form of a gemstone, not to be confused with the
faceting pattern.
Genuine Stone
A gemstone that is produced by nature without interference from man, other than cutting or fashioning. Do not confuse “natural” with untreated gemstones.
Girdle
The narrow band or edge separating the upper and lower faceted portions of a gem.
Gold
A precious, yellow, metallic element, highly malleable and ductile and not subject to oxidation or corrosion.
Gram
A gram is a metric system unit of mass/weight. One ounce (troy) is equivalent to 31.10 grams.
Graver
A tool used to cut designs into metal and for precision gemstone setting that is made of highly polished steel.
Granulation
A surface adornment technique in which minute grains or tiny balls of precious metal are applied to a surface in patterns to create visual interest.
Guilloché
An enameling technique in which precise, intricate, symmetrical patterns are mechanically engraved into a metal base; sometimes referred to as “engine turning”. It was named after a French engineer who invented a machine to replicate these precise patterns that were previously done by hand (Example: Faberge′ eggs).
Gypsy-Set
A jewelry style featuring a central gemstone surrounded by a border of smaller gemstones.
Head
The part of a jewelry item that secures the gemstone. This is sometimes referred to as the setting.
Hidden Bail
A bail located inconspicuously on the reverse side of a pendant, so that the pendant appears to float on the chain or cord. See Bail.
Hinge
A pin that fits through pieces of metal tubing that allow an item to articulate. Hinges are commonly found on lockets and boxes.
Hoop Earring
A (usually) circular, ring like earring that may be a complete circle or may only go part of the way around.
Huggie Earring
A small hoop earring that fits closely around the ear lobe. It is thicker than a standard hoop so that it appears to be "hugging" the ear lobe. It is designed with a hinge at the base of the hoop, facing the shoulder, and a groove in the post enables it to snap into place to close securely.
Hypo-Allergenic
A term used to describe items (in this case jewelry) that cause or are claimed to cause fewer allergic reactions. Depending on the allergen of the subject, these may include metals such as stainless steel, titanium, gold, etc.
Illusion-Set
A setting technique patented by Van Cleef&Arpels in 1933 (Mystery Setting) in which a diamond is placed in a collet of reflective, highly-polished metal so that it appears to be part of the gemstone in order to enhance the perceived size of the diamond.
Inlay
The insertion of pieces of gemstones, wood, ivory, etc. into slots created on a surface for embellishment.
Invisible-Set
A setting technique with no visible prongs or supports. The gemstones are grooved so that a thin wire framework holds the gemstones in place.
Jump Ring
A wire ring of any size, usually round or oval in shape, used for attaching jewelry parts.
A unit of measure of the purity of gold. Pure gold equals 24 karats.
Key Ring
A device for holding keys together usually consisting of a metal ring.
Kinetic
Jewelry designed to move, rotate, or revolve. Moving parts are trapped and cannot usually be removed from the main jewelry object.
Kit
An assortment of products, often components, sold together, usually for back of store use, often at a lower price than if the items were purchased individually.
Lapel Pin
A small piece of jewelry with a post-type pin affixed to it with a clutch mechanism to secure it. May also be assembled with a small brooch-type, hinged pin assembly. A lapel pin is usually smaller than an inch in length.
Lariat Necklace
A long cord-like necklace without a clasp, usually looped into a knot, thus allowing the ends to hang down in the front.
Lever Back
A spring loaded closure on the back of some earrings. When in the closed position, it secures the earring to the earlobe.
Line Bracelet
A flexible bracelet that can be unclasped and laid out to form a “line”. The links are usually joined by hinge pins. A tennis bracelet is a type of line bracelet.
Link Bracelet
A bracelet made from connecting or linking various, sometimes similar, components together. The links are usually interlocking, eliminating the need for hinge pins.
Locket
A small, decorative case with one or more spaces to hold a picture or memento, designed to be suspended from a chain. May also be incorporated into the design of a ring or bracelet.
Looking Down/Top View
A way to describe looking at a ring from the top down or bird’s eye view.
Medical ID Jewelry
Designed with a medically identifiable emblem and engraved to inform others of medical issues such as drug and food allergies and other medical conditions.
Melee
Classification used in the sorting of diamonds weighing less than 0.17 carats or 17 points each.
Micro Pavé
A highly precise setting technique similar to pavé but using extremely small gemstones.
Milgrain
Having the edge shaped into fine beading.
Minimalist
A term used to describe a movement in design and architecture around the 1960s and 1970s, where the subject is reduced as much as possible to only its necessary elements.
Moissanite
A rare mineral discovered by Henri Moissan, later synthesized in the laboratory and used as a high-quality diamond substitute.
Money Clip
A folded clip used to keep folded cash and/or credit cards in lieu of a wallet.
Mounting
A jewelry item that has stone settings, but in which no stones have been set. It requires no further assembly work; the exception being an unset semi-mount mounting which requires a head to be attached.
Neckwear
A piece of jewelry that may be a string of gemstones, beads, jewels, etc., or a metal chain worn around the neck.
Niobium
See Selling Systems.
Patina
Discoloration that forms naturally over time on metals such as silver and bronze. Patinas may also be introduced artificially through certain chemicals for aesthetic value.
Pavé
A field of bead set gemstones closely set, usually in rows, whereby the entire surface of the jewelry is covered or pavéd.
Pavilion
The lower part of a cut gemstone below the girdle.
Pearl Enhancer
A pendant with a hinged, clasp-type bail that allows it to be attached to a pearl or bead necklace, or any necklace that does not allow a pendant to be slid onto it.
Peg Head
A setting with a peg attached to it that can be easily attached to a jewelry item by inserting the peg into a drilled hole. Peg heads are commonly used in semi-mount engagement rings.
Pendant
An adornment designed to be suspended from a necklace.
Pendant Enhancer
A pendant designed so that another pendant, usually a solitaire, can be suspended inside of it.
Pennyweight
Pennyweight is a common weight unit of measure used in the valuation and measurement of precious metals. One pennyweight equals 1/20 of an ounce (troy). See DWT.
Pierced
In jewelry it refers to perforated or openwork designs with regular patterns of openings and holes.
Pin
Any type of jewelry that is fastened to clothing using a sharp, pointed post and a catch or clasp. May be a brooch, lapel pin, or tie tack.
Pin Assembly
Jewelry findings used to secure a pin to the wearer. This assembly is comprised of a pin-stem and pin-catch.
Pin-Catch
The securing mechanism for a pin-stem.
Pin Stem
A sharply pointed pin on a hinge that is suitable for piercing fabric or clothing. It is secured with a pin-catch.
Platinum
A heavy, non-corrosive white metal with high tensile strength which dulls as it is worn but holds its detail for many years, giving it heirloom characteristics.
Plique-á-Jour
An enameling technique by which the design is outlined with metal and filled in with colored enamels, but with no backing so that the effect is similar to a stained glass window.
Precious Metals
Metals that are rare and have high economic value. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
Precious Gemstone
The group of gemstones consisting of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds.
Primary Metal
The metal alloy that, when describing a two-tone item, makes up the majority of the weight of the jewelry item. See Secondary Metal.
Profile
A profile is a cross sectional view. Flat inside round, comfort fit, inside round, flat, knife edge, etc., are examples of band profiles.
Promise Ring
A ring worn to show commitment to a monogamous relationship, usually set with one or more diamond melee.
Prong-Set
A setting technique in which a gemstone is held in place by metal projections or tines, called prongs.
Prototype
An example of a piece of jewelry created from inexpensive, non-precious materials.
Puzzle Ring
Remount
The act of removing gems from one jewelry item and setting them into a new jewelry item. The term remount is sometimes used interchangeably with "semi-mount," when referring to jewelry designed for this purpose.
Ring
A piece of jewelry worn on the finger. Very small rings may be worn on the toes.
Ring Guard
A ring designed with two shanks assembled so that a solitaire ring may be inserted into it.
Riviera
A necklace style comprised of flexible gemstone links which are typically tapered in size.
Rolling Ring
A ring usually consisting of three or more bands. As the ring is slid on and off the finger, the bands roll over one another.
Roundel/Rondelle
A doughnut shaped or flattened, disk shaped bead that is used as a spacer or an accent between other beads.
Rub Over
A secondary closure added to some bracelets and necklaces for extra security.
Scalloped-Set
A technique for setting gemstones in which the prongs are created from the shank. Fishtail is one example of a scalloped setting.
Scintillation
The intense sparkles and flashes of light visible when either the person viewing the diamond or the lighting moves.
Scooped Band
A band with a concave groove on the inside of the band, designed to lessen the weight of the piece, therefore lowering the price.
Secondary Metal
When describing a two-tone item, the metal alloy that makes up the minority of the weight of the jewelry item. See Primary Metal.
Selling System
A pre-merchandised collection of items marketed in a packaged format, designed as a turnkey sales solution.
Semi -Precious Gemstone
A gemstone that is not a diamond, emerald, sapphire, or ruby – historically thought to be less valuable than a precious gemstone, i.e., amethyst, peridot, aquamarine, etc.
Semi-Mount Ring with Head
Any engagement ring set and sold to the jeweler with side stones or melee, but without the center stone. The fixed head for the center stone is in place.
Semi-Mount Ring without Head
Any engagement ring set and sold to the jeweler with side stones or melee but without the center stone. The head for the center stone is NOT in place. May also be referred to as a set shank since it is not a completely assembled ring.
Setting
The act of securing a gemstone. The term setting is sometimes used interchangeably with head and/or mounting.
Shadow Band
A wedding band designed and contoured to be worn with a specific engagement ring. The design is such that it would not usually be worn on its own.
Shank
A ring designed for, but stocked without a center head and that is not complete without such head. The part of a ring that encircles the finger.
Shepherds Hook
The upper part of a ring shank.
Side Stones
Gemstones that complement and place emphasis on the center gemstone. Side gemstones are typically larger than accent gemstones.
Side View
A way to describe looking at a ring from the side.
Silver
A precious metal that is commonly alloyed to create the more durable alloy known as sterling silver.
Signet Ring
A ring with letters (usually one's initials), or a design carved into it. A college ring is an example of a signet ring.
Sizing Area
The area at the bottom of a ring shank where metal can be inserted or removed to reduce or increase the finger size of the ring.
Slide Pendant
Abailless pendant. May incorporate holes into the design to allow passage of a chain or cord.
Solitaire
A piece of jewelry containing or designed to hold a single diamond.
Stainless Steel
A contemporary metal (a form of steel containing chromium and/or nickel) resistant to tarnishing and rust.
Station Necklace
A necklace with repeating elements.
Sterling Silver
A precious metal alloy of 92.5% silver and copper, or another material.
Strip Setting
A metal strip jewelry finding that is usually comprised of repeating patterns in which gemstones can be set.
Stud Earring
Jewelry attached to the ear with an earring post through a piercing and secured with an earring back.
Synclastic
A surface or a portion of a surface that is curved towards the same side in all directions.
A setting that holds the gemstone in place entirely with compression/tension and not prongs.
Three-Stone Ring
A ring consisting mainly of three larger stones.
Through Finger View
A way to describe looking at a ring through the finger hole.
Tie Tack/Tie Clip
A piece of jewelry used to hold a necktie in place.
Titanium
A strong, low density, highly corrosion-resistant and lustrous white element that occurs widely in igneous rocks and is mainly used to alloy aircraft metals. It is also a popular choice for piercing jewelry.
Trellis Setting
A structure of open latticework especially used as a gallery support for gemstones.
Trim
A decorative finding that can be added to another jewelry component to create a finished jewelry item.
Troy Ounce
A unit of troy weight, used for weighing precious metals. The ounce contains 20 pennyweights (dwt) each of 24 grains. One troy ounce is equivalent to 31.10 grams.
Tungsten
A contemporary metal containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms.
Two-Tone
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Name the widely referenced Hindu god and eighth incarnation of Vishnu, from Sankrit meaning 'black'?
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Gemstone and Jewelry Glossary and Terms
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adamantine
The term adamantine is used to describe any gemstone that has diamond-like luster. Only a few gems exhibit such exceptional light reflectance: cerrusite, sphalerite, and demantoid are three examples.
adularescence
Adularescence is an optical phenomenon that manifests as a soft shimmer of light that moves within a gemstone as it is rolled back and forth. This property is most commonly associated with moonstone, a member of the feldspar family.
agate
Agate is gemologically described as a cryptocrystalline variety of quartz. Rather than a single crystal, it is composed of myriad miniature crystals that can only be seen with extreme magnification. In appearance agate is often banded. The concentric bands may be oval, rounded, elliptical, or totally irregular in shape, and may be multiple colors, or different shades of a single color. Agates can be found throughout the world, but a few notable sources include Brazil, China, India, Madagascar, Mexico, and the USA.
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alexandrite
Named in honor of Czar Alexander II of Russia, alexandrite is actually a very special variety of the mineral chrysoberyl. It exhibits an exotic and highly prized optical property known as color change. When held in daylight, it appears greenish, but when held under the warm lights of candles or incandescent bulbs, it appears reddish. Even more exotic is the doubly special cat’s-eye alexandrite. This variety of chrysoberyl exhibits both color change, and a special property known as chatoyancy. The most well-known source of alexandrite was Russia (Urals); however these deposits have played out. Notable sources now include Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.
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alloy
An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements in solid solution in which the major component is a metal. Most pure metals are either too soft, brittle or chemically reactive for practical use. Combining different ratios of metals as alloys modifies the properties of pure metals to produce desirable characteristics. The aim of making alloys is generally to make them less brittle, harder, resistant to corrosion, or have a more desirable color and luster.
almandite (almandine garnet)
Almandite is a member of the garnet group of gemstones. It is one of six species recognized by gemologists. The dominant hue is red, but the overall color may be modified by a little violet. Chemically it is an iron-aluminum silicate, but is rarely pure in nature. Almandite is very popular in jewelry since it is hard (7.5) and durable. Important sources include Brazil, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and the USA.
amber
Amber is the generic name applied to various types of hardened, fossilized resins. It is one of the oldest organic gem materials known to man. Scientists often refer to amber as succinite or retinite. Many variety names are found throughout the world (rumenite, simetite, burmite, etc.). There is no clearly defined consensus on what constitutes amber versus copal (baby amber), since scientists are still debating the relevance of chemistry, age, and other factors. Some of the oldest amber has been dated back to the Carboniferous period – nearly 320 million years ago. This makes even Baltic amber (approximately 30 million years old) young by comparison. Amber is extremely popular in jewelry, but is also prized by collectors for the variety of plants, animals and insects that are often found within. Sources of amber are varied, but include China, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Myanmar, Rumania, the USA and many countries bordering the Baltic Sea.
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amethyst
Amethyst is one of the better-known members of the quartz family. Color can range from soft lilac to intense purple or violet. Most amethyst is made by heating citrine, another member of the quartz family. Amethyst is popular in jewelry and serves as the birthstone for February. Important sources include Brazil, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, Uruguay, the USA, and Zambia.
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ametrine
Ametrine is a bi-color variety of quartz. It is a combination of amethyst and citrine within a single crystal. The primary source of this gemstone is the Anahí mine in Bolivia.
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amorphous
The adjective amorphous, when applied to gemstones and gem materials, means a substance lacking crystalline structure. Amber and glass are examples of amorphous materials.
andalusite
Andalusite is a highly prized collector’s gemstone. It exhibits an optical property known as pleochroism. As the stone is turned or rotated, it exhibits different colors, or blends of colors depending on the angle of viewing. This property is so strong that the color contrast is incredibly striking: earthy, olive greens to rich, reddish browns. Cutters frequently orient stones to maximize the blend of colors. Andalusite was discovered in southern Spain (Andalucía), and derives its name from that locality. Other notable sources include Brazil, Canada, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the United States.
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andradite
Andradite is one of six gemstone species within the garnet group. It includes several gem varieties, the most notable of which is demantoid, a rare and highly prized green garnet. Rainbow andradite, a rare and exotic variety only found in Japan and Mexico, exhibits an iridescent play-of-color that is visually striking.
Although softer than other species of garnet, andradite is sufficiently durable for use in jewelry. This gemstone was named in honor of J. B. de Andrada e Silva, a distinguished Brazilian scholar.
anklet
An anklet is a short chain much like a bracelet, but anklets are slightly longer and are designed to be worn around the ankle.
apatite
Apatite is the gemological name applied to a series of related minerals. It can be found in a wide range of colors, but is better known for its blue to green varieties. Softer than many gemstones, apatite is best suited for earrings and pendants, but with proper care can be used in rings and bracelets. An exotic phenomenal variety, known as cat’s-eye apatite, is a highly prized by gemstone collectors. Notable sources include Brazil, India, Madagascar, Mexico, Sri Lanka, and the United States.
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aquamarine
Aquamarine is a blue variety of the mineral beryl. Its name is derived from two Latin roots meaning water of the sea. Often referred to as aqua, this gemstone has been prized for many centuries. Cat’s-eye and star varieties are highly prized by collectors.
Most aquamarines today have undergone heat treatment to improve color. Irradiation can create deeper blues, but the color can fade quickly when exposed to sunlight.
Notable sources include Brazil, China, India, Madagascar, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and the United States.
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Art Deco
The Art Deco style features linear, geometric patterns, abstract designs, and vibrant colors. Art Deco flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, synthesizing a variety of influences such as ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean culture with modern technology.
Artificial
All gemstones and gem materials fall into one of main two categories: natural or man-made. Man-made gems are further divided into two basic groups for clarification: synthetic and artificial. Synthetic gems are man’s attempt to duplicate nature’s handiwork. Synthetic gems look like their natural counterpart and share the same chemical, optical, and physical properties. Artificial gems, on the other hand, only appear similar to the more expensive natural gem they are trying to imitate. The do not share the same properties. Artificial gems are often referred to as imitations or simulants.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is a decorative style (circa 1890-1914) noted for its free-flowing lines and natural motifs.
asterism
In gemological terms, asterism is a special optical property that manifests as a star-like pattern on the surface of a gemstone. Depending on the crystal structure, the star may have four, six, or even twelve rays. Parallel needle-like inclusions are responsible for the effect. Examples include star diopside (4 rays) and star ruby (6 rays). Double asterism (12 rays) can be seen in small percentage of black star sapphires.
average weight
Average weight is commonly used when discussing calibrated gemstones. In order for an average weight to have any significance, it must refer to a single species or variety of gem with specific dimensions, and a specific shape. An example is 7x5 oval peridots. If the total weight is 9.10 carats, and there are 10 stones, then the average weight for each peridot is .91 ct. For every stone over .91 ct, there is a corresponding gemstone below .91 ct to create the average.
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bail
A bail is the metal portion of a pendant via which the pendant hangs from the chain or cord.
band
A band is a ring that usually has a uniform width and thickness. Bands may or may not be set with gemstones, but usually more than one gem and usually gems of similar or equal size.
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bangle
A bangle is a rigid bracelet that slips over the wrist. Bangles may or may not open with clasps. Bangles that open to be put on or removed and close with or without clasps are known as hinged bangles.
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bar closure (or bar and clasp)
This is a bar-shaped fastener that inserts into a catch with a pin, found on the back of a pin or brooch.
baroque pearls
These distinctive pearls are found in unusual, intriguing shapes that lend themselves to uniquely designed pieces of jewelry. Baroque is one of the seven types of pearl shapes recognized in GIA's pearl grading. Simply put, baroque pearls are any pearl of irregular shape. Akoya, South Sea and freshwater culturing all produce baroque pearls. Baroque pearls are enjoying tremendous popularity recently. They give the wearer a unique piece of jewelry with personality in every pearl. Generally speaking, baroque pearls also provide the opportunity to purchase larger pearls at a more affordable price than round pearls.
barrel catch (or barrel clasp)
Used to connect two ends of a chain, the barrel catch has two halves that screw together, resembling a barrel shape when attached.
base metal
Base metal is a common and inexpensive metal, like Copper, Nickel, Brass and Zinc as opposed to precious metals mainly Gold and Silver.
basket setting
The basket setting is a fancy openwork setting with a lacy, basket-like appearance achieved through multiple holes or openings in its sides.
bead
A bead is any gemstone, metal, glass, or other material--usually round--with a hole pierced through it so that it can be strung on cord or wire.
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beryl
Beryl is a silicate mineral group with several varieties of gemstones, including well-known gems like emerald , aquamarine , and morganite , as well as more exotic gems like bixbite , heliodor , and goshenite. Beryls come in a wide variety of colors including greens (emerald), blues (aquamarine), yellows (heliodor), reds (bixbite), pinks (morganite), and colorless (goshenite). On Mohs' scale of hardness, beryl ranks a hard 7.5 to 8. Beryl sources vary by gemstone.
beveled
A beveled surface (usually a beveled edge) is cut at an angle less than 90 degrees. Watch bezels are commonly beveled around their edges, as are mirrors.
bezel setting
A bezel is a narrow piece of metal used to hold a gem in place on a piece of jewelry. The bezel surrounds the gemstone all the way around. A bezel is also the part of the watch surrounding the crystal on a watch face that holds the crystal in place. Bezels may or may not be set with gems and may or may not be textured.
Biwa pearl
The Biwa pearl was introduced in the 1930's and originally came only from Lake Biwa in Japan. The technique of culturing these pearls was perfected by Kokichi Mikimoto, the same man credited with culturing the saltwater akoya oyster. It involves using a small piece of mantle tissue that is implanted in the mollusk. Many times this mantle tissue will either dissolve or be unnoticeable, thus producing an all nacre pearl that is usually irregular in shape. Over the years the term Biwa has been used to describe freshwater pearls from all over Asia. Lake Biwa itself no longer produces a meaningful amount of pearls, and true pearls from Lake Biwa are very rare and quite valuable. However, the culturing technique is used effectively in freshwater around the world.
Black Hills Gold
From the Black Hills of South Dakota, Black Hills gold jewelry blends yellow, rose, and green golds together, usually in a grape-leaf design or other natural motif.
black onyx
"Black onyx" is neither truly onyx nor truly black, but it is actually dyed chalcedony. According to some experts, it is produced by boiling slabs of gray chalcedony in a sugar solution. The sugar permeates the stone's "pores" between the submicrocrystallites and darkens the appearance of the stone. This dye/treatment is stable and requires no special care.
blemish
A blemish is a nick, scratch, or other mark on the surface of a stone, as opposed to an inclusion, which exists in (or reaches into) the stone's interior. Blemishes should have little impact on a stone's value and beauty because they can usually be removed easily by polishing.
blister pearl
A blister pearl is a pearl that forms over a nucleus that has been attached to the shell, similar to a mabe pearl.
bloodstone
From the chalcedony family, bloodstone is a medium slightly yellowish-green stone speckled with orangy red spots.
boulder opal
Boulder opal is a precious opal cut to retain some of the surrounding opal matrix, resulting in a unique opal look. It has a dark base surface and can display exciting play of color. On Mohs' scale of hardness, boulder opal is 1.98-2.50. Primary sources include Australia, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and the United States (Nevada, Idaho).
box chain
The links on a box chain form tiny square interlocking boxes. The box chain is among the strongest of jewelry chains.
box clasp (or tongue-and-groove clasp)
Used to connect two ends of a chain, the box or tongue-and-groove clasp incorporates a box with a notch on one end and a metal spring that slips into the box and locks.
bridal set
A bridal set is a set of rings including an engagement ring and a matching or coordinating wedding band designed to fit well against the engagement ring.
brilliance
Brilliance is the reflection and refraction of light displayed through a stone. Brilliance is generally applied to diamonds but can also refer to colored gemstones.
brilliant cut
Brilliant cut is the style of cutting a stone with multiple facets in a particular way to maximize the gem's brilliance. Modern round brilliant-cut stones have 58 facets.
briolette
A three-dimensional tear- or pear-shaped stone with triangular facets cut across its surface. Briolettes differ from most other gemstone shapes in that they appear the same from every direction--without a table (or "face") and pavilion (or "back")--making them ideal for dangling earrings or pendants.
brooch
Designed to be pinned onto clothing, a brooch is an ornamental piece of jewelry that usually attaches with a pin and clasp (a bar clasp).
brushed finish
A brushed finish is a textured (satin) finish that results from tiny parallel lines etched on a metal's surface.
bruting
Bruting is the initial shaping of a rough gemstone.
burnishing
Burnishing is a polishing method that intensifies the shine and luster of a metal through the use of friction and compression without eliminating any metal.
buttercup setting
Resembling a buttercup flower, a buttercup setting is a deep gemstone setting with six prongs that flare out from a scalloped base.
button-style earrings
Button-style earrings look like buttons because they lay flat against the ear and have no dangling parts. Whereas stud earrings are more round, button earrings are flattened on the back.
byzantine chain
A byzantine chain consists of multiple oval links that are connected in such a way as to form an intricate woven chain.
A cable chain is a standard chain consisting of round or oval uniformly sized links.
cabochon
A cabochon is a special style of fashioning that lacks facets. It consists of a polished, domed surface. This style may be used on any shape of rough, but the most common forms are round, oval, and cushion. The height of the dome may vary from very shallow to extremely deep. Gemstones are cut en cabochon for a number of reasons. The first, and most important, is to demonstrate special optical properties such as cat’s eyes and stars. The second use involves gemstones and gem materials that lack transparency. Cabs are also used to highlight gemstones with unusual internal characteristics.
calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound that is found in various forms. It may occur organically or inorganically in nature. The chemical formula is CaCO3. This special combination of elements serves as the building blocks for microscopic crystals of calcite and aragonite that form the nacre of natural and cultured pearls.
Calibrated gemstones have standardized dimensions for specific shapes, allowing them to fit into most commercial mountings. Calibrated sizes are given in millimeter measurements as gemstone density varies from gem to gem.
cameo
A cameo, in its truest sense, is a figure or scene carved in relief any of various organic or inorganic gem materials. In many cases, these materials offer alternating bands of color, or shades of color that provide contrast to the raised portion of the cameo. Chalcedonies and shells have been extremely popular carving materials for many centuries. Although cameos have been traditionally carved by hand, advances in technology have led to mass production by machine. In recent years, the term has been loosely applied to molded composite materials and plastics.
carat
Carat is a metric unit of weight used for precious gemstones. One carat is equal to .20 grams, or conversely, 5 metric carats equal one gram. Carats are further divided into 100 points. Since carat is a metric unit, the abbreviation “ct” does not require a period.
carnelian
Carnelian is a variety of cryptocrystalline quartz. It is not a single crystal like amethyst or citrine. Instead, carnelian is an aggregate of myriad microscopic crystals oriented in many different directions. Color ranges from orange to brownish red, and transparency ranges from translucent to opaque. An alternate spelling is cornelian.
casting
A casting is a jewelry setting for a gemstone that is formed in a mold. Click here to shop Jewelry Television castings for rings, pendants, earrings, bracelets and more.
cat's-eye
The term cat’s eye is used to describe an exotic optical property that is rarely seen in many gemstones. The effect, when present, appears as a bright, narrow slit – similar to what you see in the eyes of your favorite feline pet. This phenomenon is caused by parallel fibrous or needle-like inclusions. The inclusions interfere with the passage of light, which is scattered and reflected back to the viewer. The effect is best seen on gems cut en cabochon (a dome-shaped style lacking facets). When used by itself, the term cat’s eye always refers to the chatoyant variety of the mineral chrysoberyl. Any other gemstone exhibiting this optical property must have its name specified: quartz cat’s eye, or cat’s-eye quartz, for example.
chalcedony
Chalcedony is a word that does double duty in the realm of gemology. It is sometimes used to describe a grayish to bluish variety of cryptocrystalline quartz, or may be used as a more generic term to describe all varieties of cryptocrystalline quartzes. In the latter case it is used as a species name. Cryptocrystalline quartz is not a single crystal like amethyst or citrine. It is actually an aggregate composed of numerous microscopic crystals oriented in myriad directions. Other gemstones within the chalcedony species include: carnelian, chrysoprase, sard, and agate.
channel setting
A channel setting holds a number of gemstones side by side in a grooved channel. Each stone is not set individually, so there is no metal visible between stones.
charm
A charm is a decorative ornament hanging from a bracelet, necklace, or earring. Shop Jewelry Television's Imagination Charm Collection for bead charms, lobster claw charms, and more.
charm bracelet
A charm bracelet is a linked bracelet designed to hold charms particularly popular in the 1960s and recently coming back into fashion in the early 2000s.
chatoyancy
Chatoyancy is a special optical property that is highly prized by gem collectors. The phenomenon is caused by fibrous or needle-like inclusions that interfere with the passage of light. As the light is scattered, a portion is reflected back to the viewer. If the inclusions are tightly packed, uniform, and parallel, a sharp, narrow line will form. This is called as a cat’s eye. If not uniform, the effect may appear as a less distinct whitish band that moves over the surface of the host. Chatoyancy is best seen in gems cut en cabochon.
chevron
A chevron is a “V-shaped” facet that is commonly associated with princess cut gems (a modified brilliant style applied to a square preform). The chevrons are located on the pavilion of the gemstone (normally 2, 3, or 4 are present), with the point of the “V” facing the culet.
choker
Similar to a collar necklace, this close fitting necklace style is just slightly looser. A pearl choker is usually 14 to 16 inches long.
chrysoberyl
Chrysoberyl is a durable, but relatively obscure and unknown gemstone. However, it does have one very famous and highly-prized relative – alexandrite (a color-change variety). Chrysoberyl can be found in colors ranging from golden yellow to green, as well as brownish to reddish brown. Chrysoberyl may exhibit a cat’s eye, which is prized by gem collectors. Alexandrite, the color-change variety of the mineral, may also show the same optical effect. Cat’s-eye alexandrite is very rare. Sources of chrysoberyl include Brazil, Madagascar, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Russia, and the United States. The cat’s-eye variety can be found in Brazil, China, India, and Sri Lanka. Brazil is the most important source of alexandrite, but rough also comes from Madagascar, Myanmar, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The famous deposits of Russia have played out.
chrysolite
This term has created some confusion. It was originally associated with chrysoberyl during the Victorian and Edwardian periods, but was also used to describe other greenish yellow to yellowish green gemstones. In modern texts, chrysolite refers to a yellowish green mineral that gemologists call peridot.
chrysoprase
Chrysoprase is a beautiful apple-green variety of chalcedony (cryptocrystalline quartz). It can range from translucent to opaque. It has been used as a jade simulant in jewelry. Sources of chrysoprase include Australia (a major producer), Brazil, India, Madagascar, South Africa, Tanzania and the United States (California).
cigar-band style
A cigar-band ring is a ring with a wide band, usually of even thickness all the way around.
citrine
Citrine is one of the better-known members of the quartz family. Naturally occurring citrine is generally a lighter shade of yellow, but heat treated gemstones may range from dark yellow to nearly reddish brown. Most citrine in today’s market is treated. Sources of citrine include Brazil, Madagascar, Namibia, Russia, and the United States. To learn more about citrine click here and here.
Claddagh
This is a unique design with two hands clasping a heart topped by a crown. The Claddagh design dates back more than 300 years and is used to symbolize faith, trust, and loyalty.
clarity
Clarity is one of the major factors in the process of grading and valuing gemstones. Clarity grading evaluates the effects of blemishes (external flaws) and inclusions (internal characteristics). Factors such as size, number, location, type, and contrast all modify the clarity grade of a gemstone.
clasp
A clasp is an adjustable catch, bent plate, or hook that connects two ends of a necklace or bracelet. Clasps may be simple or ornate.
cleavage
Cleavage is a physical property of gemstones that is related to structure. It is a break that occurs along certain planes of growth, and is a function of the cohesive properties of atoms, or groups of atoms within the crystal lattice. Cleavage may be described as perfect to poor, and easy to difficult. Any gems having perfect cleavage are more difficult to facet, and require a little more attention to care. Cleavage may be affected by heat and pressure.
cloisonné
Cloisonné is a type of enamelwork that incorporates thin metal strips soldered onto a metal plate in a specific pattern or motif. The outlined design is filled with enamel paste and fired, creating a colorful decorative design.
cluster
Multiple stones grouped together in a jewelry setting are known as a cluster design. This type of setting is used for rings, pendants, and earrings.
clutch
A clutch is an attachment used to secure a piece of jewelry, such as an earring back.
cocktail ring
A cocktail ring is a large, oversized ring set with gemstones. Cocktail rings were highly popular in the 1940s and 1950s and are experiencing a resurgence in popularity in current fashion that started around 2005.
coin-style edge
A coin-style edge is a ridged edge on a jewelry piece that is similar to design on the edge of a coin.
collar
At 12 to 14 inches, a collar necklace fits snugly around the neck and sometimes has multiple strands.
color
Color is the most important aspect of a gemstone. Intense, vibrant colors generally garner the greatest value. Gemologists view color as a combination of three components: hue, saturation, and tone. Hue refers to various wavelengths of light that correspond to the colors seen in a rainbow. This represents the full spectrum of white light. Saturation refers to the depth or intensity of color. Tone is the gray-scale.
color change
Color change is a special optical property referred to as a phenomenon. It is a change in hue that occurs when a gemstone is exposed to different lighting environments. The best-known example is alexandrite, the color-change variety of chrysoberyl. When seen in daylight, it appears greenish, but under incandescent light sources, reddish.
color shift
Color shift is similar to color change, but more limited in scope. When exposed to different lighting environments, some gems will exhibit a small degree of change, generally within two adjacent colors of the visible light spectrum. The term color shift is used to describe this effect.
colored diamonds
This term is used to describe untreated diamonds that are not graded on the normal color scale. They are commonly called fancy or fancy-colored diamonds.
comfort-fit ring
A comfort-fit ring is designed with a rounded interior finish to provide long-term comfort for the wearer.
concave
Concave is described as inwardly curved. Historically, gemstones were faceted with flat surfaces applied at various angles. However, recent advances in technology made possible the development of machinery that could produce curved surfaces on gems. This style of fashioning is called concave cutting. Concave is the opposite of convex.
convex
Convex means to curve outward, like the surface of a sphere. Convex is the opposite of concave.
copal
Copal is a form of hardened, fossilized resin that comes from a variety of plants. Much controversy surrounds the definition of what is copal versus amber. Issues of chemistry, age, sedimentation, and re-deposition cloud the boundaries between the two. Some sources claim that the oldest amber dates back to the Carboniferous period about 320 million years ago. This makes Baltic amber seem young by comparison, and copal a relative new-born. New born or not, copal still contains nearly all the attributes that make amber a collector’s delight. For now, enjoy copal as another treasure of nature.
corundum
The mineral name corundum is not well-known to many, but its two gem varieties, ruby and sapphire are. In its purest form, corundum is colorless. It is a combination of aluminum and oxygen (Al2O3) and belongs to the trigonal crystal system. Non-gem varieties of corundum are primarily used as abrasives.
crown
Crown refers to the top half of a faceted gemstone. It is the portion above the girdle. The lower half, below the girdle, is called the pavilion.
cubic zirconia
Cubic zirconium (singular) is a man-made gemstone that is commonly used as a diamond simulant. It is a true synthetic since a cubic form of zirconium oxide exists in nature. However, the natural counterpart, which was discovered in the late 1930’s, was of little gemological importance. Cubic zirconia, or CZ, can be found in every color of the rainbow through the use of dopants. Dopants are chemical elements that are added to the synthesis to alter the selective absorption of light. Pink CZ was the first color developed, and was originally marketed as pink ice. CZ is a very durable and affordable alternative to diamond. It is produced by the skull method of synthesis.
culet
The term culet is used to describe the bottommost facet on the pavilion of a gemstone. It is cut parallel to the table and is generally the smallest facet on a stone.
cultured pearl
The term cultured pearl is used to differentiate between natural pearls, and those created through the intervention of man. Cultured pearls may come from fresh-water or saltwater sources.
curb-link chain
A curb-link chain is made up of oval links that lie flat.
cushion
Cushion is a gemstone shape that resembles a pillow. It may be square or rectangular with bowed or curved sides. It is a popular shape for gemstones.
cut
Cut has many meanings. It may refer to the style of faceting, such as brilliant, mixed step, or flower.
cut quality
Cut quality is an aspect of diamond grading that takes into account various factors, such as brightness, fire, scintillation, durability, weight ratio, polish, and symmetry.
"Door-knocker earrings" are hinged-bottom earrings that hang below the earlobe.
doublet
The term doublet is used to describe any assembled piece that is manufactured from two components held together by a transparent bonding agent. The types of materials used for doublets vary considerably. Opal doublets, for example, may use backings consisting of ironstone, black plastic, quartz, or whatever material brings out the best in the host. Doublets are made from a wide variety of natural, synthetic, and artificial materials.
Dragon Gaze Cut™
Introducing the Dragon’s Gaze Cut, the latest addition to JTV’s ever-growing collection of exclusive custom cutting designs. Named for its resemblance to the piercing eye of a dragon, the Dragon’s Gaze Cut showcases the quintessence of exactness. With sharp corners and hard edges in all directions, this is not your average cushion cut! Quite the opposite of “cushy,” your gemstone will glow with the intensity of a dragon’s fiery stare. Displaying 2-fold mirror symmetry, 63 facets and 84.2% light return, the Dragon’s Gaze Cut is an exemplary custom cut that will make the perfect addition to your gemstone collection. Available only at Jewelry Television and jtv.com.
drop earring
Also known as dangle earrings, drop earrings hang below the earlobe. In general, drop earrings are shorter than dangle earrings and don't hang as far below the earlobe as dangles do.
druze/druse
The term druze, and its alternate spelling druse, describes a layer of crystals that form a mineral crust. The crust may be found on the surface of minerals or rocks, or as a lining on the interior cavity of a geode. The adjective used to describe this formation is druzy or drusy (druzy quartz, for example).
A fissure is a surface-reaching fracture. The term fracture is sometimes used interchangeably.
fissure filled
Fissure filling is a treatment that improves the apparent clarity of a gemstone by removing air and replacing it with a substance that has a refractive index similar to the host material. Many different substances may be used to fill fissures: oils, resins, waxes, glass, and various polymers, to name a few. The degree of fissure filling varies greatly, and is dependent on the type of material, and the intent of the treater. Fissure filling is commonly applied to gems such as emerald and ruby. Some fissure filled gemstones have special care requirements.
fleur-de-lis
The royal insignia of France, a fleur-de-lis design resembles a three-petal iris shape that is often used as a decoration in jewelry. Louisiana and New Orleans in particular have adopted the fleur-de-lis symbol as their own symbol of friendliness, camaraderie, and hospitality.
florentine finish
Florentine finish is a surface finish pattern made up of a series of engraved lines crossed lightly by perpendicular lines or cross-hatching.
fluorescence
Fluorescence is an optical property associated with many gemstones. It occurs when various forms of electromagnetic energy (ultraviolet light, infrared light, or x-rays, for example) are absorbed by the host material, and some portion is re-emitted in the visible-light spectrum. Fluorescence is often used as a diagnostic tool when identifying gemstones.
fluorite
Fluorite is a mineral that comes in a wide variety of colors. Because it is relatively soft, it is often carved into figurines, bowls, eggs, spheres, and various decorative objects. Multicolor gemstones are often cut from crystals, but individual colors can also be found.
fluted
A fluted design features rounded grooves on its surface and usually flares out from a smaller end to a larger shape.
fold-over clasp
A fold-over clasp is a type of hinged clasp used on necklaces and bracelets. It is also commonly seen as a watch clasp.
fool's gold
Fool's gold is a common slang term for pyrite, a brassy to gold colored mineral that tricked many an inexperienced prospector. See pyrite gemstone and jewelry set with pyrite gems here.
four C's
The fours C’s are important value factors for diamond. They are cut, color, clarity, and carat weight.
foxtail chain
A foxtail chain is an intricate chain featuring three rows of links braded together.
fracture
Fracture is a physical property of minerals. It is defined as any break that other than that caused by cleaving or parting. Fractures may be internal or external. Internal fractures are called feathers. External fractures often take characteristic forms that are helpful when identifying minerals. Adjectives used to describe fracture include conchoidal, splintery, even, uneven, irregular, and granular.
fracture filling
Fracture filling is a treatment that improves the apparent clarity of a gemstone. The filler may consist of oils, resins, waxes, glass, or various polymers, all of which have some degree of special care requirements. The selected filler replaces the space taken by air with another substance that has a refractive index close to that of host material. Since light encounters less interference in passage, the fracture becomes less visible.
French clip
Perfect for non-pierced ears, French-clip earrings feature a padded spring clip that utilizes tension to hold an earring in place against the back of ear.
French wire
Primarily used for dangling earrings, a French wire earring wire is a curved wire that passes through the pierced ear and may or may not close with a catch. Those without a catch are often known as "fish hook."
freshwater pearl
The term freshwater refers to pearls that are cultivated in ponds, lakes, and rivers, as opposed to saltwater environments.
full cut
Full cut refers to a round diamond having 57 to 58 facets. It is synonymous with brilliant cut.
A gem cutter, is a person who cuts, shapes, and polishes natural and synthetic gemstones.
gemstone
Most gemstones are actually mineral crystals (except for non-mineral, organic gems like pearls, coral, and amber). Mineral crystals form through a naturally occurring combination of chemicals, heat, and/or pressure. These chemicals affect the shapes and colors of the resulting crystals. Most mineral crystals are tiny, but a few grow large enough to be cut into beautiful gemstones. The three characteristics that qualify a mineral crystal to be a gemstone and help determine its value are durability, beauty, and rarity.
girdle
A faceted stone can be divided into an upper and lower section. The upper section (or top) is referred to as the crown, and the lower section is referred to as a pavilion. The perimeter where both parts meet is referred to as the girdle.
gold
Treasured for centuries for its warm sensuous glow, gold is the most beloved of all metals. Its versatility and ductile nature has made gold the perfect medium for countless artisans and craftsman throughout the ages. For thousands of years, gold has been shaped into jewelry, ornaments, religious icons, talismans, and currency. Gold in its purest state is referred to as 24-karat gold. Pure 24k gold is normally too soft for use in jewelry, so jewelers mix gold with another metal like nickel or silver to harden it, creating gold alloys of various purities: 10 karat gold is 41.7% pure gold; 12 karat gold is 50% pure gold; 14 karat gold is 58.3% pure gold and is ideal for jewelry because of its durability and affordability; 18 karat gold is 75% pure gold and is preferred in jewelry for its beauty and durability; and again, 24 karat is 100% pure gold and is therefore too soft for most jewelry. Read more about gold by clicking here.
gold electroplating
Process by which sheets of gold of at least 10 karats and no less than seven-millionths of an inch thick are electro-chemically bonded to another metal.
gold filled
A piece of jewelry with a layer of gold mechanically applied to the surface of a base metal, (like brass or copper), can be called Gold Filled if the amount of gold equals one-twentieth of the total weight of the piece.
gold plated
Gold plated jewelry is plated with a layer of at least 10-karat gold bonded to a base metal. The image to the right features gold plating over sterling silver.
gold tone
Gold tone jewelry is simply finished with a gold color. The image to the right contains no gold content but is finished with a gold toned color.
gold washed
Products that have an extremely thin layer of gold, (less than .175 microns thick), applied by either dipping or burnishing the metal, but not plated.. This will wear away more quickly than pieces that are gold-plated, gold-filled, or gold electroplated.
golden finish
Like gold tone, golden-finish jewelry has no actual gold content but is finished with a gold look.
goshenite
Colorless beryl is known as goshenite. On Mohs' scale of hardness, goshenite ranks 7.5 to 8 and it has a vitreous luster. Primary goshenite sources include the United States (Goshen, Massachusetts), Brazil, China, Canada, Mexico, and Russia.
gram weight
Grande Pearl is a recent term that refers to the development of larger freshwater pearls. Grande pearls are those that are nine millimeters or larger in size. They can be round or semi-round in shape.
Greek-key design
The Greek-key design is a design motif that features repetitive, interlocking rectangles and dates back to ancient Greece.
green gold
An alloy made of gold mixed with copper, silver, zinc. The copper is what gives it the greenish tinge. It is commonly used with enameling to strengthen the color of the gold when set beside the bright enamels.
grossular
Grossular gemstones are a species of gems in the garnet family. The grossular species includes several significant gem varieties, including hessonite, tsavorite, leuco garnet, and hydrogrossular garnet. On Mohs' scale of hardness, grossular garnets are 6.5 to 7.5. For grossular garnet sources, see individual gemstones.
guard chain
Fastening to a clasp on a bracelet or watch band, a guard chain helps prevent loss in case the clasp accidentally comes undone.
See Mohs' hardness scale.
head
In a jewelry setting, the head is specifically made up of the prongs that hold the stone in place.
head size range
The head size range is the range of gemstone carat weights that can be properly mounted in a specific head.
heating
Heating is an ancient and normally stable enhancement that permanently transforms a gem's color, clarity, or both, or even to improve or create phenomena. Gemologists use low, medium, and high temperatures in furnaces for varying amounts of time to alter gemstones. Nearly all of the world's ruby, sapphire, and tanzanite owe their color and clarity to heating. Many aquamarines are also heated to eliminate traces of green and gray. For a list of stone treatments, frequency and stability of treatments, and care instructions, visit our Gemstone Enhancements chart .
heishi
Literally meaning "shell," heishi (pronounced "hee-shee") is considered the most ancient jewelry form of New Mexico and has been linked to the Santo Domingo and San Felipe Pueblo Indians. Heishi originally referred to pieces of shell exquisitely crafted and strung on necklaces. Now it may also refer to small handmade beads of other materials.
herringbone chain
A herringbone chain has small, slanted links that fit together at snug angles to form a flat chain.
hessonite
Hessonite is a brownish-red variety of garnet. Shop Jewelry Television's collection of hessonite or learn more about all varieties of garnet from our garnet article.
hidden-box clasp
A hidden-box clasp on a chain is a cleverly designed clasp "hidden" under the last link of the chain.
high polish
On metal jewelry, high polish signifies a mirror-like finish.
hinged hoop earring
A hinged hoop earring has a hinged closure that smoothly opens and closes for ease of wear.
hoop earring
Hoop earrings are simply earrings in the shape of a hoop or circle. Shop Jewelry Television's collection of hoop earrings in silver, gold, and gemstone designs.
hue
Hue is one of three characteristics used to describe the appearance of color. Hue is the dominant wavelength of color attributed to a particular stone. Simply put, hue is the body color you see when you first view a stone.
The term intensity is used interchangeably with the term saturation.
iolite
Iolite is an iron magnesium aluminum silicate mineral that has gained popularity as a gemstone. It is primarily available in various shades of blue to violet-blue. Alternate names include dichroite and cordierite. Iolite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and is highly pleochroic. Changes in color, or intensity of color can be seen when the stone is rotated and viewed at different angles. Iolite is moderately hard at 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. Phenomena are rare, but chatoyancy and asterism are possible when inclusions of hematite or goethite are present and aligned properly. Iolite three carats or larger are difficult to find in any quantity. Gemstones over 10 carats are rare and highly prized by collectors. Notable sources of iolite include Brazil, India, Madagascar, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. Iolite is a gemstone with a slight variability in chemical composition between stones. It exhibits a blue-to-violet range of colors and sometimes shows a brownish streak. Iolite is pleochroic, meaning it can appear different colors from different directions--in this case, some combination of blue, violet blue, colorless, and brownish. On Mohs' scale of hardness, iolite is 7 to 7.5 and it has a greasy luster. Primary sources of iolite include Burma (Myanmar), Brazil, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and the United States.
iridescence
Iridescence is an interference phenomenon that produces a prismatic, rainbow-like play-of-colors within, or on the surface of a gemstone. The effect may be caused by plate-like inclusions or mineral layers of differing refractive index. Examples include fire agate and rainbow andradite. Iridescence (from the Latin iris meaning "rainbow") is the rainbow of colors reflected from the surface of a gemstone, such as fire agate or andradite garnet (shown).
irradiation
Irradiation is a treatment used to alter or improve the color of gemstones. The process makes use of various high-energy atomic particles. Irradiation is often followed by annealing (heating) for stabilization or further improvement of color. The effects of irradiation may be permanent or temporary, depending on the type of material and the method of treatment. Blue diamond is an example of an irradiated gemstone. Irradiation is a gemstone enhancement process that uses high energy, sometimes followed by heating, to alter gemstone color. Diamonds are sometimes irradiated to produce or enhance their various colors. Other gemstones may also be treated using this method. For a list of stone treatments, frequency and stability of treatments, and care instructions, visit our Gemstone Enhancements chart.
Isometric system
The isometric is one of 7 (6 in newer texts) crystal systems used to categorize minerals. It is composed of three axes of equal length that intersect each other at 90° angles. It is commonly called the cubic system. All gemstones in this category are singly refractive. Examples include diamond, spinel and garnet.
The Katzenberg Signature Collection
First debuting in December 2007 and exclusive to JTV, the Katzenberg Signature Collection is a very special selection of tanzanite gems fashioned with a high degree of expertise by Shlomo Katzenberg, world-renowned master lapidary with more than 30 years of hands-on experience. With a resume that includes fashioning gems for royalty and nobility in Europe and the Middle East, Mr. Katzenberg cuts each gem to obtain optimal symmetry and proportion to maximize each gem’s brilliance. Each finished gem is so expertly polished that it has a mirror-like surface and will arrive with a verification card stating that it was hand fashioned by Mr. Katzenberg.
Keshi pearl
The word Keshi comes from the Japanese for "poppy." It also refers to something being small and spontaneous. The term originated with Japanese Akoya pearl farmers when they found small "seed" pearls in the harvest that had not been nucleated. The “seed” pearls were actually a byproduct of the culturing process. However, Keshi pearls are still considered a cultured pearl even though they were not nucleated by man. South Sea culturing also produces a Keshi, as does the freshwater mollusk. Keshi pearls are typically small, but the south sea and freshwater variety can become quite large. Keshi pearls are almost always irregular in shape and always unique. A Keshi pearl strand is sure to be as unique as the woman it adorns.
Kianga™ Tanzanite
Like a dazzling whirlwind of magnificent light, Kianga™ tanzanite captures the essence of tanzanite’s awe-inspiring beauty and exotic grandeur. The name Kianga™, taken from the Swahili word for ‘burst of light’, is Jewelry Television™’s exclusive round brilliant cut with 57-58 triangle and kite facets that intensifies the gentle lilac and light blue hues of tanzanite to a new level of distinction.
kunzite
Kunzite is a gemstone variety of spodumene. It is known for a range of pink-violet to light-violet colors, but has also been identified in canary yellow, colorless, brown, and greenish-violet. On Mohs' scale of hardness, kunzite ranks 6.5 to 7. It has a vitreous luster, and kunzite sources include Brazil (Minas Gerais), Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Madagascar, Pakistan, and the United States.
Kutamani Tanzanite™
From the exotic east African country of Tanzania comes a rising tanzanite star, Kutamani Tanzanite™. While Kutamani Tanzanite™ has a few more internal characteristics than our other tanzanite products, its regal, rich hues more than make up for their presence. Named from the native Swahili word meaning, aspire, Kutamani Tanzanite™ gives you the aspirational look of the finest tanzanite at extremely affordable pricing. Aspire today to add one of the most beautiful gems on the planet to your jewelry or gemstone collection, Kutamani Tanzanite™, only on Jewelry Television and jtv.com.
kyanite
Kyanite has a similar chemical composition to andalusite and fibrolite, but it has a different crystal structure. Kyanite exhibits a small range of colors including blue, colorless, blue-green, and brown. On Mohs' scale of hardness, kyanite ranks 4 to 4.5 and it has a vitreous luster. Primary kyanite sources include Burma (Myanmar), Brazil, Kenya, Austria, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, and the United States.
Links are the loops or other shapes that connect together to form a chain.
lobster-claw clasp
The lobster-claw necklace or bracelet clasp uses a hook similar to a hinged lobster claw to secure one end to a ring on the other end of the chain. It is a very secure clasp.
locket
A locket is a hinged case (usually in the form of a pendant, charm, ring, or pin/brooch) designed to hold a picture or other small memento.
luster
Luster is the quality and quantity of light reflected by a stone's surface. Luster also refers to the unique glow that emanates from a pearl as a result of the microscopic crystals in its nacre.
A mariner-link chain is made of oval links that have a bar across their centers.
marquise
Named after Marquise de Pompadour, Mistress of King Louis XV, the marquise gemstone shape is similar to an oval but with pointed ends.
matched pair
A matched pair is any two gemstones that are matched in color, size, shape, and carat weight, perfect for use in earrings.
matinee
Matinee necklaces range from 20 to 25 inches long and are ideal for semi-formal occasions.
matte
A matte finish is a dull, non-reflective finish.
Meissa Star Cut™
Jewelry Television welcomes another custom cut design into the ever-growing collection. Introducing the Meissa Star Cut. As bright as the glistening star for which it is named, this cut radiates 90% light return from its 45 precision cut facets. With 4-fold mirror-image symmetry on top of that, Meissa is a star that is sure to dazzle you. When medieval Arabian astronomers charted this star, they named it meaning “the shining one.” Now, you can have your own Meissa star as a shinning addition to your gemstone or jewelry collection. Meissa Star Cut gemstones are exclusive to Jewelry Television and JTV.com.
Merelani Allure Cut™
Many great things come in fives: flower petals, our human senses, fingers, toes, a basketball team, the five elements of the five elements that compose the Chinese Wu Xing. And now, Jewelry Television’s Merelani Allure Cut, with its pentagonal shape, can be added to this impressive list! This custom gemstone cut boasts a total of 60 precision cut facets, culminating with a dramatic star design in the center. Designed exclusively for our Tanzanian treasure known as tanzanite, the Merelani Allure Cut is sure to appeal to gem aficionados desiring to add the most unique cutting designs to their collections. Available exclusively at Jewelry Television and jtv.com.
Merelani Bliss Cut™
Some people imagine bliss as lying in a hammock under palm trees, or maybe taking a bite of fresh apple pie straight from grandma’s kitchen. Here at JTV, we imagine bliss as looking into the facets of a beautiful tanzanite stone and losing ourselves in its dazzling purples and blues. Now, we have decided to share this delight with you as we introduce the Merelani Bliss Cut. Named for the Merelani Hills of Tanzania where tanzanite is mined, this custom cut has 132 dazzling facets sure to captivate you and sending you to a place and time far from your daily worries. Let your search for bliss end at JTV with the Merelani Bliss Cut. Exclusively in tanzanite, exclusively at Jewelry Television and jtv.com.
Merelani Charm Cut™
As delightful as its name implies, Jewelry Television is pleased to introduce the Merelani Charm Cut, a custom gemstone cut sure to delight our avid gemstone collectors. We have reserved this special cut for one of the most desirable of all gemstones – the Tanzanian treasure known as Tanzanite. The Merelani Charm Cut boasts a total of 72 precision cut facets, many more than typically seen in trillion cuts! Its design lends itself to greater stone loss than seen with many other gemstone cuts. Only fashioned by the finest, most skilled lapidaries, the Merelani Charm Cut embodies the charm of its birthplace. Available exclusively at Jewelry Television and jtv.com, we invite you to experience the exquisite beauty of tanzanite today with the Merelani Charm Cut.
Merelani Magic Cut ™
Merelani Magic Cut™ tanzanite is a new specialty cut exclusive to Jewelry Television®. The Merelani Magic Cut™ has a total of 64 facets, unlike traditional rounds that have 58. The cut is very unusual, strikingly beautiful, and it takes a highly skilled cutter a total of 14 hours to complete just one stone.
Merelani Star Cut™
The Merelani Star Cut™ was created to enhance every aspect of the precious generational gem we know as tanzanite. It features a total of 97 facets, with 12 facets on the girdle alone, all of which deliver a dazzling light return of over 75%. When you look at this stone, the brilliance, reflection and precision cut facets will keep you star struck for generations. Merelani Star Cut™ tanzanite is exclusive to JTV and jtv.com!
Meritorious Cut™
The Meritorious Cut™, a new custom cut debuting in Cor-de-Rosa Morganite™ is available exclusively at Jewelry Television and jtv.com! This custom cut gemstone design is one of the most intricately detailed cuts that accents and highlights every nuance of the gem. It brings the beauty of the finished gem to a new level of distinction and elegance. The Meritorious Cut has an ideal length to width ratio and its precision cutting and expertly finished polish leave no doubt that this is a custom cutting design of the highest level. Designed to reflect the pastel beauty of Corde-Rosa Morganite to the fullest extent possible, the Meritorious Cut has a total of 97 precision cut facets that allow for maximum light return in its modified oval shape. Don’t be surprised to discover this elegant custom cut gives your Cor-de-Rosa Morganite gemstone more scintillation than you’ve ever seen before in morganite gems.
metal
In one sense, jewelry is the art and science of crafting metals. Regardless of whether gemstones are present or not, virtually all jewelry incorporates some form of metal. Even bead and pearl necklaces normally incorporate some form of metalwork in the clasp. While 70 pure metals exist, only about 20 are used in the craft of jewelry making. Under controlled conditions (such as heating) metals are malleable and can be shaped into various designs. At room temperature, metals are solid and opaque.
metallic
Metallic simply describes an item that is reflective like metal.
Mezzaluna Glow Cut™
The soft glow of a crescent moon is one of the most romantic sights in the night sky. We all love to bask in the moon’s light at the end of the day, putting all of our troubles aside for the moment to enjoy its soft radiance. Jewelry Television now offers this splendor in a gemstone cut with the Mezzaluna Glow Cut. Meaning “half moon” in Italian, this cut is named for the crescent shape in its faceting seen from the top. Featuring 53 gleaming facets and precise 2:1 proportions, the Mezzaluna Glow Cut is certain to be a dazzling addition to your gemstone collection.
millegrain
Created with a special engraving tool, a millegrain edge is a raised design along the edge of a piece of jewelry.
mineral crystal
Most gemstones are actually mineral crystals (except for non-mineral, organic gems like pearls, coral, and amber). Mineral crystals form through a naturally occurring combination of chemicals, heat, and/or pressure. These chemicals affect the shapes and color of the crystals. Most mineral crystals are tiny, but a few are large enough to be cut into gemstones. The term "mineral crystal" usually refers to the mineral in its rough form, before it is cut into a gemstone.
minimum weight
We list the minimum carat weight for some of our gemstones and jewelry. These minimums are calculated by adding all grades or measurements that comprise the inventory either of similar items or in a lot, and determining the lowest weight.
Mohs' hardness scale
The common standard for rating gemstone hardness is Mohs' scale. Friedrich Mohs, a German mineralogist, developed an assessment of "scratch hardness" by ranking 10 different stones from hardest to softest. From hardest to softest, his list includes the following: 10 is diamond, 9 is sapphire, 8 is topaz, 7 is quartz, 6 is orthoclase feldspar, 5 is apatite, 4 is fluorspar (fluorite), 3 is calcite, 2 is gypsum, and 1 is talc. Because these numbers are based on actual stones, they are not equally distributed. For example, the difference between 10 (diamond) and 9 (sapphire) is greater than the difference between any other two numbers. Softer stones scratch more easily, and some stones are simply too soft for jewelry. Note: Hardness is not the only determination for durability. A gemstone's toughness, stability, and cleavage should also be considered.
moldavite
Moldavite is a gemstone in the tektite group. It exhibits a bottle-green to brown-green color. On Mohs' scale of hardness, moldavite is 5.5. A natural glass, moldavite has a vitreous luster. Primary sources (and some other names for moldavite) include Australia (Australite), Borneo (Billitonite), the United States (Georgia, known as Georgiaite), Indochina (Inchinite), Java (Javaite), and the Philippines (Philippinite).
mollusk
A mollusk is an animal with a soft body and an external skeleton or shell. The shell protects and supports this fragile animal. There are over 100,000 species of mollusks on the planet, but only a few produce pearls.
moonstone
Moonstone is a gemstone in the feldspar family. Moonstone exhibits a small range of colors including yellow, blue, colorless, and even pink, with or without a pale silver sheen. On Mohs' scale of hardness, moonstone is 6 to 6.5 and it has a vitreous luster. Primary sources include Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Brazil, India, Madagascar, and the United States.
morganite
Morganite is a gemstone in the beryl family. It exhibits a range of colors from soft pink to violet to salmon. On Mohs' scale of hardness, morganite is 7.5 to 8 and it has a vitreous luster. Primary sources include Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and the United States (California, Utah).
mother of pearl
Mother of pearl is the pearl lining of an oyster or mollusk shell. Only oysters or mollusks that have this lining can produce pearls. This lining is also used as inlay in jewelry and other ornamental items.
mounting
A mounting (or setting) is a piece of jewelry designed to hold a gem. The item itself, before the gem is set in it, is known as the mounting or setting.
Olivine is a mineral family containing the gemstone peridot.
omega chain
Treasured for its sleek sophistication, an omega chain is worn high on the neck and made up of tightly interlocking links that form a flat, solid surface.
omega-back earring
An earring closure for pierced ears that is secured by a hinged lever attached to the back of the earrings is an omega-back earring. Similar to lever-back earrings, omega-back earring latches end in an O shape that secures over a post instead of a clutch.
opal
Opal is a unique gemstone that often displays a beautiful play-of-color. Opal exhibits all colors and both light and dark base colors that reflect a rainbow-like display of multiple colors when viewed from different angles (play-of-color). On Mohs' scale of hardness, opal ranks 5.5 to 6.5. Primary opal sources include Australia, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and the United States (Nevada, Idaho). Read more about opal by clicking here.
opaque
Opaque stones are so "solid" and not "clear" that no light is able to pass through them or be reflected into and out of the stone. Also see translucent and transparent.
opera
Ideal for formal engagements, opera-length necklaces drape elegantly at 28 to 34 inches long. Sometimes opera-length necklaces are doubled and worn as a shorter necklace.
optical properties
A fundamental characteristic of gemstones is the way they interact with the light. Optical properties describe these traits and include color, dispersion, and fluorescence.
organic gemstones
While most gemstones are minerals with an inner structure that result in crystal forms, a few gemstones (such as amber and pearl) are primarily non-mineral, being formed by plants and animals. Organic gemstones were, simply put, formed by once-living organisms like oysters, coral, or trees.
orient
The layers of nacre that form a pearl contain tiny light-reflecting crystals. When there are enough layers of crystals and they align in a certain way, the reflected light will form a prismatic effect on the surface of the pearl. The beautiful rainbow-like effect is known as "orient" and resembles the colorful effect of an oil slick on water.
overlay
There are two techniques of physically joining two materials together: one is inlay and the other is overlay or encrustation. Overlay unites one material onto another surface chemically through an additional substance such as soldering (when joining metal to metal) or an adhesive/cement (when joining metal to nonmetal, such as gemstones or shell).
oxidation
Also known as tarnishing, oxidation is the natural process of discoloration that occurs in some metals due to environmental conditions and exposure to oxygen.
Literally the Sinhalese word meaning "lotus flower," padparadscha refers to a lush pinkish-orange sapphire.
pave setting
Pave is a unique setting that looks as if the piece is literally paved or encrusted with stones.
pavilion
A faceted stone can be divided into an upper and lower section, and the upper section or top is referred to as the crown. The lower section is referred to as a pavilion. The perimeter where both parts meet is referred to as the girdle. The flat plane on top of the crown is the table, and the bottom point (when present) is the culet.
pear cut
Resembling a pear or teardrop, this fancy cut is rounded on one end like an oval but pointed on the other end.
pearl
A pearl is a lustrous, organic gem produced by saltwater oysters, freshwater mussels, and occasionally by some shellfish. Pearls exhibit a range of colors from white to pink, silver, cream, peach, gold, green, blue, purple, brown, and black. Oh Mohs' scale of hardness, pearl ranks 2.5 to 4.5. Primary sources of ocean pearls include the Persian Gulf; the Gulf of Manaar; along the coasts of Madagascar, Burma (Myanmar), and the Philippines; many islands in the South Pacific, northern Australia; the coastal lines of Central and northern South America; and some small beds in Japan. Primary sources of freshwater pearls include United States, China, Japan, and some places in Europe. Read more about pearls by clicking here.
pendant
An ornament that hangs from a necklace, chaing, or bracelet is known as a pendant.
peridot
Peridot is a gemstone in the olivine family. It exhibits a range of greens from yellow-green to olive green to brownish green. On Mohs' scale of hardness, peridot ranks 6.5 to 7. It displays a vitreous and oily luster. Primary peridot sources include Burma (Myanmar), Australia (Queensland), Brazil (Minas Gerais), China, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, and the United States (Arizona). Read more about peridot by clicking here.
petalite
Petalite is primarily a gemstone for collectors. It is often colorless, but there are also examples of pink and yellow varieties. On Mohs' scale of hardness, petalite is 6 to 6.5. It has a vitreous luster and sources include Western Australia, Brazil (Minas Gerais), Italy (Elba), Namibia, Sweden, Zimbabwe, and the United States.
pewter
This dull silver-colored metal alloy is made from tin, antimony, and copper.
phenomenal gemstones
Gems that display unusual optical properties such as color change, stars (asterism), cat's-eyes (chatoyancy), adularescence, etc. are known as phenomenal gemstones.
pigeon's blood red
While rubies come in a variety of red tones, the most valued color is pure red with a hint of blue, known as "pigeon's blood" red.
Platineve™
Platineve™ (Plat eh NEVE) is an exclusive process to Jewelry Television that contains platinum and other precious metals clad over sterling silver. The Platineve finish ensures jewelry will have a durable shine and brilliant luster. Platineve is nickel free and contains not only Platinum but also rhodium, which is a member of the platinum family. The addition of rhodium adds an anti-tarnish feature to sterling silver jewelry. Platineve gives jewelry an even whiter, more brilliant luster.
platinum
Thirty-five times rarer than gold, platinum is a treasured and highly sought after precious metal. Platinum is 95% pure, reflecting a brilliant white luster that does not fade or tarnish. Its purity also makes it hypoallergenic and perfect for sensitive skin. With a higher density than most metals, platinum is more durable and less likely to wear away over time. Plus, it is highly pliable and can be shaped into many intricate, detailed patterns not possible with other metals.
play-of-color
Opal displays a burst of striking colors known as play-of-color. As the stone is moved, its appearance changes and a sparkling display of rainbow-like colors can be seen from different angles. This play-of-color is caused by the diffraction of light hitting the stone. In the 1960s, intensive microscopes magnifying between 20,000x and 40,000x revealed that opals are made up of tiny silica spheres (150 to 300 nanometers) interspersed with water. The shape, size, and alignment of these spheres affect the color of the opal.
pleochroism
In a doubly refractive crystal, a light beam reflects two different rays. The eye cannot normally see both rays at the same time, but by moving the stone, the eye will observe both rays. The result is a stone that exhibits one of two or more different colors (or two or more different color depths) from each angle. This effect is known as dichroism (two colors) or the more common pleochroism (many colors). Iolite is an example of a pleochroic gemstone.
plum gold
Plum gold is an accuracy-related term for gold that contains the exact amount of stated gold content.
point
A point is a gemstone unit weight equal to one-hundredth of a carat.
polish
Polish is a finishing process for metals and gemstones. For polishing diamonds, the diamond is mounted and pressed into a rotating grinding wheel coated with diamond powder and oil. Polishing diamonds requires a lapidary's constant inspection to make sure all the facets are symmetrical and uniform. While cutting and polishing a diamond incorporates mathematical formulas, the art of cutting and polishing gemstones is more dependent upon the lapidary's experience and experimentation. Once the stone is sawed (bruted) and ground into the desired shape, it must be sanded to remove rough marks and then polished with a variety of agents. Depending on the stone's hardness and the type of facets desired, the gem cutter will combine a variety of polishing agents and polishing surfaces to finish the stone to a brilliant shine. In the art of crafting metals into jewelry, the last step involves refining the surface to a beautiful bright finish through polishing and buffing. Metal polishing involves a multi-step process of hand polishing and/or machine polishing to eliminate all flaws from the metal's surface. This may take several stages using multiple abrasives, tools, and techniques.
precious metal
A precious metal is a rare metallic chemical element of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals are less reactive than most elements, have high luster and high electrical conductivity. Precious metals include gold, silver, the platinum group metals: ruthenium, rhodium palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, of which platinum is the most widely traded.
Primrose Cut™
As beautiful as a flower in full bloom, the Primrose Cut is sure to make you want to stop and admire this rose of a cut. This beautifully fashioned cut is a flourish of light with its 89 glistening facets on display in four-fold symmetry. A variation of the traditional cushion cut, the Primrose Cut has a classic touch with its simple yet elegant flower-like faceting, adding an instant air of elegance and distinction to your gemstone collection. Enjoy the fresh flowering look of Primrose Cut gemstones, exclusive to Jewelry Television and jtv.com.
princess-length necklace
Perfect for every occasion, princess-length necklaces range from 17 to 19 inches and look great on both high and low necklines.
prong
A prong is a small, slender metal piece. Several prongs connect to a bezel or base and are used to hold a stone in place.
proportion
Proportion describes the relationship between the angles and measurements on a polished gem.
PVD Coated
PVD Coated stands for Physical Vapor Deposition Coated. PVD is a coating that is commonly applied to the surface of the product which is then sealed with a polymer to protect it. Example: Watches.
pyrite
Natural pyrite has a brassy appearance and is sometimes confused for gold, earning it the nickname "fool's gold." Used by jewelers for thousands of years, pyrite has been found in ancient Greek jewelry and the tombs of Incas. Marcasite jewelry is actually set with pyrite.
pyrope
Pyrope is a variety of garnet. It usually exhibits a blood-red color but can also be tinged with yellow or purple. On Mohs' scale of hardness, pyrope ranks 7 to 7.5. It has a vitreous luster, and primary pyrope garnet sources include Burma (Myanmar), China, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, and the United States (Arizona).
The radiant-cut gemstone sparkles with precisely 70 facets, just like a brilliant-cut stone, but it is rectangular rather than round.
refractive index (RI)
The amount a beam of light bends as it enters a gemstone and then strikes a subsequent surface(s) is known as the gem's refractive index or RI. The amount of refraction depends on the structure of the stone. A gem's RI is one of the most important characteristics that can be used to identify it.
rhodium
A member of the platinum group, rhodium is a shiny white metal that is highly reflective, durable, and expensive--much more expensive than even platinum. Rhodium is often used as a hardening agent for platinum. In jewelry, it is plated on other metals like sterling silver to increase luster and eliminate tarnishing.
rhodolite
Rhodolite is a variety of garnet. An intermediate stone between pyrope and almandine garnets, rhodolite exhibits a lovely rhododendron red color with a lively luster. On Mohs' scale of hardness, rhodolite ranks 7 to 7.5. It has a vitreous luster and primary sources include Burma (Myanmar), China, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, and the United States.
rhodonite
Rhodonite is an ornamental translucent to opaque stone with a rose red color. It often resembles dark pink marble veined with black.
riviére necklace
Sleek and alluring, the rivière necklace is a long necklace style covered with a single strand of gemstones, usually diamonds.
rock crystal
A colorless, water-clear form of quartz, rock crystal was believed by some ancient Greeks to be ice that had hardened over time into stone.
rolo-link chain
A rolo-link chain is a chain with thick round or oval links.
rope necklace
A rope necklace is a luxurious and sensual, usually 37 inches or longer, necklace that cascades down for a dramatic display of beauty.
rose gold
Displaying a distinctive pink hue, rose gold is a metal alloy of gold mixed with copper.
rubellite
Rubellite is a gemstone variety of the tourmaline group. Valued for its ruby-red color, rubellite actually exhibits a specific range of colors from pink to red, sometimes with a violet tint. On Mohs' scale of hardness, rubellite ranks 7 to 7.5. Rubellite has a vitreous luster on crystal surfaces but a greasy luster on fractures. Rubellite sources include Brazil (Minas Gerais, Paraiba), Afghanistan, Australia, Burma (Myanmar), India, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, the United States (California, Maine), Zaire, Elba (Italy) and Switzerland (Tessin).
ruby
Ruby is a gemstone in the corundum family. It exhibits a range of red colors, and the most desired color is "pigeon's blood" red (pure red with just a hint of blue). On Mohs' scale of hardness, ruby ranks a hard 9. It has a strong, adamantine ("diamond-like") luster, and ruby sources include Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Kenya, Madagascar, and Vietnam. Read more about ruby by clicking here.
rutilated quartz
Quartz that contains needle-like inclusions of rutile rods is known as rutilated quartz.
A setting is simply a jewelry piece that holds stones in place.
shank
On a ring, the shank is the part that circles the finger.
signature
A signature is a particular style or design element common to all the pieces by a designer.
signet ring
Also known as a seal ring, the signet ring traditionally bears a crest or other family insignia on the table of the ring. Signet rings were historically used like a stamp to impress the crest or insignia into wax that was used to seal important documents.
silver
A versatile metal, silver is used in multiple applications including jewelry. It is found in ore and is often associated with other metals. Second only to gold, silver is valued for its excellent malleability and ductility as well as its high luster. Pure silver is too soft for use in jewelry, so it is often used with other alloys. See also sterling silver.
simulant
The practice of simulating costly and precious gemstones with inexpensive substitutes has been traced back over 6,000 years to ancient Egypt. This practice continues today in simulating precious gemstones. Anything that looks like a gemstone qualifies to be a simulant, including plastic, glass, or even other natural gemstones.
singapore chain
A Singapore chain is a uniquely designed chain composed of flat diamond-shaped links that are interwoven.
single-cut diamond
The single-cut diamond, a precursor to the modern brilliant cut, emerged in the mid 1600s. Moving closer to a rounded shape, the single cut consists of eight facets surrounding the table and eight facets below the girdle. Those 16 plus the table and culet make a total of 18 facets. The single cut is often found on side stones or smaller stones.
slide
A slide is an ornament similar to a pendant that adorns a chain or cord necklace. The necklace passes through a loop in the back of the slide and the slide rests directly on it, rather than hanging down from a bail like a pendant.
slide bracelet
A slide bracelet consists of two strands that are connected to a clasp. The bracelet is designed so that the strands are threaded through slide charms. Each slide has horizontal holes through which the strands of the bracelet are threaded.
snake chain
A snake chain uses metal rings connected side by side instead of linked, creating a bendable, textured chain.
snap-bar closure
A snap-bar closure is the hinged bar on lever-back or omega-back earrings.
sodalite
Ornamental sodalite has a rich blue color and is sometimes mistaken for lapis.
solitaire
Usually found in rings or pendants, a solitaire is a single stone in a simple setting.
South Sea pearl
Sometimes referred as the "queen" of cultured pearls, South Sea pearls are unusually large regal pearls primarily from Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. South Sea pearls are typically cream, white, or golden.
spessartite
Spessartite is a variety of garnet. The color ranges from a yellowish-orange to an intense aurora red to a deep orange color. On Mohs' scale of hardness, spessartite ranks 7 to 7.5. It has a vitreous luster, and primary sources include Burma (Myanmar), China, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, and the United States.
sphene
Sphene is a brilliant transparent gemstone. It exhibits a range of colors from yellow to brown to green and even reddish. On Mohs' scale of hardness, sphene ranks 5 to 5.5. It has an adamantine luster, and sources include Burma (Myanmar), Brazil, Mexico, Austria, Sri Lanka, and the United States.
spinel
Spinel is the classification of a large group of related minerals that has a small group of gemstone quality stones. Spinel exhibits a wide range of colors including red, pink, orange, yellow, brown, blue, violet, purple, green, and black, as well as color-change varieties. On Mohs' scale of hardness, spinel ranks an 8. Sources include Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Madagascar, Nepal, Nigeria, Tadzhikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, and the United States (New Jersey). Learn more about spinel by clicking here and here.
spring-ring clasp
A common clasp, the spring ring sits on one end of chain. It is a circle with a small spring tension knob that opens a gap in the circle, allowing the circle to hook onto a loop on the other end of the chain.
stainless steel
An iron-based steel alloy, stainless steel normally contains less than 20% chromium. While it is hard to work with, stainless steel is extremely durable. It resists corrosion and can hold a long-lasting polish.
stamped/stamping
In the creation of some jewelry pieces, the metal will be cut or embossed with a die or punch. This is known as stamping.
step cut
Also known as a trap cut, the step cut has one large facet surrounded by rectangular facets. Smaller step-cut stones are often used as accents and are called baguettes.
sterling silver
A silver alloy consisting of .925 parts pure silver and the rest pure copper, sterling silver is often used for jewelry and flatware. Named after the British currency known as "sterling," sterling silver was the standard for currency prior to 1920.
stippled finish
A series of dots or short lines created on metal by a pointed graver is known as a stippled finish.
straight-bar closure
On a straight-bar closure, a hinged bar slips into a catch, securing a pin/brooch.
stud
In classic simplicity, a stud earring has a ball or single prong-set stone attached to a straight post with no dangling parts. Stud earrings can be enhanced by the addition of earring jackets.
sunstone
Sunstone, also known as aventurine feldspar, is a gemstone in the feldspar group. It normally has a rich golden or reddish-brown color with sparkling red and brown (and sometimes green or blue) inclusions that create a phenomenon known as aventurescence. On Mohs' scale of hardness, sunstone is 6 to 6.5. Sources include India, Canada, Madagascar, Norway, Russia (Siberia), and the United States (Oregon).
symmetry
Symmetry refers to the balanced alignment of facets on the surface of the stone. There are three indicators of symmetry on a gemstone: the alignment of facets with one another, from side to side, and from top to bottom. Proper alignment will affect the reflection and refraction of light through the stone, thus affecting its overall beauty.
synthetic
Synthetic refers to a man-made material with a natural counterpart. The synthetic crystal replicates the chemical and physical properties of the natural crystal with little or no variation. Synthetic gemstones are also known as lab-created stones.
A trillion cut is a variation of the brilliant cut triangular stone with 44 facets.
triplet
Assembled opals like triplets combine natural opal with layers of other materials, usually to increase their durability and usability. A triplet contains a slice of natural opal adhered between a base (usually of matrix, plastic, glass, or other material) and a crystal or a glass top that protects the natural opal, making triplets ideal for rings. Opal triplets are usually less expensive than doublets, and both are less expensive than natural opals.
tsavorite
Tsavorite is one of the most valuable gemstones in the garnet family. Tsavorite exhibits a slightly yellowish green to emerald green color. On Mohs' scale of hardness, tsavorite is 7 to 7.5. It has a vitreous luster, and sources include Kenya and Tanzania.
turquoise
Turquoise is a translucent to opaque gemstone. It exhibits a range of blue and green colors from sky-blue to blue-green to apple green. On Mohs' scale of hardness, turquoise ranks 5 to 6. Sources include Iran (near Nishapur), Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico, Tanzania, and the United States (Arizona, Nevada). Read more about turquoise as a birthstone.
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i don't know
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Name the Spanish coastal region containing the city of Málaga, and towns including Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, and Marbella?
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Benalmádena Transportation - Taxi, Train, Bus & Airport Tips
Benalmádena Transportation
Train station at Arroyo de la Miel
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Bioparc Fuengirola Entrance and Lunch
"Bioparc Fuengirola offers one of the best parks in Europe and the most visited park in Andalusia. Its design is based on zoo-immersion concept in fact it was one of the first parks built on that concept. In it you can find 4 habitats where more than 200 species live together. The habitats that you will able to discover during your visit are:Madagascar Island where the famous lemurs live. Here the visitors will have the chance to get to know about the baobab the mythical tree of Bioparc and be close to lemurs through organized visits.Equatorial Africa is the second habitat you´ll discover. Here the visitors will be able to see the only couple of Coast gorillas in Andalusia with other well-known species like chimpanzees or meerkats.In the Southeast of Asia
Malaga Airport (Costa del Sol) Private Arrival Transfer
"1 - 3 in a private car 4 - 6 in a private minivan Transfers are available to hotels in: Malaga Torremolinos Benalmadena Fuengirola Mijas Marbella When mak you will need to advise your flight details (flight numbers and times of arrival or departure) and your Costa del Sol Hotel details (name and address). You must select the correct area for your hotel. Your transfer will be confirmed instantaneously and y based on 6 adults per car/vehicle. At time of booking YOU MUST include the following flight and hotel details in the ""Special Requirements"" box: Arrival Airline Arrival Flight Number Departure Airport and Arrival Airport Arrival Time Full Hotel Name and Addr"""Travel from the Malaga Airport to your Costa del Sol Hotel. Transfer services are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This is a private transfer service so the price is the same for groups of:"
Malaga Airport (Costa del Sol) Private Departure Transfer
"1 - 3 in a private car 4 - 6 in a private minivan Transfers are available from hotels in: Malaga Torremolinos Benalmadena Fuengirola Mijas Marbella When m you will need to advise your flight details (flight numbers and times of arrival or departure) and your Costa del Sol Hotel details (name and address). You must select the correct area for your hotel. Your transfer will be confirmed instantaneously and y you will be required to call the supplier directly (the contact number will be provided on your travel voucher) to reconfirm exact pick up times and places. It's that easy! Price is per person based on 6 adults per car/vehicle.At time of booking YOU MUST include the following flight and hotel details in the ""Special Requirements"" box: Departure Airline Departure Flight Number Departure Airport and Arrival Airport Departure Time Full Hotel Name an"""Travel from your Costa del Sol Hotel to Malaga Airport. Transfer services are available 24 hours a day
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Costa del Sol
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What musical instrument generally having 17-23 strings derives its name from Persian meaning 'three strings'?
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Fuengirola travel guide, beaches, good weather and sun
Pictures
Fuengirola
Fuengirola is well-known for its long 8 kilometres of sunny beaches , where we’ll find a wide offer of hotels and apartments with beautiful views over the Mediterranean sea. Fuengirola has the longest seafront promenade in Spain, ideal for a nice walk at sunset and decorated with palm trees from one extreme to the other, flowers and benches to sit down and have a rest, and if we decide to walk to the port we’ll find many leisure boats and enormous yachts, even though it’s not at the same level as Puerto Banus, it’s still a relaxing stroll that you’ll enjoy watching the fishing boats head out to sea.
Fuengirola has a great amount of restaurants and typical Andalusian tapas bars , where you’ll enjoy both the rich gastronomy of Malaga and as well as the typical fried fish.
Transfers to Fuengirola
When going from Malaga airport to Fuengirola, an easy, fast and comfortable transportation method is the airport transfer:
They are waiting for you even when your flight is delayed.
You know what you have to pay. No hidden charges.
The price is excelent, sometimes even cheaper than a taxi!
Friendly and bilingual chauffer always willing to help with your luggage.
Beware of unlicensed drivers!
History of Fuengirola
Knowing Fuengirola’s most distant origins means going back to Phoenician times, who colonised the area. Later on, Fuengirola received the name of “Suel” by the Romans, which was awarded with the title of Municipality in the year 53 a.C in the Roman region called “Betica” (today’s Andalusia)
We can still find Roman remains in Fuengirola, like thermal baths near Torreblanca, or the ruins of a Roman road with stones obtained from the Mijas quarries...elements of the past that show us the importance Fuengirola had in the antiquity. During the 17th century Fuengirola was conquered by the Muslims who changed its name to “Sojayl” (from there the name of the Sohail castle), which is located on the outskirts of the city, sitting on a hilltop overlooking the see, of Roman origin and restored by Abderraman the third.
Sohail Castle is most likely of Roman origin although it was restored in the Tenth Century by Abderrajman III under the Moorish reign of Andalusia .
Attractions of Fuengirola
In Fuengirola, in the heart of the Costa del Sol, we’ll find excellent beaches to cool off or sunbathe, plus on these beaches we can practise many sports as well the use of jet skis: Los Boliches, Las Gaviotas and Torreblanca and most of them have toilets, open-air showers to rinse off the sand and salt, and coastguards during the whole summer season.
If what you like is to go out partying, Fuengirola’s nightlife is very lively with plenty of places to choose from. Most of the pubs, clubs and discos are located on the seafront by the port.
If you’re travelling with kids, they’ll surely appreciate a visit to the Fuengirola Zoo, that hosts a wide variety of different species from the animal world, where the kids and yourself will thoroughly enjoy this great experience. A daytrip to Biopark in Fuengirola is highly recommendable if you want to have a good time.
We’ll also find many other tourist attractions to enjoy with friends or family
Aquapark, a great place where we can cool off and have loads of fun at the same time
Fuengiroola Zoo, a place that the kids will love
Fuengirola’s tourist train
Sohail Castle
Every Tuesday, the "Fuengirola Market" takes place in the town’s fairground and opens early in the morning till about 3pm. It’s actually one of the biggest open-air markets in Malaga and on the Costa del Sol, and attracts both visitors and locals. It’s worth a wonder round to check out the wide variety of merchandise that’s on sale, from clothing to fake watches of famous brands, to products made in Andalusia. There is also another second-hand market on Saturdays and a similar one on Sundays in the far end area of Fuengirola just before the river that separates the town from the castle hill. For the locals, life continues in Fuengirola, the fishermen set out to sea everyday, the same way they did when it was only a small fishing village many decades ago.
The Rosario Fair in Fuengirola is also worth highlighting, that starts in October in honour to Our Lady of the Rosary, the town’s Patroness. The fair lasts about a week in which there’s a parade of horsemen, they enclose heifers and carry out several singing festivals. the fair brings us back to its stockbreeding origins and celebrates a national competition of horse-drawn carriages.
Zoo in Fuengirola
The Fuengirola Zoo is famous for hosting a natural environment for the animals. You’ll find a replica of a tropical forest, with exuberant vegetation, rivers and waterfalls...you’ll see crocodiles by the shores of the river Nile, Sumatra tigers bathing by the Angkor Wat, lemurs playing around an ancient Baobab tree and, if you dare, bats flapping their wings in abandoned mines. There’s a forest clearing where you’ll see birds and mammals living in their natural habitat. They do 2 tours per day – one in the mornings and one in the afternoons. Perhaps one of the most important innovations in the zoo is the opportunity to go for a walk under the moonlight through the African and Asian jungles, and surprise yourself with the endless amount of animals that live there. There’s extra fun for the kids, with a great games area, including a miniature farm. And there’s no problems whatsoever for those with any kind of disability as the zoo is mainly flat, and free of architectonic barriers.
Find out more using this link of Fuengirola Bioparc at http://www.bioparcfuengirola.es/en
Weather in Fuengirola
The weather in Fuengirola is excellent. Fuengirola is a town on the Costa del Sol on the southern coast of Spain. Fuengirola has over 2800 hours of sun a year with an annual average temperature of 19.3 degrees Celsius.
Fuengirola is situated between Marbella and Torremolinos , 26 kms to the west of Malaga Airport and approximately 25 minutes away by car. We hope this map of Fuengirola is useful to plan your trip to southern Spain.
Use the controls to move around this Fuengirola map and the zoom tool to enlarge the map. You can also change the type of view of the map, to satellite or terrain.
How to get to Fuengirola
Fuengirola use to be the option for many tourists looking to spend their holidays on the Costa del Sol. Fuengirola is 24.8km to the west from Malaga airport, and there are many transportation methods which can get you there in around 28 minutes.
Taking a bus from Malaga airport to Fuengirola may not be the most convenient method of transportation if you have a lot of luggage; there are a few bus stops in Fuengirola and it could take a little longer than 28 minutes to get to Fuengirola.
Taxi at Malaga airport to Fuengirola for 24 Euro aproximately.
Trains from Malaga airport to the center of Fuengirola every 30 minutes. Its accesible by crossing the bridge out of the airport.
Car hire in Malaga may be a nice and cheap option if you also plan to visit Malaga and Fuengirola surroundings.
Transfers to Fuengirola is a fast and confortable way for going to Fuengirola if you don´t need to rent a car.
Continue reading in how to get to Fuengirola ,it could be of help if you are looking for the road route, and if you still have questions like how to go to Malaga airport from Fuengirola don´t hesitate in contacting us in the Malaga transportation forum .
Beaches in Fuengirola
There are 7 main beaches in Fuengirola: Carvajal, Torreblanca, Las Gaviotas, Los Boliches, San Francisco, Santa Amalia and El Egido. The ones worth highlighting are probably Santa Amalia and Los Boliches.
Santa Amalia is about 1400 metres long and has an average width of about 20 metres. It’s located in an urbanised area, it has quite a high occupation ratio and a promenade. Calm waves. It has a coastguard team, warning signs, a first aid hut, a rescue team and local police hut. Easy access both walking and by car, it has a parking lot and facilities for the disabled. Easy to reach by bus or by train. It has a tourist office, showers, public telephone, wastepaper bins, sunbeds, sunshades and pedal boats to hire, cleaning service, access lanes and a nautical club.
Los Boliches is about 1000 metres long and has an average width of about 40 metres. It has a high occupation ratio, located in an urban area with a promenade. Calm waves. It has a coastguard team, warning signs, a first aid hut, a rescue team and local police hut. Easy access both walking and by car, it has a parking lot and facilities for the disabled. Easy to reach by bus or by train. It has a tourist office, showers, public telephone, wastepaper bins, sunbeds, sunshades and pedal boats to hire, cleaning service and access lanes.
Pictures below are some of the images you can find in our Fuengirola Pictures gallery.
More information:
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i don't know
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From what country does the word 'chutney' derive?
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Green Chutney Recipe - YouTube
Green Chutney Recipe
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Published on Jul 31, 2016
Green Chutney Recipe
What is Green Chutney / Chutney Defination ?
Chutney / Chatney / Chattni is a condiment which enhances flavor of any snacks. Originated in India dates back to 500 B.C.
Chutney meaning in English ?
The chutney is a cold sauce. The word Chutney is derived from the Hindi word Chattni .
Recipe of green chutney -
Coriander / Dhania / Cilantro ½ Cup
Green Chillies 2
How to make chutney -
Add all ingredients in the mixing Jar,
Put tomatoes in the end (Tomatoes contain lot of water, it will grind first and release water which will help grinding other ingredients well),
Blend everything well,
Add 1 Table spoon of water and grind till smooth texture.
This is an easy to make chutney.
This is the best chutney for cheese, pasta, Sandwiches, Rolls, Tandoori and other snacks.
Chutney varieties -
Coriander chutney, Chilli chutney, Green Chutney, Phudina / mint Chutney, Onion Chutney, Coconut Chutney, lemon & date Chutney, Garlic Chutney, Dosa Chutney, Plum/ Apricot/ Peach/ Cranberry Chutney, etc..
*Tips and Suggestions
Green chutney recipe for sandwich - Add 1 Table spoon of roasted Bangal Gram and follow the same recipe, green chutney sandwich recipe is the most important element in any Sandwich.
For more simple chutney recipe Comment the chutney name and I’ll get the best chutney recipe for you...
Subscribe for more videos and support - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIs8...
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India
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A cicatrix on the skin is more commonly called a what?
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Indian Mango Chutney Recipe - The Daring Gourmet
The Daring Gourmet
Grappling Each Dish By The Horns
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Indian Mango Chutney
Winter brings with it a generous harvest of tropical fruits. And though National Mango Day is August 14th, you’ve probably noticed some good deals on mangoes lately. I scooped up a basket full of them to make a big batch of Indian Mango Chutney to bottle.
Chutney dates back to 500 BC. Chutneys are endless in variety and ingredients, but they generally consist of fruit, vinegar, and sugar cooked down to a reduction. The word “chutney” is derived from the Sanskrit word caṭnī, meaning to lick. In other words, finger-lickin’ good!
Here is a recipe I developed a few years ago for an Indian Mango Chutney. It’s sweet and spicy and is delicious either as a spread, a dip, or used in cooking a variety of Indian cuisine (recipes will follow!). Ginger, garlic and red chilies are sauteed in oil and then cumin, coriander, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom are added to coax out their robust flavors. Fresh mango, sugar and vinegar is added and it is slowly cooked down to a sticky and delicious concoction.
Another spice that is in this recipe is nigella , which comes from an annual flowering plant native to south and southwest Asia. Other names for it include black cumin, onion seed and kalonji. It’s hard to describe the flavor of nigella. Wikipedia describes them as “a combination of onions, black pepper and oregano, with a bitterness like mustard seeds.” The flavor is really unlike anything you’ve tasted before. It’s fantastic! I love to use it at every possible opportunity when I make Indian or Middle Eastern foods. It’s wonderful in curries and it positively transforms breads and potatoes. Nigella is commonly sprinkled on naan bread in India and is a wonderful spice to use in any “carb-based” dish. It’s adds a delicious dimension of flavor to this mango chutney.
This chutney is great as a stand-alone spread, but it’s also fantastic to cook with. Here are three recipes using this chutney and more will come:
*and be sure to sign up for my FREE newsletter so you never miss a recipe!
So happy to have you on board!
Now, let’s get started on that heavenly chutney!
You’ll need about 4-5 ripe mangoes.
Peel the mangoes.
Cut off as much of the mango off the stubborn pit as you can and chop up the mango flesh. Set aside.
Get some fresh ginger and garlic.
Finely mince the ginger and garlic.
Over medium-high heat, heat some vegetable oil in a medium stock pot and saute the garlic, ginger and some diced red chilies for about a minute.
Add the spices and saute for another minute.
Add the chopped mangoes to the pot.
Add the sugar and salt.
Add the white vinegar.
Stir up the mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue on a steady simmer for one hour.
After an hour of simmering. Depending on how finely you diced the mango, you can either leave it as is, or you can use a potato masher or blender stick to mash up some of the larger pieces.
After a bit of mashing. Stored in jars in the fridge this chutney will last up to at least two months. You can also freeze it for several months. For long-term storage, can it in airtight jars: Pour the mixture directly into sterilized jars and process in a water bath for 10 minutes. Let sit undisturbed for 24 hours then store jars in a dark, cool place. Will keep for at least a year.
4.8 from 5 reviews
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i don't know
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Swiss Peter Sauber established his eponymous brand in what sport in 1993?
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Sauber F1 team secures future with takeover - SWI swissinfo.ch
Sauber F1 team secures future with takeover
The Sauber brand was created in the basement of a family home
(Keystone)
Switzerland’s sole Formula 1 team will continue racing after founder Peter Sauber and his partner agreed to sell their shares to the investment group Longbow Finance. The takeover ensures Sauber will race for a 25th year.
Peter Sauber, 72, started his eponymous F1 team in 1993, having built racing cars under is own name since 1970. It has always been based in Hinwil, canton Zurich, where Sauber also built an innovative wind tunnel to test the aerodynamics of racing cars.
In 2005 he sold the keys of his stable to BMW and then bought it back four years later. But the team has struggled financially in recently years after the withdrawal of key sponsors. On Wednesday it was announced that Sauber had sold his two thirds stake in his team to Longbow.
Austrian national Monisha Kaltenborn sold her one third share to the investment company but retains her position as chief executive.
“I am very happy that the goal of my bold investment six years ago – to retain the Hinwil location and a Formula 1 starting position – has ultimately been proved correct,” Peter Sauber said in a statement.
“As a Swiss company we are very pleased to secure the future of a Swiss firm in such a highly specialised and innovative industry,” stated Longbow chairman and chief executive Pascal Picci.
In an interview with swissinfo.ch in 2005 , just before he sold to BMW, Sauber reflected on the journey that had taken him from his parent’s cellar designing his first car to the glamour of F1.
“When I started it seemed like Mission Impossible. It was an interesting and thrilling challenge and I like to push myself to the limit,” he said 11 years ago. But despite his personal attachment to his team, he also said that there was “no space for romance in the business world”.
On the track, the Sauber team has seen little joy in recent years, currently lying bottom of the constructor’s championship this season with a best placed finish of 12th. The team has enjoyed only one F1 win in its history, in Canada in 2008.
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Reuse article
Sauber F1 team secures future with takeover Jul 20, 2016 - 16:26 Switzerland’s sole Formula 1 team will continue racing after founder Peter Sauber and his partner agreed to sell their shares to the investment group Longbow Finance. The takeover ensures Sauber will race for a 25th year. Peter Sauber, 72, started his eponymous F1 team in 1993, having built racing cars under is own name since 1970. It has always been based in Hinwil, canton Zurich, where Sauber also built an innovative wind tunnel to test the aerodynamics of racing cars. In 2005 he sold the keys of his stable to BMW and then bought it back four years later. But the team has struggled financially in recently years after the withdrawal of key sponsors. On Wednesday it was announced that Sauber had sold his two thirds stake in his team to Longbow. Austrian national Monisha Kaltenborn sold her one third share to the investment company but retains her position as chief executive. “I am very happy that the goal of my bold investment six years ago – to retain the Hinwil location and a Formula 1 starting position – has ultimately been proved correct,” Peter Sauber said in a statement. “As a Swiss company we are very pleased to secure the future of a Swiss firm in such a highly specialised and innovative industry,” stated Longbow chairman and chief executive Pascal Picci. In an interview with swissinfo.ch in 2005, just before he sold to BMW, Sauber reflected on the journey that had taken him from his parent’s cellar designing his first car to the glamour of F1. “When I started it seemed like Mission Impossible. It was an interesting and thrilling challenge and I like to push myself to the limit,” he said 11 years ago. But despite his personal attachment to his team, he also said that there was “no space for romance in the business world”. On the track, the Sauber team has seen little joy in recent years, currently lying bottom of the constructor’s championship this season with a best placed finish of 12th. The team has enjoyed only one F1 win in its history, in Canada in 2008.
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Formula One
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In India a kirana is a what?
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F1 Feature - Haas look away now... the 'chequered' history of F1 debutants
Haas look away now... the 'chequered' history of F1 debutants
Haas look away now... the 'chequered' history of F1 debutants
16 March 2016
Ahead of Haas' big debut this weekend, Crash.net looks back at the debut seasons of the last 10 'start-up' teams to enter F1... with wildly differing success rates!
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When Haas F1 makes its much anticipated F1 debut at this week's Australian Grand Prix, it will become the first entirely all-new, from the ground up team to join the ranks since Virgin Racing, Team Lotus and HRT bolstered the grid in 2010.
In all, over the last 25 years, only 10 teams have attempted a ground up, from scratch attempt at F1 (ie. not through the purchase or rebrand of an existing team, like Red Bull or Brawn GP). Off those, only one still competes today under its maiden moniker, while only two would win a race in is original guise and just four scored in their inaugural campaign.
So based on near history, the odds are stacked against Haas to hit the ground running, but despite some testing niggles, many feel it has the ingredients to come good sooner rather than later – and the likes of some teams show what can certainly be possible for an F1 'newbie'
Crash.net looks back at the most recent start-up endeavours to see what it has to measure itself against…
1991
Jordan Grand Prix
Points in first season: 13
Years of existence in F1: 1991 – 2005 (Jordan 1991 – 2005: Midland 2006: Spyker 2007: Force India 2008 – )
Headed up by charismatic eponymous owner Eddie Jordan, Jordan Grand Prix was the latest in a long line of title-winning junior formula teams to tread a path into F1 when it stepped up in 1991. At a time when making that transition seamlessly and successfully was becoming increasingly tough, Jordan bucked the trend to finish a remarkable fifth in the constructors' standings at its first attempt.
With Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot at the wheel, Jordan scored its first points by round five – a double top five – and thereafter found itself frequently picking up digits. Famously of course, Jordan would earn its place in the history books as the team to give a young Michael Schumacher his F1 debut, the then 22 year-old scoring in three of the six races he competed in what would – unbeknown at the time – become the eye-catching prelude to an extraordinary career.
Interestingly, it took Jordan until 1994 to come close to matching that breakout campaign (it scored just four points across 1992 and 1993), the plucky outfit winning its long awaited first race in 1998 ahead of its pinnacle 1999 season that yielded three wins and third overall in the constructors'. Financial woes would begin to descend as the pennies pinched into the 2000s and Jordan eventually sold up to the Russian-financed Midland Group 2006, which then became Spyker F1 for 2007 and finally to its current form of Force India in 2008.
1993
Points in first season: 12
Years of existence in F1: 1993 – (Sauber 1993 – 2005, BMW Sauber 2006 – 2009, Sauber 2010 – )
Though recent years have been somewhat less forgiving in terms of results and it seems to be operating on an increasingly shoe-string budget, it's easy to forget the odds Sauber has repeatedly triumphed against as the only new team from the last 25 years to still be operating in F1 as it started (albeit with some factory assistance along the way).
Entering F1 via a more alternative sportscar angle, where it had won Le Mans as a Mercedes partner in the 80s, Sauber stepped up to F1 in 1993 with some financial assistance from three-pointed star. Using competitive Ilmor engines, Sauber turned heads from the off by scoring on its debut in Kyalami courtesy of JJ Lehto's fifth place and though reliability issues kept points somewhat scarce thereafter, few teams in the history of F1 had hit the ground so convincingly given its minimal single-seater experience.
From here, Sauber went on to establish itself as a perennial mid-field runner, yet remain something of a pioneer, whether it was luring Red Bull into the sport, securing a long running engine branding deal with Petronas or putting faith in little known drivers – most notably Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa – who would go on to achieve great things.
It even attracted a takeover from BMW – who faithfully kept the Sauber moniker alongside its own – and worked itself into a race winner and competitive front runner. Had the global financial crisis not spooked BMW away, many feel Sauber – vicariously at least – would have been a world champion. It's a measure of the dedication that founder Peter Sauber was able to reform the original team in the wake of BMW's demise and it has taken more podiums since. Indeed, though times are tough, given the challenge of teams experienced on this list, its continued presence 23 years later ranks as one of F1's most endearing tales.
1994
Points in first season: 0
Years of existence in F1: 1994 – 1995
A team that will forever remembered in F1 for all of the wrong reasons, Simtek's time in F1 may have been brief and tragic, but had its original plans for the sport ever come to fruition, it could have been a very different story.
Helmed by Nick Wirth, Simtek developed a close relationship with a number of F1 teams via its Simtek Research facility – founded with Max Mosely -, which included a windtunnel, so much so that it was commissioned by BMW to design a car for the German firm's planned full-factory entry. However, the project was aborted and Simtek instead planned its own entry for 1994.
With MTV branding and Ford engines, Simtek showed promise initially, but would be rocked to its core in only its third race when driver Roland Ratzenberger was fatally injured in an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix, in what would become one of the darkest weekends in sporting history.
Simtek continued, not helped by another almost career-ending smash for Andrea Montermini just two races later, but despite some tragic odds and financial constraints that would see six different drivers race alongside David Brabham, results were remarkably solid for an all-new budget team and it qualified for all but two races.
Simtek continued into 1995, but while the car was competitive – and may have stood to challenge for points is some unpredictable races with ex-Benetton driver Jos Verstappen at the wheel -, the money eventually dried up and the team was not seen again beyond the Monaco Grand Prix.
1994
Points in first season: 0
Years of existence in F1: 1994 – 1995
Though its brief and unremarkable tenure in F1 would lead one to automatically group Pacific as one of motorsport's ambitious but flawed efforts, is timeline could read very differently but for matters out of its control.
Champions in British F3 and International Formula 3000, with a roll-call of drivers to include Eddie Irvine, JJ Lehto and David Coulthard, it came into F1 with a stronger privateer pedigree than few before it. Its plans were respectable too - enter F1 in 1993 with a Reynard-designed chassis, already well-established from the American company's stillborn plans to enter F1 itself. However, the original design team had departed to Benetton and the designs sold to Ligier – who turned it into a podium winner - , leaving a skeleton crew to adapt what little remained of the available blueprints.
Time constraints would force Pacific to defer entry to 1994, but the PR01 remained an already out-dated, compromised 1993 design with minor modifications to bring it into line with 1994 regulations. It was not competitive and in the 32races it entered, it qualified on just six occasions. In those six starts, it failed to finish any of them.
Holding out for 1995, a stronger (if still not competitive) engine-chassis package, coupled to a slimmed entry list that did away with pre-qualifying, meant Pacific started nearly every race but it still found itself mired towards the back of the grid, leading it to withdraw back to F3000 at the end of the year.
1995
Points in first season: 0
Years of existence in F1: 1995 – 1996
A plucky Italian team that had grown from frequent non-qualifier at Formula 3000 level to a race winner and title contender, Forti made the bold decision to step up to F1 for the 1995 season. Though somewhat against the grain of the current trend as financial pressures and poor a roll-call of success for F3000-turned-F1 teams, founder Guido Forti persevered with his plans, with Brazilian investment from Abilo Dos Santos Diniz, which guaranteed his son Pedro a drive, along with experienced (albeit renowned backmarker) Roberto Moreno alongside him.
It was a tough induction, however, the visibly chunky and uncompetitive FG01 proving woefully slow to the point it was so far off the leaders (9 laps) at the end of the Argentine and San Marino Grands Prix it couldn't be classified with a result. Revisions throughout the year, including an entirely new chassis, brought it up to the likes of Pacific and it was more reliable. It was even one position shy of the points at a destructive Australian Grand Prix, but firm back-marker it would remain.
The team lasted just half-a-season more as financial woes set in and a misguided last ditch deal from the Irish Shannon Group led to the courtroom rather than the points.
1997
Stewart Grand Prix
Points in first season: 6
Years of existence in F1: 1997 – (Stewart 1997 – 1999: Jaguar: 2000 – 2004: Red Bull Racing: 2005 – )
Having established itself successfully in F3 and F3000, arrived with plenty of headline-grabbing pedigree courtesy of Jackie Stewart (father of team manager Paul Stewart) and a secured a lucrative development deal that would see Ford supply engines with a view to morphing it into a proper factory team in the coming years, Stewart Grand Prix was a bold and exciting entrant for 1997.
With Rubens Barrichello and rookie Jan Magnussen – fresh from destroying the opposition in F3 – at the wheel, Stewart certain arrived with some impressive credentials. The car wasn't disgracefully slow out of the box either and, particularly in the hands of Barrichello, seemed capable of points on merit. However, reliability would prove disgracefully poor, Barrichello repeatedly forced to retire from promising positions. To put into context, of the 34 starts Barrichello and Magnussen made in 1997, only eight of those were completed.
Ironically, one of those was a remarkable second place finish for Barrichello at a weather-affected Monaco Grand Prix, marking the only team in this list to achieve a podium feat in its first year. It is also one of only two teams in this list to claim a win in its original guise, with Johnny Herbert triumphing in one of F1's more bizarre races at the 1999 European Grand Prix around the Nurburgring.
Though Ford came good on its promises to take more control, rebranding the team as Jaguar in what would become a fairly average stint between 2000 and 2004, better days for the erstwhile Stewart team were still to come when Red Bull finally pitched in for its own team in 2005. A race winner by 2009, that success would prelude its four-year run of world titles between 2010 and 2013.
NB: Lola entered the 1997 season with its ill-fated effort, but competed – and failed to qualify in – just a single race before exiting the sport, thus it is not counted here
2002
Points in first season: 2
Years of existence in F1: 2002 – 2009
The last all new team to score in its debut race, Toyota's immediate F1 success was admittedly more through more fortune than pace out of the box. Announced with big fanfare, conceived with a huge budget and armed with a fine pedigree of success from World Rally and sportscar racing, Toyota's move into F1 was much anticipated and came with some lofty expectations – not least from its own bosses.
With the experienced Mika Salo and Allan McNish at the wheel, the TF102 broke cover in 2002 but was not quite the world-beater many had expected. A sixth place finish on its debut in Australia provided a great headline but came in a race of seven finishers and where minnows Minardi and Mark Webber took their famous fifth place. Just two top six finishes would occur all year – ironically within the first three races when the car was at its least developed -, but while the TF102 proved respectably reliable, the team that many believed had a bigger budget than Ferrari ended its year mired towards the back of the field.
Inevitably, changes of approach, experience and bolder driver line-ups would see Toyota progress as time went on and by the end of the 2000s it was a regular podium winner. However, while it came close on several occasions, its failure to win any races in seven years and the looming pressures of the global recession would see Toyota back out counting its costs but not its trophies. Despite this, having already made a successful return to sportscars and will re-enter WRC next year, many feel it could look to 'finish what it started' in F1 in the coming years too…
2006
Points in first season: 0
Years of existence in F1: 2006 - 2008
Creating an entirely new team to ensure a driver stays in F1 may seem rather extreme, but Japanese custom when it comes to F1 still boggles the mind of many. Either way, 2006 brought a surprise new team in the form of Super Aguri, a Japanese funded, British-based outfit created with Honda blessing as a means of keeping national hero Takuma Sato in the sport
The result was Super Aguri, helmed by eponymous former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki. Based on a dated Arrows chassis, the rushed and untested SA05 kept Sato and team-mate Yuji Ide (who was replaced by Franck Montagny before Sakon Yamamoto replaced him too) pinned to the back of the grid throughout the year.
For 2007, Honda stepped in an effort to bring Super Aguri up to speed, but ran into controversy when rivals felt it was simply running lightly modified version of its own chassis. Though not explicitly against the regulations at the time, Honda came up against constant resistance from rivals. Nonetheless, Super Aguri began the year competitively as a mid-field team in a remarkable turnaround, with Sato scoring its first points with eighth in Spain before landing a sixth in Canada. However, as Honda counted its own pennies, Super Aguri's also continued to struggle financially and though it made the start of the 2008 season despite suggesting it would not, it last just four races before it was forced to withdraw indefinitely.
2010
Points in first season: 0
Years of existence in F1: 2010 - (Virgin 2010 - 2011: Marussia 2012 – 2014: Manor 2015 - )
The promise of a cost cap and enticed by furthering its 'innovative' brand by designing a car almost entirely using CFD saw Richard Branson's Virgin bring its distinctive brand to F1 in 2010 as one of three new start up teams.
Behind the scenes it was long-existing F3 outfit Manor Racing pulling the strings, but when those cost cap promises weren't kept and Virgin – along with Team Lotus and HRT - struggled woefully. After two years, Branson pulled his backing at the end of the 2011, decrying F1's failure to lower costs.
The team continued on as Marussia – Russian manufacturer that seemingly only ever built, let alone sold, one sportscar -, scored its first points in 2014, but suffered with the serious accident of Jules Bianchi, which led to his eventual death ninth months later. Plunged into administration at the end of 2014 as Marussia exited, only for Manor to get an eleventh hour reprieve and return to the grid in 2015. Significant new technical backing and experienced staff sees it head into 2016 arguably in better shape than ever before…
2010
Points in first season: 0
Years of F1 existence in F1: 2010 – 2014 (2010 – 2011 Lotus; 2012 – 2014 Caterham)
Helmed by charismatic AirAsia founder and entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, he returned the Lotus name to F1 (though naming rights would get messy in ensuing years), bringing a wealth of Malaysian financing and sponsors with him.
Much like Virgin and HRT, however, Team Lotus suffered on the back of cost-cap promise failures and found itself mired at the back of the grid, despite a race winning driver line-up of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli. Experience wasn't enough to lift it anywhere close to an opportunity to challenge for points, though it was generally considered the more competitive of the three new start-ups entering that year.
Fortunes wouldn't improve over the coming years, the team coming out worse in a naming rights dispute to rebrand as Caterham before folding altogether towards the end of the 2014 season when, having been brought under investor ownership and Fernandes had exited, it slipped into administration.
2010
Points in first season: 0
Years of F1 existence in F1: 2010 – 2012
Spain's first-ever F1 team entry would prove a brief and troubled one. Originally entered as the Campos Meta 1 team to run a Dallara designed chassis, the GP2 race winning team arguably the best pedigree of the three new teams initially, until team owner Adrian Campos decided against F1 after all.
Jose Ramon Carabante's Hispania Racing Team (HRT) stepped in, purchased the Dallara chassis' and signed Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok in a very late eleventh hour deal that took it right up to the opening race.
Hampered by a car that was never properly finished by Dallara – who halted development when it became clear it wouldn't be receiving payment to develop it and reportedly didn't see a further penny from HRT following purchase – Sakon Yamamoto and Christian Klien also tried their hand at the car in 2010, but HRT found itself chasing Lotus and Virgin all year to finish bottom of the standings, a position it would maintain for two more seasons before folding altogether having not come close to a point.
@OllieBarstow on Twitter
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i don't know
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In old UK/US capacity measures how many pecks are in a bushel?
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4
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For which art-form did Roman Vitruvius define the three principles of 'firmitas, utilitas, venustas' in the 1st century AD?
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English weights and measures: Quick reference
Unit of area, equal to 4840 square yards. Still very much in use.
Bag
Obscure unit of volume, equal to 24 gallons.
Barleycorn
Unit of length. Three to the inch. A very old measure, not used for centuries.
Barrel (beer)
Unit of volume, equal to 36 gallons, or 4 firkins. Still in use.
Barrel (wine)
Unit of volume, equal to 31.5 gallons. No longer in use
Barrel (oil)
A US measure, not English. Equals 42 US gallons.
British Thermal Unit, or Btu.
Unit of energy or work
Bucket
Obscure unit of volume, equal to 4 gallons.
Bushel
Unit of volume, equal to 8 gallons, or 4 pecks. Not in use much at all these days, but beware that the US bushel is different.
Butt
Unit of volume, usually for wine or beer. Can be 108 or 126 gallons, depending. No longer used.
Cable
Unit of length, at sea. Defined as 1 tenth of a nautical mile.
Chain
Unit of length, equal to 22 yards, which is the length of a cricket pitch. When I was at school, we were given such chains to measure things with - each chain made up of 100 links. There are 10 chains to the furlong. Not seen much these days, but still seen on not-so-old maps etc.
Clove
Obscure unit of weight, equal to 7 pounds (av.)
Drachm (fluid)
Unit of volume, equal to 60 minims. 8 fluid drachms to the fluid ounce.
Dram [also spelled as Drachm] (avoirdupois)
Unit of weight. 16 drams to the (av.) ounce.
Dram [also spelled as Drachm] (troy)
Unit of weight. Equal to 60 grains. 8 drams to the (troy) ounce.
Ell
Unit of length. Very, very old. The English ell should be taken as 45 inches, or a yard and a quarter, and the Scots ell is 37 Scots inches, or 72.2 English inches. Very much not used.
Fathom
Unit of length, or rather depth, equal to 6 feet. Still encountered.
Firkin
Unit of volume, especially beer. Equals 9 gallons. Extremely popular in pub names!
Foot
Unit of length. 12 inches, 3 feet to the yard. Very, very common.
Furlong
Unit of length, equal to 220 yards, or 10 chains. There are 8 furlongs to the mile. The name seems to derive from the length of a furrow, somehow. This unit is still used, especially so in horse-racing.
Gallon
Unit of volume. Equal to 8 pints. The Imperial gallon was defined in the act of 1824 as the volume of 10lb of water at 62°F. Before this, the gallon was redefined over the years (especially around the time of the American revolution) with consequent problems for our colonial cousins, which is why we have 8 of our gallons to one of our bushels, but the Americans have 9.309177 of their gallons (or 7.751512 of ours) to one of their bushels. To get around this, they have a dry gallon and a liquid gallon, which are different. To summarise:
Imperial gallon
231 cubic inches
Gill
Unit of volume. Normally taken as a quarter of a pint, it can also be a third or a half pint, especially in conversation. The legal definition is a 1/4 of a pint. The word Gill is pronouced with a hard G (as Jill).
Grain
The basic unit of weight in the imperial system. There are 5760 grains to the Troy pound, and 7000 to the avoirdupois pound.
Hand
Unit of length, or normally height, equal to 4 inches. Still (almost) universally used in England to measure horses.
Hogshead
Unit of volume (wine only). 52.5 gallons. Until 1824 it was 63 gallons, a figure still used by the Americans.
Horsepower (common)
A unit of power. Equal to 33000 foot-pound-force per minute. Very much in use today.
Horsepower (RAC)
A strange unit, used only to tax cars in the first decades to the 20th century. It was based on the cylinder diameter, not the swept volume or power, which seems to have inspired W O Bentley at least to design long-stroke engines to get them into a lower taxation class.
Horsepower (misc.)
There are all sorts of other horsepowers (boiler, metric, electric, metric etc.) - beware!
Hundredweight
Unit of weight, equal to 8 stones. 20 hundredweight to a ton. This unit is commonly abbreviated to 'cwt'.
Hundredweight (short)
Unit of weight, not much used in England, but apparently used still in the US. Equals 100 pounds, 20 to the Short ton.
Inch
Very basic unit of length. 12 to the foot. Very much in use.
Kilderkin
Obscure unit of volume, equal to 18 gallons.
Kip
Obscure unit of force - equal to 1000 pound-force.
Knot
Unit of speed or velocity, equal to 1 nautical mile per hour. Universally used to control the speed of ships and aircraft.
Last
Very obscure unit of volume - equal to 640 gallons.
League
Unit of length. Equal to 3 miles, so a league at sea is different to a league on land. Much used by poets, but nobody else.
Lb
The abbreviation used for 'pound'. It comes from the Latin word Libra which translates to 'pound'. This is where the fancy 'L' comes from when talking about the pound sterling (i.e. the unit of currency in the UK).
Line
Unit of length. Some authorities (generally American) say 10 lines to the inch, and some say 12. This seems to be a printing term.
Link
Unit of length, there being 100 links to a chain. Virtually never seen these days.
Mil
Unit of length. Shown as 1/1000 of an inch in some books, I have never known anyone use this in England, as a millimetre (an obscure French measure) is known colloquially as a 'mill'. See thou . However, many friends from across the Atlantic have pointed out that the mill is very much in use in the US, for measuring paper, plastic (rubbish bags/garbage sacks etc.) and wire.
Mile (statute)
Unit of length, equal to 1760 yards, or 8 furlongs. This unit is universal in England for measuring distances between places etc., and is always used on road-signs (eg LONDON 180 miles) and speedometers (as in miles per hour), and consequently is always quoted by drivers when talking about fuel consumption (as in miles per gallon).
Mile (nautical)
Unit of length, normally at sea or in the air. Originally, the Admiralty fixed it at 6080 feet. This unit is universally used by international law by ships and aircraft, as is the derived unit of the knot .
In the 20th century, an international nautical mile was defined as 1852 metres, and so you will sometimes see the 6080ft nautical mile called the British nautical mile.
Minim
Unit of volume. 60 minims to the fluid ounce.
Nail
Obscure unit of length, equal to 2 and a quarter inches.
Noggin
Unit of volume - maybe a colloquism. Same as the gill . This word is quite often used in pubs etc. in certain parts of England, but not in a technical sense!
Ounce - avoirdupois
Unit of weigh, equal to 437.5 grains. 16 drams to the ounce, 16 ounces to the pound. This unit is still very much used in England.
Ounce - fluid
Unit of volume, equal to 8 fluid drachms. 20 fluid ounces = 1 pint. This unit is still used, especially in recipes.
Ounce - troy
Unit of weight, equal to 480 grains, or 24 scruples. or 20 pennyweights or 8 drams. 12 ounces to the pound.Used for weighing bullion, and as an apocatheries measure.
Pace
Obscure unit of length. Equal to 2.5 feet.
Palm
Obscure unit of length. Equal to 3 inches.
Peck
Unit of volume, equal to 2 gallons. Not much in use these days.
Pennyweight
Unit of weight, equal to 24 grains. There are 20 to the Troy ounce.
Perch
Old unit of length - same as rod and pole. 16.5 feet.
Pint
Unit of volume. The universal measure for beer. There are 20 fluid ounces to the pint, and 8 pints to the gallon. Different to US pints - beware!
Pole
Old unit of length - same as rod and perch. 16.5 feet.
Pound - avoirdupois
Unit of weight, equal to 7000 grains, or 16 avoirdupois ounces. 14 pounds = 1 stone. This unit is still very much used in England.
Pound - troy
Unit of weight, equal to 5760 grains, or 12 troy ounces. Used for weighing bullion, and as an apocatheries measure. The troy pound was outlawed in 1878.
Poundal
Unit of force. There are 32.174 to the pound-force (acceleration to to gravity being 32.174 feet per second per second).
Pound-force
Unit of pressure - an abbreviation for pounds per square inch.
Puncheon
Obscure unit of volume - equal to 70 gallons.
Quart
Unit of volume, equal to 2 pints. 4 quarts = 1 gallon. The use of this unit has declined sharply over the last 20 years.
Quarter
Unit of weight, equal to 2 stones. 4 quarters = 1 hundredweight. General use of this unit seems to have died out around the time of WWII.
Quarter
Unit of volume, equal to 64 gallons.
Rod
Unit of length; It is 16.5 feet, which is strange even by English standards. It is better to define it in terms of the rood .
Rope
Obscure unit of length - equal to 20 feet.
Rood
Unit of area; an area of 1 furlong long by 1 rod wide, or 1210 square yards. There are 4 roods to the acre.
Rope
Obscure unit of length - equal to 20 feet.
Sack
Obscure unit of weight, equal to 26 stones.
Scruple
Unit of weight. Equals 20 grains. 3 to the Troy dram.
Scruple (fluid).
Unit of volume. Equals 20 minims.
Seam
Obscure unit of volume, equal to 64 gallons.
Slug
Strange unit of weight - equal to 32.174 pounds (av.) - see poundal .
Span
Obscure unit of length - equal to 9 inches.
Stone
Unit of weight, equal to 14 pounds (av.). Often used in England for weighing people. 8 stones = 1 hundredweight. Still quite common in England, although its use seems to be declining.
Thou
An unofficial unit of length - one thousandth of an inch.
Tod
An obscure unit of weight - same as the quarter .
Ton
Unit of weight, sometimes (especially in the US) known as a long ton. Equals 20 hundredweight, or 2240 pounds. Still very much in use.
Ton (register).
Unit of capacity - for measuring ships. 100 cubic feet.
Ton (short).
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i don't know
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What is the primary language spoken in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan?
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Russian language, alphabet and pronunciation
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Russian (Русский язык)
Russian is an Eastern Slavic language spoken mainly in Russia and many other countries by about 260 million people, 150 million of whom are native speakers. Russian is an official language in Russian, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and in a number of other countries, territories and international organisations, including Tajikistan, Moldova, Gagauzia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, and the UN. It is also recognised as a minority language in Romania, Finland, Norway, Armenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Russsian at a glance
Native name: русский язык [ˈruskʲɪj jɪˈzɨk]
Linguistic affliation: Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, East Slavic
Number of speakers: c. 260 million
Spoken in: Russian, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova, Romania, Finland, Norway, Armenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, etc.
First written: 10th century AD
Writing system: Cyrillic alphabet
Status: official language in Russian, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and many other countries and territories.
The earliest known writing in Russia dates from the 10th century and was found at Novgorod. The main languages written on them in an early version of the Cyrillic alphabet were Old Russian and Old Church Slavonic. There are also some texts in Finnish, Latin and Greek.
Russian started appearing in writing regularly during the reign of Peter the Great (a.k.a. Peter I) (1672-1725) who introduced a revised alphabet and encouraged authors to use a literary style closer to their spoken language. The dialect of Moscow was used as the basis for written Russian.
Russian literature started to flower during the 19th century when Tolstoi, Dostoyevskii, Gogol and Pushkin were active. During the Soviet era knowledge of the Russian language was wide spread though the subjects authors could write about were restricted.
Russian alphabet (русский алфавит)
Russian pronunciation
There are a number of other transliteration schemes for Russian. The one shown here is the BGN/PCGN romanization system, which was developed by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) and by the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use (PCGN). It is designed to be relatively intuitive for English speakers to pronounce, and is also known as the British Standard.
А is pronounced [a] when stressed, and [ə] or [ɐ] in unstressed syllables
The soft (palatalization) sign after Ж, Ш, Ч and Щ does not affect their pronunciation.
The vowels Е, Ё, Ю and Я normally palatalize the previous consonant (the 3rd case). When a hard sign (ъ) separates a consonant and one of these vowels, the consonant is pronounced without palatalization and the vowel is pronounced according to the rules of the 4th case. Example: подъезд (porch) [pad'jest].
If a consonant is the final letter it is always unvoiced (see the previous example).
The pronunciation of unstressed vowels depends on the region. In the Central European part of Russia the unstressed Е and Я are pronounced as [i] and unstressed О is pronounced as [a]. Example: молоко (milk) [mala'ko].
The letter Ё is often written as Е except in cases of possible ambiguity: небо (sky) and нёбо (palate).
Cursive Russian alphabet
This is a version of the cursive handwritten Russian alphabet. Some letters have different shapes when written in this way.
Older versions of the Russian alphabet
Russian alphabet (1750-1918)
This is the version of Cyrillic alphabet used between 1750 and 1917/18.
Russian alphabet (pre-1750)
This is the version of Cyrillic alphabet used until 1750. The chart shows the letters, their names, the IPA transcription of their names, their Latin equivalents, and their numerical values.
These versions of the Russian alphabet are transliterated using the Scientific transliteration system, which is also known as the International Scholarly System, which has been used since the 19th century, and is the only one to include transliteration of the older letters.
Sample text in Russian
Все люди рождаются свободными и равными в своем достоинстве и правах. Они наделены разумом и совестью и должны поступать в отношении друг друга в духе братства.
Cursive version
Transliteration
Vse lyudi rozhdayutsya svobodnymi i ravnymi v svoyem dostoinstve i pravakh. Oni nadeleny razumom i sovest'yu i dolzhny postupat' v otnoshenii drug druga v dukhe bratstva.
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Russian
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In Spain, El Gordo is a?
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Learn to Say Hello and Goodbye in the 10 Most Spoken Languages
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Learn to Say Hello and Goodbye in the 10 Most Spoken Languages
Have you ever wondered which languages are spoken the most in the world? This article on the top 10 most widely used languages to communicate verbally in the world should help you.
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Language is the most primary way for every human to convey his feelings, thoughts and needs. It has helped build most of our common hobbies, such as, love of literature and poems, music, and movies! There are over 5 to 6 thousand languages spoken in the world today, and over 200 of these are spoken by a million or more native speakers. With migration and the global village phenomenon, people learn more than one language to be able to communicate with fellow humans around the world. Here are a list of ten of these that top the charts.
Mandarin Chinese
You may say there are more English speakers, but Mandarin Chinese beat English by a 2:1 ratio. Mandarin Chinese also takes the title of the hardest to learn. Wow, more than a billion people in China can speak one of the most difficult languages. That's truly remarkable, I say.
Good Morning: Zǎoshang hǎo
Goodbye: to Zàijiàn.
English
English has become a global language that helps people from different continents, countries, and even states to communicate with ease. With many countries including the Queen's language in their official lists, English has taken up the second position as the most widely spoken in the world. A recent study showed that there are more English speakers in India than in all of Western Europe with the exception of the United Kingdom. It was seen that English was the primary language for 2.3 lakh Indians, second language for 86 lakh Indians and 39 million Indians speak English as their third language. The multilingual Indians have found the key to stay connected with the world by becoming fluent in a global language.
If you can read this it means you know what Good Morning and Goodbye means!
Hindi
The second most populous country in the world, India's national language Hindi takes the third place. Hindi is the primary language in the multilingual Indian continent. And as India has been predicted to soon surpass China as the most populous country, Hindi is bound to be spoken by more number of people.
Good Morning: Namaste
Goodbye: Accha, chalta hun
Spanish
The land of fiestas, traditions and bullfight, Spain has its national language, Spanish bagging the fourth place as the most widely used in the world. Used in every Central and South American country, Cuba, Spain and also in the United States makes the language an extremely popular one. In fact, it has been a forerunner in contributing some words like tornado, taco grande supreme and patio, etc., to the English dictionary.
Good Morning: Buenos días
Goodbye: Adiós
Arabic
One of the oldest languages of the world, Arabic is spoken in the Middle East. Speakers living in countries that include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, etc., all speak it. Many Muslims all over the world can read, write, and speak Arabic even though Arabic is not their mother tongue. This is because Arabic is the language of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.
Good Morning: Shabba Khair
Goodbye: Ma'a Salama.
Portuguese
Say Portuguese and it reminds you of the greatest explorer ever, Vasco Da Gama. With all the explorers from this country who went on in search of new, exotic places, Portuguese became a language that was established in many other parts of the world. The counties other than Portugal where Portuguese is spoken include Brazil, Venezuela, Macau, Angola, and Mozambique.
Good Morning: Bom Dia
Goodbye: Adeus.
Bengali
Spoken in Bangladesh which has a population of over 120 million people, there are a significant number of speakers of Bengali in the neighboring country, India. Although, Bengali may be a new discovery for you, there is a significant population in the world that speaks Bengali.
Good Morning: Suprobhat
Goodbye: Bidaye, aabaar dyakha hobe.
Russian
Russian is one of the most widely used languages in the world to communicate verbally. It is also spoken in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and even America.
Good Morning: Dobroe Utro
Goodbye: Do Svidaniya.
French
French is the language of romance and is spoken in Belgium, Canada, Cameroon, Rwanda, Haiti. Popular for Eiffel Tower, and its delicious cuisine, the language spoken in France is also one that is truly swoon-worthy.
Good Morning: Bonjour
Goodbye: Au Revoir.
German
The first language of Germany is spoken by more than 95% of the population. Germany also has speakers in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and some German-speaking communities of Northern Italy, East Cantons of Belgium, French Alsace region South Jutland county of Denmark and many more parts of Europe.
Good Morning: Guten Morgen
Goodbye: Auf Wiedersehen.
Other honorable mentions that did not make it up to the top 10 list are Malay-Indonesian, Japanese, Urdu, Punjabi, Korean, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Cantonese, Wu, Vietnamese, Javanese, Italian, Turkish, Tagalog, and Thai.
Batul Nafisa Baxamusa
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The term 'art house' most widely refers to a genre of?
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Watch Art House & International Movies Online | Yidio
Art House & International Movies Online
About Art House & International Movies
The term "art house film" usually refers to a film that sits somewhere outside the mainstream genres of big-budget commercial films. The term refers to the "art house" cinema, typically a small independent theater that specializes in showing films that appeal to a niche audience rather than the mass audience that prefers Hollywood blockbusters. Because of language barriers and cultural differences, international films also tend to appeal to smaller audiences in America, so films made in other countries are often grouped together with art films.
The art-house trend began in America in the 1940s and 1950s, when a part of the movie-going audience began to lose interest in the light-hearted homogeneous entertainment being produced by Hollywood. Small theaters in large cities and university towns began to show less ambitious, more serious films, and art-house audiences acquired a taste for high-minded European films, particularly those produced by a group of French filmmakers who were dubbed the "French New Wave."
Toward the end of the twentieth century, the art film began to share the niche-market space with the independent film. Like art films, independent films are produced outside the mainstream Hollywood studio system, and they are also likely to attract a smaller audience than a mainstream commercial film. Early art films, however, were typically serious and intellectual in tone, while contemporary independent films fall into a wide range of genres and may be as light-hearted as mainstream films.
In the early days, art house cinemas were usually confined to big cities, and audiences outside large metropolitan areas had limited access to art films and international films. With the rise of the internet and the wide-spread availability of on-demand viewing, though, the importance of the art house cinema has declined at the same time that the audience for international, independent and art films has increased.
About This Genre
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Cinema
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Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, and New York City have since 2006 hosted five annual championship 'majors' of what sporting event?
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An Introduction to German Expressionist Films - artnet News
Alissa Darsa ,
December 26, 2013
Robert Wiene, Stills for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (three works) (1919). Gelatin silver print, sold at Christie’s New York.
Welcome to the first article in Art House, a series detailing the evolution of art house films, and their impact on the relationship between art and cinema. The term art house refers to films that are artistic or experimental in nature, and are generally not part of the commercial mainstream. It is interesting to note that unlike many other forms of avant-garde, filmic avant-garde does not typically generate the profits earned by its musical, visual, and literary counterparts. Most artists who have produced avant-garde films have had to rely on other artistic media as a source of income, including Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987). 1 However, there are several films that have crossed over into the realm of mainstream cinema, and have been both financially successful as well as stylistically influential. This article focuses on German Expressionism, one of the earliest artistic genres to influence filmmaking, and one that arguably paved the way for many other avant-garde styles and techniques.
Walter Reimann & Hermann Warm, Le docteur à la foire (from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) (1919). Sold at Binoche Renaud-Giquello & Associés.
German Expressionism is an artistic genre that originated in Europe in the 1920s, and is broadly defined as the rejection of Western conventions, and the depiction of reality that is widely distorted for emotional effect. Heavily influenced by artists such as Vincent van Gogh , Edvard Munch , and El Greco , Expressionists were less concerned with producing aesthetically pleasing compositions as they were with creating powerful reactions to their work through the use of bright, clashing colors, flat shapes, and jagged brushstrokes. In its nature, the movement was interested in the relationship between art and society, and encompassed a broad range of fields, including architecture, painting, and film. Expressionist films were initially born out of Germany’s relative isolation during the 1910s, and quickly generated high demand due to the government’s ban on foreign films. The films’ appeal soon spread to an international audience, and by the early 1920s, many European filmmakers had begun experimenting with the absurd and wild aesthetics of German cinema. Two of the most influential films of the era were Metropolis (1927), by Fritz Lang (Austrian, 1877–1961), and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), by Robert Wiene (German, 1873–1938). Similar to Expressionist paintings, Expressionist films sought to convey the inner, subjective experience of its subjects.
Walter Reimann & Hermann Warm, Caligari découvre l’assassin (from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) (1919). Sold at Binoche Renaud-Giquello & Associés.
Filmed in 1920, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari tells the story of Francis, who, through flashbacks, recounts his terrifying experiences at a carnival in a small German village, where he first encountered Dr. Caligari, a man with the power to control people in their sleep. When Francis’s friend is mysteriously murdered and his fiancée is kidnapped, he pursues Dr. Caligari to an insane asylum, determined to unravel the mystery surrounding these terrible events.
Director Robert Wiene hired Expressionist painters Walter Reimann and Hermann Warm (German) to create the sets. Like many of their contemporaries, Reimann and Warm were interested in challenging Modernism’s formal and stylistic elements, and used Expressionism as a means to experiment with perception, constructing a nightmarish world of jagged lines and incongruous patterns. The film’s use of expressionistic elements is a prime example of the genre’s power to establish a narrative that creates a disconnect between subjectivity and reality. In scenes throughout the film, sidewalks lead nowhere, walls appear warped, creating strange shapes, and buildings rise at distorted angles in the background. Considering the cultural context in which Caligari was created, it makes sense that German Expressionism was such a widely used device in film, visual art, and literature. The sense of anxiety, distrust, and uneasiness were at an all-time high in Germany following World War I, and films such as Caligari were examples of art imitating life.
Karl Freund, Metropolis von Fritz Lang, (1925–1926). Sold at Dietrich Schneider-Henn.
Though Wiene’s direction is widely cited as making Caligari into one of the most influential films of all time, he was not the producer’s first choice. Producer Erich Pommer initially campaigned for renowned filmmaker Fritz Lang to be given the job, but due to scheduling conflicts, Lang was forced to decline. However, Lang would later go on to make the equally seminal and groundbreaking Metropolis, one of the last German Expressionist films ever made.
Set in a dystopian future, Metropolis tells the story of two worlds: the upper city, inhabited by the wealthy ruling class, and the underground city, populated by the poor working class, who spend their days toiling on the enormous machines that keep the city running. There is some disagreement among film historians as to whether Metropolis can truly be considered an Expressionist film. Though Metropolis does not contain as much overtly expressionistic imagery as Caligari, the exaggerated movements of the characters, the angular, crowded skyline, and the sharp contrasts between the upper and lower city, all adhere to the Expressionist tradition. Much like the compositions produced by members of the Die Brücke movement, Metropolis depicted the experience of the city as one marked by chaos, tension, and intensity.
Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, Metropolis (1926). Lithograph, DeLuca Gallery, New York, NY.
Expressionist film in the 1920s was based on the premise that film becomes art only to the extent that the film image differs from reality. This particular interpretation of cinema-as-art would go on to influence some of the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, including Alfred Hitchcock , Werner Herzog , and Tim Burton . The style of seminal Expressionist artists such as Erich Heckel , Wassily Kandinsky , and Emil Nolde perfectly lent itself to cinematic reinterpretation, as one that spoke to the most prevalent cultural conditions of the time. During a tumultuous and difficult period in German history, these talented filmmakers tapped into the popular zeitgeist and created powerful works that have stood the test of time. The films of this era are, in their own way, a revealing look at a society at a particular moment in history, expressing the disillusionment, distrust, and isolation experienced by many people living in Germany at the time.
Alissa Darsa is an associate copywriter and editor at artnet.
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A 'supermassive (what?)' is generally believed to be at the centre/center of the (our) Milky Way galaxy?
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New evidence for jet from Milky Way’s black hole | Today's Image | EarthSky
New evidence for jet from Milky Way’s black hole
By Deborah Byrd in Today's Image | November 21, 2013
The evidence comes in the form of high-energy particles blasting out of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
This composite image features both X-rays from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (purple) and radio data from the Very Large Array (blue). You can see the position of Sagittarius A* – believed to mark the location of our galaxy’s supermassive black hole – and its suspected jet. Image via Chandra.
NASA says the best case yet has been made for a jet from our Milky Way galaxy’s central, supermassive black hole. The evidence comes in the form of high-energy particles seen in the image above to be blasting out of the hole.
Astronomers combined X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with radio emission from the NSF’s Very Large Array (VLA) to create the composite image above. This image reveals the position of the suspected jet and Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* for short; pronounced Sagittarius A-star).
Sgr A* is believed to be the location of a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
The location of a shock front is also marked. As the jet blasts from Sgr A*, it travels through space until it hits gas several light years away. Once the jet hits, it triggers the shock front’s formation.
It’s now generally accepted by astronomers that most spiral and elliptical galaxies have supermassive black holes in their cores, as our spiral Milky Way galaxy does.
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Black hole
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A geis (plural geasa) is a curse or taboo in which national mythology/language?
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Galaxies in the Universe - An Introduction to AstronomyAn Introduction to Astronomy
About Us
Galaxies in the Universe
1. Galaxies in the Universe are massive, gravitationally bound systems of millions or billions of stars and other objects, an interstellar medium (ISM) of gas
and dust, and a hypothetical missing-mass component commonly referred to as dark matter.
Spiral Galaxy NGC 4414 (1995 Image)
A. True
B. False
True. The nature of dark matter remains undetermined. Although WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles) are a more popular dark matter candidate, there are also experiments searching for other particle candidates such as MACHOs, axions and very heavy hidden sector particles. Dark matter is estimated to constitute 84% of the matter in the universe and 23% of the mass-energy.
2. By definition, galactic astronomy is the study of _______ .
A. Galaxies in our Local Group
B. All galaxies and all of their contents
C. All galaxies equal to or smaller than our galaxy
D. Our own Milky Way galaxy and all of its contents
Our own Milky Way galaxy and all of its contents. The name Milky Way derives from its appearance as a dim “milky” glowing band arching across the night sky, in which the naked eye cannot distinguish individual stars.
3. Extragalactic astronomy is defined as the study of _____________ .
A. Galaxies in our Local Group
B. All galaxies and their contents
C. Everything outside of our galaxy
D. All galaxies larger than our galaxy
Everything outside our own galaxy including all other galaxies in the Universe.
Galaxies in the Universe – The Milky Way
4. The existence of the Earth’s galaxy, the Milky Way, as a separate group of stars, was not proven until the __________ century.
A. Seventeenth
D. Twentieth
Twentieth century. And soon after this, the existence of “external” galaxies in
the universe, along with the concept of the expansion of the universe, was also discovered as observed in the recession of most galaxies in the universe away from us. The matter was conclusively settled in the early 1920’s by Edwin Hubble using the Mount Wilson Observatory 100-inch (2.5 m) telescope.
5. All parts of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, are clearly visible using ground-based and earth-orbital telescopes.
Milky Way Galaxy (2007 Image)
A. True
B. False
False. Although our own Milky Way galaxy is in many ways the best studied galaxy in the universe, important parts of it are obscured from view in visible wavelengths by the presence of gas and dust. The Milky Way contains at least 100 billion stars – and may have up to 400 billion.
Two bright objects are visible at the center of the above image. The brighter is the planet Jupiter, while the other is the star Antares. The laser beam points directly at the Galactic Center.
6. The core (Galactic Center) of the Milky Way is believed to be a ________ .
A. Dark nebula
C. Molecular cloud
D. Supermassive black hole
Supermassive black hole. The core is a bar–shaped bulge with what is believed to be a supermassive black hole at the center. Observational data suggests that supermassive black holes may exist at the center of many, if not all, galaxies in the universe.
7. The core of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is surrounded by _________ primary arms that spiral out from the core.
A. Three
C. Five
D. Seven
B. Four. Astronomers generally organize the interstellar medium and stars in the disk of the Milky Way into four spiral arms. All of these arms contain more interstellar gas and dust than the Galactic average as well as a high concentration of star formation. Counts of stars in near infrared light indicate that two arms contain approximately 30% more red giant stars than would be expected in the absence of a spiral arm, while two contain no more red giant stars than regions outside of arms. Maps of the Milky Way’s spiral structure are notoriously uncertain and exhibit striking differences . . . there is currently no consensus (among astronomers) on the nature of the Galaxy’s spiral arms.
8. The Earth is located ___________ .
A. In the Andromeda galaxy
B. In the 3rd spiral arm of the Milky Way
C. Within the clear inner arms of the Milky Way
D. Within the dusty outer arms of the Milky Way
Within the dusty outer arms of the Milky Way. The Milky Way appears like a band because it is a disk-shaped structure being viewed from inside.
The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy containing at least 100 billion stars – and it may have up to 400 billion. It may contain at least as many planets. And there are probably more than 170 billion galaxies in the observable universe.
9. The Milky Way inner disc of many young Population I stars is surrounded by a _______ of older Population II stars.
A. Dark nebula
C. Pre-stellar core
D. Molecular cloud
Spheroid halo. Stellar populations are categorized as I, II, and III, with each group having decreasing metal content and increasing age. The populations were named in the order they were discovered, which is the reverse of the order of their formation. Thus, the first stars in the universe (low metal content) were population III, and recent stars (high metallicity) are population I.
10. The Milky Way inner disk is also surrounded by relatively dense concentrations of stars known as _______________ .
A. Dark nebulae
11. The Interstellar Medium (ISM) consists of ___________ .
A. Gas
C. Cosmic rays
D. All of the above
All of the above. The interstellar gas is in ionic, atomic, and molecular form. The interstellar medium (ISM) is extremely dilute by terrestrial standards. By mass, 99% of the ISM is gas in any form, and 1% is dust. The ISM plays a crucial role in astrophysics because of its intermediate role between stellar and galactic scales.
12. An active galaxy is defined as a(an) ________ .
Active Galaxy Messier 87 (2009 Image)
A. Unusually energetic galaxy
B. Any galaxy not defined as inactive
C. Galaxy hosting an active galactic nucleus (AGN)
D. Galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center
Galaxy hosting an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Active Galaxy Messier 87, shown here is a supergiant elliptical galaxy. At the core is a supermassive black hole, which forms the primary component of an active galactic nucleus.
Quasars
Quasar PKS 1127-145 (2002 Image)
A. A quasi-stellar radio source
B. An extremely energetic and distant active galactic nucleus (AGN)
C. Illuminated by an accretion disk around a supermassive black hole
D. All of the above
All of the above. This X-ray image (taken by the CHANDRA X-ray Observatory on 6 February 2002) of quasar PKS 1127-145, a highly luminous source of X-rays and visible light about 10 billion light years from Earth, shows an enormous X-ray jet that extends at least a million light years from the quasar.
14. Which of the following are associated with an active galactic nucleus (AGN)?
A. Emissions in radio, infrared, optical, UV, X-ray and gamma ray wavebands.
B. Most luminous persistent sources of electromagnetic radiation in the universe.
C. Higher than normal luminosity over at least part of the electromagnetic spectrum
D. All of the above.
All of the above.
Galaxies in the Universe – Irregular Galaxies
15. Irregular galaxies may ____________ .
Irregular NGC 1427A (2003 Image)
A. Have spiral arms.
C. Have distinct regular shapes
D. Make up about a quarter of all galaxies.
Make up about a quarter of all galaxies in the Universe. Irregular galaxies in the universe have no spiral arms, have no nuclear bulges, and do not have distinct regular shapes. Most irregular galaxies in the universe were once spiral or elliptical galaxies but were deformed by the gravitational pull of neighboring galaxies. NGC 1427A, an example of an irregular galaxy about 52 Mly distant.
16. The defined Local Group of galaxies in the universe includes ________ .
(Please select all that apply.)
A. Andromeda (M31)
D. More than 40 galaxies
All of the above are correct.
Galaxies in the Universe – Elliptical Galaxies
17. An elliptical galaxy ___________ .
Elliptical Messier 89 (2009 Image)
A. May be formed through the merger of large galaxies
B. Has stars that move in random orbits with no preferred direction
C. Has the cross-sectional shape of an
ellipse as viewed from the side
D. Contains little or no interstellar dust with
little star formation activity
All of the above are correct. Messier 89, shown here, is about 50 Mly (million light- years) distant in the constellation Virgo, features a surrounding structure of gas and dust extending up to 150,000 light-years.
Galaxies in the Universe – Spiral Galaxies
18. A spiral galaxy ___________ .
The Pinwheel Galaxy, NGC 5457 (2006 Image)
A. Has trailing bright arms that
spiral outward
B. Is typically surrounded by a
halo of older stars
C. Is organized into a flat, rotating
disk s viewed from above
D. Has massive young stars within
the arms that produce a blue tint
All of the above are correct. NGC 5457, shown here, is a relatively large galaxy compared to the Milky Way, and is about 21 Mly (million light-years) distant. The Pinwheel Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. This is one of the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has been released from Hubble.
Galaxies in the Universe – Lenticular Galaxies
19. Lenticular galaxies ___________ .
Lenticular Galaxy ESO 350-40 (2006 Image)
A. Share common spectral features with elliptical galaxies
B. Have very little on-going star formation
C. Consist mainly of aging stars
D. All of the above
All of the above. Lenticular galaxies in the universe are disk galaxies (like spiral galaxies) which have used up or lost most of their interstellar matter and therefore have very little ongoing star formation. They may, however, retain significant dust in their disks. As a result, they consist mainly of aging stars (like elliptical galaxies). Because of their ill-defined spiral arms, if they are inclined face-on it is often difficult to distinguish between them and elliptical galaxies. Approximately 100 million years ago, a smaller galaxy plunged through the Cartwheel galaxy, creating ripples of brief star formation. In this image, the first ripple appears as an ultraviolet-bright blue outer ring. The second ripple, or ring wave is represented by the yellow-orange inner ring and nucleus at the center of the galaxy.
20. The Hubble sequence“tuning fork” diagram of galaxies in the universe includes _________ galaxies.
A. Spiral and elliptical only
B. Spiral, elliptical, lenticular
D. Spiral, elliptical, lenticular, irregular
Spiral, elliptical, lenticular.
Dark Matter
21. Dark matter, if it exists at all, appears to account for around _______ of the mass of most galaxies in the universe.
A. 30%
24. Galaxy clusters typically contain ______________ .
A. 50 up to 1,000 galaxies.
B. Hot X-ray emitting gas.
C. Large amounts of dark matter.
D. All of the above.
All of the above.
(Please select all that apply.)
A. Are large groups of smaller galaxy groups and clusters.
B. Are among the largest known structures of the cosmos.
C. Are so large that they are not gravitationally bound.
D. Form large structures of galaxies called filaments.
All of the above.
26. The Local Supercluster (LSC or LS) ______________ .
A. Contains the Local Group with our Milky Way
B. Contains the Virgo cluster near its center
C. May contain more that 47,000 galaxies
D. All of the above.
All of the above. The Local Supercluster is also known as the
Virgo Supercluster.
27. What is the name given to the class of largest known cosmic structures in the universe?
A. Cluster
C. Galaxy sheet
D. Galaxy filament
Galaxy filament. A galaxy filament is a thread-like structure that forms the boundaries between large voids in the universe.
28. Most galaxies in the universe appear to be _________.
A. Spiral galaxies
C. Elliptical galaxies
D. Lenticular galaxies
Dwarf galaxies. Dwarf galaxies are relatively small when compared with other galactic formations, being about one-hundredth the size of the Milky Way. Many dwarf galaxies in the universe may orbit a single larger galaxy. Dwarf galaxies may also be categorized as elliptical, spiral, or irregular.
Globular Clusters
29. A globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a ______ as a satellite.
Globular Cluster NGC 2808 (2007 Image)
A. Galaxy
C. Neutron star
D. Galactic core
Galactic core. Globular cluster NGC-2808, a globular cluster in the constellation Carina shown here, belongs to the Milky Way, and is one of our home galaxy’s most massive clusters, containing more than a million stars. It is estimated to be 12.5-billion years old. Globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity and each one orbits the galactic core as a spherical collection of stars. There are about 150 to 158 currently known globular clusters in the Milky Way, with perhaps 10 to 20 more still undiscovered.
30. An interstellar cloud is a denser-than-average region of the interstellar medium (ISM) .
A. True
B. False
True. ‘Interstellar cloud’ is the generic name given to a heavy concentration of gas, plasma, and dust in the Milky Way and other galaxies in the universe.
31. Nebulae __________ .
Crab Nebula, NGC 1952 (2005 Image)
A. Are Interstellar clouds of dust, hydrogen, helium, and other ionized gases.
B. May be star-forming regions
C. May be formed by the gravitational
collapse of gas in the interstellar medium (ISM)
D. May be formed as a result of a supernova explosion
E. May form as planetary nebulae.
All of the above are true. The Crab Nebula (NGC 1952), shown here, is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. Also, planetary nebulae may form from the gaseous shells that are ejected from some low-mass stars when they transform into white dwarfs. Our Sun is expected to spawn a planetary nebula at a time of about 12 billion years after its formation. This is a mosaic image, one of the largest ever taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of the Crab Nebula, a six-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star’s supernova explosion. Japanese and Chinese astronomers recorded this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054, as did, almost certainly, Native Americans.
Supernovae
C. Expels much or all of a star’s material
D. More energetic than a nova
All of the above. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months. Supernovae can be triggered in one of two ways: by the sudden reignition of nuclear fusion in a degenerate star; or by the collapse of the core of a massive star.
REFERENCES: Most of the content in this section concerning galaxies in the Universe consists of information from this NASA galaxies reference and this Wikipedia.org galaxies reference , and all of their associated pages.
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2012 | British Journal of Medical Practitioners
Chlorhexidine; Oral decontamination; Ventilator associated pneumonia; Mechanical ventilation
Introduction
Nosocomial pneumonia in patients receiving mechanical ventilation, also called ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), is an important nosocomial infection worldwide which leads to an increased length of hospital stay, healthcare costs, and mortality.(1,2,3,4,5) The incidence of VAP ranges from 9% to 27% with a crude mortality rate that can exceed up to 50%. (6,7,8,9) Aspiration of bacteria from the upper digestive tract is an important proposed mechanism in the pathogenesis of VAP.(9, 10) The normal flora of the oral cavity may include up to 350 different bacterial species, with tendencies for groups of bacteria to colonize different surfaces in the mouth. For example, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguis, Actinomyces viscosus, and Bacteroides gingivalis mainly colonize the teeth; Streptococcus salivarius mainly colonizes the dorsal aspect of the tongue; and Streptococcus mitis is found on both buccal and tooth surfaces.(11) Because of a number of processes, however, critically ill patients lose a protective substance called fibronectin from the tooth surface. Loss of fibronectin reduces the host defence mechanism mediated by reticuloendothelial cells. This reduction in turn results in an environment conducive to attachment of microorganism to buccal and pharyngeal epithelial cells.(12) Addressing the formation of dental plaque and its continued existence by optimizing oral hygiene in critically ill patients is an important strategy for minimizing VAP.(13) Two different interventions aimed at decreasing the oral bacterial load are selective decontamination of the digestive tract involving administration of non absorbable antibiotics by mouth, through a naso-gastric tube, and oral decontamination, which is limited to topical oral application of antibiotics or antiseptics.(14) Though meta-analysis of antibiotics in decontamination of digestive tracts have found positive results(15) , the use of this intervention is, however, limited by concern about the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria.(16) One alternative to oral decontamination with antibiotics is to use antiseptics, such as chlorhexidine which act rapidly at multiple target sites and accordingly may be less prone to induce drug resistance.(17) Recently a meta-analysis of four trials on chlorhexidine failed to show a significant reduction in rates of ventilator associated pneumonia(18) but, subsequent randomised controlled trials, however, suggested benefit from this approach.(19) Current guidelines from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommend topical oral chlorhexidine 0.12% during the perioperative period for adults undergoing cardiac surgery (grade II evidence). The routine use of antiseptic oral decontamination for the prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia, however, remains unresolved.(8) Despite the lack of firm evidence favouring this preventive intervention, a recent survey across 59 European intensive care units from five countries showed that 61% of the respondents used oral decontamination with chlorhexidine. As the emphasis on evidence based practice is increasing day by day, integrating recent evidence by meta-analysis could greatly benefit patient care and ensure safer practices. Hence we carried out this meta-analytic review to ascertain the effect of oral decontamination using chlorhexidine in the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia and mortality in mechanically ventilated adults.(20)
Methods
Articles published from 1990 to May 2011 in English which were indexed in the following databases were searched: CINAHL, MEDLINE, Joanna Briggs Institute, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and Google search engine. We also screened previous meta-analyses and the references lists from all the retrieved articles for additional studies. Further searches were carried out in two trial registers ( www.clinicaltrials.gov/ and www.controlled-trials.com/ ) and on web postings from conference proceedings, abstracts, and poster presentations.
Articles retrieved were assessed for inclusion criteria by three independent reviewers from the field of nursing with masters degrees. The inclusion criteria set for this meta-analysis were as follows:
a) VAP definition meeting both clinical and radiological criteria
b) Intubation for more than 48 hours in ICU.
We excluded the studies where clinical pulmonary infection score alone was considered for diagnosing VAP. Thereafter the articles were evaluated for randomisation, allocation concealment, blinding techniques, clarity of inclusion and exclusion criteria, outcome definitions, similarity of baseline characteristics, and completeness of follow-up. We considered randomisation to be true if the allocation sequence was generated using computer programs, random number tables, or random drawing from opaque envelopes. Finally, based on the above characteristics, only 9 trials which fulfilled the inclusion criteria was included for the pooled analysis. A brief summary of the 9 trials were listed in Table 1. The primary outcomes in this meta-analysis were incidence of VAP and mortality rate.
Table 1: Brief summary of trials
Source
NA-Not available; C-Control group; E- Experimental group
Data analysis
Meta-analysis was performed in this study by using Review Manager 4.2 (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford) with a random effect model. The pooled effects estimates for binary variables were expressed as a relative risk with 95% confidence interval. Differences in estimates of intervention between the treatment and control groups for each hypothesis were tested using a two sided z test. We calculated the number of patients needed to treat (NNT, with 95% confidence interval) to prevent one episode of ventilator associated pneumonia during the period of mechanical ventilation. A chi-squared test was used to assess the heterogeneity of the results. A Forest plot graph was drawn using Stats direct software version 2.72 (England: Stats Direct Ltd. 2008). We considered a two tailed P value of less than 0.05 as significant throughout the study.
Results
Effect of Chlorhexidine in reducing the Incidence of VAP
A total of nine trials were included in this meta-analysis(19,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28). Pooled analysis of the nine trials with 2819 patients revealed a significant reduction in the incidence of VAP using chlorhexidine (Relative risk 0.60, 0.47 to 0.76; P< 0.01) (Figure 1). In relation to the Number Needed to Treat (NNT), 21 patients would need to receive oral decontamination with Chlorhexidine to prevent one episode of Ventilator associated pneumonia (NNT 21, 14 to 38).
Figure 1: Forest Plot showing the effect of Chlorhexidine oral decontamination in preventing the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Test for heterogeneity: χ 2 =15.5, df =8, p < 0.01. Test for overall effect: z =4.33, p <0.05.
Effect of Chorhexidine in overall mortality rate
For assessing the outcomes in terms of mortality, only seven out of nine trials were included, since the other two(23,27) did not report the mortality rate. Pooled analysis of the seven trials with 2253 patients revealed no significant effect in reducing the overall mortality rate in patient who received chlorhexidine oral decontamination.(Relative risk 1.02, 0.83 to 1.26; P= 0.781 (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Forest plot showing the effect of Chlorhexidine oral decontamination in reducing overall mortality rate. Test for heterogeneity: χ 2 =0.05, df =6, p = 0.81. Test for overall effect: z =0.27, p = 0.78
Discussion
The effectiveness of oral decontamination to prevent VAP in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation has remained controversial since its introduction, due to partly discordant results of individual trials. In the present meta-analysis nine trials were included to estimate the pooled effect size; the results revealed a significant reduction in the incidence of VAP among patients who were treated with oral chlorhexidine. But, it had no effect in reducing the overall mortality rate among these patients. There is a firm body of evidence that oropharyngeal colonization is pivotal in the pathogenesis of VAP. More than 25 years ago, Johanson et al described associations between increasing severity of illness, higher occurrence of oropharyngeal colonization, and an increased risk of developing VAP .(29,30)Subsequently, cohort and sequential colonization analyses identified oropharyngeal colonization as a important risk factor for VAP. (31,32,33) Our finding confirms the pivotal role of Oro- pharyngeal colonization in the pathogenesis of VAP , since this meta-analysis indicates that oral decontamination may reduce the incidence of VAP. Chlorhexidine was proven to have excellent antibacterial effects, with low antibiotic resistance rates seen in nosocomial pathogens, despite long-term use(34). Previous meta-analyses examining the effect of prophylaxis using selective decontamination of the digestive tract reported a significant reduction in the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia(35,36,37). The most recent meta-analysis indicated that such an intervention combined with prophylactic intravenous antibiotics reduces overall mortality(38). In comparison our review suggests that oral antiseptic prophylaxis alone can significantly reduce the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia, but not mortality. A similar result was documented by Ee Yuee Chan et al (2007)(14) who performed a meta-analysis with seven trials with a total of 2144 patients and found a significant result (Odds ratio 0.56, 0.39 to 0.81). Another comparable finding in the present study was, Mortality rate was not influenced by use of Chlorhexidine use, which was in line with the findings of Ee Yuee Chan et al (2007)(14) . Our meta-analysis on Chorhexidine differs from the findings of Pineda et al, who pooled four trials on chlorhexidine and did not report lower rates of ventilator associated pneumonia (odds ratio 0.42, 0.16-1.06; P=0.07)(18) . Our results also extend those of Chlebicki et al, who did not find a statistically significant benefit using the more conservative random effects model after pooling seven trials on chlorhexidine (relative risk 0.70, 0.47- 1.04; P=0.07), although their results were significant with the fixed effects model(39). Our meta-analysis included larger data set with a total of 9 trials including recent trials(28) which further adds strength to our analysis.
Limitations
Though our literature search was comprehensive, it is possible that we missed other relevant trials. Electronic and hand searches do not completely reflect the extent of research outcomes. For example, trials reported at conferences are more likely than trials published in journals to contain negative reports. In addition, more positive than negative results tend to be reported in the literature. This failure to publish more studies with negative outcomes is probably more due to authors’ lack of inclination to submit such manuscripts than to the unwillingness of editors to accept such manuscripts. Furthermore, many studies not published in English were not included e.g. a study by Zamora Zamora F (2011).(40) These limitations may lead to a risk for systematic reviews to yield a less balanced analysis and may therefore affect the recommendations resulting from the reviews. In addition, the heterogeneity which we found among the trials with respect to populations enrolled, regimens used, outcome definitions, and analysis strategies, may limit the ability to generalize results to specific populations.
Conclusion
The finding that chlorhexidine oral decontamination can reduce the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia could have important implications for lower healthcare costs and a reduced risk of antibiotic resistance compared with the use of antibiotics. These results should be interpreted in light of the moderate heterogeneity of individual trial results and possible publication bias. It may not be prudent to adopt this practice routinely for all critically ill patients until strong data on the long term risk of selecting antiseptic and antibiotic resistant organisms are available. Nevertheless, Chlorhexidine oral decontamination seems promising. Further studies are clearly needed in testing the effect of Chlorhexidine in specific populations with standard protocols (which includes specific concentration, frequency, and type of agents) to generalize the findings. Studies also may be done to test the effect of different oral antiseptics in reducing VAP, so as to enrich the body of knowledge within this area.
Acknowledgements / Conflicts / Author Details
Acknowledgement:
The author is grateful to B.B Dixit Library, AIIMS, New Delhi India, for their guidance in retrieving online journals for this meta-analysis.
Competing Interests:
Abstract / Summary
Abstract:
Teratomas are congenital tumors that may contain derivatives of all three germ layers. They usually arise in the gonads and often occur in infancy and childhood. A primary retroperitoneal teratoma is a relatively rare disease in adults. Here we report a case of retroperitoneal teratoma in an adult female. It was benign but its wall was adherent to the aorta. It presented with right hypochondrial pain and examination revealed a mass in the abdomen.
Introduction:
Although one cell type may predominate, teratomas usually comprise of tissue from all three embryonic germ layers1. Generally arising from the gonads, they may be found in extra-gonadal sites such as sacro-coccygeal region, mediastinum, neck and retroperitoneum.2 Here we report a case of retroperitoneal teratoma in an adult with successful surgical treatment. Its clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment are reviewed.
Case Report:
A woman aged 28 years presented with pain in the right hypochondrium of one year duration. There was no associated bowel or urinary symptom. Examination showed minimal fullness in the right hypochondrium. Routine blood tests and urinalysis were within normal limits. A plain abdominal radiograph showed calcification in the right side of the abdomen (Fig. 1). Ultrasonography demonstrated 13.6 x 8.1 cm soft tissue mass in the retro-peritoneum between liver and the right kidney. It was heterogeneous, well circumscribed with sharply defined borders, and had some calcification and cystic areas. CT abdomen revealed a hypo-dense lesion between liver and the right kidney. It had fatty attenuation with internal hyper-dense areas representing calcification. (Fig. 2). Provisional diagnosis of a retroperitoneal teratoma was made and an open exploration was performed with a right sub-costal incision. There was a large cystic mass behind the ascending colon, duodenum and the pancreas. It was located in the retroperitoneal compartment. There were dense, fibrous adhesions of the mass with aorta but entire cystic mass was excised successfully.
Post operatively this tumor mass measuring 5 x 5 cm was excised in vitro and found to be filled with yellowish creamy material containing hair, sebum and bony tissue. Microscopically it was confirmed to be a cystic teratoma with no malignancy. Stratified squamous epithelium with sebaceous and sweat glands, hair shafts, calcification, few bony spicules and bone marrow elements were all demonstrated. (Fig. 3). The post operative course was uneventful and she was well at the 2 months follow up.
Figure 1. Plain abdominal radiograph showing radio-opaque shadow (arrow heads) in the right upper abdomen.
Figure 2: Computed Tomography showing an encapsulated mass that contains multiple tissue elements including fat and areas of calcification.
Figure 3: Microscopic examination of the tumor showing squamous epithelium (SE), hair shaft (HS), sebaceous glands (SBG)
Discussion:
Teratomas are congenital tumours arising from pluri-potential embryonic cells and therefore have several recognizable somatic tissues3, Teratomas are usually localized to the ovaries, testis, anterior mediastinum or the retro-peritoneal area in descending order of frequency.4 Teratomas constitute less than 10% of all primary retroperitoneal tumours and hence are relatively uncommon5. Furthermore, retroperitoneal teratomas occur mainly in children and have been very rarely described in the adults. Half of these cases present in children less than 10 years of age and only a fifth of them present after 30 years of age. Retroperitoneal teratomas are often located near the upper pole of the kidney with preponderance on the left. The case described here is therefore unusual in that it was a primary retroperitoneal teratoma in an adult, on the right side and with adhesions to the aorta.
Retroperitoneal teratomas are seen in females twice as commonly than males. Teratomas are usually benign if they are cystic and contain sebum or mature tissue. They are more likely to be malignant if they are solid and have immature embryonic tissue like fat, cartilage, fibrous and bony elements.6 In these regards our case is similar to other described cases as our patient is also female and as her teratoma was cystic, it showed lack of malignancy.
Teratomas are usually asymptomatic as the retroperitoneal space is extensive enough to allow for their free growth. When compression of the surrounding structure occurs, patients may get compression symptoms.The diagnosis of a retroperitoneal teratoma cannot be made on clinical grounds alone. Ultrasound and computed tomography are important in its diagnosis and may show the presence of calcification, teeth or fat. Calcification on the rim of tumour or inside the tumour is seen in 53-62% of teratomas and although radiologically three quarters of patients with a benign teratoma may have calcification within it, a quarter of malignant cases may also demonstrate calcification. Computed tomography is better than Ultrasonography in defining the extent and spread of teratoma to the surrounding organs.7
The prognosis is excellent for benign retroperitoneal teratoma if complete resection can be accomplished.
Acknowledgements / Conflicts / Author Details
Competing Interests:
Dr Tariq Mahmood helped only in the scientific writing up of this case based upon material provided by the co-authors. He was not involved in clinical management and therefore cannot verify clinical details of the case.
Details of Authors:
Sadaqat Ali Khan MBBS, MCPS, FRCSEd, FICS, Professor and Head of Department, Surgical unit III, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. Tariq Mahmood Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist Ickenham, United Kingdom. (Involved only in helping to write up the case in scientific manner. Not involved in management of the case) Muhammad Zeeshan Sarwar MBBS, FCPS, Senior Registrar, Surgical Unit III, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore. Syed Hamad Rasool MBBS, FCPS, Senior Registrar, Surgical Unit III, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore. Muhammad Danish Siddique MBBS, House Officer, Surgical Unit III, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore. Zohaib Khan MBBS, Medical Officer, Surgical Unit III, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore
Corresponding Author Details:
Abstract / Summary
Abstract:
Aim: To review the potential barriers for clinicians in performing nerve blocks with appropriate resolution ultrasound (US) machines as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Methods: A paper survey was handed out to anaesthetists of all grades. Information regarding nerve block competencies was gathered along with the availability of ultrasound machines in their area of work, along with any training they may have received in its use.
Results: We gathered responses from 52 anaesthetists. Only 50% of respondents had completed a training course in ultrasound guided nerve blocks. 42% of anaesthetists had their use of an ultrasound for nerve blocks limited by the lack of availability of an ultrasound in their area of work. Of the consultants surveyed, 34% felt competent in performing ultrasound guided interscalene block vs 54% with the landmark technique.
Conclusions: The anaesthetists surveyed demonstrated a range of competencies in the use of ultrasound for the different nerve blocks; this could be due to the lack of training for such blocks, the lack of availability of ultrasound machines or due to competency in performing nerve blocks without ultrasound. This identifies potential deficits in training and the need for appropriate resolution ultrasound machines in the work place.
Background
Nerve blocks have a variety of applications in anaesthesia enabling an extra dimension for patients with regards to their pain control and anaesthetic plan. Anaesthetists can perform nerve blocks by a range of methods including landmark techniques and ultrasound guidance, with both of these techniques having the potential to be used with a nerve stimulator.
Nerve blocks are associated with complications including nerve damage, bleeding, pneumothorax and failure. Ultrasound, if used correctly, may help limit such complications.1 NICE guidance on the use of ultrasound guidance for procedures, has evolved over the years. Ultrasound guidance is now considered an essential requirement for the placement of central venous lines2 and is recommended when performing nerve blocks.3
Method
This survey aimed to assess the methods used by anaesthetists in performing nerve blocks and audited the use and competencies of clinicians in performing such blocks under ultrasound guidance and landmark techniques. This survey also looked at whether performing nerve blocks under ultrasound guidance was hindered by the lack of availability of appropriate resolution ultrasound machines in the workplace.
A paper survey was completed by anaesthetists of all grades at Kettering general hospital, UK and Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, UK between October and December 2011. The survey consisted of a simple, easy to use, tick box table and a generic area in which participants made further contributions. From this we ascertained the following:
Grade of clinician.
Any courses undertaken in ultrasound guided nerve blocks.
Which nerve blocks the clinicians felt they could perform competently with either method (landmark versus ultrasound guided).
In the event the anaesthetist could perform a block with or without ultrasound guidance; which method was used if ultrasound equipment was available.
Was the ability to perform ultrasound guided nerve blocks limited by the availability of an ultrasound machine.
The term “landmark technique” is used when the landmark technique is combined with or without a nerve stimulator and the term “ultrasound technique” when ultrasound guidance is used with or without a nerve stimulator.
Results
We surveyed a total of 52 anaesthetists, subdivided into Consultants 26 (50%), ST/staff grade 17 (33%), CT trainees 9 (17%). Of all grades, only 50% had completed a course in ultrasound guided nerve blocks. 42% of clinicians had encountered situations when they could not use ultrasound guidance for a nerve block because there was no ultrasound machine available at the time of the procedure.
The competencies of clinicians with the landmark and ultrasound technique varied depending on the type of nerve block and the grade of clinician (figure 1).
Various routinely performed blocks were surveyed and this revealed a good comparison of the use of ultrasound and landmark technique. For the Interscalene block, the consultants and middle grades combined were competent in performing this block, with the landmark technique 56% and the ultrasound technique 33%. For the Lumbar plexus block, 0% of the consultants surveyed felt competent in performing this block with the ultrasound technique compared to 73% with the landmark technique. The majority of clinicians felt competent in performing the TAP block with the ultrasound technique, 65% versus 35%, for the landmark technique.
0
11
Figure 1. This table illustrates competencies for different nerve blocks with the landmark technique and ultrasound technique for different grades of anaesthetists.
Discussion
The findings of this survey and audit have a range of implications for anaesthetists in the workplace:
1) Junior grades of doctors do not feel competent in performing nerve blocks. This may lead to a reliance on senior doctors during on calls to assist in performing blocks such as femoral and TAP blocks. Specific training geared towards junior doctors to make them proficient in such blocks would enable them to provide an anaesthetic plan with more autonomy.
2) A large percentage of consultant grade clinicians felt competent in performing nerve blocks with the landmark technique but not in performing the same blocks with ultrasound guidance. This has implications for training because consultants are the training leads for junior grades of anaesthetists. If consultants do not feel competent in the use of ultrasound guidance for nerve blocks, this could lead to a self perpetuating cycle.
3) Only 50% of clinicians in this survey had completed a course for ultrasound guided nerve blocks, this coupled with the finding that clinicians did not feel comfortable in performing nerve blocks with ultrasound, indicates the possible need for local training accessible to clinicians to improve their everyday practice.
4) It has been shown that ultrasonic guidance improves the success rate of interscalene blocks.4 The practice amongst clinicians in this survey reveals that the majority of anaesthetists (middle and consultant grades) are competent with the landmark technique 56% compared to the ultrasound technique 36%. This also highlights a training deficit which if addressed would enable clinicians to offer a more successful method of performing the interscalene block.
5) This survey highlighted the lack of availability of appropriate ultrasound machines in different departments, leading to some clinicians utilising the landmark technique, when ultrasound guidance was the preference. This has the potential of a patient receiving a nerve block technique which may have been riskier and less efficient. This highlights a potential need for investment and accessibility of appropriate resolution ultrasound machines in the different work places of a hospital environment.
The main limitation of this project was the small number of clinicians in the respective hospitals the survey was performed in. However, we feel the results reflect the practice of clinicians across most anaesthetic departments. The recommendations highlight a training need for anaesthetic trainees in the use of ultrasound guided nerve blocks. This survey could form the basis of a much larger survey of clinicians across the UK to provide a more insightful review of the competencies and preferences of anaesthetic trainees in performing nerve blocks and the availability of appropriate resolution ultrasound machines.
The difference in the number of clinicians in each category limited comparisons between groups. A larger cohort of participants would enable comparison of nerve block techniques between different grades of clinicians.
This survey included all clinicians regardless of their sub-specialist interest. This may result in a skewing of results, depending on the area of interest of the clinicians surveyed.
This work only highlights the competencies and preferences of clinicians in performing nerve blocks. No extrapolation can be made to complications that arise from the choice of either technique. Studies have shown an improved success rate when performing nerve blocks with ultrasound.4 However this does not directly apply to a specific clinician who may have substantial experience in their method of choice in performing a nerve block.
Acknowledgements / Conflicts / Author Details
Abstract / Summary
Abstract:
Thyrotoxic Periodic Paralysis (TPP) is an uncommon disorder seen primarily in Asian males and caused by excessive thyroid hormones. This is an endocrine emergency that can lead to respiratory failure, dysrhythmia, and death. The mainstay of therapy has been potassium replacement. However, recent evidence suggests propranolol is a more effective therapy. We present a case of TPP in a 19-year male with rapidly progressive paraparesis & hypokalemia.
INTRODUCTION:
Even though it is commonly seen in Graves' disease, TPP is not related to the etiology, severity, and duration of thyrotoxicosis. 1
The pathogenesis of hypokalaemic periodic paralysis in certain populations with thyrotoxicosis is unclear. Transcellular distribution of potassium is maintained by the Na+/K+–ATPase activity in the cell membrane, and it is mainly influenced by the action of insulin and beta-adrenergic catecholamines.2 Hypokalemia in TPP results from an intracellular shift of potassium and not total body depletion. It has been shown that the Na+/K+–ATPase activity in platelets and muscles is significantly higher in patients with TPP.3 Hyperthyroidism may result in a hyperadrenergic state, which may lead to the activation of the Na+/K+–ATPase pump and result in cellular uptake of potassium.2, 4, 5 Thyroid hormones may also directly stimulate Na+/K+– ATPase activity and increase the number and sensitivity of beta receptors.2, 6 Patients with TPP have been found to have hyperinsulinemia during episodes of paralysis. This may explain the attacks after high-carbohydrate meals.7
CASE REPORT:
A 19 year old male patient presented to our emergency room with sudden onset weakness of lower limbs. He was not able to stand or walk. Power of 0/5 in both lower limbs and 3/5 in upper limbs was noticed on examination. Routine investigations revealed to have severe hypokalemia with a serum potassium of 1.6 meq/l (normal range 3.5-5.0 meq/l), a serum phosphorus level of 3.4 mg/dl (normal range 3-4.5 mg/dl) and mild hypomagnesemia with serum magnesium level of 1.5mg/dl (normal range 1.8-3.0 mg/dl). ECG showed hypokalemic changes with prolonged PR interval, increased P-wave amplitude and widened QRS complexes. He was managed on intravenous as well oral potassium and history revealed weight loss, increased appetite and tremors from past 4 months. He had a multinodular goiter and radioactive iodine uptake scan (Iodine 131) showed a toxic nodule (Toxic nodule shows increased iodine uptake while the rest of the gland is suppressed) with no exophthalmos, sensory or cranial nerve deficits. Thyroid function tests revealed thyrotoxicosis with free T4 of 4.3ng/dl (normal range 0.8-1.8ng/dl), T3 of 279 ng/dl (normal range = 60 - 181 ng/dl) and a TSH level of <0.15milliunits/L (normal range = 0.3 - 4 milliunits/L). He was managed on intravenous potassium & propanolol. The patient showed dramatic improvement of his symptoms. The patient was discharged home on carbamazole with the diagnosis of TPP secondary to toxic nodular goiter.
In this case there was a significant family history as one of his elder brother had a sudden death (cause not known) and his mother was primary hypothyroid on levothyroxin replacement therapy.
DISCUSSION :
TPP is seen most commonly in Asian populations, with an incidence of approximately 2% in patients with thyrotoxicosis of any cause.1,8,9,10 The attacks of paralysis have a well-marked seasonal incidence, usually occurring during the warmer months.1 Pathogenesis of hypokalaemia has been explained by some authors to be due to an intracellular shift of body potassium, which is catecholamine mediated.11,12 Shizume and his group studied total exchangeable potassium which revealed that patients with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis were not significantly different from controls when the value was related to lean body mass.11 The paralytic symptoms and signs improve as the potassium returns from the intracellular space back into the extracellular space.13 The diurnal variation in potassium movement where there is nocturnal potassium influx into skeletal muscle would explain the tendency for thyrotoxic periodic paralysis to occur at night.14 Hypophosphataemia and hypomagnesaemia are also known to occur in association with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis.14,15,16,17,18 The correction of hypophosphataemia without phosphate administration supports the possibility of intracellular shift of phosphate.16 Electrocardiographic findings supportive of a diagnosis of TPP rather than sporadic or familial periodic paralysis are sinus tachycardia, elevated QRS voltage and first-degree AV block (sensitivity 97%, specificity 65%).20 In addition to ST-segment depression, T-wave flattening or inversion and the presence of U waves are typical of hypokalaemia.
The management is to deal with the acute attack as well as treatment of the underlying condition to prevent future attacks. Rapid administration of oral or intravenous potassium chloride can abort an attack and prevent cardiovascular and respiratory complications.4 A small dose of potassium is the treatment of choice for facilitating recovery and reducing rebound hyperkalaemia due to release of potassium and phosphate from the cells on recovery.1,2,3 Rebound hyperkalaemia occurred in approximately 40% of patients with TPP, especially if they received >90 mmol of potassium chloride within the first 24 hours.4 Another mode of treatment is to give propranolol, a nonselective b-blocker, which prevents the intracellular shift of potassium and phosphate by blunting the hyperadrenergic stimulation of Na+/K+–ATPase.20 Hence, initial therapy for stable TPP should include propranolol.21,22,23 The definitive therapy for TPP includes treatment of hyperthyroidism with antithyroid medications, surgical thyroidectomy, or radioiodine therapy.
Acknowledgements / Conflicts / Author Details
REM sleep; REM Behavior Disorder; Neurodegenerative diseases; Parkinson’s disease; Polysomnogram
Introduction
Normal sleep is divided into Non-REM and REM. REM occurs every 90-120 minutes during adult sleep throughout the night with each period of REM progressing in length such that the REM periods in the early morning hours are the longest and may last from 30-60 minutes. Overall, REM accounts for 20-25% of the sleep time but is weighted toward the second half of the night. During REM sleep with polysomnography monitoring one observes a low voltage mixed frequency amplitude EEG and low voltage EMG in the chin associated with intermittent bursts of rapid eye movements. During the periods of REM breathing becomes irregular, blood pressure rises and the heart rate also increases due to excess adrenergic activity. The brain is highly active during REM and the electrical activity recorded in the brain by EEG during REM sleep is similar to that of wakefulness.
Parasomnias are undesirable, unexpected, abnormal behavioral phenomena that occur during sleep. There are three broad categories in parasomnias. They are
Disorders of Arousal (from Non-REM sleep)
Parasomnias usually associated with REM sleep, and
Other parasomnias which also includes secondary type of parasomnias.
RBD is the only parasomnia which requires polysomnographic testing as part of the essential diagnostic criteria.
Definition of RBD
“RBD is characterized by the intermittent loss of REM sleep electromyographic (EMG) atonia and by the appearance of elaborate motor activity associated with dream mentation” (ICSD-2).1 These motor phenomena may be complex and highly integrated and often are associated with emotionally charged utterances and physically violent or vigorous activities. RBD was first recognized and described by Schenck CH et al. in 1986.2 This diagnosis was first incorporated in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) in 1990. (American Academy of Sleep Medicine)
A defining feature of normal REM sleep is active paralysis of all somatic musculature (sparing the diaphragm to permit ventilation). This result in diffuse hypotonia of the skeletal muscles inhibiting the enactment of dreams associated with REM sleep. In RBD there is an intermittent loss of muscle atonia during REM sleep that can be objectively measured with EMG as intense phasic motor activity (figure 1 and 2).
Figure 1
Figure 2
This loss of inhibition often precedes the complex motor behaviors during REM sleep. Additionally, RBD patients will report that their dream content is often very violent or vigorous dream enacting behaviors include talking, yelling, punching, kicking, sitting, jumping from bed, arm flailing and grabbing etc. and most often the sufferer will upon waking from the dream immediately report a clear memory of the dream which coincides very well with the high amplitude violent defensive activity witnessed. This complex motor activity may result in a serious injury to the dreamer or bed partner that then prompts the evaluation.
Prevalence
The Prevalence of RBD is about 0.5% in general population.1, 3 RBD preferentially affect elderly men (in 6th and 7th decade) with ratio of women to men being 1 to 9.4 The mean age of disease onset is 60.9 years and at diagnosis is 64.4 years.5 RBD was reported in an 18 year old female with Juvenile Parkinson disease,6 so age and gender are not absolute criteria.
In Parkinson disease (PD) the reported prevalence ranges from 13-50%,7, 14-19 LewyBody Dementia (DLB) 95%,8 and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) 90 %.9 The presence of RBD is a major diagnostic criterion for MSA. RBD has been reported in Juvenile Parkinson disease, and pure autonomic failure10-12 all neurodegenerative disorders are synucleinopathies.13
Physiology
The neurons of locus coeruleus, raphe nuclei, tuberomammillary nucleus, pedunculopontine nucleus, laterodorsal tegmental area and the perifornical area are firing at a high rate, and cause arousal by activating the cerebral cortex. During REM sleep, the aforementioned excitatory areas fall silent with the exception of the pedunculopontine nucleus and laterodorsal tegmental areas. These regions project to the thalamus and activate the cortex during REM sleep. This cortical activation is associated with dreaming in REM. Descending excitatory fibers from the pedunculopontine nucleus and laterodorsal tegmental area innervate the medial medulla, which then sends inhibitory projections to motor neurons producing the skeletal muscle atonia of REM sleep.20-21
There are two distinct neural systems which collaborate in the “paralysis” of normal REM sleep, one is mediated through the active inhibition by neurons in the nucleus reticularis magnocellularis in the medulla via the ventrolateral reticulospinal tract synapsing on the spinal motor neurons and the other system suppresses locomotor activity and is located in pontine region.22
Pathophysiology
REM sleep contains two types of variables, tonic (occurring throughout the REM period), and phasic (occurring intermittently during a REM period). Tonic elements include desynchronized EEG and somatic muscle atonia (sparing the diaphragm). Phasic elements include rapid eye movements, middle ear muscle activity and extremity twitches. The tonic electromyogram suppression of REM sleep is the result of active inhibition of motor activity originating in the perilocus coeruleus region and terminating in the anterior horn cells via the medullary reticularis magnocellularis nucleus.
In RBD, the observed motor activity may result from either impairment of tonic REM muscle atonia or from increase phasic locomotor drive during REM sleep. One mechanism by which RBD results is the disruption in neurotransmission in the brainstem, particularly at the level of the pedunculopontine nucleus.23Pathogenetically, reduced striatal dopaminergic mediation has been found24-25 in those with RBD. Neuroimaging studies support dopaminergic abnormalities.
Types of RBD
RBD can be categorized based on severity:
Mild RBD occurring less than once per month,
Moderate RBD occurring more than once per month but less than once per week, associated with physical discomfort to the patient or bed partner, and
Severe RBD occurring more than once per week, associated with physical injury to patient or bed partner.
RBD can be categorized based on duration:
Acute presenting with one month or less,
Subacute with more than one month but less than 6 months,
Chronic with 6 months or more of symptoms prior to presentation.
Acute RBD: In 55 - 60% of patients with RBD the cause is unknown, but in 40 - 45% the RBD is secondary to another condition. Acute onset RBD is almost always induced or exacerbated by medications (especially Tri-Cyclic Antidepressants, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Mono-Amine Oxidase Inhibitors, Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors,26 Mirtazapine, Selegiline, and Biperiden) or during withdrawal of alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepine or meprobamate. Selegiline may trigger RBD in patients with Parkinson disease. Cholinergic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease may trigger RBD.
Chronic RBD: The chronic form of RBD was initially thought to be idiopathic; however long term follow up has shown that many eventually exhibit signs and symptoms of a degenerative neurologic disorder. One recent retrospective study of 44 consecutive patients diagnosed with idiopathic RBD demonstrated that 45% (20 patients) subsequently developed a neurodegenerative disorder, most commonly Parkinson disease (PD) or Lewy body dementia, after a mean of 11.5 years from reported symptoms onset and 5.1 years after RBD diagnosis.27
The relationship between RBD and PD is complex and not all persons with RBD develop PD. In one study of 29 men presenting with RBD followed prospectively, the incidence of PD was 38% at 5 years and 65% after 12 years.7, 28, 29 Contrast this with the prevalence of the condition in multiple system atrophy, where RBD is one of the primary symptoms occurring in 90% of cases.9 In cases of RBD, it is absolutely necessary not only to exclude any underlying neurodegenerative disease process but also to monitor for the development of one over time in follow up visits.
Clinical manifestations
Sufferers of RBD usually present to the doctor with complaints of sleep related injury or fear of injury as a result of dramatic violent, potentially dangerous motor activity during sleep. 96% of patients reporting harm to themselves or their bed partner. Behaviors during dreaming described include talking, yelling, swearing, grabbing, punching, kicking, jumping or running out of the bed. One clinical clue of the source of the sleep related injury is the timing of the behaviors. Because RBD occurs during REM sleep, it typically appears at least 90 minutes after falling asleep and is most often noted during the second half of the night when REM sleep is more abundant.
One fourth of subjects who develop RBD have prodromal symptoms several years prior to the diagnosis. These symptoms may consist of twitching during REM sleep but may also include other types of simple motor movements and sleep talking or yelling.30-31 Day time somnolence and fatigue are rare because gross sleep architecture and the sleep-wake cycle remain largely normal.
RBD in other neurological disorders and Narcolepsy:
RBD has also been reported in other neurologic diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, vascular encephalopathies, ischemic brain stem lesions, brain stem tumors, Guillain-Barre syndrome, mitochondrial encephalopathy, normal pressure hydrocephalus, subdural hemorrhage, and Tourette’s syndrome. In most of these there is likely a lesion affecting the primary regulatory centers for REM atonia.
RBD is particularly frequent in Narcolepsy. One study found 36% pts with Narcolepsy had symptoms suggestive of RBD. Unlike idiopathic RBD, women with narcolepsy are as likely to have RBD as men, and the mean age was found to be 41 years.32 While the mechanism allowing for RBD is not understood in this population, narcolepsy is considered a disorder of REM state disassociation. Cataplexy is paralysis of skeletal muscles in the setting of wakefulness and often is triggered by strong emotions such as humor. In narcoleptics who regularly experienced cataplexy, 68% reported RBD symptoms, compared to 14% of those who never or rarely experienced cataplexy.32-33 There is evidence of a profound loss of hypocretin in the hypothalamus of the narcoleptics with cataplexy and this may be a link that needs further investigation in the understanding of the mechanism of RBD in Narcolepsy with cataplexy. It is prudent to follow Narcoleptics and questioned about symptoms of RBD and treated accordingly, especially those with cataplexy and other associated symptoms.
Diagnostic criteria for REM Behavior Disorder(ICSD-2: ICD-9 code: 327.42)1
A. Presence of REM sleep without Atonia: the EMG finding of excessive amounts of sustained or intermittent elevation of submental EMG tone or excessive phasic submental or (upper or lower) limb EMG twitching (figure 1 and 2).
B. At least one of the following is present:
i. Sleep related injurious, potentially injurious, or disruptive behaviors by history
ii. Abnormal REM sleep behaviors documented during polysomnographic monitoring
C. Absence of EEG epileptiform activity during REM sleep unless RBD can be clearly distinguished from any concurrent REM sleep-related seizure disorder.
D. The sleep disturbance is not better explained by another sleep disorder, medical or neurologic disorder, mental disorder, medication use, or substance use disorder.
Differential diagnosis
Several sleep disorders causing behaviors in sleep can be considered in the differential diagnosis, such as sleep walking (somnambulism), sleep terrors, nocturnal seizures, nightmares, psychogenic dissociative states, post-traumatic stress disorder, nocturnal panic disorder, delirium and malingering. RBD may be triggered by sleep apnea and has been described as triggered by nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Evaluation and Diagnosis
Detailed history of the sleep wake complaints
Information from a bed partner is most valuable
Thorough medical, neurological, and psychiatric history and examination
Screening for alcohol and substance use
Review of all medications
PSG (mandatory): The polysomnographic study should be more extensive, with an expanded EEG montage, monitors for movements of all four extremities, continuous technologist observation and continuous video recording with good sound and visual quality to allow capture of any sleep related behaviors
Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT): Only recommended in the setting of suspected coexisting Narcolepsy
Brain imaging (CT or MRI) is mandatory if there is suspicion of underlying neurodegenerative disease.
Management
RBD may have legal consequences or can be associated with substantial relationship strain; therefore accurate diagnosis and adequate treatment is important, which includes non-pharmacological and pharmacological management.
Non-pharmacological management: Acute form appears to be self-limited following discontinuation of the offending medication or completion of withdrawal treatment. For chronic forms, protective measures during sleep are warranted to minimize the risks for injury to patient and bed partner. These patients are at fall risk due to physical limitations and use of medications. Protective measure such as removing bed stands, bedposts, low dressers and applying heavy curtains to windows. In extreme cases, placing the mattress on the floor to prevent falls from the bed has been successful.
Pharmacological management: Clonazepam is highly effective in treatment and it is the drug of choice. A very low dose will resolve symptoms in 87 to 90% of patients.4, 5, 7-34 Recommended treatment is 0.5 mg Clonazepam 30 minutes prior to bed time and for more than 90% of patients this dose remains effective without tachyphylaxis. In the setting of breakthrough symptoms the dose can be slowly titrated up to 2.0 mg. The mechanism of action is not well understood but clonazepam appears to decrease REM sleep phasic activity but has no effect on REM sleep atonia.35
Melatonin is also effective and can be used as monotherapy or in conjunction with clonazepam. The suggested dose is 3 to 12 mg at bed time. Pramipexole may also be effective36-38 and suggested for use when clonazepam is contraindicated or ineffective. It is interesting to note that during holidays from the drug, the RBD can take several weeks to recur. Management of patients with concomitant disorder like narcolepsy, depression, dementia, Parkinson disease and Parkinsonism can be very challenging, because medications such as SSRIs, selegiline and cholinergic medications used to treat these disorders, can cause or exacerbate RBD. RBD associated with Narcolepsy, clonazepam is usually added in management and it is fairly effective.
Follow-up
Because RBD may occur in association with neurodegenerative disorder, it is important to consult a neurologist for every patient with RBD as early as possible, especially to diagnose and provide care plan for neurodegenerative disorder, which includes but not limited to early diagnosis and management, regular follow up, optimization of management to provide better quality of life and address medico-legal issues.
Prognosis
In acute and idiopathic chronic RBD, the prognosis with treatment is excellent. In the secondary chronic form, prognosis parallels that of the underlying neurologic disorder. Treatment of RBD should be continued indefinitely, as violent behaviors and nightmares promptly reoccur with discontinuation of medication in almost all patients.
Conclusions
RBD and neurodegenerative diseases are closely interconnected. RBD often antedates the development of a neurodegenerative disorder; diagnosis of idiopathic RBD portends a risk of greater than 45% for future development of a clinically defined neurodegenerative disease. Once identified, close follow-up of patients with idiopathic RBD could enable early detection of neurodegenerative diseases. Treatment for RBD is available and effective for the vast majority of cases.
Key Points
Crystal arthritis, gout, hot swollen knee, Pseudogout, polarized light microscopy.
Introduction
Acute non-traumatic knee effusion is a common condition presenting to the Orthopaedic department which can be caused by a wide variety of diseases(Table 1). Septic arthritis is the most common and serious etiology. It can involve any joint; the knee is the most frequently affected. Accurate and swift diagnosis of septic arthritis in the acute setting is vital to prevent joint destruction, since cartilage loss occurs within hours of onset1,2. Inpatient mortality due to septic arthritis has been reported as between 7-15%, despite improvement in antibiotic therapy3,4. Crystal arthritis (Gout/Pseudogout) is the second most common differential diagnosis. It is often under-diagnosed and subsequently patients do not receive rheumatology referral for appropriate treatment and follow-up. In addition, some patients are misdiagnosed and treated as septic arthritis with inappropriate antibiotics. Untreated crystal-induced arthropathy has been shown to cause degenerative joint disease and disability leading to a considerable health economic burden.6,7
When the patient is systemically unwell, it is common practice to start empirical antibiotic treatment after joint aspiration for the fear of septic arthritis. This aims to minimize the risk of joint destruction while awaiting gram stain microscopy and microbiological culture results. In a persistent painful swollen knee with negative gram stain and culture, antibiotic therapy can be continued with or without arthroscopic knee washout based on clinical suspicion of infection 8.
We have therefore undertaken a retrospective study to review our management of patients with non-traumatic hot swollen knees and in particular patients with crystal-induced arthritis.
Materials and methods:
We performed a retrospective review of 180 patients presenting consecutively with acute non-traumatic knee effusion referred to the on-call Orthopaedic team in the hospital of study between November 2008 and November 2011. Sixty patients were included in the study (Table 2). There were 43 males and 17 females, with a mean age of 36 years (range, 23- 93 years).
Patient demographics, clinical presentation, co-morbidities, current medications and body temperature were recorded. The results of blood inflammatory markers (WBC, CRP), blood cultures, synovial fluid microscopy, culture and polarized microscopy were also collected. Subsequent treatment (e.g. antibiotics, surgical intervention), complications, and mortality rates were reviewed.
Results:
On presentation, a decreased range of movement was evident in all patients. Associated knee pain was reported by 55 patients (92%), and 24 patients (40%) had fever (temperature ≥ 37.5º). All joints were aspirated prior to starting antibiotics and samples were sent for gram stain microscopy, culture and antibiotic sensitivity, and polarized light microscopy.
Of the 60-patient cohort, 26 were admitted and started on intravenous antibiotics based on clinical suspicion of infection (Table 3). The median duration of inpatient admission was 4 days (range, 2 to 14 days). The median duration of antibiotic therapy was 6 days (range, 2 to 25 days). Eighteen patients were treated non-operatively by means of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications. Arthroscopic washout was performed in the remaining eight knees. In this group of patients, leucocyte count in the joint aspirate ranged from 0-3 leucocyte/mm3, blood leucocyte count ranged from 4-20 leucocyte/mm3, while mean CRP was 37.8 mg/l (range, 1-275 mg/l).
Review of laboratory results revealed that four patients had positive microscopic growth on gram stained films. Two samples showed staphylococcus aureus growth and two grew beta haemolytic streptococci. Eight patientshad crystals identified on polarized light microscopy of joint aspirate. Three showed monosodium urate (MSU) crystals while five had calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals. They received antibiotic therapy for a mean duration of 10 days (range, 1-30 days). Two patients were taken to theatre for arthroscopic lavage. Only two patients received rheumatology referral.
Seven patients developed complications during their hospital stay. Four contracted diarrhoea; three of which had negative stool cultures but one was positive for clostridium difficile, developed toxic megacolon and died. One patient with known ischemic heart disease had a myocardial infarction and died. Two further patients acquiredurinary tract infections.
Discussion:
Acute monoarthritisof the knee joint can be a manifestation of infection, crystal deposits, osteoarthritis and a variety of systemic diseases. Arriving at a correct diagnosis is crucial for appropriate treatment 9. Septic arthritis, the most common etiology, develops as a result of haematogenous seeding, direct introduction, or extension from a contiguous focus of infection. Joint infectionis a medical emergency that can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Mainstay of treatment comprises appropriate antimicrobial therapy and joint drainage 10,11. Literature reveals the knee is the most commonly affected joint (55%) followed by shoulder (14%) in the septic joint population12-13.
The second most common differential diagnosis is crystal-induced monoarthritis. Gout and pseudogout are the two most common pathologies 14. They are debilitating illnesses in which recurrent episodes of pain and joint inflammation are caused by the formation of crystals within the joint space and deposition of crystals in soft tissue. Gout is caused by monosodium urate (MSU) crystals, while pseudogout is inflammation caused by calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals, sometimes referred to as calcium pyrophosphate disease (CPPD) 15,16. Misdiagnosis of crystals arthritis or delay in treatment can gradually lead to degenerative joint disease and disability in addition to renal damage and failure 5. The clinical picture of acute crystal-induced arthritis can sometimes be difficult to differentiate from acute septic arthritis. It is manifested by fever, malaise, raised peripheral WBC, CRP and other acute phase reactants. Synovial fluid aspirate can be turbid secondary to an increase in peripheral polymorphonuclear cells. Diagnosis can be challenging and therefore crystal identification on polarized microscopy is considered the gold standard 17, 18, 19. Rest, ice and topical analgesia may be helpful but systemic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications are the treatment of choice for acute attacks provided there are no contraindications 20.
In this study, all joints were aspirated and samples were sent for microscopy, culture and sensitivity, and polarized microscopy for crystals in-line with the British Society of Rheumatology and British Orthopaedic Association guidelines 8. Aspiration not only helps diagnosis but in addition reduces the pain caused by joint swelling. Twenty six patients were admitted, on clinical and biochemical suspicion of septic arthritis. They presented with acute phase response manifested by malaise, fever and raised inflammatory markers and were treated with antibiotic therapy and non steroidal anti-inflammatory medications while awaiting the results of microbiology and polarized light microscopy. Four of theses patients developed complications secondary to antibiotic therapy including death due to clostridium difficile infection and subsequent toxic megacolon.
Infection was confirmed to be underlying cause in four patients (6%) who showed positive microscopic growth on gram stained films. They underwent arthroscopic washout and continued antibiotic therapy according to the result of culture and sensitivity of their knee aspirate till their symptoms and blood markers were normal. Arthroscopic washout was required for four patients with negative microscopic growth due to persistant symptoms despite antibiotic treatment, as recommended by the British Society of Rheumatology and the British Orthopaedic Association 8. Two patients showed calcium pyrophosphate crystals on polarized microscopy and two had no bacterial growth or crystals.
We retrospectively reviewed laboratory results and found that eight patients (13%) were confirmed to have crystal arthritis as crystals (MSU/CPP) were identified in their knee aspirates by means of polarized microscopy. However, only two patients (25%) received this diagnosis whilst in hospital. In both cases, antibiotic therapy was discontinued and they were referred to a rheumatologist for appropriate treatment and follow up. The remaining six patients continued to receive antibiotics and two of them were taken to theatre for arthroscopic lavage on clinical suspicion of infection as symptoms did not improve significantly with medications.
Our study shows that crystal-induced arthritis can easily be overlooked or misdiagnosed as septic arthritis. This results in patients having unnecessary antibiotic therapy, developing serious complications and undergoing surgical procedures, all of which can be avoided. Moreover, they were not referred to a rheumatologist.
Acute knee effusion is a common presentation to the Orthopaedic department and although we seem to be providing a good service for septic arthritis, patients with crystal arthropathy are still slipping through the net. Clinicians should always remember that crystal arthritis is almost as common as septic arthritis and will eventually lead to joint damage if not managed appropriately. It must be excluded as a cause of hot swollen joints by routine analysis of joint aspirate using polarized light microscopy. If crystal arthritis is proved to be the underlying pathology, patients must be treated accordingly and receive a prompt rheumatology referral for further management.
Acknowledgements / Conflicts / Author Details
Abstract / Summary
Abstract:
Drooling, also known as ptyalism or sialorrhea can be defined as salivary incontinence or the involuntary spillage of saliva over the lower lip. Drooling could be caused by excessive production of saliva, inability to retain saliva within the mouth, or problems with swallowing. Drooling can lead to functional and clinical consequences for patients, families, and caregivers. Physical and psychosocial complication includes maceration of skin around the mouth, secondary bacterial infection, bad odour, dehydration and social stigmatisation. People with drooling problems are also at increased risk of inhaling saliva, food, or fluids into the lungs especially when body's normal reflex mechanisms, such as gagging and coughing are also impaired. Successful management of sialorrhea can alleviate the associated hygienic problems, improve appearance, enhance self-esteem, and significantly reduce the nursing care time of these sufferers.Chronic drooling can be difficult to manage; this article gives overview of the causes, effects and management of drooling of saliva in general practice.
Saliva is the watery and usually frothy substance produced in and secreted from the three paired major salivary (parotid, submandibular and sublingual) glands and several hundred minor salivary glands, composed mostly of water, but also includes electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds, and various enzymes. Healthy persons are estimated to produce 0.75 to 1.5 liters of saliva per day. At least 90% of the daily salivary production comes from the major salivary glands while the minor salivary glands produce about 10%. On stimulation (olfactory, tactile or gustatory), salivary flow increases five fold, with the parotid glands providing the preponderance of saliva.1
Saliva is a major protector of the tissues and organs of the mouth. In its absence both the hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity may be severely damaged, with an increase in ulceration, infections, such as candidiasis, and dental decay. Saliva is composed of serous part (alpha amylase) and a mucus component, which acts as a lubricant. It is saturated with calcium and phosphate and is necessary for maintaining healthy teeth. The bicarbonate content of saliva enables it to buffer and produce the condition necessary for the digestion of plaque which holds acids in contact with the teeth. Moreover, saliva helps with bolus formation and lubricates the throat for the easy passage of food. The organic and inorganic components of salivary secretion have got a protective potential. They act as barrier to irritants and a means of removing cellular and bacterial debris. Saliva contains various components involved in defence against bacterial and viral invasion, including mucins, lipids, secretory immunoglobulins, lysozymes, lactoferrin, salivary peroxidise, and myeloperoxidase. Salivary pH is about 6-7, favouring digestive action of salivary enzyme, alpha amylase, devoted to starch digestion.
Image -1. (Source of this image- http://www.entdoctor.co.nz )
Salivary glands are innervated by the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system. Parasympathetic postganglionic cholinergic nerve fibers supply cells of both the secretory end-piece and ducts and stimulate the rate of salivary secretion, inducing the formation of large amounts of a low-protein, serous saliva. Sympathetic stimulation promotes saliva flow through muscle contractions at salivary ducts. In this regard both parasympathetic and sympathetic stimuli result in an increase in salivary gland secretions. The sympathetic nervous system also affects salivary gland secretions indirectly by innervating the blood vessels that supply the glands.
Table 1: Functions of saliva
Digestion and swallowing
Speaking
Lubricates tongue and oral cavity
Drooling (also known as driveling, ptyalism, sialorrhea, or slobbering) is when saliva flows outside the mouth, defined as “saliva beyond the margin of the lip”. This condition is normal in infants but usually stops by 15 to 18 months of age. Sialorrhea after four years of age generally is considered to be pathologic. The prevalence of drooling of saliva in the chronic neurological patients is high, with impairment of social integration and difficulties to perform oral motor activities during eating and speech, with repercussion in quality of lifeDrooling occurs in about one in two patients affected with motor neuron disease and one in five needs continuous saliva elimination7, its prevalence is about 70% in Parkinson disease8, and between 10 to 80% in patients with cerebral palsy9.
Pathophysiology
Pathophysiology of drooling is multifactorial. It is generally caused by conditions resulting in
Excess production of saliva- due to local or systemic causes (table 2)
Inability to retain saliva within the mouth- poor head control, constant open mouth, poor lip control, disorganized tongue mobility, decreased tactile sensation, macroglossia, dental malocclusion, nasal obstruction.
Problems with swallowing- resulting in excess pooling of saliva in the anterior portion of the oral cavity e.g. lack of awareness of the build-up of saliva in the mouth, infrequent swallowing, and inefficient swallowing.
Drooling is mainly due to neurological disturbance and less frequently to hyper salivation.Under normal circumstances, persons are able to compensate for increased salivation by swallowing. However, sensory dysfunction may decrease a person’s ability to recognize drooling and anatomic or motor dysfunction of swallowing may impede the ability to manage increased secretion.
Table 2 Aetiology of hypersalivation
Physiological
Difficult social interaction
Assessment
Assessment of the severity of drooling and its impact on quality of life for the patient and their carers help to establish a prognosis and to decide the therapeutic regimen. A variety of subjective and objective methods for assessment of sialorrhoea have been described3.
History (from patient and carers)
Establish possible cause, severity, complications and possibility of improvement, age and mental status of patient, chronicity of problems, associated neurological conditions, timing, provoking factors, estimation of quantity of saliva – use of bibs, clothing changing required/ day and impact on the day today life (patient/carer)
Physical examination
Evaluate level of alertness, emotional state, hydration status, hunger, head posture
Examination of oral cavity- sores on the lip or chin, dental problems, tongue control, swallowing ability, nasal airway obstruction, decreased intraoral sensitivity, assessment of health status of teeth, gum, oral mucosa, tonsils, anatomical closure of oral cavity, tongue size and movement, jaw stability. Assessment of swallowing
Assess severity and frequency of drooling (as per table 4)
Investigation
Lateral neck x ray (in peritonsilar abscess)
Ultrasound to diagnose local abscess
Barium swallow to diagnose swallowing difficulties
Audiogram- to rule out conductive deafness associated with oropharyngeal conditions
Salivary gland scan- to determine functional status
Table 4 : System for assessment of frequency and severity of drooling
Drooling severity
4
Other methods of assessing salivary production and drooling
1) 1- 10 visual analogue scale (where 1 is best possible and 10 is worst possible situation)
2) Counting number of standard sized paper handkerchiefs used during the day
3) Measure saliva collected in cups strapped to chin
4) Inserting pieces of gauze with a known weight into oral cavity for a specific period of time and then re-measuring weight and calculating the difference between the dry and wet weights.
5) Salivary gland scintigraphy / technetium scanning
6) Salivary duct canulation 12 and measuring saliva production.
Management
Drooling of saliva, a challenging condition, is better managed with a multidisciplinary team approach. The team includes primary care physician, speech therapist, occupational therapist, dentist, orthodontist, otolaryngologist, paediatrician and neurologist. After initial assessment, a management plan can be made with the patient. The person/ carer should understand the goal of treating drooling is a reduction in excessive salivary flow, while maintaining a moist and healthy oral cavity. Avoidance of xerostomia (dry mouth) is important.
There are two main approaches
Non invasive modalities e.g. oral motor therapy, pharmacological therapy
Invasive modalities e.g. surgery and radiotherapy
No single approach is totally effective and treatment is usually a combination of these techniques. The first step in management of drooling is correction of reversible causes. Less invasive and reversible methods, namely oral motor therapy and medication are usually implemented before surgery is undertaken5
Non invasive modalities
Positioningprior to implementation of any therapy, it is essential to look at the position of the patient. When seated, a person should be fully supported and comfortable. Good posture with proper trunk and head control provides the basis for improving oral control of drooling and swallowing.
Eating and drinking skills-drooling can be exacerbated by pooreating skills. Special attention and developing better techniques in lip closure, tongue movement and swallowing may lead to improvements of some extent. Acidic fruits and alcohol stimulate further saliva production, so avoiding them will help to control drooling10
Oral facial facilitation - this technique will help to improve oral motor control, sensory awareness and frequency of swallowing.Scott and staios et al 18 noted improvement in drooling in patients with both hyper and hypo tonic muscles using this technique. This includes different techniques normally undertaken by speech therapist, which improves muscle tone and saliva control. Most studies show short term benefit with little benefit in long run. This technique can be practiced easily, with no side effects and can be ceased if no benefits noted.
a) Icing – effect usually last up to 5-30 minutes. Improves tone, swallow reflex.
b) Brushing- as effect can be seen up to 20- 30 minutes, suggested to undertake before meals.
c) Vibration- improves tone in high tone muscles
d) Manipulation – like tapping, stroking, patting, firm pressure directly to muscles using fingertips known to improve oral awareness.
e) Oral motor sensory exercise - includes lip and tongue exercises.
Speech therapy-speech therapy should be started early to obtain good results. The goal is to improve jaw stability and closure, to increase tongue mobility, strength and positioning, to improve lip closure (especially during swallowing) and to decrease nasal regurgitation during swallowing.
Behaviour therapy-this uses a combination of cueing, overcorrection, and positive and negative reinforcement to help drooling. Suggested behaviours, like swallowing and mouth wiping are encouraged, whereas open mouth and thumb sucking are discouraged. Behavior modification is useful to achieve (1) increased awareness of the mouth and its functions, (2) increased frequency of swallowing, (3) increased swallowing skills. This can be done by family members and friends. Although there is no randomized controlled trial done, over 17 articles published in last 25 years, show promising results and improved quality of life. No reported side effects make behavioural interventions an initial option compared to surgery, botulinum toxin or pharmaceutical management. Behaviour interventions are useful prior and after medical management such as botulinum toxin or surgery.
Oral prosthetic device- variety of prosthetic devices can be beneficial, e.g. chin cup and dental appliances, to achieve mandibular stability, better lip closure, tongue position and swallowing. Cooperation and comfort of the patient is essential for better results.
Pharmacological methods
Systematic review of anticholinergic drugs, show Benztropine, Glycopyrrolate, and Benzhexol Hydrochloride, as being effective in the treatment of drooling. But these drugs have adverse side-effects and none of the drugs been identified as superior.
Hyoscine- The effect of oral anticholinergic drugs has been limited in the treatment of drooling. Transdermal scopolamine (1.5 mg/2.5 cm2) offers advantages. One single application is considered to render a stable serum concentration for 3 days. Transdermal scopolamine has been shown to be very useful in the management of drooling, particularly in patients with neurological or neuropsychiatric disturbances or severe developmental disordersIt releases scopolamine through the skin into the bloodstream.
Glycopyrrolatestudies have shown 70-90% response rates but with a high side effect rate. Approximately 30-35% of patients choose to discontinue due to unacceptable side effects such as excessive dry mouth, urinary retention, decreased sweating, skin flushing, irritability and behavior changes. A study on 38 patients with drooling due to neurological deficits had shown up to a 90% response rateMier et al21 reported Glycopyrrolate to be effective in the control of excessive sialorrhea in children with developmental disabilities. Approximately 20% of children given glycopyrrolate may experience substantial adverse effects, enough to require discontinuation of medication.
Antimuscarinic drugs, such as benzhexol, have also been used, but limited due to their troublesome side effects.
Antireflux Medication: The role of antireflux medication (Ranitidine & Cisapride) in patients with gastro esophageal reflux due to esophageal dysmotility and lower esophageal tone did not show any benefits in a study 21.
Modafinil - One case study noticed decreased drooling in two clients who were using the drug for other reasons, but no further studies have been done.
Alternate medications: (Papaya and Grape seed extract) – Mentioned in literature as being used to dry secretions but no research in to their efficacy has been conducted.
Botulinum toxin It was in 1822 that a German poet and physician, Justinus Kerner, discovered that patients who suffered from botulism complained of severe dryness of mouth which suggested that the toxin causing botulism could be used to treat hypersalivation. However, it was only in the past few years that botulinum toxin type A (BTx-A)has been used for this purpose. BTx-A binds selectively to cholinergic nerve terminals and rapidly attaches to acceptor molecules at the presynaptic nerve surface. This inhibits release of acetylcholine from vesicles, resulting in reduced function of parasympathetic controlled exocrine glands. The blockade though reversible is temporary as new nerve terminals sprout to create new neural connections. Studies have shown that injection of botulinum toxin to parotid and submandibular glands, successfully subsided the symptoms of drooling 30,31. Although there is wide variation in recommended dosage, most studies suggest that about 30- 40 units of BTx-A injected into the parotid and submandibular glands are enough for the symptoms to subside The injection is usually given under ultrasound guidance to avoid damage to underlying vasculature/ nerves. The main side effects from this form of treatment are dysphagia, due to diffusion into nearby bulbar muscles, weak mastication, parotid gland infection, damage to the facial nerve/artery and dental caries.
Patients with neurological disorders who received BTX-A injections showed a statistically significant effect from BTX-A at 1 month post injection, compared with control, this significance was maintained at 6 months. Intrasalivary gland BTX-A was shown to have a greater effect than scopolamine.
The effects of BTx-A are time limited and this varies between individuals.
Invasive modalities
Surgerycan be performed to remove salivary glands, (most surgical procedures focused on parotid and submandibular glands). ligate or reroute salivary gland ducts, or interrupt parasympathetic nerve supply to glands. Wilke, a Canadian plastic surgeon, was the first to propose and carry out parotid duct relocation to the tonsillar fossae to manage drooling in patients with cerebral palsy. One of the best studied procedures, with a large number of patients and long term follow up data, is submandibular duct relocation 32, 33.
Intraductal laser photocoagulation of the bilateral parotid ducts has been developed as a less invasive means of surgical therapy. Early reports have shown some impressive results34.
Overall surgery reducedsalivary flow and drooling can be significantly improved often with immediate results – 3 studies noted that 80 – 89% of participants had an improvement in their control of their saliva. Two studies discussed changes in quality of life. One of these found that 80% of those who participated improved across a number of different measures including receiving affection from others and opportunities for communication and interaction. Most evidence regarding surgical outcomesof sialorrhea management is low quality and heterogeneous. Despitethis, most patients experience a subjective improvement followingsurgical treatment 36.
Radiotherapy - to major salivary glands in doses of 6000 rad or more is effective Side effects which include xerostomia, mucositis, dental caries, osteoradionecrosis, may limit its use.
Key messages
Chronic drooling can pose difficulty in management
Early involvement of Multidisciplinary team is the key.
Combination of approach works better
Always start with noninvasive, reversible, least destructive approach
Surgical and destructive methods should be reserved as the last resort.
Abstract / Summary
Abstract:
Aim:To compare infection control measures taken by anaesthetic and acute medical trainees when performing lumbar puncture.
Methods:An online anonymous survey was sent to 50 anaesthetic and 50 acute medical trainees currently in training posts. Information on compliance with infection control measures was gathered.
Results:The response rate was 71% (40/50 anaesthetic trainees, 31/50 medical trainees). All anaesthetic trainees complied with the components of aseptic technique. In comparison to this, only 80.6% of medical trainees used sterile gloves, 38.7% used an apron and 77.4% used a dressing pack.
Conclusions:Levels of infection control during lumbar puncture differ between anaesthetic and medical trainees, particularly with the use of equipment as part of an aseptic technique. The difference is likely to be due to a combination of factors including training and the clinical environment.
Introduction
Lumbar punctures are commonly performed by both medical and anaesthetic trainees but in different contexts. Medically performed lumbar punctures are often used to confirm a diagnosis (meningitis, subarachnoid haemorrhage) whilst lumbar puncture performed by anaesthetists are usually a precedent to the injection of local anaesthetics into cerebrospinal fluid for spinal anaesthesia. The similarity relies on the fact that both involve the potential for iatrogenic infection into the subarachnoid space. The incidence of iatrogenic infection is very low in both fields; a recent survey by the Royal College of Anaesthetists1 reported an incidence of 8/707 000 whilst there were only approximately 75 cases in the literature after ‘medical’ lumbar puncture.2 However, the consequences of iatrogenic infection can be devastating. It is likely that appropriate infection control measures taken during lumbar puncture would reduce the risk of bacterial contamination. The purpose of the present study is to compare infection control measures taken by anaesthetic and medical staff when performing lumbar puncture.
Method
A survey was constructed online ( www.surveymonkey.com ) and sent by email to 50 anaesthetic and 50 acute medical trainees in January 2011. All participants were on an anaesthetic or medical training programme and all responses were anonymous. The survey asked whether trainees routinely used the following components of an aseptic technique3 when performing lumbar puncture:
Sterile trolley
No ethical approval was sought as the study was voluntary and anonymous.
Results
The overall response rate was 71% (40/50 anaesthetic trainees and 31/50 medical). All anaesthetic trainees routinely used the components of an aseptic technique when performing lumbar puncture. All medical trainees routinely cleaned the skin, decontaminated their hands and used a non-touch technique but only 80.6% used sterile gloves. 61.3% of medical trainees used a sterile trolley, 38.7% used an apron/gown and 77.4% used a dressing pack.
Discussion
This survey shows that adherence to infection control measures differ between anaesthetic and medical trainees when performing lumbar puncture. The anaesthetic trainees have a 100% compliance rate compared to 80% for the medical trainees for all components of the aseptic technique. Both groups routinely cleaned the patient’s skin, decontaminated their hands and used a non-touch technique. However, there were significant differences in the use of other equipment, with fewer medical trainees using sterile gloves, trolleys, aprons and dressing packs.
Although the incidence of iatrogenic infection after lumbar puncture is low, it is important to contribute to this low incidence by adopting an aseptic technique. There may be differences with regards to the risks of iatrogenic infection between anaesthetic and medical trainees. Anaesthetic lumbar punctures involve the injection of a foreign substance (local anaesthesia) into the cerebrospinal fluid and may therefore carry a higher risk. Crucially however, both anaesthetic and medical lumbar punctures involve accessing the subarachnoid space with medical equipment and so the risk is present.
There are many reasons for the differing compliance rates between the two specialties. Firstly, anaesthetic trainees perform lumbar punctures in a dedicated anaesthetic room whilst the presence of ‘procedure/treatment rooms’ is not universal on medical wards. Secondly, anaesthetic trainees will always have a trained assistant present (usually an operating department practitioner, ODP) who can assist with preparing equipment such as dressing trolleys.
The mechanism of iatrogenic infection during lumbar puncture is not completely clear.4 The source of microbial contamination could be external (incomplete aseptic technique, infected equipment) or internal (bacteraemia in the patient); the fact that a common cause of iatrogenic meningitis are viridans streptococcus strains5 (mouth commensals) supports the notion that external factors are relevant and an aseptic technique is important.
It is very likely that improved compliance amongst acute medical trainees would result from a dedicated treatment room on medical wards, but this is likely to involve financial and logistical barriers. The introduction of specific ‘lumbar puncture packs’, which include all necessary equipment (e.g. cleaning solution, aprons, sterile gloves) may reduce the risk of infection; the introduction of a specific pack containing equipment for central venous line insertion reduced colonisation rates from 31 to 12%.6 The presence of trained staff members to assist medical trainees when performing lumbar puncture may assist in improved compliance, similar to the role of an ODP for anaesthetic trainees.
The main limitation of this study is that the sample size is small. However, we feel that this study raises important questions as to why there is a difference in infection control measures taken by anaesthetic and medical trainees; it may be that the environment in which the procedure takes place is crucial and further work on the impact of ‘procedure rooms’ on medical wards is warranted.
Acknowledgements / Conflicts / Author Details
Abstract / Summary
Abstract:
Objective: We carried out a naturalistic study to investigate whether reminder letters would improve the rate of attendance in a community-based mental health outpatient clinic.
Methods: We prospectively compared the attendance rates between the experimental and control group over a period of 18 months.
Results: The results from this study confirm that reminder letters within a week before the appointment can improve attendance rates in community mental health clinics for follow up patients.
Conclusion: Non-attendance is an index of severity of mental illness and a predictor of risk. The reasons for non-attendance in mental health clinic are complex. More large, well-designed randomised studies are desirable. We also recommend periodic evaluation of outpatient non-attendance in order to identify high-risk individuals and implement suitable measures to keep such severely mentally ill patients engaged with the services.
Introduction
Non-attendance in outpatient clinics accounts for a significant wastage of health service resources. Psychiatric clinics have high non-attendance rates and failure to attend may be a sign of deteriorating mental health. Those who miss psychiatric follow-up outpatient appointments are more ill with poor social functioning than those who attend (1). They have a greater chance of drop out from clinic contact and subsequent admission (1). Non-attendance and subsequent loss to follow up indicate possible risk of harm to the patient or to others (2).
Prompts to encourage attendance at clinics are often used and may take the form of reminder letters (3), telephone prompting(4) and financial incentives (5). Issuing a copy of the referral letter to the appointee may prompt attendance for the initial appointment (6). Contacting patients by reminder letters prior to their appointments has been effective in improving attendance rates in a number of settings, including psychiatric outpatient clinics and community mental health centres (3).
Studies investigating the efficacy of prompting for improving attendance have generated contrasting findings and non-attendance remains common in clinical practice. We, therefore, carried out a naturalistic, prospective controlled study to investigate whether reminder letters would improve the rate of attendance in a community-based mental health outpatient clinic.
Design and Methods
The study was carried out at the Community Mental Health Centres based in Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire, UK. The community mental health team (CMHT) provides specialist mental health services for adults of working age. Both CMHTs are similar in demographics, socio-economic need and, have relatively higher non-attendance rates in the clinic. In the week prior to the appointment, clerical staff from community mental health team sent a standard letter to some patients reminding the date and time of the appointment and name of the consulting doctor. They recorded whether patient attended, failed to attend or cancelled the appointment irrespective of whether they had received a reminder letter or not.
We compared the attendance rates between experimental group (those who had received the reminder letters) and the control group ( those who had not received the reminder letters) over a period of 18 months. Throughout the study period, the same medical team held the clinics and there had been no major change in the outpatients’ clinic setting or administrative and procedural changes influencing outpatients’ attendance. Care Planning Approach (CPA) was implemented and in operation even before the introduction of reminding letters at both the sites.
Attendance rates for all the clinics held during the study period were obtained from medical records. For all subjects who failed to attend, age and gender, was obtained from patients’ database. Patients whose appointments were cancelled were also included in the study.
Statistics and Data analysis
The data was analysed using SISA - Simple Interactive Statistical Analysis (7). Chi -squared tests were used to investigate the attendance rates between the groups, new patients and follow-ups, with the P value for statistical significance set at 0.05. Odds ratios were calculated to measure the size of the effect. In addition, we examined how age and gender may have influenced the effect of the text based prompting on attendance.
Results
In the experimental group a total of 114 clinics were booked, with clinic lists totalling 843 patients. Of these, 88 were new referrals and 755 were follow-up appointments. 65 of 114 clinics had full attendance. A total of 228 patients failed to attend the clinic. Of those who failed to attend, 25 patients were new referrals and 203 were follow-up patients. 28 follow up patients and 2 patients newly referred to the team called to cancel their appointments.
In the control group, a total of 71 clinics were booked amounting to a total of 623 patients. Of these, 86 were new referrals and 537 were for follow-up patients. Only 25 out of 71 clinics had full attendance. A total of 211 patients failed to attend. Of those who failed to attend, 32 were new referrals and 179 were follow-up patients. 55 follow up patients and 13 patients newly referred to the team called to cancel their appointments.
Of those who failed to attend in the experimental group, 98 (43%) were women. The mean age of non-attendees was 38 years; with a range of 18-76 yrs .Of those who failed to attend in the control group110 (52%) were women. The mean age of non-attendees was 32 years; with a range of 19-70 yrs.
In our study, failure to attend was not distributed evenly but had seasonal peaks at Christmas and during the summer vacation period.
The outcome from prompting in the experimental group is compared with the control group and displayed in Table 1.
Outcomes
3.85(2.46-6.04)
χ2 = Chi square, df = degree of freedom, OR= Odds Ratio, CI= Confidence Interval
The attendance rate in the experimental group was 71.95% (585/813) as opposed to 56.57% (344/555) in the control group (OR=1.57; p=0.0001).
The attendance rate for new patients in the experimental group was 70.9%( 61/88) as opposed to 56.16 %( 41/ 86) in the control group (OR=1.9; p=0.053).
The attendance rate for follow up patients in the experimental group was 72.0%( 524/727) and 62.8% (303/482) in the control group (0R=1.52; p=0.0007).
In addition, there were significantly more (by 22%) number of clinics with full attendance in the experimental group (OR= 2.44, P=0.003).
The observed difference was not influenced by patient’s age or gender.
Discussion
The results from this study confirm previous findings that reminder letters within a week before the appointment can improve attendance rates in community mental health clinics. Our results are similar to those of the Cochrane systematic review, which has suggested that a simple prompt in the days just before the appointment could indeed encourage attendance (8).
Although it has been reported elsewhere(8) that text based prompting increases the rate at which patients keep their initial appointments, our study did not show a similar result for new patients.
It is already demonstrated that new patients and follow-up patients in psychiatric clinics are distinct groups with different diagnostic profiles, degrees of mental illness and with different reasons for non-attendance. Follow-up patients are severely ill, socially impaired and isolated than new patients. (1). Forgetting the appointment and being too unwell are the most common reasons given for non-attendance by follow-up patients, while being unhappy with the referral, clinical error and being too unwell are the most common reasons in the new patient groups (1). In addition, it has also been observed that increased rate at which patients keep their first appointments is more likely related to factors other than simple prompting (4) This explains our finding that prompting was more beneficial for follow-up patients as opposed to new referrals to the Community Mental Health Team.
We also identified several patients with severe mental illness who ‘did not attend’ for three successive outpatient appointments. Their care plans were reviewed and arrangements made to follow up with their community psychiatric nurses as domiciliary visits at regular intervals. Such measures should reduce duplication of the services and shorten the waiting times for psychiatric consultation, which are well-recognised factors associated with non-attendance (9).
Non-attendance is an index of severity of mental illness and a predictor of risk (1). In addition to reminder letters, telephone prompts are also known to improve attendance (4). Successful interventions to improve attendance may be labour intensive but they can be automated and, ultimately, prove cost effective (8)
We noticed that there is limited research and lack of quality randomised controlled trials in the area of non-attendance and the effectiveness of intervention to improve attendance in mental health setting. More large, well-designed randomised studies are desirable. We also recommend periodic evaluation of outpatient non-attendance in order to identify high-risk individuals and implement suitable measures to keep such severely mentally ill patients engaged with the services.
There was no randomisation in this study and we relied on medical records. We have not directly compared the characteristics of non-attendees with those patients who did attend the clinics. We did not evaluate other clinical and socio-demographic factors (e.g. travelling distance, financial circumstances, etc) that are known to influence the attendance rates in mental health setting. Hence, there may be limitations in generalising the results beyond similar populations with similar models of service provision.
Acknowledgements / Conflicts / Author Details
Acknowledgement:
Our sincere thanks to Suzanne Kippax, Informatics, Hollins Park Hospital, Warrington for her help in preparing this manuscript.
Competing Interests:
Abstract / Summary
Abstract:
Up to 1 million people in the UK are currently long-term prescribed benzodiazepine users.1 Surveys of general practices show that there are over 180 long-term prescribed users per general practice.2 Despite repeated recommendations to limit benzodiazepines to short-term use (2–4 weeks), doctors in the UK and worldwide are still prescribing them for months or years. Dependence upon prescribed benzodiazepines is now recognised as a major clinical problem and the National Performance Assessment Framework for the NHS makes it a national priority to reduce this within each health board area. Junior doctors who have recently graduated from medical school are commonly placed in rotations where they have to manage patients on benzodiazepine prescriptions. It is necessary for doctors in general to be aware of the essentials of benzodiazepines not only for the adequate management of patients on chronic benzodiazepine prescriptions, but also for responsible prescription of this drug when it is appropriate.
History of benzodiazepines
The advent of benzodiazepines in the late fifties was met with great excitement by the practicing physicians around the world. Their range of actions – sedative/hypnotic, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant – combined with low toxicity and alleged lack of dependence potential seemed to make them ideal medications for many common conditions. The drugs were prescribed long term, often for many years, for complaints such as anxiety, depression, insomnia and ordinary life stressors. They began to replace barbiturates; drugs known to be dangerous in overdose, which tended to cause addiction and were associated with troublesome side-effects. Previous compounds including opium, alcohol, chloral and bromides were similarly burdened.
The first benzodiazepine, chlordiazepoxide (Librium), was synthesized in 1955 by Leo Sternbach while working at Hoffmann–La Roche on the development of tranquilizers. The compound showed very strong sedative, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant effects when submitted for a standard battery of animal tests. These impressive clinical findings led to its speedy introduction throughout the world in 1960 under the brand name Librium. Following chlordiazepoxide, diazepam was marketed by Hoffmann–La Roche under the brand name Valium in 1963.
The benefits of benzodiazepines and the apparent lack of discouraging factors led an alarming rise of benzodiazepine prescriptions. In the late 1970s benzodiazepines became the most commonly prescribed of all drugs in the world.1 In1980, Tyrer reported that each day about 40 billion doses of benzodiazepine drugs are consumed throughout the world.3 This figure is staggering by any standards. However, towards the end of the 1970s, awareness begin to grow that benzodiazepines were being unnecessarily over-prescribed and it was noticed that certain patients might become dependent on benzodiazepines after chronic use.4 In particular, patients found it difficult to stop taking benzodiazepines because of withdrawal reactions and many complained that they had become ‘addicted’. Several investigations showed quite unequivocally that benzodiazepines could produce pharmacological dependence in therapeutic dosage.5-9
In 1988, the Committee of Safety of Medicines reacted to the concerns by spelling out emphatic guidelines about the use of benzodiazepines drugs. For anxiety and insomnia, benzodiazepines are indicated for short term relief (two to four weeks) only if the condition is severe, disabling and subjecting the individual to extreme distress.10
Tolerance and dependence
Tolerance is a phenomenon that develops with many chronically used drugs. The body responds to the continued presence of the drug with a series of adjustments that tend to overcome the drug effects. In the case of benzodiazepines, compensatory changes occur in the GABA and benzodiazepine receptors which become less responsive, so that the inhibitory actions of the GABA and benzodiazepines are decreased. As a result, the original dose of the drug has progressively less effect and a higher dose is required to obtain the original effect.
Dependence is understood to be the inability to control intake of a substance to which one is addicted. It encompasses a range of features initially described in connection with alcohol abuse, now recognised as a syndrome (see box 1) associated with a range of substances.
Dependence has two components: psychological dependence, which is the subjective feeling of loss of control, cravings and preoccupation with obtaining the substance; and physiological dependence, which is the physical consequences of withdrawal and is specific to each drug. For some drugs (e.g. alcohol) both psychological and physiological dependence occur; for others (e.g. LSD) there are no marked features of physiological dependence.
Box 1: Dependence Syndrome*
Three or more of the following manifestations should have occurred together for at least one month or if persisting for periods of less than one month then they have occurred together repeatedly within a twelve month period.
A strong desire or sense of compulsion to take the substance.
Impaired capacity to control substance-taking behaviour in terms of onset, termination or level of use, as evidenced by: the substance being often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended, or any unsuccessful effort or persistent desire to cut down or control substance use.
A physiological withdrawal state (see F1x.3 and F1x.4) when substance use is reduced or ceased, as evidenced by the characteristic withdrawal syndrome for the substance, or use of the same (or closely related) substance with the intention of relieving or avoiding withdrawal symptoms.
Evidence of tolerance to the effects of the substance, such that there is a need for markedly increased amounts of the substance to achieve intoxication or desired effect, or that there is a markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of the substance.
Preoccupation with substance use, as manifested by: important alternative pleasures or interests being given up or reduced because of substance use; or a great deal of time being spent in activities necessary to obtain the substance, take the substance, or recover from its effects.
Persisting with substance use despite clear evidence of harmful consequences, as evidenced by continued use when the person was actually aware of, or could be expected to have been aware of the nature and extent of harm.
* ICD 10 Classification of Mental and Behaviour disorder, online version 2007.
Withdrawal syndrome and discontinuation syndrome
Any drug consumed regularly and heavily can be associated with withdrawal phenomenon on stopping. Clinically significant withdrawal phenomena occur in dependence to alcohol, benzodiazepines, opiates and are occasionally seen in cannabis, cocaine and amphetamine use. In general, drugs with a short half-life will give rise to more rapid but more transient withdrawal.
Discontinuation syndrome is a common phenomenon and occurs with all classes of antidepressants. It is only experienced when one tries to discontinue its use. The most common symptoms are dizziness, vertigo, gait instability, nausea, fatigue, headaches, anxiety and insomnia. Less commonly shock-like sensations, paraesthesia, visual disturbances, diarrhoea and flu-like symptoms have been reported. Symptoms usually begin 2-5 days after SSRI discontinuation or dose reduction. The duration is variable (one to several weeks) and ranges from mild to moderate intensity in most patients, to extremely distressing in a small number. Tapering antidepressants at the end of treatment, rather than abrupt stoppage, is recommended as standard practice by several authorities and treatment guidelines11-13.
The terms ‘antidepressant withdrawal syndrome’ and ‘antidepressant discontinuation syndrome’ are used interchangeably in the literature. ‘Discontinuation’ is preferred as it does not imply that antidepressants are addictive or cause a dependence syndrome. The occurrence of withdrawal symptoms does not in itself indicate that a drug causes dependence as defined in ICD 10 (World Health Organisation 1992)14 and DSM –IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994)15.
Understanding how benzodiazepines work and their effects
For the first 15 years after the introduction of benzodiazepines, no clear picture emerged as to how these drugs might exert their psychotropic effects. The great breakthrough in our understanding in the mechanism of action of benzodiazepines came in the mid 1970s when biologists at Hoffman-La Roche demonstrated that benzodiazepines exert their psychotropic effects by potentiating GABA neurotransmission.16
GABA, Gamma-Amino butyric acid, is the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain representing about 30% of all synapses in the whole brain. GABAergic neurones mediate pre-synaptic inhibition by depressing the release of neurotransmitter at excitatory input synapse, and post-synaptic inhibition by depressing synaptic excitation of the principal neuron. When benzodiazepines react at their receptor site, which is actually situated on the GABA receptor, the combination acts as a booster to the actions of GABA making the neuron more resistant to excitation. Several studies showed that benzodiazepines were able to facilitate both types of inhibition, indicating that the effects of the benzodiazepines were in fact due to an interaction with the GABAergic transmission process17-19.
Various subtypes of benzodiazepine receptors have slightly different actions. Alpha 1 is responsible for sedative effects. Alpha 2 exerts anxiolytics effects. Alpha 1, Alpha 2 and Alpha 5 are responsible for anticonvulsant effects. As a consequence of the enhancement of GABA’s inhibitory activity caused by benzodiazepines, the brain’s output of excitatory neurotransmitters including norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine and acetylcholine is reduced.
The studies on the receptor binding of benzodiazepines and the subsequent changes that occur in the central nervous system have provided us with an adequate explanation for some or all of the actions of benzodiazepines, which are listed in Box 2.
Box 2: Four principle biological properties of benzodiazepines
Anxiolytic and behavioural inhibition – The anxiolytic effect is seen in animals as an increase of those behavioural responses that are suppressed experimentally by punishment or which are absent because of innate aversion20-23.
Anticonvulsant – Benzodiazepines are most potent against chemically induced epileptiform activities. At higher doses most, but not all, benzodiazepines also prevent seizures induced by electric shock24.
Sedative/hypnotic – These effects of benzodiazepines are most easily observed as a decrease of spontaneous locomotor activity in rodents placed in an observation chamber. Benzodiazepines will shorten sleep latency (amount of time taken to fall asleep after the lights have been switched off) which can be demonstrated by electroencephalogram25.
Muscle relaxant - Common tests on rodents show that benzodiazepines impair performance at motor performance tasks for example the rodent’s ability to balance on a rotating drum. The cat shows marked ataxia at after relatively low doses25.
What are benzodiazepines used for?
Sleep disorders
The benzodiazepines are used widely in the treatment of sleep disorders and many have been developed and licensed for this purpose. They are mainly known as hypnotic drugs (sleeping pills) because insomnia is the main target use. Certain factors are important in determining the choice of the hypnotic drug. Ideally, the hypnotic should be effective at inducing sleep in the individual, and should enhance objective and subjective elements of sleep. It should have a fast onset with minimal side effects and the absence of withdrawal symptoms.
The early benzodiazepine hypnotics were drugs such as nitrazepam and flurazepam. After their introduction, it was found that they had half-lives of more than a day, and individuals suffered undesirable effects such as sedation, ataxia or amnesia during the day. This was problematic especially for those individuals who needed to drive or operate machinery. Another consequence was of falls with subsequent hip fractures in the elderly population because, due to slower metabolism, they accumulated raised plasma levels of the drug. For these reasons, benzodiazepines with shorter half lives were developed so that plasma levels fall below the functional threshold concentration by the next morning.
The first of the shorter half-life benzodiazepine hypnotics to be introduced were temazepam and triazolam. Temazepam has a half-life of 5 hours and is commonly used in primary, secondary and tertiary settings for insomnia. A possible drawback of very short half-life hypnotics is rebound insomnia. This is a state of worsening sleep which commonly follows discontinuation of a regularly used hypnotic.
An important point to note is that although the subjective efficacies of benzodiazepines are widely reported, the use of polysomnography (a sleep study that involves recording a variety of physiological measures including electroencephalograph, electro-oculogram and electromyogram) has shown that sleep architecture in individuals with insomnia is not normalised by benzodiazepines. The increase in sleep duration can be accounted for by an increase in the time spent in stage 2 of sleep, while the amount of time spent in slow-wave sleep (deep) and REM (rapid eye movement) is actually decreased26.
Anxiety disorders
It can be argued that the benzodiazepines are probably the most efficacious and best tolerated pharmacological treatments of anxiety. Numerous studies, many of them conducted under stringent double-blind conditions, have consistently shown that benzodiazepines produce significantly more improvement than placebo in both somatic and emotional manifestations of anxiety27-29.
Before the introduction of benzodiazepines, anxiety disorders were treated either with the barbiturates or related drugs such as meprobomate and glutethimide. These agents were highly likely to be abused and led to a great deal of dependence. Moreover, they were toxic in overdose and fatalities were high in populations using them. The improved efficacy and safety profile of benzodiazepines, aided by intense campaigns to restrict use of barbiturate-type drugs, meant they rapidly became the first choice drugs for anxiety within a few years of them being introduced.
Much clinical practice and opinion suggests that benzodiazepine can be used as first-line treatment for acute anxiety episodes as long as CSM guidelines are adhered to. For more intractable conditions such as established social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder, they should probably be reserved for adjunctive or second-line agents.
In contrast to the treatment of sleep disorders, it is important to achieve a constant level of receptor occupation to maintain anxiolysis throughout the day. So for anxiety, compounds with longer elimination half-lives are preferred, whereas for sleep induction, short half-life drugs are favoured. The principal benzodiazepines used as anxiolytics include diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, clonazepam, lorazepam, alprazolam and oxazepam.
The use of benzodiazepines as first-line agents for anxiety has been on the decline since the 1990s. There are changing cultural and medical attitudes to the prescription of drugs for the treatment of anxiety disorders as a result of growing evidence that psychological approaches are also effective. The risks of dependence and withdrawal difficulties are problematic in a significant number of patients. Another issue is the abuse of benzodiazepines by drug addicts and diversion of legitimate supplies on to the black market. There is competition from other agents (buspirone, tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) which have a different side-effect profile and are free from dependence/withdrawal problems.
Seizure Disorders
The anti-convulsant effects of benzodiazepines find their greatest clinical use in the acute control of seizures. Diazepam, clonazepam and lorazepam have all been used in the treatment of status epilepticus.
Status epilepticus is a life-threatening condition in which the brain is in a state of continuous seizure activity which can result in impaired respiration, hypoxic brain damage and brain scarring. It is a medical emergency that requires quick and effective intervention.
Diazepam was reported to be effective for the treatment of status-epilepticus in the mid-1960s 30-32 and is still widely considered to be the drug of choice for the initial control of seizures. Given intravenously, diazepam has a rapid onset of clinical activity achieving cessation of the seizure within 5 minutes of injection in 80% of the patients in one studyWhere facilities for resuscitation are not immediately available; diazepam can be administered as a rectal solution.
Although intravenous diazepam is effective for status epilepticus, it is associated with a high risk of thrombophlebitis which is why BNF suggests use of intravenous lorazepam. Lorazepam is also highly activeIts onset of action is rapid but because of its slower rate of tissue distribution, its anticonvulsant activity is prolonged compared to diazepam35,36.
Gestaut et al (1971) showed that clonazepam was an even more potent anti-convulsant than diazepam in the treatment of status epilepticusIt can be administered via the buccal mucosa (an advantage in children) and can also be given as a suppository.
Benzodiazepines are undoubtedly potent anti-convulsants on acute administration but their use in long-term treatment of epilepsy is limited by the development of tolerance to the anti-convulsant effects and by side-effects such as sedation and psychomotor slowing,39They are usually considered as an adjunct to standard drugs where these have failed to give acceptable control.
Table 1: Pharmacokinetic profile of common benzodiazepines and their licensed indications
Long-acting
Short term use in Anxiety
Tmax: time to peak plasma concentration
T1/2: half-life
*Nitrazepam and flurazepam have prolonged action and may give rise to residual effects on the following day. Temazepam, Loprazolam and Lormetazepam act for a shorter time and have little or no hangover effect.
α Short-acting compounds preferred in hepatic impairment but carry a greater risk of withdrawal symptoms.
Other uses
Alcohol detoxification – Benzodiazepines have become the standard pharmacological treatment for alcohol withdrawal. In acute alcohol detoxification, long acting benzodiazepines, such as diazepam or chlordiazepoxide are more appropriate than shorter acting agents like lorazepam or temazepam. The two principal reasons for this are 1) former drugs provide stable plasma concentrations over several hours which is necessary to maintain control over central nervous system excitability, and 2) There is a higher risk of addiction with short-acting drugs in this patient population.
In alcohol dependent patients with hepatic impairment, oxazepam or lorazepam is more suitable as they are not eliminated by hepatic oxidation through the Cytochrome P450 system. Cytochrome p450 (CYPs) is a collective generic term use to describe a superfamily of membrane bound heme-thiolate proteins of critical importance in the oxidative and reductive metabolism of both endogenous and foreign compounds. CYPs are the major enzymes in drug metabolism accounting for 75% of the total metabolismMany of the CYPs in humans are found in the liver and the gastrointestinal tract. After the acute detoxification is over, many patients enter rehabilitation programmes aimed at maintaining abstinence in the community. There is no evidence that use of benzodiazepines is useful in reducing alcohol craving or facilitating abstinence.
Anaesthesia – The psychotropic effects of benzodiazepines make them appropriate for use as anaesthetic agents or as adjuncts to anaesthesia. Muscle relaxation, sedation and retrograde amnesia are sought after properties in anaesthetic agents. Midazolam is used as a sedative agent in patients undergoing minor invasive practices considered as traumatic, such as dental treatment or endoscopy.41
Muscle relaxants – The muscle relaxant properties of benzodiazepines are an indication for their use in some neurological disturbances for symptomatic relief of muscle spasms and spasticity.
Assessment and management of patients with chronic benzodiazepine dependence
Because of the adverse effects, lack of efficacy and socioeconomic costs of continued benzodiazepine use, long-term users have for many years been advised to withdraw if possible or at least to reduce dosage.10,44 Echoing the CSM advice, the Mental Health National Service Framework (NSF), which was published in 1999, recommended that benzodiazepines should be used for no more than two to four weeks for severe and disabling anxiety. The Mental Health NSF called upon health authorities to implement systems for monitoring and reviewing prescribing of benzodiazepines within local clinical audit programmes. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) should ensure that this recommendation is still being implemented45.
In primary care, early detection and intervention are the main principles of assessment. The initial assessment should
· Establish the pattern of benzodiazepine usage: onset, duration, which benzodiazepine/s, dosage history, current regime and any periods of abstinence.
· Check for evidence of benzodiazepine dependence (see box 3).
· If benzodiazepine dependence is present, determine the type of benzodiazepine.
· Detail any history of previous severe withdrawal (including history of seizures).
· Establish the level of motivation to change.
Dependence on benzodiazepines often indicates psychosocial problems in a person. Benzodiazepines are increasingly used in conjunction with other substance of abuse to enhance the effects obtained from opiates, and to alleviate withdrawal symptoms of other drugs of abuse such as cocaine, amphetamines or alcohol. The patient needs to have an individualised and a comprehensive assessment of their physical and mental health needs and any co-morbid use of other drugs and alcohol. Stable psychological health and personal circumstances are desirable features for successful withdrawal from benzodiazepines. Certain patients will be unsuitable for withdrawal, e.g. those patients experiencing a current crisis or having an illness for which the drug is required at the current time. Referral to specialist teams may be appropriate for some, e.g. if the patient is also dependent on other drugs or alcohol, if there is co-existing physical or psychiatric morbidity or if there is a history of drug withdrawal seizures. In some circumstances, it may be more appropriate to wait until other problems are resolved or improved.
Box 3 – Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Symptoms46
Psychological symptoms – excitability, sleep disturbances, increased anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia, social phobia, perceptual distortions, depersonalisation, derealisation, hallucinations, misperceptions, depression, obsessions, paranoid thoughts, rage, aggression, irritability, poor memory and concentration, intrusive memories and craving (rare).
Physical symptoms – Headache, pain, stiffness, tingling, numbness, altered sensation, weakness, fatigue, influenza-like symptoms, muscles twitches, jerks, tics, “electric shocks”, tremor, dizziness, light-headedness, poor balance, visual problems, tinnitus, hypersensitivity to stimuli, gastrointestinal symptoms, appetite change, dry mouth, metallic taste, unusual smell, flushing, sweating, palpitations, over breathing, urinary difficulties, skin rashes, itching, fits (rare).
This list is probably not inclusive. Not all patients get all the symptoms. Different individuals get a different combination of symptoms.
Management of benzodiazepine withdrawal
Withdrawal of the benzodiazepine drug can be managed in primary care if the patients in consideration are willing, committed and compliant. Clinicians should seek opportunities to explore the possibilities of benzodiazepine withdrawal with patients on long-term prescriptions. Interested patients could benefit from a separate appointment to discuss the risks and benefits of short and long term benzodiazepine treatment47. Information about benzodiazepines and withdrawal schedules could be offered in printed form. One simple intervention that has been shown to be effective in reducing benzodiazepine use in long-term users is the sending of a GP letter to targeted patients. The letter discussed the problems associated with long-term benzodiazepine use and invited patients to try and reduce their use and eventually stopAdequate social support, being able to attend regular reviews and no previous history of complicated drug withdrawal is desirable for successful benzodiazepine withdrawal.
Switching to diazepam: This is recommended for some people commencing a withdrawal schedule. Diazepam is preferred because it possesses a long half-life, thus avoiding sharp fluctuations in plasma level. It is also available in variable strengths and formulations. This facilitates stepwise dose substitution from other benzodiazepines and allows for small incremental reductions in dosage. The National Health Service Clinical Knowledge Summaries recommend switching to diazepam for people using short acting benzodiazepines such as alprazolam and lorazepam, for preparations that do not allow for small reductions in dose (that is alprazolam, flurazepam, loprazolam and lormetazepam) and for some complex patients who may experience difficulty withdrawing directly from temazepam and nitrazepam due to a high degree of dependencySee table 2 for approximate dose conversions of benzodiazepines when switching to diazepam.
Gradual Dosage Reduction: It is generally recommended that the dosage should be tapered gradually in long-term benzodiazepine users such as a 5-10% reduction every 1-2 weeks1,49. Abrupt withdrawal, especially from high doses, can precipitate convulsions, acute psychotic or confusional states and panic reactions. As mentioned earlier, benzodiazepines’ enhancement of GABA’s inhibitory activity reduces the brain’s output of excitatory neurotransmitter such as norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine and acetylcholine. The abrupt withdrawal of benzodiazepines may be accompanied by uncontrolled release of dopamine, serotonin and other neurotransmitters which are linked to hallucinatory experiences similar to those in psychotic disorders46.
The rate of withdrawal should be tailored to the patient's individual needs and should take into account such factors as lifestyle, personality, environmental stressors, reasons for taking benzodiazepines and the amount of support available. Various authors suggest optimal times of between 6-8 weeks to a few months for the duration of withdrawal, but some patients may take a year or more,50A personalised approach, empowering the patient by letting them guide their own reduction rate is likely to result in better outcomes.
Table 2: Approximate equivalent doses of benzodiazepines1
Benzodiazepine
20
aClinical potency for hypnotic or anxiolytic effects may vary between individuals; equivalent doses are approximate.
Patients may develop numerous symptoms of anxiety despite careful dose reductions. Simple reassurance and encouragement should suffice in most cases however, in a minority who are experiencing significant distress, formal psychological support should be available. Cognitive therapy, behavioural approaches including relaxation techniques and breathing exercises for anxiety management as well as other therapies such as massage and yoga may alleviate difficulties during withdrawal. Psychoeducation around withdrawal symptoms should be offered and a referral to a support organisation or group is helpful.
Resources
NHS Clinical Knowledge Summaries, http://www.cks.nhs.uk/benzodiazepine_and_z_drug_withdrawal .
The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines
Summary
Although prescriptions of benzodiazepines have declined substantially since 1988, there is an ongoing challenge within all sectors of the NHS to prevent benzodiazepine dependence. This can be achieved by adhering to official recommendations to limit prescriptions to 2-4 weeks, or for brief courses or occasional usage. All health authorities should have clinical audit programmes reviewing and monitoring prescribing rates for benzodiazepines. Through this, increased awareness of CSM guidelines amongst all health care professionals should aid in more appropriate prescriptions and subsequent monitoring that is required to prevent unnecessary prescriptions. Patients on long-term prescriptions should be offered the opportunity for controlled withdrawal and the relevant psychological and social support.
Acknowledgements / Conflicts / Author Details
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A Podiatrist is traditionally more commonly called a?
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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Cranial Electrical Stimulation
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Cranial Electrical Stimulation
Number: 0469
Policy
Aetna considers repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in a healthcare provider’s office medically necessary when the following criteria are met:
Administered by an FDA cleared device and utilized in accordance with the FDA labeled indications; and
The member is age 18 years or older; and
The member has a confirmed diagnosis of severe major depressive disorder (single or recurrent episode), documented by standardized rating scales that reliably measure depressive symptoms (eg, Beck Depression Scale [BDI], Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HDRS], Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS], etc.); and
There is documentation via legible medical records of failure of a trial of a psychotherapy known to be effective in the treatment of major depressive disorder of an adequate frequency and duration, without significant improvement in depressive symptoms, as documented by standardized rating scales that reliably measure depressive symptoms (eg, Beck Depression Scale [BDI], Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HDRS], Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS], etc.); and
The member is currently receiving or is a candidate for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and rTMS is considered a less invasive equally effective treatment option (eg, in cases with psychosis, acute suicidal risk, catatonia or life-threatening inanition rTMS should not be utilized); and
The member has no contraindications to rTMS (refer to contraindications below); and
The member meets one of the following criteria:
There is documentation via legible medical records of failure of four trials of psychopharmacologic agents, including two different agent classes, during the current depressive episode; or
The member is unable to tolerate a therapeutic dose of medications as evidenced by documentation via legible medical records of four trials of psychopharmacologic agents with distinct side effects; and
Treatment consists of a maximum of 30 sessions (five days a week for six weeks). Note: Treatments beyond 30 sessions may be reviewed for medical necessity.
Aetna considers rTMS contraindicated and experimental and investigational in persons with any of the following contraindications to rTMS because the safety and effectiveness in person with these contraindications has not been established:
Persons with high alcohol or illicit drug consumption; or
The member is suicidal; or
The member has a metal implant in or around the head (eg, aneurysm coil or clip, metal plate, ocular implant, stent); or
The member has neurological conditions (eg, cerebrovascular disease, dementia, history of repetitive or severe head trauma, increased intracranial pressure or primary or secondary tumors in the central nervous system); or
There is presence of implanted devices, (eg, cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator, cochlear implant, deep brain stimulator, implantable infusion pump, spinal cord stimulator, vagus nerve stimulator, etc.); or
The member has a seizure disorder/epilepsy; or
If the member has severe cardiovascular disease, he has been evaluated and cleared for rTMS treatment by a cardiologist.
Aetna considers rTMS maintenance therapy for depression to be experimental and investigational because the effectiveness and safety of rTMS maintenance therapy has not been established.
Aetna considers transcranial magnetic stimulation experimental and investigational for the following indications because its value and effectiveness has not been established (not an all-inclusive list):
Alzheimer's disease
Visual rehabilitation.
Background
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive method of induction of a focal current in the brain and transient modulation of the function of the targeted cerebral cortex. This procedure entails placement of an electromagnetic coil on the scalp; high-intensity electrical current is rapidly turned on and off in the coil through the discharge of capacitors. Depending on stimulation parameters (frequency, intensity, pulse duration, stimulation site), repetitive TMS (rTMS) to specific cortical regions can either increase or decrease the excitability of the affected brain structures.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation has been investigated in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, especially depression. This procedure is usually carried out in an outpatient setting. In contrast to electroconvulsive therapy, TMS does not require anesthesia or analgesia. Furthermore, it does not affect memory and usually does not cause seizures. However, the available peer-reviewed medical literature has not established the effectiveness of rTMS in the treatment of psychiatric disorders other than major depression. In addition, more research is needed to ascertain the roles of various stimulation parameters of rTMS for its optimal outcome as well as its long-term effectiveness in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.
Depression
Martin et al (2003) conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials that compared rTMS with sham in patients with depression. The authors concluded that current trials are of low quality and provide insufficient evidence to support the use of rTMS in the treatment of depression. This is in accordance with the observations of Fitzgerald and colleagues (2002) who noted that TMS has a considerable role in neuropsychiatric research. It appears to have considerable potential as a therapeutic tool in depression, and perhaps a role in several other disorders, although widespread application requires larger trials and establishment of sustained response, as well as Gershon et al (2003) who stated that TMS shows promise as a novel anti-depressant treatment. Systematic and large-scale studies are needed to identify patient populations most likely to benefit and treatment parameters most likely to produce success.
A health technology assessment prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (2004) concluded: “Due to several serious methodological limitations in the studies (Level 2 to 4 evidence) that examined the effectiveness of rTMS in patients with MDD [major depressive disorder], to date, it is not possible to conclude that rTMS is effective or not effective for the treatment of MDD (treatment resistant or not treatment resistant MDD).”
Nemeroff (2007) stated that the role of non-pharmacological therapies such as electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), and TMS in the treatment of patients with severe depression remain active avenues of investigation.
A randomized clinical trial (RCT) conducted for the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment found that ECT is a more effective and potentially cost-effective antidepressant treatment than 3 weeks of rTMS (McLoughlin et al, 2007). A total of 46 patients with major depression were randomized to receive a 15-day course of rTMS (n = 24) or a course of ECT (n = 22). One patient was lost to follow-up at end of treatment and another 8 at 6 months. The end-of-treatment Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) scores were lower for ECT (95 % confidence interval (CI): 3.40 to 14.05, p = 0.002), with 13 (59 %) achieving remission compared with four (17 %) in the rTMS group (p = 0.005). However, HRSD scores did not differ between groups at 6 months. Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), visual analogue mood scales (VAMS), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores were lower for ECT at end of treatment and remained lower after 6 months. Improvement in subjective reports of side-effects following ECT correlated with anti-depressant response. There was no difference between the 2 groups before or after treatment on global measures of cognition. The NCCHTA study also evaluated the comparative costs of ECT and rTMS. The investigators reported that, although individual treatment session costs were lower for rTMS than ECT, the cost for a course of rTMS was not significantly different from that for a course of ECT as more rTMS sessions were given per course. Service costs were not different between the groups in the subsequent 6 months but informal care costs were significantly higher for the rTMS group (p = 0.04) and contributed substantially to the total cost for this group during the 6-month follow-up period. The investigators reported that there was also no difference in gain in quality adjusted life years (QALYs) for ECT and rTMS patients. The report noted that analysis of cost-effectiveness acceptability curves demonstrated that rTMS has very low probability of being more cost-effective than ECT.
The Australian Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC, 2007) found insufficient evidence of rTMS to support funding. The Australian MSAC considered the safety and effectiveness of rTMS for moderate to severe refractory treatment resistant depression compared to ECT and found evidence that rTMS is safe and less invasive than ECT. However, MSAC also found limited evidence that rTMS may be less effective than ECT. A more recent MSAC review reached similar conclusions (MSAC, 2014): "After considering the available evidence in relation to safety, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, MSAC did not support public funding because of uncertain effectiveness and cost-effectiveness due to insufficient comparative data in treatment-resistant patients against current antidepressant treatments and uncertain costs."
On October 8, 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared for marketing via the 510(k) process the NeuroStar TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) Therapy system, which is specifically indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder in adult patients who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from 1 prior anti-depressant medication at or above the minimal effective dose and duration in the current episode. A treatment course usually consists of 6 weeks of 40-min sessions (5 days a week). However, the evidence supporting NeuroStar's effectiveness is less clear than its safety profile. The FDA cleared the NeuroStar based on data that found patients did modestly better when treated with TMS than when they received a sham treatment. It was a study fraught with statistical questions that concerned the agency's own scientific advisers. For a more clear answer, the National Institutes of Health has an independent study under way that tracks 260 patients (Associated Press, 2008).
Randomized, controlled studies of rTMS compared to sham treatment have produced conflicting results (O'Reardon et al, 2007; Avery et al, 2008; Mogg et al, 2008).
In a double-blind, multi-site study, O'Reardon et al (2007) examined if TMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is effective and safe in the acute treatment of major depression. A total of 301 medication-free patients with major depression who had not benefited from prior treatment were randomized to active (n = 155) or sham TMS (n = 146) conditions. Sessions were conducted 5 times per week with TMS at 10 pulses/sec, 120 % of motor threshold, 3,000 pulses/session, for 4 to 6 weeks. Primary outcome was the symptom score change as assessed at week 4 with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Secondary outcomes included changes on the 17- and 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and response and remission rates with the MADRS and HAMD. Active TMS was significantly superior to sham TMS on the MADRS at week 4 (with a post hoc correction for inequality in symptom severity between groups at baseline), as well as on the HAMD17 and HAMD24 scales at weeks 4 and 6. Response rates were significantly higher with active TMS on all 3 scales at weeks 4 and 6. Remission rates were approximately 2-fold higher with active TMS at week 6 and significant on the MADRS and HAMD24 scales (but not the HAMD17 scale). Active TMS was well-tolerated with a low drop-out rate for adverse events (4.5 %) that were generally mild and limited to transient scalp discomfort or pain. The authors concluded that TMS was effective in treating major depression with minimal side effects reported.
Avery and colleagues (2008) described the results of an open-label extension study of active TMS in medication-resistant patients with MDD who did not benefit from an initial course of therapy in a previously reported 6-week, RCT of active versus sham TMS. Patients with DSM-IV-defined MDD were actively enrolled in the study from February 2004 through September 2005 and treated with left pre-frontal TMS administered 5 times per week at 10 pulses per second, at 120 % of motor threshold, for a total of 3,000 pulses/session. The primary outcome was the baseline to endpoint change score on the MADRS. In those patients who received sham in the preceding RCT (n = 85), the mean reduction in MADRS scores after 6 weeks of open-label active TMS was -17.0 (95 % CI: -14.0 to -19.9). Further, at 6 weeks, 36 (42.4 %) of these patients achieved response on the MADRS, and 17 patients (20.0 %) remitted (MADRS score less than 10). For those patients who received and did not respond to active TMS in the preceding randomized controlled trial (n = 73), the mean reduction in MADRS scores was -12.5 (95 % CI: -9.7 to -15.4), and response and remission rates were 26.0 % and 11.0 %, respectively, after 6 weeks of additional open-label TMS treatment. The authors concluded that this open-label study provides further evidence that TMS is a safe and effective treatment of MDD. Furthermore, continued active TMS provided additional benefit to some patients who failed to respond to 4 weeks of treatment, suggesting that longer courses of treatment may confer additional therapeutic benefit.
On the other hand, Mogg and co-workers (2008) noted that the effectiveness of rTMS for major depression is unclear. These investigators performed a RCT comparing real and sham adjunctive rTMS with 4-month follow-up. A total of 59 patients with major depression were randomly assigned to a 10-day course of either real (n = 29) or sham (n = 30) rTMS of the left DLPFC. Primary outcome measures were the 17-item HAMD and proportions of patients meeting criteria for response (50 % reduction in HAMD) and remission (HAMD8) after treatment. Secondary outcomes included mood self-ratings on Beck Depression Inventory-II and visual analog mood scales, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score, and both self-reported and observer-rated cognitive changes. Patients had 6-week and 4-month follow-ups. Overall, HAMD scores were modestly reduced in both groups but with no significant group x time interaction (p = 0.09) or group main effect (p = 0.85); the mean difference in HAMD change scores was -0.3 (95 % CI: -3.4 to 2.8). At end-of-treatment time-point, 32 % of the real group were responders compared with 10 % of the sham group (p = 0.06); 25 % of the real group met the remission criterion compared with 10 % of the sham group (p = 0.2); the mean difference in HAMD change scores was 2.9 (95 % CI: -0.7 to 6.5). There were no significant differences between the 2 groups on any secondary outcome measures. Blinding was difficult to maintain for both patients and raters. The authors concluded that adjunctive rTMS of the left DLPFC could not be shown to be more effective than sham rTMS for treating depression.
Demirtas-Tatlidede et al (2008) examined the impact of rTMS throughout the long course of MDD and the effectiveness of rTMS in the treatment of depressive relapses. A total of 16 medication-free patients with refractory MDD (diagnosed according to DSM-IV) who initially had clinically significant anti-depressant responses to a 10-day course of 10-Hz rTMS were consecutively admitted to the protocol from 1997 to 2001 and were followed for 4 years. The cohort was studied during a total of 64 episodes of depressive relapse. Severity of depression was evaluated with the HAMD and the BDI prior to and after completion of each rTMS treatment course. Clinically significant response was defined as a reduction in HAMD score of at least 50 %. Safety was assessed by serial neurological examinations and neuropsychological evaluations. Approximately 50 % of the patients individually sustained a clinically significant response to the repeated courses of rTMS; the mean +/- SD decrease in HAMD scores was 64.8 % +/- 12.6 % (p < 0.0001), and, in BDI scores, 60.4 % +/- 20.6 % (p < 0.0001). Despite the lack of adjuvant anti-depressant medication, the mean interval between treatment courses was approximately 5 months, and the medication-free period ranged from 26 to 43 months. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was well-tolerated, and evaluations regarding the safety of the repeated applications of rTMS revealed no findings of concern. The authors concluded that repeated rTMS applications have demonstrated a reproducible anti-depressant effect in patients with refractory depression who initially showed a clinically significant benefit. The duration of effect varied across patients, but benefits were sustained for a mean of nearly 5 months. They stated that further studies with larger cohorts will be useful in determining the long-term effectiveness of rTMS maintenance therapy.
In a systematic review and meta-analysis, Lam and colleagues (2008) examined the effectiveness of rTMS for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The systematic review was conducted by identifying published RCTs of active rTMS, compared with a sham control condition in patients with defined TRD (i.e., at least 1 failed trial). The primary outcome was clinical response as determined from global ratings, or 50 % or greater improvement on a rating scale. Other outcomes included remission and standardized mean differences in end point scores. Meta-analysis was conducted for absolute risk differences using random effects models. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were also conducted to explore heterogeneity and robustness of results. A total of 24 studies (n = 1,092 patients) met criteria for quantitative synthesis. Active rTMS was significantly superior to sham conditions in producing clinical response, with a risk difference of 17 % and a number-needed-to-treat of 6. The pooled response and remission rates were 25 % and 17 %, and 9 % and 6 % for active rTMS and sham conditions, respectively. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses did not significantly affect these results. Drop-outs and withdrawals owing to adverse events were very low. The authors concluded that for patients with TRD, rTMS appears to provide significant benefits in short-term treatment studies. However, the relatively low response and remission rates, the short durations of treatment, and the relative lack of systematic follow-up studies suggested that further studies are needed before rTMS can be considered as a first-line monotherapy treatment for TRD. This is in agreement with the observations of Daskalakis and colleagues as well as Loo and associates. The former group of researchers (Daskalakis et al, 2008) stated that more studies are needed to address the current limitations of rTMS and to optimize the effectiveness of this promising therapeutic option in TRD. The latter group of investigators (Loo et al, 2008) noted that long-term effects of repeated rTMS sessions are as yet unknown. When given within recommended guidelines, the overall safety profile of rTMS is good, and supports its further development as a clinical treatment. It is also interesting to note that Knapp and co-workers (2008) stated that ECT is more cost-effective than rTMS in the treatment of severe depression.
Demitrack and Thase (2009) studied the clinical significance of the treatment effects seen with TMS in pharmaco-resistant major depression in their recently completed studies by comparing these outcomes with the results reported in several large, comprehensive published reference data sets of anti-depressant medications studied in both treatment-responsive and treatment-resistant patient populations. The efficacy of TMS reported in RCTs was comparable to that of anti-depressants studied in similarly designed registration trials and to the adjunctive use of atypical anti-psychotic medications in controlled trials of anti-depressant non-responders. The authors noted that these data may be helpful in treatment-planning decisions when using TMS in clinical practice.
In a prospective, multi-site, randomized, active sham-controlled (1:1 randomization) trial, George et al (2010) examined if daily left pre-frontal rTMS safely and effectively treats major depressive disorder. About 860 outpatients were screened, yielding 199 anti-depressant drug-free patients with unipolar non-psychotic major depressive disorder. These researchers delivered rTMS to the left pre-frontal cortex at 120 % motor threshold (10 Hz, 4-second train duration, and 26-second intertrain interval) for 37.5 mins (3,000 pulses per session) using a figure-eight solid-core coil. Sham rTMS used a similar coil with a metal insert blocking the magnetic field and scalp electrodes that delivered matched somatosensory sensations. In the intention-to-treat sample (n = 190), remission rates were compared for the 2 treatment arms using logistic regression and controlling for site, treatment resistance, age, and duration of the current depressive episode. Patients, treaters, and raters were effectively masked. Minimal adverse effects did not differ by treatment arm, with an 88 % retention rate (90 % sham and 86 % active). Primary efficacy analysis revealed a significant effect of treatment on the proportion of remitters (14.1 % active rTMS and 5.1 % sham) (p = 0.02). The odds of attaining remission were 4.2 times greater with active rTMS than with sham (95 % CI: 1.32 to 13.24). The number needed to treat was 12. Most remitters had low anti-depressant treatment resistance. Almost 30 % of patients remitted in the open-label follow-up (30.2 % originally active and 29.6 % sham). The authors concluded that the findings of this study suggested that daily left pre-frontal rTMS produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful anti-depressant therapeutic effects for unipolar depressed patients who are refractory to or intolerant of medications.
There are several limitations with the afore-mentioned study: (i) as a consequence of the extensive work in designing a sham system, which delayed the start of the trial, the study failed to enroll the projected 240 subjects suggested by the initial power analysis. This power issue may be the reason why the treatment condition effect on remission rate in the fully adherent sample analysis was not statistically significant. Treaters were able to guess randomization assignment better than chance, without much confidence, which was not explained by covarying for clinical benefit, (ii) although the treatment effect was statistically significant on a clinically meaningful variable (remission), the overall number of remitters and responders was less than one would like with a treatment that requires daily intervention for 3 weeks or more, and (iii) it is unclear how long the clinical benefit lasts once achieved.
Slotema et al (2010) examined if rTMS is effective for various psychiatric disorders. A literature search was performed from 1966 through October 2008 using PubMed, Ovid Medline, Embase Psychiatry, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and PsycINFO. The following search terms were used: transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS, repetitive TMS, psychiatry, mental disorder, psychiatric disorder, anxiety disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, catatonia, mania, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, bulimia nervosa, and addiction. Data were obtained from randomized, sham-controlled studies of rTMS treatment for depression (34 studies), auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH, 7 studies), negative symptoms in schizophrenia (7 studies), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, 3 studies). Studies of rTMS versus ECT (6 studies) for depression were meta-analyzed. Standardized mean effect sizes of rTMS versus sham were computed based on pre-treatment versus post-treatment comparisons. The mean weighted effect size of rTMS versus sham for depression was 0.55 (p < 0.001). Monotherapy with rTMS was more effective than rTMS as adjunctive to anti-depressant medication. Electro-convulsive therapy was superior to rTMS in the treatment of depression (mean weighted effect size -0.47, p = 0.004). In the treatment of AVH, rTMS was superior to sham treatment, with a mean weighted effect size of 0.54 (p < 0.001). The mean weighted effect size for rTMS versus sham in the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia was 0.39 (p = 0.11) and for OCD, 0.15 (p = 0.52). Side effects were mild, yet more prevalent with high-frequency rTMS at frontal locations. While the authors concluded that it is time to provide rTMS as a clinical treatment method for depression, for auditory verbal hallucinations, and possibly for negative symptoms, they do not recommend rTMS for the treatment of OCD. Furthermore, the authors also stated that "[a]lthough the efficacy of rTMS in the treatment of depression and AVH may be considered proven, the duration of the effect is as yet unknown. Effect sizes were measured immediately after the cessation of rTMS treatment. There are indications that the effects of rTMS may last for several weeks to months. Future studies should assess symptom relief with longer follow-up periods to assess the cost-effectiveness of rTMS treatment, and to indicate its economic advantages and disadvantages .... Although rTMS cannot replace ECT in depressive patients, there may be subgroups in which rTMS can replace antidepressant medication".
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's interventional procedure overview of TMS for severe depression (2007) concluded that current evidence suggests there are no major safety concerns associated with TMS for severe depression, but there is no evidence that the procedure has clinically useful efficacy. Thus, TMS should be performed only in the context of research studies. Any future research should focus on factors including dose intensity, frequency and duration. Furthermore, the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement's guideline on major depression in adults in primary care (2008) stated that results of research studies to date on rTMS for the treatment of MDD have been inconsistent and inconclusive.
The BCBS Association's Medical Advisory Panel (BCBSA, 2009) concluded that the use of rTMS in the treatment of depression does not meet the TEC criteria. The TEC assessment stated that an important limitation of the evidence is lack of information beyond the acute period of treatment. The TEC assessment noted that most of the clinical trials of rTMS evaluate the outcomes at the point of the last rTMS treatment, between 1 and 4 weeks, and that very few studies evaluated patients beyond this time period. Although meta-analyses are consistent with short-term antidepressant effects, the clinical significance of the effect is uncertain. The TEC assessment stated that the large clinical trial of rTMS by O'Reardon et al (2007) that was reviewed in this assessment did not unequivocally demonstrate efficacy, as the principal endpoint was not statistically significant at 4 weeks, and some results were sensitive to the methods of analysis. The TEC assessment stated that patients in whom rTMS is indicated are usually treated with a second course of antidepressant therapy. The clinical trial by O'Reardon et al (2007), which was sham controlled without active treatment, can not determine whether rTMS would be more or less successful than this standard treatment. Referring to the study by George et al (2010), the TEC assessment also noted that a clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health has recruited subjects for another clinical trial of rTMS; however, this trial also appears to have only a short duration (3 weeks) in which the participants are randomized to rTMS or sham before crossovers or alternative treatments are offered.
An assessment by the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF, 2009) of rTMS for treatment-resistant depression concluded that rTMS does not meet CTAF technology assessment criteria. This report stated that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that rTMS improves net health outcomes for patients with treatment resistant depression, or that it is as effective as current alternatives (e.g., augmentation, ECT, or new drugs). The report noted that many of the individual studies of rTMS for treatment-resistant depression randomized less than 20 patients and were under-powered to detect changes in net health outcomes, particularly remission of depression. The CTAF assessment stated that the largest and most recent clinical trials of rTMS for depression failed to demonstrate significant improvements on their primary outcome measures. The CTAF assessment noted, in addition, that there is no consensus on how to perform rTMS and a dearth of evidence on the efficacy of rTMS after cessation of therapy. "Undoubtedly because of the evidence that treatment does have some clinical effect, there is active ongoing research into rTMS. However, it is too early to conclude that rTMS improves net health outcomes for patients with treatment resistant depression, much less that it is as effective as current alternatives such as augmentation, new drugs, or ECT."
An assessment of rTMS by the Health Council of the Netherlands (2008) stated that efficacy studies should focus, in particular, on the use of rTMS to treat patients suffering from depression who are not responding well to medication. The assessment stated that it would also be useful to study the longer term effects of rTMS therapy in depression.
An assessment of rTMS for depression by the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU) (Brorrson et al, 2009) concluded that although the results of the studies are promising, they continue to regard the treatment as experimental. The assessment noted that one issue is that it is not known to what extent the treatment is effective in drug-resistant depression. The assessment also called for additional studies examining potential adverse effects of rTMS on memory.
An American Psychiatric Association practice guideline on major depression (2010, reaffirmed 2015) stated: "For patients whose symptoms have not responded adequately to medication, ECT remains the most effective form of therapy and should be considered [I]. In patients capable of adhering to dietary and medication restrictions, an additional option is changing to a nonselective MAOI [II] after allowing sufficient time between medications to avoid deleterious interactions [I]. Transdermal selegiline, a relatively selective MAO B inhibitor with fewer dietary and medication restrictions, or transcranial magnetic stimulation could also be considered [II] . . . Based on the results of a multisite randomized sham-controlled clinical trial of high-frequency TMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, TMS was cleared by the FDA in 2008 for use in individuals with major depressive disorder who have not had a satisfactory response to at least one antidepressant trial in the current episode of illness. However, another large randomized sham-controlled trial of TMS added to antidepressant pharmacotherapy showed no significant benefit of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex TMS. In comparisons of actual TMS versus sham TMS, most but not all recent meta-analyses have found relatively small to moderate benefits of TMS in terms of clinical response. Although the primary studies used in these meta-analyses are highly overlapping and the variability in TMS stimulus parameters and treat treatment paradigms complicates the interpretation of research findings, these meta-analyses also support the use of high-frequency TMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Lesser degrees of treatment resistance may be associated with a better acute response to TMS. In comparison with ECT, TMS has been found in randomized studies to be either less effective than ECT or comparable in efficacy to ECT, but in the latter studies TMS was more effective and ECT was less effective than is typically seen in clinical trials. A fewer number of studies have compared cognitive effects of TMS and ECT. One randomized trial found no significant difference between TMS and non-dominant unilateral ECT on performance on neuropsychological tests at 2 and at 4 weeks of treatment, although a small open-label trial reported a greater degree of memory difficulties with ECT than with TMS shortly after the treatment course."
In a review on “Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the management of mood disorders”, Allan et al (2011) presented an up-to-date meta-analysis of TMS in the treatment of depression. These investigators searched Medline and Embase from 1996 until 2008 for randomized sham-controlled trials, with patients and investigators blinded to treatment, and outcome measured using a version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (or similar). They identified 1,789 studies; 31 were suitable for inclusion, with a cumulative sample of 815 active and 716 sham TMS courses. These researchers found a moderately sized effect in favor of TMS [Random Effects Model Hedges' g = 0.64, 95 % CI: 0.50 to 0.79]. The corresponding Pooled Peto Odds Ratio for treatment response (less than or equal to 50 % reduction in depression scores) was 4.1 (95 % CI: 2.9 to 5.9). There was significant variability between study effect sizes. Meta-regressions with relevant study variables did not reveal any predictors of treatment efficacy. A total of 9 studies included follow-up data with an average follow-up time of 4.3 weeks; there was no mean change in depression severity between the end of treatment and follow-up (Hedges' g = -0.02, 95 % CI: -0.22 to +0.18) and no heterogeneity in outcome. The authors concluded that TMS appears to be an effective treatment; however, at 4 weeks' follow-up after TMS, there had been no further change in depression severity. Problems with finding a suitably blind and ineffective placebo condition may have confounded the published effect sizes. If the TMS effect is specific, only further large double-blind RCTs with systematic exploration of treatment and patient parameters will help to define optimum treatment indications and regimen.
The BlueCross BlueShield Technology Evaluation Center (TEC)'s assessment on TMS for depression (2011) concludes that "[t]he available evidence does not permit conclusions regarding the effect of TMS on health outcomes or compared with alternatives. Comparison to alternatives using other observational studies may not be valid due to unmeasured differences in severity of depression between studies and other differences in studies". It also states that "the current body of evidence can not determine in a rigorous way whether TMS would be as effective as a second course of antidepressant therapy. Other important gaps in current knowledge include whether TMS is effective as an adjunctive treatment to second-line drug therapy, the durability of TMS treatment, and the effectiveness of retreatment".
An Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's review (Gaynes et al, 2011) reported that there is insufficient evidence to evaluate whether non-pharmacological treatments are effective for TRD. The review summarized evidence of the effectiveness of 4 non-pharmacological treatments: (i) ECT, (ii) rTMS, (iii) VNS, and (iv) cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or inter-personal psychotherapy. With respect to maintaining remission (or preventing relapse), there were no direct comparisons (evidence) involving ECT, rTMS, VNS, or CBT. With regard to indirect evidence, there were 3 fair trials compared rTMS with a sham procedure and found no significant differences, however, too few patients were followed during the relapse prevention phases in 2 of the 3 studies (20-week and 6-month follow-up) and patients in the 3rd study (3-month follow-up) received a co-intervention providing insufficient evidence for a conclusion. There were no eligible studies for ECT, VNS. or psychotherapy. The review concluded that that comparative clinical research on non-pharmacologic interventions in a TRD population is early in its infancy, and many clinical questions about efficacy and effectiveness remain unanswered. Interpretation of the data is substantially hindered by varying definitions of TRD and the paucity of relevant studies. The greatest volume of evidence is for ECT and rTMS. However, even for the few comparisons of treatments that are supported by some evidence, the strength of evidence is low for benefits, reflecting low confidence that the evidence reflects the true effect and indicating that further research is likely to change our confidence in these findings. This finding of low strength is most notable in 2 cases: ECT and rTMS did not produce different clinical outcomes in TRD, and ECT produced better outcomes than pharmacotherapy. No trials directly compared the likelihood of maintaining remission for non-pharmacologic interventions. The few trials addressing adverse events, subpopulations,subtypes, and health-related outcomes provided low or insufficient evidence of differences between non-pharmacologic interventions. The most urgent next steps for research are to apply a consistent definition of TRD, to conduct more head-to-head clinical trials comparing non-pharmacologic interventions with themselves and with pharmacologic treatments, and to delineate carefully the number of treatment failures following a treatment attempt of adequate dose and duration in the current episode.
Using data from the AHRQ report, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER, 2011) conducted a cost-effectiveness modeling study, assuming that transcranial electrical stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy have equivalent efficacy. The model predicted a cost-utility ratio of $216,468 per quality adjusted life year from a payer perspective and $321,880 per quality adjusted life year from a societal perspective.
An assessment by the University of Calgary Health Technology Assessment Unit (Leggett, et al., 2014) stated that, in adults with TRD, rTMS is more effective than no treatment but the optimal protocol remains unclear. The assessment found that few studies have reported on the effectiveness of rTMS compared to ECT. The assessment stated that pooled estimates for response and remission provide conflicting results indicating rTMS may be more effective at achieving response but less effective at achieving remission. The assessment concluded that the effectiveness of rTMS compared to ECT remains unclear. The assessment also concluded that the effectiveness in youth and young adult populations is uncertain.
An assessment by the Galacian Health Technology Assessment Agency (AVALIA-T, 2014) reached similar conclusions: "Transcranial magnetic stimulation is not currently recommended as a treatment for depression, due to uncertainty about its clinical efficacy."
An assessment by the Alberta Health Technology Assessment Unit (2014) concluded that, in adults with treatment resistant depression, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is more effective than no treatment but the optimal protocol remains unclear. No statistically significant differences were found between repetitive transcranial magenetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy; it is unclear which is most efficacious. The assessment also found that the effectiveness in youth and young adult populations is uncertain.
Hayes (2014) reported on a metaanalysis of controlled trials of TMS with sham stimulation. Most studies required patients to have 1 or more, and most typically two or more, previously failed trials of antidepressant medication. The post-treatment difference between transcranial magnetic stimulation and sham stimulation favored TMS; most differences were reported to be statistically significant, but the magnitude was generally small as measured by the MADRS scale and the various HAMD scales. No standard definition of clinically relevant improvement or a clinically relevant effect was identified in the literature. There is evidence of a strong placebo effect. A small quantity of data suggested that the durability of effect, i.e., the continued advantage of active transcranial magnetic stimulation over sham transcranial magnetic stimulation, may not last beyond 2 or 3 weeks after the end of treatment. Low quality evidence suggested that transcranial magnetic stimulation may be at least as effective as electroconvulsive therapy under certain circumstances, but under other circumstances, electroconvulsive may be superior; this evidence is of low quality because of unexplained inconsistency in study results. Low quality evidence suggested that if transcranial magnetic stimulation has any effect on quality of life or function, it is very small. The review found insufficient evidence on the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation as maintenance therapy after acute response.
An assessment by the BlueCross BlueShield Association Technology Evaluation Center (BCBSA, 2014) concluded that transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression does not meet the TEC criteria. The assessment stated that “adequately powered trials do not provide convincing evidence of improved health outcomes.” The assessment noted that meta-analyses included a large number of trials, but their pooled results do not change the conclusions drawn from the large trials. The authors of the TEC assessment found that short-term randomized comparisons from 3 trials (2 reporting adequate power to detect effects and the third trial similar in size) do not provide consistent evidence that TMS improves remission of major depressive disorder compared with a sham procedure in patients failing 1 or more antidepressant trials. The authors stated that comparisons reported beyond the initial treatment period (3 weeks of TMS) in 2 of the trials (O’Reardon et al. 2007; George et al. 2010) are problematic given the planned crossover and dropouts. Analyses that take into account potential confounding introduced by crossovers were not reported. The assessment found no evidence comparing TMS with changing antidepressant or augmentation similar to the strategy employed in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR-D) study (Rush et al. 2006).
The TEC assessment included meta-analyses published from 2010 through the search date and trials enrolling more than 150 patients. The quality of meta-analyses was appraised using the 11-item Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) criteria. Randomized controlled trial quality was assessed using the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force criteria. Three randomized, controlled trials were identified that met inclusion criteria. Results from 2 trials were published at the time of the assessment -- George, et al. (2010) and O’Reardon, et al. (2007) -- and documents submitted to the FDA for the Brainsway device (subsequently published as Levkovitz, et al., 2015). The 2 published trials employed a so-called “duration adaptive design” or “forced dropout strategy” after 3 weeks of active TMS or sham. The TEC assessment rated trial quality separately for results after 3 and 6 weeks of TMS: O’Reardon et al. (2007) was rated fair at 3 weeks and poor at 6 weeks. Response rates at three weeks for TMS versus sham were 20.6 percent and 11.6 percent at three weeks, which was statistically significant; however, the differences in remission rates at three weeks between TMS and sham were not statistically significant. There was also no statistically significant difference in remission rates at six weeks. George et al. (2010) was rated good at 3 weeks and poor at 6 weeks. There was no statistically significant difference in remission rates between TMS and sham at three weeks. Although statistically significant differences in response and remission rates were reported at six weeks, trial quality for the 6-week results was rated poor because of crossover and dropouts during the second 3 weeks of treatment. Limited data are available from the Brainsway device trial that assessed outcomes at 4 and 16 weeks. Although there were significant differences between TMS and sham in per protocol and "modified intention to treat" analyses treatment differences between TMS and sham in the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis were not significantly different.
The BlueCross BlueShield Assessment (2014) also looked at the result of the extension studies, finding that the response rates seen in the extension studies were difficult to interpret given the open-label nature of treatment and the lack of randomized comparator. Longer-term follow-up was examined in extension studies to the O’Reardon et al. (2007) and George et al. (2010) trials as well as in the meta-analysis by Allan et al. (2011). Patients in the O’Reardon et al. trial who did not respond (both active TMS and sham) were allowed to participate in an additional 6 weeks of repetitive TMS. The response and remission rates improved for both groups, and these outcome improvements occurred more frequently in the extension phase than in the original randomization phase. Another extension of this trial followed responders from either the initial randomized trial or the extension study above. Participants were followed 12 weeks for recurrence or additional TMS treatments, with a relapse rate of 12.9% with additional TMS treatment in 40.6%. The extension study to the George et al. (2010) trial enrolled 141 patients who failed to achieve remission in the original randomized phase of the trial. These participants were given additional TMS treatment for 6 weeks, but the TEC assessment noted that these results are difficult to interpret because the study lacked a control group. Any participant who remitted in the original trial or the extension study was eligible for inclusion into the third phase of the trial. Fifty patients underwent repetitive TMS tapering and were followed for 3 months. By the end of follow-up, 29 (58%) maintained remission, 2 (4%) were reclassified as partial responders, and 1 (2%) relapsed. The TEC assessment stated that the study’s unblinded, nonrandomized design and high loss to follow-up prevent any conclusions about the efficacy of repetitive TMS. The TEC assessment concluded that, because of the lack of demonstrable efficacy in the randomized comparisons, the results of the longer follow-ups reported in O’Reardon et al. (O’Reardon et al. 2007) and George et al. (George et al. 2010) offer little toward establishing treatment benefit. The TEC assessment stated that the higher response rates seen in the extension studies are difficult to interpret given the open-label nature of treatment and lack of randomized comparator.
The TEC assessment identified concerns about publication bias affecting the conclusions of the metaanalyses. Seven meta-analyses published in 2010 or later were identified. The 4 largest meta-analyses included between 24 and 34 trials. Besides differing by year of publication and available studies, the meta-analyses applied different selection criteria and analytic approaches. All meta-analyses examined clinical end points at the conclusion of TMS treatment (i.e., 1 to 5 weeks). Limited evidence on the durability of outcomes was reported in 1 analysis. The meta-analyses concluded that repetitive TMS is superior to sham for treating medication-resistant depression over the short term, and possibly over a longer term. A single meta-analysis satisfied all AMSTAR criteria, and it was the only analysis to assess trial quality (risk of bias). One meta-analysis suggested a possibility of publication bias, others did not report examining potential publication bias, and some found no indication to suspect it. A large majority of trials were small, and there was considerable overlap among the trials included in the meta-analyses. The only meta-analysis to satisfy all AMSTAR criteria included the 6-week results from O’Reardon et al. (2007), and it was conducted prior to the availability of the Brainsway results. The TEC assessment was unable to identify published results for 11 completed trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov; the published evidence is incomplete. Concerns by the authors of the TEC assessment about conclusions from the meta-analyses center on the potential for publication bias, and inclusion of the problematic 6-week results from 2 trials. The TEC assessment stated that the three adequately powered trials do not provide convincing evidence of improved health outcomes. The meta-analyses included a large number of trials, but their pooled results do not change the conclusions drawn from the large adequately powered trials. The TEC assessment stated that, although durability of any effects is relevant, absent demonstrable benefit compared with a sham, the question is of lesser or even little importance.
An assessment by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH, 2014) stated that some studies of transcranial magnetic stimulation may show a benefit, but four health technology assessments have been unable to make conclusions. The assessment concluded that “evidence is generally inconsistent and of low quality.”
Dunner and colleagues (2014) evaluated the long-term effectiveness of TMS in naturalistic clinical practice settings following acute treatment for patients not benefiting from antidepressants. Adult patients with a primary diagnosis of unipolar, non-psychotic major depressive disorder (DSM-IV clinical criteria), who did not benefit from antidepressant medication, received TMS treatment in 42 clinical practices. A total of 257 patients completed a course of acute TMS treatment and consented to follow-up over 52 weeks. Assessments were obtained at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The study was conducted between March 2010 and August 2012. Compared with pre-TMS baseline, there was a statistically significant reduction in mean total scores on the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale (primary outcome), 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire, and Inventory of Depressive Symptoms-Self Report (IDS-SR) at the end of acute treatment (all p < 0.0001), which was sustained throughout follow-up (all p < 0.0001). The proportion of patients who achieved remission at the conclusion of acute treatment remained similar at conclusion of the long-term follow-up. Among 120 patients who met IDS-SR response or remission criteria at the end of acute treatment, 75 (62.5 %) continued to meet response criteria throughout long-term follow-up. After the first month, when the majority of acute TMS tapering was completed, 93 patients (36.2 %) received re-introduction of TMS. In this group, the mean (SD) number of TMS treatment days was 16.2 (21.1). The authors concluded that TMS demonstrated a statistically and clinically meaningful durability of acute benefit over 12 months of follow-up. This was observed under a pragmatic regimen of continuation antidepressant medication and access to TMS retreatment for symptom recurrence. The main drawbacks of this study were (i) its observational, naturalistic design (no concurrent control group), (ii) conclusions regarding the influence of concomitant treatments, including the role of TMS re-introduction, cannot be fully explored, (iii) analysis using an LOCF (last-observation-carried-forward) analysis method may exaggerate the consistency of the scores.
Silverstein et al (2015) systematically synthesized the literature on the neurobiological predictors of rTMS in patients with depression. Medline (1996 to 2014), Embase (1980 to 2014), and PsycINFO (1806 [???] to 2014) were searched under set terms. Two authors reviewed each article and came to consensus on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All eligible studies were reviewed, duplicates were removed, and data were extracted individually. The search identified 1,673 articles, 41 of which met both inclusion and exclusion criteria. Various biological factors at baseline appear to predict response to rTMS, including levels of certain molecular factors, blood flow in brain regions implicated in depression, electrophysiological findings, and specific genetic polymorphisms. The authors concluded that significant methodological variability in rTMS treatment protocols limited the ability to generalize conclusions. However, response to treatment may be predicted by baseline frontal lobe blood flow, and presence of polymorphisms of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) -1a gene, the LL genotype of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) gene, and Val/Val homozygotes of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene.
Noda et al (2015) systematically synthesized the literature on the neurobiological mechanisms of treatment response to rTMS in patients with depression. Medline (1996 to 2014), Embase (1980 to 2014) and PsycINFO (1806 [???] to 2014) were searched under set terms. Three authors reviewed each article and came to consensus on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All eligible studies were reviewed, duplicates were removed, and data were extracted individually. Of 1,647 articles identified, 66 studies met both inclusion and exclusion criteria; rTMS affects various biological factors that can be measured by current biological techniques. Although a number of studies have explored the neurobiological mechanisms of rTMS, a large variety of rTMS protocols and parameters limited the ability to synthesize these findings into a coherent understanding. However, a convergence of findings suggested that rTMS exerts its therapeutic effects by altering levels of various neurochemicals, electrophysiology as well as blood flow and activity in the brain in a frequency-dependent manner. The authors concluded that more research is needed to delineate the neurobiological mechanisms of the antidepressant effect of rTMS. The incorporation of biological assessments into future rTMS clinical trials will help in this regard.
Serafini et al (2015) performed a systematic review of the current literature (PubMed/Medline, Scopus and ScienceDirect search) to examine the role of rTMS in improving neuro-cognition in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Studies were included according to the following criteria: (i) being an original paper in a peer-reviewed journal, and (ii) having analyzed the effect of rTMS on neurocognitive functioning in TRD. The combined search strategy yielded a total of 91 articles, of which, after a complete analysis, 22 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Based on the main findings, most of the selected studies suggested the existence of a trend towards improvements in the neurocognitive profile using rTMS. Negative findings have also been reported. However, most studies were limited by their small sample size or included mixed samples, or the adopted single-blind designs potentially biased the blinding of the study design. The authors concluded that rTMS is a non-invasive brain stimulation that may be considered a valuable and promising technique for cognitive enhancement in TRD.
In an open-label study, McGirr et al (2015) the effectiveness and acceptability of an accelerated rTMS protocol for major depressive disorder (MDD). In this naturalistic trial, 27 patients with moderate-to-severe chronic and treatment-resistant MDD were treated with twice-daily HF-rTMS (10 Hz) applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 2 consecutive weeks (60,000 pulses). The primary outcomes were rates of clinical remission and response (16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology post-treatment score less than or equal to 6, and greater than or equal to 50 % reduction, respectively). Secondary outcomes were self-reported anxious symptoms, depressive symptoms and quality of life, and dropout rates as a proxy for acceptability. A total of 10 (37.0 %) patients met criteria for clinical remission and 15 (55.6 %) were classified as responders, with comparable outcomes for both moderate and severe MDD. Clinician-rated improvements in depressive symptoms were paralleled in self-reported depressive and anxious symptoms, as well as quality of life. No patient discontinued treatment. The authors concluded that an accelerated protocol involving twice-daily sessions of HF-rTMS over the left DLPFC for 2 weeks was effective in treatment-resistant MDD, and had excellent acceptability. They stated that additional research is needed to optimize accelerated rTMS treatment protocols and determine effectiveness using sham-controlled trials. The main drawbacks of this study were: (i) short treatment duration that might be lengthened with corresponding improvements in effectiveness, (ii) limited duration of follow-up, (iii) small sample size, and (iv) an open-label design requiring randomized controlled replication.
Rapinesi and colleagues (2015) examined the role of deep TMS (dTMS) maintenance sessions in protecting patients with bipolar disorder (BD) or recurrent MDD from developing depressive or manic relapses in a 12-month follow-up period. A total of 24 drug-resistant patients with a current depressive episode and a diagnosis of MDD or BD were enrolled in the study. All the participants underwent daily dTMS sessions for 4weeks. One group (maintenance -- M group) received additional maintenance dTMS sessions weekly or twice-weekly. After the 1st dTMS cycle, a significant reduction of HDRS scores was observed in all participants. Subsequently, the HDRS mean scores did not significantly change over time in the M group, while it significantly increased in the non-M-group after 6 and 12 months. The authors concluded that the findings of this study confirmed previous evidence of a positive therapeutic effect of dTMS on depressive symptoms and suggested that, after recovery from acute episodes, maintenance dTMS sessions may be helpful in maintaining euthymia in a 12-month follow-up period. The major drawbacks of this study were: (i) its open design, (ii) small sample size (n =24), (iii) a possible confounding effect of add-on medication, (iv) the lack of a sham control, and (v) the population heterogeneity. Moreover, these researchers stated that their results should be considered as preliminary; future studies should use larger and more homogeneous samples with double-blind to better evaluate the potential effectiveness of dTMS in the treatment and the prevention of depressive episodes in mood disorders.
Lefkovitz and associates (2015) noted that dTMS is a new technology allowing non-surgical stimulation of relatively deep brain areas. In a double-blind, randomized controlled, multi-center study, these investigators evaluated the safety and effectiveness of dTMS in MDD. They recruited 212 MDD outpatients, aged 22 to 68 years, who had either failed 1 to 4 anti-depressant trials or not tolerated at least 2 anti-depressant treatments during the current episode. They were randomly assigned to monotherapy with active or sham dTMS. A total of 20 sessions of dTMS (18 Hz over the prefrontal cortex) were applied during 4 weeks acutely, and then bi-weekly for 12 weeks. Primary and secondary effectiveness end-points were the change in the HDRS-21 score and response/remission rates at week 5, respectively. Deep TMS induced a 6.39 point improvement in HDRS-21 scores, while a 3.28 point improvement was observed in the sham group (p = 0.008), resulting in a 0.76 effect size. Response and remission rates were higher in the dTMS than in the sham group (response: 38.4 % versus 21.4 %, p = 0.013; remission: 32.6 % versus 14.6 %, p = 0.005). These differences between active and sham treatment were stable during the 12-week maintenance phase. The authors concluded that dTMS was associated with few and minor side effects apart from one seizure in a patient where a protocol violation occurred. They stated that these results suggested that dTMS constitutes a novel intervention in MDD, which is safe and effective in patients not responding to anti-depressant medications, and whose effect remains stable over 3 months of maintenance treatment. The major drawbacks of this study were: (i) 14.6 % of the intention-to-treat analysis set were not treated at the stimulation intensity defined by the protocol and had to be excluded from the PP analysis. This was presumably due to the flexibility of the operator in titrating stimulation intensity from 100 % up to 120 % of individual motor threshold in order to improve tolerability. Thus, patients were more likely to stay at an intensity below the optimal level compared to trials where rTMS was defined at a fixed intensity after a brief lead-in period. The importance of adequate intensity (120 % of individual motor threshold) should be highly emphasized when training operators to use this system for anti-depressant treatment, as lower intensity does not allow stimulation of deep prefrontal cortex areas and is therefore less likely to produce the desired clinical response, (ii) patients with psychotic depression were excluded from the study. This decision was based on a previous trial that demonstrated the superiority of electro-convulsive therapy to rTMS in this patient group. However, it cannot be ruled out that psychotic patients may benefit from dTMS treatment, particularly if it is administered concomitantly with anti-psychotic medication, and (iii) in the present study patients were withdrawn from anti-depressant medications prior to dTMS as required by regulatory authorities. However, in a real-life clinical setting, anti-depressant medication that leads to a partial response might be augmented with dTMS.
Philip et al (2016a) stated that current treatment options for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) offer modest benefits, underscoring the need for new treatments. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation depolarizes neurons in a targeted brain region with magnetic fields typically pulsed at low (1 Hz) or high (10 Hz) frequency to relieve MDD. Prior work suggested an intermediate pulse frequency, 5 Hz, is also effective for treating co-morbid depressive and anxiety symptoms. In this chart review study, these researchers systematically examined the clinical and safety outcomes in 10 patients with co-morbid MDD and PTSD syndromes who received 5-Hz rTMS therapy at the Providence VA Medical Center Neuromodulation Clinic. Self-report scales measured illness severity prior to treatment, after every 5 treatments, and upon completion of treatment. Results showed significant reduction in symptoms of PTSD (p = 0.003, effect size = 1.12, 8/10 with reliable change) and MDD (p = 0.005, effect size = 1.09, 6/10 with reliable change). The authors concluded that stimulation was well-tolerated and there were no serious adverse events. They stated that these data indicated 5-Hz rTMS may be a useful option to treat these co-morbid disorders; larger, controlled trials are needed to confirm the benefits of 5-Hz protocols observed in this pilot study.
Health Quality Ontario’s systematic review and meta-analysis on “Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression” (2016) examined the anti-depressant effectiveness of rTMS in patients with treatment-resistant unipolar depression. A literature search was performed for RCTs published from January 1, 1994, to November 20, 2014. The search was updated on March 1, 2015. Two independent reviewers evaluated the abstracts for inclusion, reviewed full texts of eligible studies, and abstracted data. Meta-analyses were conducted to obtain summary estimates. The primary outcome was changes in depression scores measured by the HRSD, and these researchers considered, a priori, the mean difference of 3.5 points to be a clinically important treatment effect. Remission and response to the treatment were secondary outcomes, and these investigators calculated number needed to treat on the basis of these outcomes. They examined the possibility of publication bias by constructing funnel plots and by Begg's and Egger's tests. A meta-regression was undertaken to examine the effect of specific rTMS technical parameters on the treatment effects. A total of 23 RCTs compared rTMS with sham, and 6 RCTs compared rTMS with ECT. Trials of rTMS versus sham showed a statistically significant improvement in depression scores with rTMS (weighted mean difference [WMD] 2.31, 95 % CI: 1.19 to 3.43; p < 0.001). This improvement was smaller than the pre-specified clinically important treatment effect. There was a 10 % absolute difference between rTMS and sham in the rates of remission or response. This translated to a number needed to treat of 10. Risk ratios for remission and response were 2.20 (95 % CI: 1.44 to 3.38, p = 0.001) and 1.72 (95 % CI: 1.13 to 2.62, p = 0.01), respectively, favoring rTMS. No publication bias was detected. Trials of rTMS versus ECT showed a statistically and clinically significant difference between rTMS and ECT in favor of ECT (WMD 5.97, 95 % CI: 0.94 to 11.0, p = 0.02). Risk ratios for remission and response were 1.44 (95 % CI: 0.64 to 3.23, p = 0.38) and 1.72 (95 % CI: 0.95 to 3.11, p = 0.07), respectively, favoring ECT. The authors concluded that overall, the body of evidence favored ECT for treatment of patients who are treatment-resistant; rTMS had a small short-term effect for improving depression in comparison with sham, but follow-up studies did not show that the small effect will continue for longer periods. The meta-analysis showed a positive, short-term effect. However, the issue is that the larger trials, which is the point that the BCBS TEC assessment made, failed to reach statistical significance on intention to treat analysis, and there was a suggestion of publication bias with the smaller trials.
An assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2015) concluded that the evidence on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression shows no major safety concerns, and that the evidence on its efficacy in the short‑term is adequate, although the clinical response is variable. The NICE assessment found little data on efficacy in the long-term. The assessment stated that, during the consent process, clinicians should, in particular, inform patients about the other treatment options available, and make sure that patients understand the possibility the procedure may not give them benefit. The NICE assessment cited the need for publication of further evidence on patient selection, details of the precise type and regime of stimulation used, the use of maintenance treatment and long‑term outcomes.
Chronic Pain Syndromes
There is also a lack of scientific evidence in the use of TMS as a diagnostic tool for psychiatric disorders, and treatment for chronic pain. Pridmore et al (2005) stated that in studies of TMS for the treatment of chronic pain, there is some evidence that temporary relief can be achieved in a proportion of sufferers. Work to this point is encouraging, but systematic assessment of stimulation parameters is necessary if TMS is to attain a role in the treatment of chronic pain. Furthermore, Canavero and Bonicalzi (2005) noted that TMS has no role in the management of patients with central pain, a major chronic pain syndrome.
In a double-blind, randomized, cross-over study, Andre-Obadia et al (2008) evaluated, against placebo, the pain-relieving effects of high-rate rTMS on neuropathic pain (n = 28). The effect of a change in coil orientation (postero-anterior versus latero-medial) on different subtypes of neuropathic pain was further tested in a subset of 16 patients. Pain relief was evaluated daily during 1 week. High-frequency, postero-anterior rTMS decreased pain scores significantly more than placebo. Postero-anterior rTMS also out-matched placebo in a score combining subjective (pain relief, quality of life) and objective (rescue drug intake) criteria of treatment benefit. Changing the orientation of the coil from postero-anterior to latero-medial did not yield any significant pain relief. The analgesic effects of postero-anterior rTMS lasted for approximately 1 week. The pain-relieving effects were observed exclusively on global scores reflecting the most distressing type of pain in each patient. Conversely, rTMS did not modify specifically any of the pain subscores that were separately tested (ongoing, paroxysmal, stimulus-evoked, or disesthesic pain). The authors concluded that postero-anterior rTMS was more effective than both placebo and latero-medial rTMS. When obtained, pain relief was not specific of any particular submodality, but rather reduced the global pain sensation whatever its type. Moreover, they stated that these findings were driven from a small number of subjects; thus they need to be replicated.
Plow and associates (2012) stated that chronic neuropathic pain is one of the most prevalent and debilitating disorders. Conventional medical management, however, remains frustrating for both patients and clinicians owing to poor specificity of pharmacotherapy, delayed onset of analgesia and extensive side effects. Neuromodulation presents as a promising alternative, or at least an adjunct, as it is more specific in inducing analgesia without associated risks of pharmacotherapy. These investigators discussed common clinical and investigational methods of neuromodulation. Compared to clinical spinal cord stimulation, investigational techniques of cerebral neuromodulation, both invasive (DBS and motor cortical stimulation [MCS]) and non-invasive (rTMS and tDCS), may be more advantageous. By adaptively targeting the multi-dimensional experience of pain, subtended by integrative pain circuitry in the brain, including somatosensory and thalamo-cortical, limbic and cognitive, cerebral methods may modulate the sensory-discriminative, affective-emotional and evaluative-cognitive spheres of the pain neuromatrix. Despite promise, the current state of results alludes to the possibility that cerebral neuromodulation has thus far not been effective in producing analgesia as intended in patients with chronic pain disorders. These techniques, thus, remain investigational and off-label. These investigators discussed issues implicated in inadequate efficacy, variability of responsiveness, and poor retention of benefit, while recommending design and conceptual refinements for future trials of cerebral neuromodulation in management of chronic neuropathic pain.
Leung et al (2009) performed a meta-analysis on the analgesic effect of rTMS on various neuropathic pain states based on their neuroanatomical hierarchy. Available RCTs were screened. Pooled individual data (PID) were coded for age, gender, pain neuroanatomical origins, pain duration, and treatment parameters analyses. Coded pain neuroanatomical origins consist of peripheral nerve (PN); nerve root (NR); spinal cord (SC); trigeminal nerve or ganglion (TGN); and post-stroke supra-spinal related pain (PSP). Raw data of 149 patients were extracted from 5 (1 parallel, 4 cross-over) selected (from 235 articles) RCTs. A significant (p < 0.001) overall analgesic effect (mean percent difference in pain visual analog scale (VAS) score reduction with 95 % CI) was detected with greater reduction in VAS with rTMS in comparison to sham. Including the parallel study (Khedr et al), the TGN subgroup was found to have the greatest analgesic effect (28.8 %), followed by PSP (16.7 %), SC (14.7 %), NR (10.0 %), and PN (1.5 %). The results were similar when these researchers excluded the parallel study with the greatest analgesic effect observed in TGN (33.0 %), followed by SC (14.7 %), PSP (10.5 %), NR (10.0 %), and PN (1.5 %). In addition, multiple (versus single, p = 0.003) sessions and lower (greater than 1 and less than or equal to 10 Hz) treatment frequency range (versus greater than 10 Hz) appears to generate better analgesic outcome. In short, rTMS appears to be more effective in suppressing centrally than peripherally originated neuropathic pain states. The authors stated that this was the first PID-based meta-analysis to assess the differential analgesic effect of rTMS on neuropathic pain based on the neuroanatomical origins of the pain pathophysiology and treatment parameters. The derived information serves as a useful resource in regards to treatment parameters and patient population selection for future rTMS-pain studies.
Lindholm and colleagues (2015) examined the effects of rTMS in neuropathic orofacial pain, and compared 2 cortical targets against placebo. Furthermore, as dopaminergic mechanisms modulate pain responses, these researchers assessed the influence of the functional DRD2 gene polymorphism (957C>T) and the catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism on the analgesic effect of rTMS. A total of 16 patients with chronic drug resistant neuropathic orofacial pain participated in this randomized, placebo controlled, cross-over study. Navigated high-frequency rTMS was given to the sensorimotor (S1/M1) and the right secondary somatosensory (S2) cortices. All subjects were genotyped for the DRD2 957C>T and COMT Val158Met polymorphisms. Pain, mood and quality of life were monitored throughout the study. The numerical rating scale pain scores were significantly lower after the S2 stimulation than after the S1/M1 (p = 0.0071) or the sham (p = 0.0187) stimulations. The Brief Pain Inventory scores were also lower 3 to 5 days after the S2 stimulation than at pre-treatment baseline (p = 0.0127 for the intensity of pain and p = 0.0074 for the interference of pain) or after the S1/M1 (p = 0.001 and p = 0.0001) and sham (p = 0.0491 and p = 0.0359) stimulations. No correlations were found between the genetic polymorphisms and the analgesic effect in the present small clinical sample. The authors concluded that the right S2 cortex is a promising new target for the treatment of neuropathic orofacial pain with high-frequency rTMS.
Jin and colleagues (2015) stated that the optimal parameters of rTMS (stimulation frequency and treatment sessions) for achieving long-term analgesic effects remain unknown. These investigators evaluated the optimal parameters of rTMS for neuropathic pain (NP), including the rTMS sessions needed for inducing acute as well as long-term analgesic effects. They performed a meta-analysis of the analgesic effect of high frequency rTMS (HF- rTMS) for neuropathic patients. This meta-analysis examined all studies involving the analgesic effectiveness of HF-rTMS for NP. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library were searched for clinical studies of rTMS treatment on NP published before December 31, 2014. Crude SMD with 95 % CI were calculated for pain intensity after different treatment sessions (from 1 to 10) and follow-up of 1 or 2 months after rTMS treatment using random effect models. A total of 25 studies (including 32 trials and 589 patients) were selected for the meta-analysis according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All 3 HF-rTMS treatments (5, 10, and 20 Hz) produced pain reduction, while there were no differences between them, with the maximal pain reduction found after 1 and 5 sessions of rTMS treatment. Further, this significant analgesic effect remained for 1 month after 5 sessions of rTMS treatment. The authors concluded that HF-rTMS stimulation on primary motor cortex is effective in relieving pain in NP patients. Although 5 sessions of rTMS treatment produced a maximal analgesic effect and may be maintained for at least 1e month, further large-scale and well-controlled trials are needed to determine if this enhanced effect is specific to certain types of NP such as post-stroke related central NP. There main drawbacks of this meta-analysis were: (i) the long-term analgesic effects of different HF-rTMS and low frequency (LF) rTMS sessions, including the single session of rTMS on different NP of varying origins have yet not been evaluated, and (ii) the full degree of pain relief is still unclear for many rTMS studies.
Mulla et al (2015) noted that central post-stroke pain is a chronic neuropathic disorder that follows a stroke. Current research on its management is limited, and no review has evaluated all therapies for central post-stroke pain. These investigators conducted a systematic review of RCTs to evaluate therapies for central post-stroke pain. They identified eligible trials, in any language, by systematic searches of AMED, CENTRAL, CINAHL, DARE, EMBASE, HealthSTAR, MEDLINE, and PsychINFO. Eligible trials (i) enrolled greater than or equal to 10 patients with central post-stroke pain; (ii) randomly assigned them to an active therapy or a control arm; and (iii) collected outcome data greater than or equal to 14 days after treatment. Pairs of reviewers, independently and in duplicate, screened titles and abstracts of identified citations, reviewed full texts of potentially eligible trials, and extracted information from eligible studies. These researchers used a modified Cochrane tool to evaluate risk of bias of eligible studies, and collected patient-important outcomes according to recommendations by the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials. They conducted, when possible, random effects meta-analyses, and evaluated the certainty in treatment effects using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) System. A total of 8 eligible English language RCTs (459 patients) tested anti-convulsants, an anti-depressant, an opioid antagonist, rTMS, and acupuncture. Results suggested that all therapies had little to no effect on pain and other patient-important outcomes. The certainty in the treatment estimates ranged from very low to low. The authors concluded that these findings were inconsistent with major clinical practice guidelines; the available evidence suggested no beneficial effects of any therapies that researchers have evaluated in RCTs.
Fibromyalgia
In a randomized, controlled pilot study, Short et al (2011) examined the effects of adjunctive left pre-frontal rTMS on patients with fibromyalgia pain. A total of 20 patients with fibromyalgia, defined by American College of Rheumatology criteria, and were randomized to receive 4,000 pulses at 10 Hz TMS (n = 10), or sham TMS (n = 10) treatment for 10 sessions over 2 weeks along with their standard medications, which were fixed and stable for at least 4 weeks before starting sessions. Subjects recorded daily pain, mood, and activity. Blinded raters assessed pain, mood, functional status, and tender points weekly with the Brief Pain Inventory, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. No statistically significant differences between groups were observed. Patients who received active TMS had a mean 29 % (statistically significant) reduction in pain symptoms in comparison to their baseline pain. Sham-TMS participants had a 4 % non-significant change in daily pain from their baseline pain. At 2 weeks after treatment, there was a significant improvement in depression symptoms in the active group compared to baseline. Pain reduction preceded anti-depressant effects. TMS was well-tolerated, with few side effects. The authors concluded that further studies that address study limitations (small sample size and short follow-up) are needed to determine whether daily prefrontal TMS may be an effective, durable, and clinically useful treatment for fibromyalgia symptoms.
Marlow et al (2013) systematically reviewed the literature to date applying rTMS or tDCS for patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Electronic bibliography databases screened included PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library. The keyword "fibromyalgia" was combined with ("transcranial" and "stimulation") or "TMS" or "tDCS" or "transcranial magnetic stimulation" or "transcranial direct current stimulation". Nine of 23 studies were included; brain stimulation sites comprised either the primary motor cortex (M1) or the dorso-lateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC). Five studies used rTMS (high-frequency-M1: 2, low-frequency-DLPFC: 2, high-frequency-DLPFC: 1), while 4 applied tDCS (anodal-M1: 1, anodal-M1/DLPFC: 3); 8 were double-blinded RCTS. Most (80 %) rTMS studies that measured pain reported significant decreases, while all (100 %) tDCS studies with pain measures reported significant decreases. Greater longevity of significant pain reductions was observed for excitatory M1 rTMS/tDCS. The authors concluded that studies involving excitatory rTMS/tDCS at M1 showed analogous pain reductions as well as considerably fewer side effects compared to FDA-approved FMS pharmaceuticals. The most commonly reported side effects were mild, including transient headaches and scalp discomforts at the stimulation site. Yearly use of rTMS/tDCS regimens appears costly ($11,740 to 14,507/year); however, analyses to appropriately weigh these costs against clinical and quality of life benefits for patients with FMS are lacking. Consequently, rTMS/tDCS should be considered when treating patients with FMS, particularly those who are unable to find adequate symptom relief with other therapies. Moreover, they stated that further work into optimal stimulation parameters and standardized outcome measures is needed to clarify associated efficacy and effectiveness.
In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, Boyer and colleagues (2014) examined the impact of rTMS on quality of life (QoL) of patients with fibromyalgia, and its possible brain metabolic substrate. A total of 38 patients were randomly assigned to receive high-frequency rTMS (n = 19) or sham stimulation (n = 19), applied to left primary motor cortex in 14 sessions over 10 weeks. Primary clinical outcomes were QoL changes at the end of week 11, measured using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Secondary clinical outcomes were mental and physical QoL component measured using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), but also pain, mood, and anxiety. Resting-state [(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET metabolism was assessed at baseline, week 2, and week 11. Whole-brain voxel-based analysis was performed to study between-group metabolic changes over time. At week 11, patients of the active rTMS group had greater QoL improvement in the FIQ (p = 0.032) and in the mental component of the SF-36 (p = 0.019) than the sham stimulation group. No significant impact was found for other clinical outcomes. Compared with the sham stimulation group, patients of the active rTMS group presented an increase in right medial temporal metabolism between baseline and week 11 (p < 0.001), which was correlated with FIQ and mental component SF-36 concomitant changes (r = -0.38, p = 0.043; r = 0.51, p = 0.009, respectively). Improvement of QoL involved mainly affective, emotional, and social dimensions. The authors concluded that the findings of this study showed that rTMS improves QoL of patients with fibromyalgia. This improvement is associated with a concomitant increase in right limbic metabolism, arguing for a neural substrate to the impact of rTMS on emotional dimensions involved in QoL. The major drawback of this study was its small sample size (n = 38). Furthermore, 9 patients did not complete the maintenance phase, reducing the sample size to 29. The authors stated that replication with a larger sample size is needed. They also noted that recent studies recommended that investigators test for the success of blinding, which was not done in this trial.
Winkelmann et al (2012) stated that the scheduled update to the German S3 guidelines on fibromyalgia syndrome by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies was planned starting in March 2011. The development of the guidelines was coordinated by the German Interdisciplinary Association for Pain Therapy, 9 scientific medical societies, as well as 2 patient self-help organizations. Eight working groups with a total of 50 members were evenly balanced in terms of gender, medical field, potential conflicts of interest and hierarchical position in the medical and scientific fields. Literature searches were performed using the Medline, PsycInfo, Scopus and Cochrane Library databases (until December 2010). The grading of the strength of the evidence followed the scheme of the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine. The formulation and grading of recommendations was accomplished using a multi-step, formal consensus process. The guidelines were reviewed by the boards of the participating scientific medical societies. The authors concluded that low-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise and strength training are strongly recommended; chiropractic, laser therapy, magnetic field therapy, massage, and transcranial current stimulation are not recommended.
Migraine
Funak and colleagues (2006) noted that in healthy volunteers (HV), 1 session of 1-Hz rTMS over the visual cortex induces dishabituation of visual evoked potentials (VEPs) on average for 30 mins, while in migraineurs 1 session of 10-Hz rTMS replaces the abnormal VEP potentiation by a normal habituation for 9 mins. These investigators examined if repeated rTMS sessions (1-Hz in 8 HV; 10-Hz in 8 migraineurs) on 5 consecutive days can modify VEPs for longer periods . In all 8 HV, the 1-Hz rTMS-induced dishabituation increased in duration over consecutive sessions and persisted between several hours (n = 4) and several weeks (n = 4) after the 5th session. In 6 of the 8 migraineurs, the normalization of VEP habituation by 10-Hz rTMS lasted longer after each daily stimulation, but did not exceed several hours after the last session, except in 2 patients, where it persisted for 2 days and 1 week. The authors concluded that daily rTMS can thus induce long-lasting changes in cortical excitability and VEP habituation pattern. However, whether this effect may be useful in preventing migraines remains to be determined.
Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2014) concluded that the evidence on the efficacy of TMS for the treatment of migraine is limited in quantity and for the prevention of migraine is limited in both quality and quantity. Evidence on its safety in the short and medium term is adequate but there is uncertainty about the safety of long-term or frequent use of TMS.
Parkinson Disease
Wagle-Shukla et al (2007) examined the effectiveness of rTMS for the treatment of patients (n = 6) with levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LID). They reported that a 2-week course of low-frequency rTMS reduced LID as indexed by both objective as well as subjective evaluations, with no change in parkinsonism as evaluated by Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale motor scores. The benefit was observed at 1 day after treatment, but not 2 weeks later. The drawbacks of this study were its small sample size and the open labeled design. Furthermore, benefits were not sustained. More research is needed to ascertain the clinical value, if any, of rTMS in the treatment of LID.
An assessment of rTMS by the Health Council of the Netherlands (2008) stated that the use of rTMS to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease has produced some encouraging results, and that this technology could be useful in identifying the best site for deep brain stimulation. The assessment stated that it is "still open to question" whether or not rTMS has the potential to reduce tremors.
In a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study, Benninger and colleagues (2011) examined the safety and effectiveness of intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) in the treatment of motor symptoms in Parkinson disease (PD); iTBS of the motor and DLPFC was investigated in 8 sessions over 2 weeks. Assessment of safety and clinical efficacy over a 1-month period included timed tests of gait and bradykinesia, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and additional clinical, neuropsychological, and neurophysiologic measures. These researchers investigated 26 patients with mild-to-moderate PD: 13 received iTBS and 13 sham stimulation. They found beneficial effects of iTBS on mood, but no improvement of gait, bradykinesia, UPDRS, and other measures. Electroencephalography/electromyography monitoring recorded no pathologic increase of cortical excitability or epileptic activity. Few reported discomfort or pain and 1 subject experienced tinnitus during real stimulation. The authors concluded that iTBS of the motor and pre-frontal cortices appears safe and improves mood, but failed to improve motor performance and functional status in PD.
There are 2 non-invasive methods to stimulate the brain: (i) TMS, and (ii) tDCS. Compared to the former approach, the latter does not directly lead to neuronal discharges; tDCS only modulates the excitability level of brain tissue. Furthermore, tDCS can be employed in a dual mode -- increasing excitability on one hemisphere and decreasing excitability on the other hemisphere. In a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study, Benninger and colleagues (2010) examined the effectiveness of tDCS in the treatment of PD. The effectiveness of anodal tDCS applied to the motor and pre-frontal cortices was investigated in 8 sessions over 2.5 weeks. Assessment over a 3-month period included timed tests of gait (primary outcome measure) and bradykinesia in the upper extremities, UPDRS, Serial Reaction Time Task, Beck Depression Inventory, Health Survey and self-assessment of mobility. A total of 25 PD patients were investigated, 13 receiving tDCS and 12 sham stimulation. Transcranial direct current stimulation improved gait by some measures for a short time and improved bradykinesia in both the on and off states for longer than 3 months. Changes in UPDRS, reaction time, physical and mental well being, and self-assessed mobility did not differ between the tDCS and sham interventions. The authors concluded that tDCS of the motor and pre-frontal cortices may have therapeutic potential in PD, but better stimulation parameters need to be established to make the technique clinically viable.
In a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, multi-center study with a parallel design, Shirota et al (2013) examined the effectiveness and stimulation frequency dependence of rTMS over the supplementary motor area (SMA) in PD. A weekly intervention was performed 8 times, and the effects were monitored up to 20 weeks. By central registration, participants were assigned to 1 of 3 arms of the study: low-frequency (1-Hz) rTMS, high-frequency (10-Hz) rTMS, and realistic sham stimulation. The primary end point was the score change of the UPDRS part III from the baseline. Several non-motor symptom scales such as the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, apathy score, and non-motor symptoms questionnaire were defined as secondary end points. Of the 106 patients enrolled, 36 were allocated to 1-Hz rTMS, 34 to 10-Hz rTMS, and 36 to realistic sham stimulation. Results showed 6.84-point improvement of the UPDRS part III in the 1-Hz group at the last visit of the 20th week. Sham stimulation and 10-Hz rTMS improved motor symptoms transiently, but their effects disappeared in the observation period. Changes in non-motor symptoms (NMS) were not clear in any group. No severe adverse event was reported. The authors concluded that 1-Hz rTMS over the SMA was effective for motor, but not non-motor, symptoms in PD. Moreover, they stated that rTMS is a promising add-on therapy for motor symptoms of PD, whereas establishment of an adequate protocol for NMS treatment using rTMS requires further study. They noted that the present findings warrant a confirmatory clinical trial for SMA rTMS on PD, undertaken on a larger scale.
Tinnitus
In a pilot study, Smith et al (2007) evaluated the effectiveness of rTMS and its effects on attentional deficits and cortical asymmetry in 4 patients with chronic tinnitus using objective and subjective measures and employing an optimization technique refined in our laboratory. Patients received 5 consecutive days of active, low-frequency rTMS or sham treatment (using a 45-degree coil-tilt method) before crossing over. Subjective tinnitus was assessed at baseline, after each treatment, and 4 weeks later. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans were obtained at baseline and immediately after active treatment to examine change in cortical asymmetry. Attentional vigilance was assessed at baseline and after each treatment using a simple reaction time test. All patients had a response to active (but not sham) rTMS, as indicated by their best tinnitus ratings; however, tinnitus returned in all patients by 4 weeks after active treatment. All patients had reduced cortical activity visualized on PET immediately after active rTMS. Mean reaction time improved (p < 0.05) after active but not sham rTMS. The authors concluded that rTMS is a promising treatment modality that can transiently diminish tinnitus in some individuals, but further trials are needed to determine the optimal techniques required to achieve a lasting response. This is in agreement with the findings of Plewnia et al (2007) who reported that the effects of rTMS for patients with chronic tinnitus are only moderate; inter-individual responsiveness varied; and the attenuation of tinnitus appeared to wear off within 2 weeks after the last stimulation session.
In a pilot study, Lee and colleagues (2008) examined if rTMS may suppress excessive spontaneous activity in the left superior temporal gyrus associated with tinnitus. A total of 8 patients with tinnitus received 5 consecutive days of rTMS (0.5 Hz, 20 mins) to the left temporo-parietal area. Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) measures before sessions 1 and 3 and after session 5 were used to evaluate effectiveness. Patient 1's THI decreased 40 to 34 to 26, patient 4 reported a subjective improvement, patient 8 withdrew, and the remaining patients reported no improvement. Adverse effects included temporary soreness, restlessness, and photophobia. The authors concluded that the parameters for this rTMS study are different from those that reported success with its use. W ith these current parameters, rTMS did not improve tinnitus. There were no permanent adverse outcomes.
Kleinjung et al (2009) investigated if administration of the dopamine precursor levodopa before low-frequency rTMS enhances its effectiveness in tinnitus treatment. A total of 16 patients with chronic tinnitus received 100 mg of levodopa before each session of low-frequency rTMS. Results were compared with a matched control group of 16 patients who received the same treatment, but without levodopa. Treatment outcome was assessed with a standardized tinnitus questionnaire. Both stimulation protocols resulted in a significant reduction of tinnitus scores after 10 days of stimulation; however, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. The authors concluded that these findings suggested that 100 mg of levodopa does not enhance the effect of rTMS in the treatment of tinnitus. Furthermore, they stated that "[e]ven if the available data clearly demonstrate the therapeutic potential of rTMS in tinnitus, the clinical effects are still relatively limited. A better understanding of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms will be crucial for optimizing stimulation protocols and further improving the efficacy of rTMS".
In a Cochrane review on rTMS for tinnitus, Meng et al (2011) concluded that there is very limited support for the use of low-frequency rTMS for the treatment of patients with tinnitus. When considering the impact of tinnitus on patients' quality of life, support is from a single study with a low-risk of bias based on a single outcome measure at a single point in time. When considering the impact on tinnitus loudness, this is based on the analysis of pooled data with a large confidence interval. Studies suggest that rTMS is a safe treatment for tinnitus in the short-term, however there were insufficient data to provide any support for the safety of this treatment in the long-term. The authors stated that more prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies with large sample sizes are needed to confirm the effectiveness of rTMS for tinnitus patients. Uniform, validated, tinnitus-specific questionnaires and measurement scales should be used in future studies.
In a systematic review, Peng et al (2012) evaluated the effectiveness of rTMS for the treatment of chronic tinnitus. Data Sources Relevant electronic databases and a reference list of articles published up to January 2012 were searched. Randomized controlled clinical trials of all types of rTMS treatment for patients with chronic tinnitus were included. A total of 5 trials (160 participants) were included in this review. Repetitive TMS showed benefits in the short-term, but the long-term effects are questionable. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and the visual analog scale (VAS) were the major assessment methods used. After active TMS stimulation, the reduction in the THI total score and VAS was significant compared with baseline at the first time-point assessed and in the short-term (2 weeks and 4 weeks). The longest follow-up time was 26 weeks after treatment, and the shortest follow-up time was 2 weeks. No severe side effects were reported from the use of rTMS. Differences in age, hearing level, duration of tinnitus of the included patients, and the condition of sham treatment may influence the effect. The authors concluded that rTMS could be a new therapeutic tool for the treatment of chronic tinnitus, and thus far they have not been able to demonstrate any substantial risk from rTMS treatment. However, they stated that the long-term effects of rTMS treatment for tinnitus are not clear and will require further study.
Plewnia et al (2012) examined if 4 weeks of bilateral rTMS to the temporal or temporo-parietal cortex is effective and safe in the treatment of chronic tinnitus. In this controlled 3-armed trial, 48 patients with chronic tinnitus were treated with 4 weeks (20 sessions) of bilateral continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS). They were randomized to stimulation above the temporal cortex, the temporo-parietal cortex, or as sham condition behind the mastoid. Patients were masked for the stimulation condition. Tinnitus severity was assessed after 2 and primarily 4 weeks of treatment and at 3 months follow-up with the tinnitus questionnaire and by a tinnitus change score. Audiologic safety was monitored by pure-tone and speech audiometry after 2 and 4 weeks of cTBS. Tinnitus severity was slightly reduced from baseline by a mean (SD) 2.6 (8.2) after sham, 2.4 (8.0) after temporo-parietal, 2.2 (8.3) after temporal treatment of 16 patients each, but there was no significant difference between sham treatments and temporal (CI: -5.4 to +6.7) or temporo-parietal cTBS (CI: -5.9 to +6.3) or real cTBS (CI: -7 to +5.1). Patients' global evaluation of tinnitus change after treatment did not indicate any effects. Audiologic measures were unaffected by treatment. The authors concluded that treating chronic tinnitus for 4 weeks by applying cTBS to the temporal or temporo-parietal cortex of both hemispheres appears to be safe but not more effective than sham stimulation. However, these results are not to be generalized to all forms of rTMS treatments for tinnitus.
In an editorial that accompanied the afore-mentioned study, Triggs and Hajioff (2012) stated that “At present, rTMS should be classified as “U” by the American Academy of Neurology classification of recommendation: the data are inadequate and conflicting, and the treatment is unproven”.
The American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery’s clinical practice guideline on “Tinnitus” (Tunkel et al, 2014) listed transcranial magnetic stimulation as one of the interventions were considered but no recommendation was made or were recommended against.
Anxiety Disorders
Prasko et al (2007) examined if rTMS would facilitate effect of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) in patients with panic disorder (n = 15). Patients suffering from panic disorder resistant to SRI therapy were randomly assigned to either active or to sham rTMS. The objective of the study was to compare the 2- and 4-weeks effectiveness of the 10 sessions low-frequency rTMS with sham rTMS add on SRI therapy. These researchers used 1-Hz, 30-min rTMS, 110 % of motor threshold administered over the right dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The same time schedule was used for sham administration. Psychopathology was evaluated by means of the rating scales CGI, HAMA, PDSS and BAI before the treatment, immediately after the experimental treatment, and 2 weeks after the experimental treatment by an independent reviewer. Both groups improved during the study period but the treatment effect did not differ between groups in any of the instruments. The authors concluded that low-frequency rTMS administered over the right dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex after 10 sessions did not differ from sham rTMS add on SRIs in patients with panic disorder.
Pigot and colleagues (2008) noted that rTMS has also been investigated for the treatment of some anxiety disorders (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder). While anecdotal reports and open studies have suggested a therapeutic role for rTMS in anxiety disorders, controlled studies, which have varied greatly in terms of rTMS administration, have not shown it to be superior to placebo. Furthermore, reports in animal models of anxiety have not been consistent. Thus, there is currently no convincing evidence for the clinical role of rTMS in the treatment of anxiety disorders. The authors stated that more research is needed, drawing on advances in the understanding of pathological neurocircuitry in anxiety disorders and the mechanisms of action by which rTMS may alter that neurocircuitry. In a review on OCD, Abramowitz and colleagues (2009) stated that although rTMS has not been extensively assessed in this disorder, available data do not support its therapeutic efficacy for this condition.
Berlim et al (2014) stated that rTMS applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has yielded promising results as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, to-date, no quantitative review of its clinical utility has been published. These investigators searched for randomized and sham-controlled trials from 1995 to March 2013 using MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, and SCOPUS. They then performed an exploratory random effects meta-analysis. Studies on rTMS applied to the right DLPFC included 64 adults with PTSD. The pooled Hedges g effect size for pre- and post-changes in clinician-rated and self-reported PTSD symptoms were, respectively, 1.65 (p < 0.001) and 1.91 (p < 0.001), indicating significant and large-sized differences in outcome favoring active rTMS. Also, there were significant pre- and post-decreases with active rTMS in overall anxiety (Hedges g = 1.24; p = 0.02) and depressive (Hedges g = 0.85; p < 0.001) symptoms. Drop-out rates at study end did not differ between active and sham rTMS groups. Regarding rTMS applied to the left DLPFC, there was only 1 study published to-date (using a high frequency protocol), and its results showed that active rTMS seems to be superior overall to sham rTMS. The authors concluded that this exploratory meta-analysis showed that active rTMS applied to the DLPFC seems to be effective and acceptable for treating PTSD. However, they stated that the small number of subjects included in the analyses limits the generalizability of these findings. They stated that future studies should include larger samples and deliver optimized stimulation parameters.
An assessment by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH, 2014) concluded that, for PTSD, there is early evidence that TMS may improve clinical outcomes. For generalized anxiety disorder, no evidence was found.
Spasticity
Centonze and associates (2007) examined if investigate rTMS can modify spasticity. These researchers used high-frequency (5 Hz) and low-frequency (1 Hz) rTMS protocols in 19 remitting patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and lower limb spasticity. A single session of 1 Hz rTMS over the leg primary motor cortex increased H/M amplitude ratio of the soleus H reflex, a reliable neurophysiologic measure of stretch reflex. Five hertz rTMS decreased H/M amplitude ratio of the soleus H reflex and increased cortico-spinal excitability. Single sessions did not induce any effect on spasticity. A significant improvement of lower limb spasticity was observed when rTMS applications were repeated during a 2-week period. Clinical improvement was long-lasting (at least 7 days after the end of treatment) when patients underwent 5 Hz rTMS treatment during a 2-week protocol. No effect was obtained after a 2-week sham stimulation. The authors concluded that rTMS may improve spasticity in multiple sclerosis. The findings of this study need to be validated by prospective RCTs with larger patient numbers.
Bulemia Nervosa
In a single-center, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study, Walpoth et al (2008) examined the effects of rTMS in bulimia nervosa (BN). A total of 14 women meeting DSM-IV criteria for BN were included in the study. In order to exclude patients highly responsive to placebo, all patients were first submitted to a 1-week sham treatment. Randomization was followed by 3 weeks of active treatment or sham stimulation. The main outcome was the change in binges and purges. Secondary outcome variables were the decrease of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) over time. The average number of binges per day declined significantly between baseline and the end of treatment in the 2 groups. There was no significant difference between sham and active stimulation in terms of purge behavior, BDI, HDRS and YBOCS over time. The authors concluded that these preliminary results indicated that rTMS in the treatment of BN does not exert additional benefit over placebo.
Schizophrenia
Freitas and colleagues (2009) performed meta-analyses of all prospective studies of the therapeutic application of rTMS in refractory schizophrenia assessing the effects of high-frequency rTMS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to treat negative symptoms, and low-frequency rTMS to the left temporo-parietal cortex (TPC) to treat auditory hallucinations (AH) and overall positive symptoms. When analyzing controlled (active arms) and uncontrolled studies together, the effect sizes showed significant and moderate effects of rTMS on negative and positive symptoms (based on PANSS-N or SANS, and PANSS-P or SAPS, respectively). However, the analysis for the sham-controlled studies revealed a small non-significant effect size for negative (0.27, p = 0.417) and for positive symptoms (0.17, p = 0.129). When specifically analyzing AH (based on AHRS, HCS or SAH), the effect size for the sham-controlled studies was large and significant (1.04; p = 0.002). The authors concluded that these meta-analyses support the need for further controlled, larger trials to assess the clinical efficacy of rTMS on negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia, while suggesting the need for exploration for alternative stimulation protocols.
An assessment by the Health Council of the Netherlands (2008) stated that studies of rTMS for hallucinations in schizophrenic patients are both fewer in number and more restricted in scope than in the case of depression.
Slotema et al (2012) provided an update of the literature on the efficacy of rTMS for auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) and investigated the effect of rTMS 1 month after the end of treatment. A literature search was performed from 1966 through August 2012 using Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Embase Psychiatry, Ovid Medline, PsycINFO and PubMed. Randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled studies with severity of AVH or severity of psychosis as an outcome measure were included. Data were obtained from 17 randomized studies of rTMS for AVH; 5 studies fulfilled the criteria for the meta-analysis on the effect of rTMS 1 month after the end of treatment. Standardized mean weighted effect sizes of rTMS versus sham were computed on pre- and post-treatment comparisons. The mean weighted effect size of rTMS directed at the left temporo-parietal area was 0.44 (95 % CI: 0.19 to 0.68). A separate meta-analysis including studies directing rTMS at other brain regions revealed a mean weighted effect size of 0.33 (95 % CI: 0.17 to 0.50) in favor of real TMS. The effect of rTMS was no longer significant at 1 month of follow-up (mean weighted effect size = 0.40, 95 % CI: -0.23 to 0.102). Side effects were mild and the number of dropouts in the real TMS group was not significantly higher than in the sham group. The authors concluded that with the inclusion of studies with larger patient samples, the mean weighted effect size of rTMS directed at the left temporo-parietal area for AVH has decreased, although the effect is still significant. The duration of the effect of rTMS may be less than 1 month. Moreover, they stated that more research is needed in order to optimize parameters and further evaluate the clinical relevance of this intervention.
Stroke
Khedr et al (2009a) examined the therapeutic effect of rTMS on post-stroke dysphagia. A total of 26 patients with post-stroke dysphagia due to mono-hemispheric stroke were randomly allocated to receive real (n = 14) or sham (n = 12) rTMS of the affected motor cortex. Each patient received a total of 300 rTMS pulses at an intensity of 120 % hand motor threshold for 5 consecutive days. Clinical ratings of dysphagia and motor disability were assessed before and immediately after the last session and then again after 1 and 2 months. The amplitude of the motor-evoked potential (MEP) evoked by single-pulse TMS was also assessed before and at 1 month in 16 of the patients. There were no significant differences between patients who received real rTMS and the sham group in age, hand grip strength, Barthel Index or degree of dysphagia at the baseline assessment. Real rTMS led to a significantly greater improvement compared with sham in dysphagia and motor disability that was maintained over 2 months of follow-up. This was accompanied by a significant increase in the amplitude of the esophageal MEP evoked from either the stroke or non-stroke hemisphere. The authors concluded that rTMS may be a useful adjunct to conventional therapy for dysphagia after stroke. These findings need to be validated by well-designed studies.
Regarding the use of rTMS in stroke, the Health Council of the Netherlands (2008) found that few articles have been published on this topic, and that this limited amount of published data reveals only short-term, marginal improvements.
Avenanti et al (2012) examined the long-term behavioral and neurophysiologic effects of combined time-locked rTMS and physical therapy (PT) intervention in chronic stroke patients with mild motor disabilities. A total of 30 patients were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, single-center clinical trial. Patients received 10 daily sessions of 1 Hz rTMS over the intact motor cortex. In different groups, stimulation was either real (rTMS(R)) or sham (rTMS(S)) and was administered either immediately before or after PT. Outcome measures included dexterity, force, inter-hemispheric inhibition, and corticospinal excitability and were assessed for 3 months after the end of treatment. Treatment induced cumulative rebalance of excitability in the 2 hemispheres and a reduction of inter-hemispheric inhibition in the rTMS(R) groups. Use-dependent improvements were detected in all groups. Improvements in trained abilities were small and transitory in rTMS(S) patients. Greater behavioral and neurophysiologic outcomes were found after rTMS(R), with the group receiving rTMS(R) before PT (rTMS(R)-PT) showing robust and stable improvements and the other group (PT-rTMS(R)) showing a slight improvement decline over time. The authors concluded that these findings indicated that priming PT with inhibitory rTMS is optimal to boost use-dependent plasticity and rebalance motor excitability and suggest that time-locked rTMS is a valid and promising approach for chronic stroke patients with mild motor impairment. Furthermore, the authors stated that "[f]urther studies are needed to evaluate the effect of intervention order of time-locked rTMS in the same patients. Moreover, future studies should assess whether the present findings can be extended to stroke patients with moderate to severe motor impairments".
Corti et al (2012) stated that conceptually rTMS could be used therapeutically to restore the balance of inter-hemispheric inhibition after stroke. Repetitive TMS has been used in 2 ways: (i) low-frequency stimulation (less than or equal to 1 Hz) to the motor cortex of the unaffected hemisphere to reduce the excitability of the contralesional hemisphere or (ii) high-frequency stimulation (greater than 1 Hz) to the motor cortex of the affected hemisphere (AH) to increase excitability of the ipsilesional hemisphere. These investigators reviewed evidence regarding the safety and effectiveness of high-frequency rTMS to the motor cortex of the AH. The studies included investigated the concurrent effects of rTMS on the excitability of corticospinal pathways and upper-limb motor function in adults after stroke. The findings of this review suggested that rTMS applied to the AH is a safe technique and could be considered an effective approach for modulating brain function and contributing to motor recovery after stroke. The authors concluded that although the studies included in this review provided important information, double-blinded, sham-controlled phase II and phase III clinical trials with larger sample sizes are needed to validate this novel therapeutic approach.
In a comparative case study, Plow et al (2011) attempted to standardize a protocol for promoting visual rehabilitative outcomes in post-stroke hemianopia by combining occipital cortical tDCS with vision restoration therapy (VRT). Two patients, both with right hemianopia after occipital stroke damage were included in this study. Both patients underwent an identical VRT protocol that lasted 3 months (30 mins, twice-daily, 3 days/week). In patient 1, anodal tDCS was delivered to the occipital cortex during VRT training, whereas in patient 2 sham tDCS with VRT was performed. The primary outcome, visual field border, was defined objectively by using high-resolution perimetry. Secondary outcomes included subjective characterization of visual deficit and functional surveys that assessed performance on activities of daily living. For patient 1, the neural correlates of visual recovery were also investigated, by using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Delivery of combined tDCS with VRT was feasible and safe. High-resolution perimetry revealed a greater shift in visual field border for patient 1 versus patient 2. Patient 1 also showed greater recovery of function in activities of daily living. Contrary to the expectation, patient 2 perceived greater subjective improvement in visual field despite objective high-resolution perimetry results that indicated otherwise. In patient 1, visual function recovery was associated with functional magnetic resonance imaging activity in surviving peri-lesional and bilateral higher-order visual areas. The authors concluded that these findings of preliminary case comparisons suggested that occipital cortical tDCS may enhance recovery of visual function associated with concurrent VRT through visual cortical re-organization. They stated that future studies may benefit from incorporating protocol refinements such as those described here, which include global capture of function, control for potential confounds, and investigation of underlying neural substrates of recovery.
Szaflarsk et al (2011) stated that aphasia affects 1/3 of stroke patients with improvements noted only in some of them. The goal of this exploratory study was to provide preliminary evidence regarding safety and effectiveness of fMRI-guided excitatory rTMS applied to the residual left-hemispheric Broca's area for chronic aphasia treatment. These researchers enrolled 8 patients with moderate or severe aphasia of more than 1 year after left middle cerebral artery stroke. Linguistic battery was administered pre-/post-rTMS; a semantic decision/tone decision (SDTD) fMRI task was used to localize left-hemispheric Broca's area. Repetitive TMS protocol consisted of 10 daily treatments of 200 seconds each using an excitatory stimulation protocol called intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS). Coil placement was targeted individually to the left Broca's. A total of 6 patients showed significant pre-/post-rTMS improvements in semantic fluency (p = 0.028); they were able to generate more appropriate words when prompted with a semantic category. Pre-/post-rTMS fMRI maps showed increases in left fronto-temporo-parietal language networks with a significant left-hemispheric shift in the left frontal (p = 0.025), left temporo-parietal (p = 0.038) regions and global language LI (p = 0.018). Patients tended to report subjective improvement on Communicative Activities Log (mini-CAL; p = 0.075). None of the subjects reported ill effects of rTMS. The authors concluded that fMRI-guided, excitatory rTMS applied to the affected Broca's area improved language skills in patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia; these improvements correlated with increased language lateralization to the left hemisphere. They stated that this rTMS protocol appears to be safe and should be further tested in blinded studies assessing its short- and long-term safety/effectiveness for post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation.
Kakuda et al (2012a) stated that both low-frequency rTMS (LF-rTMS) and intensive occupational therapy (OT) have been recently reported to be clinically beneficial for post-stroke patients with upper limb hemiparesis. Based on these reports, these researchers developed an inpatient combination protocol of these 2 modalities for the treatment of such patients. In a pilot study, these investigators examined the safety and feasibility of the protocol in a large number of patients from different institutions, and identified predictors of the clinical response to the treatment. The study subjects were 204 post-stroke patients with upper limb hemiparesis (mean age at admission of 58.5 +/- 13.4 years, mean time after stroke of 5.0 +/- 4.5 years, +/- SD) from 5 institutions in Japan. During 15-day hospitalization, each patient received 22 treatment sessions of 20-min LF-rTMS and 120-min intensive OT daily. Low-frequency rTMS of 1 Hz was applied to the contralesional hemisphere over the primary motor area. The intensive OT, consisting of 60-min 1-on-1 training and 60-min self-exercise, was provided after the application of LF-rTMS. Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) were performed serially. The physiatrists and occupational therapists involved in this study received training prior to the study to standardize the therapeutic protocol. All patients completed the protocol without any adverse effects. The FMA score increased and WMFT log performance time decreased significantly at discharge, relative to the respective values at admission (change in FMA score: median at admission, 47 points; median at discharge, 51 points; p < 0.001. change in WMFT log performance time: median at admission, 3.23; median at discharge, 2.51; p < 0.001). These changes were persistently seen up to 4 weeks after discharge in 79 patients. Linear regression analysis found no significant relationship between baseline parameters and indexes of improvement in motor function. The authors concluded that the 15-day inpatient rTMS plus OT protocol is a safe, feasible, and clinically useful neuro-rehabilitative intervention for post-stroke patients with upper limb hemiparesis. The response to the treatment was not influenced by age or time after stroke onset. They stated that the effectiveness of the intervention should be confirmed in a randomized controlled study including a control group.
Kakuda et al (2012b) noted that for spastic upper limb hemiparesis after stroke, they developed triple-element protocol of botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA) injection, LF-rTMS, and intensive OT. These researchers investigated the safety and feasibility of the protocol. A total of 14 post-stroke patients with spastic upper limb hemiparesis (mean age of 54.9 +/- 9.2 years, time after onset: 87.1 +/- 48.2 months, +/- SD) were included in this study. In all patients, BoNTA was injected into spastic muscles of the affected upper limb (maximum total dose: 240 units). Four weeks later, they were hospitalized to receive 22 sessions of 20-min LF-rTMS and 120-min intensive OT daily over 15 days. Motor function of the affected upper limb was evaluated mainly using FMA, WMFT, motor activity log (MAL), and the severity of spasticity was measured with modified Ashworth scale (MAS) at BoNTA injection, discharge and 4 weeks post-discharge. All patients completed the protocol without any adverse effects. The FMA score and MAL scores, but not WMFT performance time, improved significantly at discharge. The MAS score of all examined muscles decreased significantly between BoNTA and discharge. The beneficial effect of the protocol on motor function and spasticity was almost maintained until 4 weeks after discharge. The authors concluded that the protocol is safe and feasible, although further larger studies are needed to confirm its effectiveness.
Ayache et al (2012) stated that non-invasive cortical stimulation (NICS) has been used during the acute, post-acute and chronic post-stroke phases to improve motor recovery in stroke patients having upper- and/or lower-limb paresis. These investigators reviewed the rationale for using the different NICS modalities to promote motor stroke rehabilitation. A number of open and placebo-controlled trials have investigated the clinical effect of rTMS or tDCS of the primary motor cortex in patients with motor stroke. These studies attempted to improve motor performance by increasing cortical excitability in the stroke-affected hemisphere (via HF- rTMS or anodal tDCS) or by decreasing cortical excitability in the contralateral hemisphere (via LF- rTMS or cathodal tDCS). The goal of these studies was to reduce the inhibition exerted by the unaffected hemisphere on the affected hemisphere and to then restore a normal balance of inter-hemispheric inhibition. All these NICS techniques administered alone or in combination with various methods of neuro-rehabilitation were found to be safe and equally effective at the short-term on various aspects of post-stroke motor abilities. However, they stated that the long-term effect of NICS on motor stroke needs to be further evaluated before considering the use of such a technique in the daily routine management of stroke.
Corti et al (2012) stated that rTMS is known to modulate cortical excitability and has thus been suggested to be a therapeutic approach for improving the efficacy of rehabilitation for motor recovery after stroke. In addition to producing effects on cortical excitability, stroke may affect the balance of trans-callosal inhibitory pathways between motor primary areas in both hemispheres: the affected hemisphere (AH) may be disrupted not only by the infarct itself but also by the resulting asymmetric inhibition from the unaffected hemisphere, further reducing the excitability of the AH. Conceptually, therefore, rTMS could be used therapeutically to restore the balance of inter-hemispheric inhibition after stroke. Repetitive TMS has been used in 2 ways: LF stimulation (less than or equal to 1 Hz) to the motor cortex of the unaffected hemisphere to reduce the excitability of the contralesional hemisphere or HF stimulation (greater than 1 Hz) to the motor cortex of the AH to increase excitability of the ipsilesional hemisphere. These researchers collated evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of HF- rTMS to the motor cortex of the AH. The studies included investigated the concurrent effects of rTMS on the excitability of cortico-spinal pathways and upper-limb motor function in adults after stroke. The findings of this review suggested that rTMS applied to the AH is a safe technique and could be considered an effective approach for modulating brain function and contributing to motor recovery after stroke. The authors concluded that although the studies included in this review provided important information, double-blinded, sham-controlled phase II and phase III clinical trials with larger sample sizes are needed to validate this novel therapeutic approach.
In an evidence-based review, Wong and Tsang (2013) reported an updated evaluation and critical appraisal of available studies that investigated the effectiveness of rTMS on post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation. A literature search was performed to identify studies that investigated the therapeutic effects of rTMS on post-stroke aphasia in various electronic databases, from their inception to 2011. The selected studies were classified according to the types of participants, types of interventions, outcome measures, and results. The methodological qualities of the selected studies were evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. The current review was based on 12 studies, including open-label designs and controlled trials, which showed a positive effect of rTMS, with or without conventional rehabilitation, on post-stroke aphasia compared with sham or conventional rehabilitation alone. About 41 % of the selected studies reported the long-term effect of rTMS on aphasia recovery. No adverse effect was reported. The authors concluded that the current review revealed that rTMS with or without conventional rehabilitation has positive effects on post-stroke aphasia. The studies also contributed to the plausible mechanisms of stroke recovery. However, they stated that with the concerns over the methodology of the selected studies in this review, a larger-scale, multi-center, well-designed RCT involving different phases and types of aphasia needs to be carried out before recommending rTMS as a complementary treatment for post-stroke aphasia.
In a meta-analysis, Hsu et al (2012) investigated the effects of rTMS on upper limb motor function in patients with stroke. These investigators searched for RCTs published between January 1990 and October 2011 in PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, and CINAHL using the following key words: stroke, cerebrovascular accident, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. The mean effect size and a 95 % CI were estimated for the motor outcome and motor threshold using fixed and random effect models. Eighteen of the 34 candidate articles were included in this analysis. The selected studies involved a total of 392 patients. A significant effect size of 0.55 was found for motor outcome (95 % CI: 0.37 to 0.72). Further sub-group analyses demonstrated more prominent effects for subcortical stroke (mean effect size, 0.73; 95 % CI: 0.44 to 1.02) or studies applying low-frequency rTMS (mean effect size, 0.69; 95 % CI: 0.42 to 0.95). Only 4 patients of the 18 articles included in this analysis reported adverse effects from rTMS. The authors concluded that rTMS has a positive effect on motor recovery in patients with stroke, especially for those with subcortical stroke. Low-frequency rTMS over the unaffected hemisphere may be more beneficial than high-frequency rTMS over the affected hemisphere. Recent limited data suggested that intermittent theta-burst stimulation over the affected hemisphere might be a useful intervention. They stated that further well-designed studies in a larger population are needed to better elucidate the differential roles of various rTMS protocols in stroke treatment.
In a Cochrane review, Hao and colleagues (2013) evaluated the safety and effectiveness of rTMS for improving function in people with stroke. These investigators searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (April 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 4), the Chinese Stroke Trials Register (April 2012), MEDLINE (1950 to May 2012), EMBASE (1980 to May 2012), Science Citation Index (1981 to April 2012), Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science (1990 to April 2012), CINAHL (1982 to May 2012), AMED (1985 to May 2012), PEDro (April 2012), REHABDATA (April 2012) and CIRRIE Database of International Rehabilitation Research (April 2012). In addition, they searched 5 Chinese databases, ongoing trials registers and relevant reference lists. These researchers included RCTs comparing rTMS therapy with sham therapy or no therapy. They excluded trials that reported only laboratory parameters. Two review authors independently selected trials, assessed trial quality and extracted the data. They resolved disagreements by discussion. A total of 19 trials involving a total of 588 participants were included in this review. Two heterogenous trials with a total of 183 subjects showed that rTMS treatment was not associated with a significant increase in the Barthel Index score (mean difference (MD) 15.92, 95 % CI: -2.11 to 33.95). Four trials with a total of 73 participants were not found to have a statistically significant effect on motor function (standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.51, 95 % CI: -0.99 to 2.01). Subgroup analyses of different stimulation frequencies or duration of illness also showed no significant difference. Few mild adverse events were observed in the rTMS groups, with the most common events being transient or mild headaches (2.4 %, 8/327) and local discomfort at the site of the stimulation. The authors concluded that current evidence does not support the routine use of rTMS for the treatment of stroke. Moreover, they stated that further trials with larger sample sizes are needed to determine a suitable rTMS protocol and the long-term functional outcome.
In a Cochrane review, Elsner et al (2013a) examined the effects for improving aphasia in patients after stroke. These investigators searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (April 2013), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library, March 2012), MEDLINE (1948 to March 2012), EMBASE (1980 to March 2012), CINAHL (1982 to March 2012), AMED (1985 to April 2012), Science Citation Index (1899 to April 2012) and 7 additional databases. They also searched trials registers and reference lists, hand-searched conference proceedings and contacted authors and equipment manufacturers. These researchers included only RCTs and randomized controlled cross-over trials (from which they only analyzed the first period as a parallel group design) comparing tDCS versus control in adults with aphasia due to stroke. Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted the data. If necessary, they contacted study authors for additional information. These investigators collected information on drop-outs and adverse events from the trials. They included 5 trials involving 54 participants. None of the included studies used any formal outcome measure for measuring functional communication, which is measuring aphasia in a real-life communicative setting. All 5 trials measured correct picture naming as a surrogate for aphasia. There was no evidence that tDCS enhanced speech and language therapy outcomes. No adverse events were reported and the proportion of drop-outs was comparable between groups. The authors concluded that currently there is no evidence of the effectiveness of tDCS (anodal tDCS, cathodal tDCS) versus control (sham tDCS). Moreover, they stated that it appears that cathodal tDCS over the non-lesioned hemisphere might be the most promising approach.
In a Cochrane review, Elsner et al (2013b) examined the effects of tDCS on generic activities of daily living (ADLs) and motor function in people with stroke. These investigators searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (March 2013), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library, May 2013), MEDLINE (1948 to May 2013), EMBASE (1980 to May 2013), CINAHL (1982 to May 2013), AMED (1985 to May 2013), Science Citation Index (1899 to May 2013) and 4 additional databases. In an effort to identify further published, unpublished and ongoing trials, these investigators searched trials registers and reference lists, hand-searched conference proceedings and contacted authors and equipment manufacturers. They included only RCTs and randomized controlled cross-over trials (from which they analyzed only the first period as a parallel-group design) that compared tDCS versus control in adults with stroke for improving ADL performance and function. Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. If necessary, these researchers contacted study authors to ask for additional information. They collected information on drop-outs and adverse events from the trial reports. These researchers included 15 studies involving a total of 455 participants. Analysis of 6 studies involving 326 participants regarding the primary outcome, ADL, showed no evidence of an effect in favor of tDCS at the end of the intervention phase (mean difference (MD) 5.31 Barthel Index points; 95 % CI: -0.52 to 11.14; inverse variance method with random-effects model), whereas at follow-up (MD 11.13 Barthel Index points; 95 % CI: 2.89 to 19.37; inverse variance method with random-effects model), these investigators found evidence of an effect. However, the CIs were wide and the effect was not sustained when only studies with low-risk of bias were included. For the secondary outcome, upper limb function, these investigators analyzed 8 trials with 358 participants, which showed evidence of an effect in favor of tDCS at the end of the intervention phase (MD 3.45 Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Score points (UE-FM points); 95 % CI: 1.24 to 5.67; inverse variance method with random-effects model) but not at the end of follow-up 3 months after the intervention (MD 9.23 UE-FM points; 95 % CI: -13.47 to 31.94; inverse variance method with random-effects model). These results were sensitive to inclusion of studies at high-risk of bias. Adverse events were reported and the proportions of drop-outs and adverse events were comparable between groups (risk difference (RD) 0.00; 95 % CI: -0.02 to 0.03; Mantel-Haenszel method with random-effects model). The authors concluded that evidence of very low to low quality is available on the effectiveness of tDCS (anodal/cathodal/dual) versus control (sham/any other intervention) for improving ADL performance and function after stroke. Moreover, they stated that future research should investigate the effects of tDCS on lower limb function and should address methodological issues by routinely reporting data on adverse events and drop-outs and allocation concealment, and by performing intention-to-treat analyses.
In a RCT with a 4-week follow-up, Barros Galvao et al (2014) examined the effectiveness of inhibitory rTMS for decreasing upper-limb muscle tone after chronic stroke. Patients with stroke (n = 20) with post-stroke upper limb spasticity were enrolled in this study. The experimental group received rTMS to the primary motor cortex of the unaffected side (1,500 pulses; 1Hz; 90 % of resting motor threshold for the first dorsal interosseous muscle) in 10 sessions, 3 days/week, and physical therapy (PT). The control group received sham stimulation and PT. Main outcome measures were MAS, upper-extremity Fugl-Meyer assessment, FIM, range of motion, and stroke-specific quality-of-life scale. All outcomes were measured at baseline, after treatment (post-intervention), and at a 4-week follow-up. A clinically important difference was defined as a reduction of greater than or equal to 1 in the MAS score. Friedman test revealed that PT is efficient for significantly reducing the upper limb spasticity of patients only when it is associated with rTMS. In the experimental group, 90 % of the patients at post-intervention and 55.5 % at follow-up showed a decrease of greater than or equal to 1 in the MAS score, representing clinically important differences. In the control group, 30 % of the patients at post-intervention and 22.2 % at follow-up experienced clinically meaningful changes. There were no differences between the groups at any time for any of the other outcome measures, indicating that both groups demonstrated similar behaviors over time for all variables. The authors concluded that rTMS associated with PT can be beneficial in reducing post-stroke spasticity. Moreover, they stated that more studies are needed to clarify the clinical changes underlying the reduction in spasticity induced by non-invasive brain stimulations.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
In a review on the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Elman and McCluskey (2010) stated that rTMS remains a largely experimental technique and is not used routinely for clinical diagnosis. In a Cochrane review on rTMS for the treatment of ALS or motor neuron disease, Guo et al (2011) concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about the safety and effectiveness of rTMS in the treatment of ALS. They noted that further studies may be helpful if their potential benefit is weighed against the impact of participation in a RCT on people with ALS.
Autism
In a review on autism, Levy et al (2009) stated that biologically based treatments include anti-infectives, chelation medications, gastro-intestinal medications, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, off-label drugs (e.g., secretin), and intravenous immunoglobulins. Non-biologically based treatments include auditory integration training, chiropractic therapy, cranio-sacral manipulation, facilitated communication, interactive metronome, and transcranial stimulation. However, few studies have addressed the safety and effectiveness of most of these treatments.
Blepharospasm
In a prospective, randomized, sham-controlled, observer-blinded study, Kranz et al (2010) examined the effects of rTMS on benign essential blepharospasm (BEB). In 12 patients with BEB, these investigators evaluated the effects of a 15-min session of low-frequency (0.2 Hz) rTMS over the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) with stimulation intensities at 100 % active motor threshold with 3 stimulation coils: (i) a conventional circular coil (C-coil), (ii) a sham coil (S-coil), and (iii) a Hesed coil (H-coil, which allows stimulation of deeper brain regions. Primary outcome was the clinical effects on BEB (blink rate, number of spasms rated by a blinded physician and patient rating before, immediately after, and 1 hour after stimulation); secondary outcome was the blink reflex recovery curve. Subjective stimulation comfort was similar for each coil with no stimulation-associated adverse events. Stimulation with the H- and C-coils resulted in a significant improvement in all 3 outcome measures and was still detectable in physician rating and patient rating 1 hr after stimulation. S-coil stimulation had no effects. The active motor threshold was significantly lower for the H-coil compared to the other 2 coils. The authors concluded that rTMS could be used as a therapeutic tool in BEB. Moreover, they noted that compared to the well-established and long-lasting effects of botulinum toxin and in view of the time-consuming nature of rTMS and its short-lasting effects, it should not be used in routine clinical setting at this stage. Furthermore, they stated that further studies will be necessary to show whether repeated stimulation applications result in lasting clinical effects.
Dementia
Freitas et al (2011) performed a systematic search of all studies using non-invasive stimulation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and reviewed all 29 identified articles; 24 focused on measures of motor cortical reactivity and (local) plasticity and functional connectivity, with 8 of these studies assessing also effects of pharmacological agents, and 5 studies focused on the enhancement of cognitive function in AD. Short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) and resting motor threshold are significantly reduced in AD patients as compared to healthy elders. Results on other measures of cortical reactivity, (e.g., intra-cortical inhibition [ICI]), are more divergent. Acetylcholine-esterase inhibitors and dopaminergic drugs may increase SAI and ICI in AD. Motor cortical plasticity and connectivity are impaired in AD. Transcranial magnetic stimulation/transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can induce acute and short-duration beneficial effects on cognitive function, but the therapeutic clinical significance in AD is unclear. Safety of TMS/tDCS is supported by studies to date. The authors concluded that TMS/tDCS appears safe in AD, but longer-term risks have been insufficiently considered. They stated that TMS holds promise as a physiologic biomarker in AD to identify therapeutic targets and monitor pharmacologic effects. In addition, TMS/tDCS may have therapeutic utility in AD, though the evidence is still very preliminary and cautious interpretation is warranted.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is the application of an electrical current through electrodes attached to the skin, and is most commonly used for pain relief. It has also been employed for the treatment of a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as alcohol and drug dependence, depression, as well as headaches. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is rarely used for the treatment of dementia. The use of TENS for these indications entails peripherally applied TENS as well as TENS applied to the head, also known as cranial electrical stimulation (CES). Although several studies suggested that TENS may produce short-lived improvements in some neurological or psychiatric conditions, the limited data from these studies did not allow definite conclusions on the possible benefits of this intervention.
Rose and colleagues (2008) noted that family caregivers of persons with dementia and their care recipients frequently experience sleep and mood disturbances throughout their caregiving and disease trajectories. Because conventional pharmacological treatments of sleep and mood disturbances pose numerous risks and adverse effects to elderly persons, the investigation of other interventions is warranted. As older adults use complementary and alternative medicine interventions for the relief of sleep and mood disturbances, CES may be a viable intervention. These investigators examined the effects of CES on sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and caregiving appraisal in spousal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (Rose et al, 2009). A total fo 38 subjects were randomly assigned to receive active CES or sham CES for 4 weeks. Both intervention groups reported improvement in study measures from baseline scores. A trend toward statistically significant differences in daily sleep disturbances was found between the groups. No differences in depressive symptoms and caregiving appraisal were found between the groups. The authors concluded that these findings did not fully support the efficacy of the short-term use of active CES versus sham CES to improve sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, or caregiving appraisal.
Guse et al (2010) stated that TMS was introduced as a non-invasive tool for the investigation of the motor cortex. The repetitive application (rTMS), causing longer lasting effects, was used to study the influence on a variety of cerebral functions. High-frequency (greater than 1 Hz) rTMS is known to depolarize neurons under the stimulating coil and to indirectly affect areas being connected and related to emotion and behavior. Researchers found selective cognitive improvement after high-frequency (HF) stimulation specifically over the left dorso-lateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC). These researchers performed a systematic review of HF-rTMS studies (1999 to 2009) stimulating over the prefrontal cortex of patients suffering from psychiatric/neurological diseases or healthy volunteers, where the effects on cognitive functions were measured. The cognitive effect was analyzed with regard to the impact of clinical status (patients/healthy volunteers) and stimulation type (verum/sham). Repetitive TMS at 10, 15 or 20 Hz, applied over the left DLPFC, within a range of 10 to 15 successive sessions and an individual motor threshold of 80 to 110 %, is most likely to cause significant cognitive improvement. In comparison, patients tend to reach a greater improvement than healthy participants. Limitations concern the absence of healthy groups in clinical studies and partly the absence of sham groups. Thus, future investigations are needed to assess cognitive rTMS effects in different psychiatric disorders versus healthy subjects using an extended standardized neuropsychological test battery. Since the pathophysiological and neurobiological basis of cognitive improvement with rTMS remains unclear, additional studies including genetics, experimental neurophysiology and functional brain imaging are necessary to explore stimulation-related functional changes in the brain. The authors noted that "[a]ll in all, investigations have to prove the efficacy of rTMS in randomized sham-controlled trials with higher statistical power using larger sample sizes and improved methodology".
Smell and Taste Disorders
Henkin et al (2011) evaluated the effectiveness of rTMS treatment in patients with phantosmia and phantageusia. A total of 17 patients with symptoms of persistent phantosmia and phantageusia with accompanying loss of smell and taste acuity were studied. Before and after treatment, patients were monitored by subjective responses and with psychophysical tests of smell function (olfactometry) and taste function (gustometry). Each patient was treated with rTMS that consisted of 2 sham procedures followed by a real rTMS procedure. After sham rTMS, no change in measurements of distortions or acuity occurred in any patient; after initial real rTMS, 2 patients received no benefit; but in the other 15, distortions decreased and acuity increased. Two of these 15 exhibited total inhibition of distortions and return of normal sensory acuity that persisted for over 5 years of follow-up. In the other 13, inhibition of distortions and improvement in sensory acuity gradually decreased; but repeated rTMS again inhibited their distortions and improved their acuity. Eighty-eight percent of patients responded to this therapeutic method, although repeated rTMS was necessary to induce these positive changes. The authors concluded that these results suggested that rTMS is a potential future therapeutic option to treat patients with the relatively common problems of persistent phantosmia and phantageusia with accompanying loss of taste and smell acuity. Moreover, they stated that additional systematic studies are necessary to confirm these results.
Spinal Cord Injury
Awad et al (2015) reviewed the basic principles and techniques of TMS and provided information and evidence regarding its applications in spinal cord injury (SCI) clinical rehabilitation. A review of the available current and historical literature regarding TMS was conducted, and a discussion of its potential use in SCI rehabilitation is presented. Transcranial magnetic stimulation provides reliable information about the functional integrity and conduction properties of the cortico-spinal tracts and motor control in the diagnostic and prognostic assessment of various neurological disorders. It allows one to follow the evolution of motor control and to evaluate the effects of different therapeutic procedures. Motor-evoked potentials can be useful in follow-up evaluation of motor function during treatment and rehabilitation, specifically in patients with SCI and stroke. Although studies regarding somato-motor functional recovery after SCI have shown promise, more trials are needed to provide strong and substantial evidence. The authors concluded that TMS is a promising non-invasive tool for the treatment of spasticity, neuropathic pain, and somato-motor deficit after SCI. They stated that further investigation is needed to demonstrate whether different protocols and applications of stimulation, as well as alternative cortical sites of stimulation, may induce more pronounced and beneficial clinical effects.
Nardone and colleagues (2014) reviewed the literature on brain neurostimulation techniques in patients with chronic neuropathic pain due to traumatic SCI and evaluated the current evidence for their effectiveness. A MEDLINE search was performed using following terms: "spinal cord injury", "neuropathic pain", "brain stimulation", "deep brain stimulation" (DBS), "motor cortex stimulation" (MCS), "transcranial magnetic stimulation" (TMS), "transcranial direct current stimulation" (tDCS), "cranial electrotherapy stimulation" (CES). Invasive neurostimulation therapies, in particular DBS and epidural MCS, have shown promise as treatments for neuropathic and phantom limb pain. However, the long-term effectiveness of DBS is low, while MCS has a relatively higher potential with lesser complications that DBS. Among the non-invasive techniques, there is accumulating evidence that repetitive TMS can produce analgesic effects in healthy subjects undergoing laboratory-induced pain and in chronic pain conditions of various etiologies, at least partially and transiently. Another very safe technique of non-invasive brain stimulation -- tDCS -- applied over the sensory-motor cortex has been reported to decrease pain sensation and increase pain threshold in healthy subjects. Cranial electrotherapy stimulation has also proved to be effective in managing some types of pain, including neuropathic pain in subjects with SCI. The authors concluded that a number of studies have begun to use non-invasive neuromodulatory techniques therapeutically to relieve neuropathic pain and phantom phenomena in patients with SCI. Moreover, they stated that further studies are needed to corroborate the early findings and confirm different targets and stimulation paradigms. The utility of these protocols in combination with pharmacological approaches should also be explored.
Moreno-Duarte et al (2014) reviewed initial safety, effectiveness, and potential predictors of response by assessing the effects of neural stimulation techniques to treat SCI pain. A literature search was performed using the PubMed database including studies using the following targeted stimulation strategies: tDCS, high definition tDCS (HD-tDCS), rTMS, CES, TENS, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and MCS, published prior to June of 2012. These investigators included studies from 1998 to 2012. A total of 8 clinical trials and 1 naturalistic observational study met the inclusion criteria. Among the clinical trials, 3 studies assessed the effects of tDCS, 2 of CES, 2 of rTMS and 1 of TENS. The naturalistic study investigated the analgesic effects of SCS. No clinical trials for epidural MCS or HD-tDCS were found. Parameters of stimulation and also clinical characteristics varied significantly across studies. Three out of 8 studies showed larger effects sizes (0.73, 0.88 and 1.86, respectively) for pain reduction. Classical neuropathic pain symptoms such as dysesthesia (defined as an unpleasant burning sensation in response to touch), allodynia (pain due to a non-painful stimulus), pain in paroxysms, location of SCI in thoracic and lumbar segments and pain in the lower limbs seem to be associated with a positive response to neural stimulation. No significant adverse effects were reported in these studies. The authors concluded that chronic pain in SCI is disabling and resistant to common pharmacologic approaches. Electrical and magnetic neural stimulation techniques have been developed to offer a potential tool in the management of these patients. Although some of these techniques are associated with large standardized mean differences to reduce pain, the authors found an important variability in these results across studies. They stated that there is a clear need for the development of methods to decrease treatment variability and increase response to neural stimulation for pain treatment.
Movement Disorders
Schneider et al (2010) stated that dystonia is associated with impaired somatosensory ability. The electrophysiological method of rTMS can be used for non-invasive stimulation of the human cortex and can alter cortical excitability and associated behavior. Among others, rTMS can alter/improve somatosensory discriminatory abilities, as shown in healthy controls. These researchers applied 5Hz-rTMS over the left primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in 5 patients with right-sided writer's dystonia and 5 controls. They studied rTMS effects on tactile discrimination accuracy and concomitant rTMS-induced changes in hemodynamic activity measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Before rTMS, patients performed worse on the discrimination task than controls even though fMRI showed greater task-related activation bilaterally in the basal ganglia (BG). In controls, rTMS led to improved discrimination; fMRI revealed this was associated with increased activity of the stimulated S1, bilateral premotor cortex and BG. In dystonia patients, rTMS had no effect on discrimination; fMRI showed similar cortical effects to controls except for no effects in BG. Improved discrimination after rTMS in controls is linked to enhanced activation of S1 and BG. Failure of rTMS to increase BG activation in dystonia may be associated with the lack of effect on sensory discrimination in this group and may reflect impaired processing in BG-S1 connections. Alternatively, the increased BG activation seen in the baseline state without rTMS may reflect a compensatory strategy that saturates a BG contribution to this task.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Demirtas-Tatlidede et al (2012) reviewed novel techniques of non-invasive brain stimulation (NBS), which may have value in assessment and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Review of the following techniques: TMS, transcranial DCS (tDCS), low-level laser therapy, and transcranial Doppler sonography. Furthermore, these investigators provided a brief overview of TMS studies to date. They described the rationale for the use of these techniques in TBI, discussed their possible mechanisms of action, and raised a number of considerations relevant to translation of these methods to clinical use. Depending on the stimulation parameters, NBS may enable suppression of the acute glutamatergic hyper-excitability following TBI and/or counter the excessive GABAergic effects in the sub-acute stage. In the chronic stage, brain stimulation coupled to rehabilitation may enhance behavioral recovery, learning of new skills, and cortical plasticity. Correlative animal models and comprehensive safety trials seem critical to establish the use of these modalities in TBI. The authors concluded that different forms of NBS techniques harbor the promise of diagnostic and therapeutic utility, particularly to guide processes of cortical re-organization and enable functional restoration in TBI. They noted that future lines of safety research and well-designed clinical trials in TBI are warranted to determine the capability of NBS to promote recovery and minimize disability.
In a double-blind, sham-controlled, cross-over study, Thibaut et al (2014) examined the effects of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex tDCS (DLPF-tDCS) on Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) scores in severely brain-damaged patients with disorders of consciousness. Anodal and sham tDCS were delivered in randomized order over the left DLPF cortex for 20 minutes in patients in a vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) or in a minimally conscious state (MCS) assessed at least 1 week after acute traumatic or non-traumatic insult. Clinical assessments were performed using the CRS-R directly before and after anodal and sham tDCS stimulation. Follow-up outcome data were acquired 12 months after inclusion using the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended. Patients in MCS (n = 30; interval 43 ± 63 months; 19 traumatic, 11 non-traumatic) showed a significant treatment effect (p = 0.003) as measured by CRS-R total scores. In patients with VS/UWS (n = 25; interval 24 ± 48 months; 6 traumatic, 19 non-traumatic), no treatment effect was observed (p = 0.952). Thirteen (43 %) patients in MCS and 2 (8 %) patients in VS/UWS further showed post-anodal tDCS-related signs of consciousness, which were observed neither during the pre-tDCS evaluation nor during the pre- or post-sham evaluation (i.e., tDCS responders). Outcome did not differ between tDCS responders and non-responders. The authors concluded that tDCS over left DLPF cortex may transiently improve signs of consciousness in MCS following severe brain damage as measured by changes in CRS-R total scores. Moreover, they stated that the long-term non-invasive neuro-modulatory tDCS outcome clinical improvement in this challenging population remains to be shown.
In an editorial that accompanied the afore-mentioned study, Whyte (2014) stated that “If a longer course of tDCS can accelerate recovery for a subgroup of the DOC population, perhaps a positive response to a single session of tDCS can identify the subgroup of individuals who are treatment responders to this or to other treatments that modulate attention and working memory circuitry. If so, tDCS may provide a useful screening approach for other treatment studies, as well as a useful treatment in its own right”.
In a prospective, case series trial with follow-up at 12 months, Angelakis et al (2014) evaluated the effectiveness of tDCS on improving consciousness in patients with persistent UWS (previously termed persistent vegetative state [PVS]) or in a MCS. Inpatients in a PVS/UWS or MCS (n = 10; 7 men, 3 women; age range of 19 to 62 years; etiology: traumatic brain injury, n = 5; anoxia, n = 4; post-operative infarct, n = 1; duration of PVS/UWS or MCS range of 6 months to 10 years). No participant withdrew because of adverse effects. All patients received sham tDCS for 20 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for 1 week, and real tDCS for 20 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for 2 weeks. An anodal electrode was placed over the left primary sensorimotor cortex or the left DLPF, with cathodal stimulation over the right eyebrow. One patient in an MCS received a second round of 10 tDCS sessions 3 months after initial participation. Main outcome measure was JFK Coma Recovery Scale-Revised. All patients in an MCS showed clinical improvement immediately after treatment. The patient who received a second round of tDCS 3 months after initial participation showed further improvement and emergence into consciousness after stimulation, with no change between treatments. One patient who was in an MCS for less than 1 year before treatment (post-operative infarct) showed further improvement and emergence into consciousness at 12-month follow-up. No patient showed improvement before stimulation. No patient in a PVS/UWS showed immediate improvement after stimulation, but 1 patient who was in a PVS/UWS for 6 years before treatment showed improvement and change of status to an MCS at 12-month follow-up. The authors concluded that tDCS seems promising for the rehabilitation of patients with severe disorders of consciousness; severity and duration of pathology may be related to the degree of tDCS' beneficial effects.
Addiction
Gorelick et al (2014) noted that TMS is still in the early stages of study as addiction treatment. These researchers identified 19 human studies using rTMS to manipulate drug craving or use, which exposed a total of 316 adults to active rTMS. Nine studies involved tobacco, 6 alcohol, 3 cocaine, and 1 methamphetamine. The majority of studies targeted high-frequency (5 to 20 Hz; expected to stimulate neuronal activity) rTMS pulses to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Only 5 studies were controlled clinical trials: 2 of 4 nicotine trials found decreased cigarette smoking; the cocaine trial found decreased cocaine use. Many aspects of optimal treatment remain unknown, including rTMS parameters, duration of treatment, relationship to cue-induced craving, and concomitant treatment. The mechanisms of rTMS potential therapeutic action in treating addictions are poorly understood, but may involve increased dopamine and glutamate function in cortico-mesolimbic brain circuits and modulation of neural activity in brain circuits that mediate cognitive processes relevant to addiction, such as response inhibition, selective attention, and reactivity to drug-associated cues. The authors concluded that rTMS treatment of addiction must be considered experimental at this time, but appears to have a promising future.
Congenital Hemiparesis
In a phase I randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled pre-test/post-test trial, Gillick et al (2015) investigated the safety of combining a 6-Hz primed low-frequency rTMS intervention in the contralesional hemisphere with a modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) program in children with congenital hemiparesis. Subjects (n = 19; age range of 8 to 17years) with congenital hemiparesis caused by ischemic stroke or peri-ventricular leukomalacia. No subject withdrew because of adverse events. All subjects included completed the study. Subjects were randomized to 1 of 2 groups: (i) either real rTMS plus mCIMT (n = 10) or (ii) sham rTMS plus mCIMT (n = 9). Main outcome measures included adverse events, physician assessment, ipsilateral hand function, stereognosis, cognitive function, subject report of symptoms assessment, and subject questionnaire. No major adverse events occurred. Minor adverse events were found in both groups. The most common events were headaches (real: 50 %, sham: 89 %; p = 0.14) and cast irritation (real: 30 %, sham: 44 %; p = 0.65). No differences between groups in secondary cognitive and unaffected hand motor measures were found. The authors concluded that primed rTMS can be used safely with mCIMT in congenital hemiparesis. They provided new information on the use of rTMS in combination with mCIMT in children. They stated that these findings could be useful in research and future clinical applications in advancing function in congenital hemiparesis.
Communication and Swallowing Disorders
Gadenz et al (2015) systematically review RCTs that evaluated the effects of rTMS on rehabilitation aspects related to communication and swallowing functions. A search was conducted on PubMed, Clinical Trials, Cochrane Library, and ASHA electronic databases. Studies were judged according to the eligibility criteria and analyzed by 2 independent and blinded researchers. These researchers analyzed 9 studies: 4 about aphasia, 3 about dysphagia, 1 about dysarthria in Parkinson's disease and 1 about linguistic deficits in Alzheimer's disease. All aphasia studies used low-frequency rTMS to stimulate Broca's homologous area. High-frequency rTMS was applied over the pharyngo-esophageal cortex from the left and/or right hemisphere in the dysphagia studies and over the left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex in the Parkinson's and Alzheimer's studies. Two aphasia and all dysphagia studies showed a significant improvement of the disorder, compared to the sham group. The other 2 studies related to aphasia found a benefit restricted to subgroups with a severe case or injury on the anterior portion of the language cortical area, respectively, whereas the Alzheimer's study demonstrated positive effects specific to auditory comprehension. There were no changes for vocal function in the Parkinson's study. The authors concluded that the benefits of the technique and its applicability in neurogenic disorders related to communication and deglutition are still uncertain; other RCTs are needed to clarify the optimal stimulation protocol for each disorder studied and its real effects.
Epilepsy
Zeiler et al (2015) performed a systematic review on the use of rTMS in the treatment of status epilepticus (SE) and refractory status epilepticus (RSE). MEDLINE, BIOSIS, EMBASE, Global Health, Healthstar, Scopus, Cochrane Library, the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, clinicaltrials.gov (inception to August 2015), and gray literature were searched. The strength of evidence was adjudicated using Oxford and GRADE methodology. These investigators identified 11 original articles; 21 patients were described, with 13 adult and 8 pediatric. All studies were retrospective. Seizure reduction/control with rTMS occurred in 15 of the 21 patients (71.4 %), with 5 (23.8 %) and 10 (47.6 %) displaying partial and complete responses, respectively. Seizures recurred after rTMS in 73.3 % of the patients who had initially responded. All studies were an Oxford level 4, GRADE D level of evidence. The authors concluded that Oxford level 4, GRADE D evidence exists to suggest a potential impact on seizure control with the use of rTMS for FSE and FRSE, though durability of the therapy is short-lived. They stated t routine use of rTMS in this context cannot be recommended at this time; and further prospective study of this intervention is needed.
Pereira et al (2016) noted that about 1/3 of patients with epilepsy remain with pharmacologically intractable seizures. An emerging therapeutic modality for seizure suppression is rTMS. Despite being considered a safe technique, rTMS carries the risk of inducing seizures, among other milder adverse events, and thus, its safety in the population with epilepsy should be continuously assessed. These researchers performed an updated systematic review on the safety and tolerability of rTMS in patients with epilepsy, similar to a previous report published in 2007, and estimated the risk of seizures and other adverse events during or shortly after rTMS application. They searched the literature for reports of rTMS being applied on patients with epilepsy, with no time or language restrictions, and obtained studies published from January 1990 to August 2015. A total of 46 publications were identified, of which 16 were new studies published after the previous safety review of 2007. Thee investigators noted the total number of subjects with epilepsy undergoing rTMS, medication usage, incidence of adverse events, and rTMS protocol parameters: frequency, intensity, total number of stimuli, train duration, inter-train intervals, coil type, and stimulation site. Their main data analysis included separate calculations for crude per subject risk of seizure and other adverse events, as well as risk per 1,000 stimuli. They also performed an exploratory, secondary analysis on the risk of seizure and other adverse events according to the type of coil used (figure-of-8 or circular), stimulation frequency (less than or equal to 1Hz or greater than 1Hz), pulse intensity in terms of motor threshold (less than 100 % or greater than or equal to 100 %), and number of stimuli per session (less than 500 or greater than or equal to 500). Presence or absence of adverse events was reported in 40 studies (n = 426 subjects). A total of 78 (18.3 %) subjects reported adverse events, of which 85 % were mild. Headache or dizziness was the most common one, occurring in 8.9 %. These researchers found a crude per subject seizure risk of 2.9 % (95 % CI: 1.3 to 4.5), given that 12 subjects reported seizures out of 410 subjects included in the analysis after data of patients with epilepsia partialis continua or status epilepticus were excluded from the estimate. Only 1 of the reported seizures was considered atypical in terms of the clinical characteristics of the patients' baseline seizures. The atypical seizure happened during high-frequency rTMS with maximum stimulator output for speech arrest, clinically arising from the region of stimulation. Although these investigators estimated a larger crude per subject seizure risk compared with the previous safety review, the corresponding CIs contained both risks. Furthermore, the exclusive case of atypical seizure was the same as reported in the previous report. The authors concluded that the risk of seizure induction in patients with epilepsy undergoing rTMS was small and that the risk of other adverse events was similar to that of rTMS applied to other conditions and to healthy subjects. They stated that these findings should be interpreted with caution, given the need for adjusted analysis controlling for potential confounders, such as baseline seizure frequency. Moreover, they noted that the similarity between the safety profiles of rTMS applied to the population with epilepsy and to individuals without epilepsy supports further investigation of rTMS as a therapy for seizure suppression.
Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation:
Navigated TMS is being studied as a diagnostic tool to stimulate functional cortical areas at precise anatomical locations to induce measurable responses. This technology is being investigated to map functionally essential motor areas for diagnostic purposes and for treatment planning.
Navigated TMS is a novel tool for pre-operative functional mapping. It has been used for motor mapping in the vicinity of rolandic brain lesions as well as for mapping human language areas.
Rossini and Rossi (2007) stated that TMS is widely used in clinical neurophysiology, including rehabilitation and intra-operative monitoring. Single-pulse TMS and other more recent versions (e.g., paired-pulse TMS, rTMS, integration with structural and functional MRI, and neuro-navigation) allow motor output to be mapped precisely to a given body district. Moreover, TMS can be used to assess excitatory/inhibitory intra-cortical circuits and to provide information on brain physiology and pathophysiology of various neuropsychiatric diseases as well as on the mechanisms of brain plasticity and of neuroactive drugs. Transcranial magnetic stimulation applied over non-motor areas made it possible to extend research applications in several fields of psychophysiology. Being able to induce relatively long-lasting excitability changes, rTMS has made the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases linked with brain excitability dysfunctions possible. The authors noted that these uses, however, warrant further large-scale studies. In emerging fields of research, TMS-EEG co-registration is considered a promising approach to evaluate cortico-cortical connectivity and brain reactivity with high temporal resolution. However, safety and ethical limitations of TMS technique need a high level of vigilance.
Picht et al (2011) compared the accuracy of a 3-dimensional MRI-navigated TMS system with the gold standard of direct cortical stimulation. The primary motor areas of 20 patients with rolandic tumors were mapped pre-operatively with navigated TMS at 110 % of the individual resting motor threshold. Intra-operative direct cortical stimulation was available from 17 patients. The stimulus locations eliciting the largest electromyographic response in the target muscles ("hotspots") were determined for both methods. The navigated TMS and direct cortical stimulation hotspots were located on the same gyrus in all cases. The mean +/- SEM distance between the navigated TMS and direct cortical stimulation hotspots was 7.83 +/- 1.18 mm for the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle (n = 15) and 7.07 +/- 0.88 mm for the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle (n = 8). When a low number of direct cortical stimulations was performed, the distance between the navigated TMS and direct cortical stimulation hotspots increased substantially (r = -0.86 for APB). After exclusion of the cases with less than 15 direct cortical stimulation APB responses, the mean +/- SEM distance between the hotspots was only 4.70 +/- 1.09 mm for APB (n = 8). The authors concluded that peri-tumoral mapping of the motor cortex by navigated TMS agreed well with the gold standard of direct cortical stimulation. Thus, navigated TMS is a reliable tool for pre-operative mapping of motor function. These preliminary findings need to be validated by well-designed studies with larger number of participants.
Picht et al (2012) evaluated how much influence, benefit, and impact navigated TMS has on the surgical planning for tumors near the motor cortex. This study reviewed the records of 73 patients with brain tumors in or near the motor cortex, mapped pre-operatively with navigated TMS. The surgical team prospectively classified how much influence the navigated TMS results had on the surgical planning. Step-wise regression analysis was used to explore which factors predict the amount of influence, benefit, and impact navigated TMS has on the surgical planning. The influence of navigated TMS on the surgical planning was as follows: it confirmed the expected anatomy in 22 % of patients, added knowledge that was not used in 23 %, added awareness of high-risk areas in 27 %, modified the approach in 16 %, changed the planned extent of resection in 8 %, and changed the surgical indication in 3 %. The authors concluded that navigated TMS had an objective benefit on the surgical planning in 25 % of the patients and a subjective benefit in an additional 50 % of the patients. It had an impact on the surgery itself in just more than 50 % of the patients.
Krieg et al (2012) stated that navigated TMS is a newly evolving technique. Despite its supposed purpose (e.g., pre-operative central region mapping), little is known about its accuracy compared with established modalities like direct cortical stimulation and functional MR imaging (fMRI). These researchers compared the accuracy of navigated TMS with direct cortical stimulation and fMRI. Fourteen patients with tumors in or close to the pre-central gyrus were examined using navigated TMS for motor cortex mapping, as were 12 patients with lesions in the subcortical white matter motor tract. Moreover, pre-operative fMRI and intra-operative mapping of the motor cortex were performed via direct cortical stimulation, and the outlining of the motor cortex was compared. In the 14 cases of lesions affecting the pre-central gyrus, the primary motor cortex as outlined by navigated TMS correlated well with that delineated by intra-operative direct cortical stimulation mapping, with a deviation of 4.4 +/- 3.4 mm between the 2 methods. In comparing navigated TMS with fMRI, the deviation between the 2 methods was much larger: 9.8 +/- 8.5 mm for the upper extremity and 14.7 +/- 12.4 mm for the lower extremity. In 13 of 14 cases, the surgeon admitted easier identification of the central region because of navigated TMS. The procedure had a subjectively positive influence on the operative results in 5 cases and was responsible for a changed resection strategy in 2 cases. One of 26 patients experienced navigated TMS as unpleasant; none found it painful. The authors concluded that navigated TMS correlates well with direct cortical stimulation as a gold standard despite factors that are supposed to contribute to the inaccuracy of navigated TMS. Moreover, surgeons have found navigated TMS to be an additional and helpful modality during the resection of tumors affecting eloquent motor areas, as well as during pre-operative planning. These findings need to be confirmed.
Frey et al (2012) established a novel approach for fiber tracking based on navigated TMS mapping of the primary motor cortex and proposed a new algorithm for determination of an individualized fractional anisotropy value for reliable and objective fiber tracking. A total of 50 patients (22 females, 28 males; median age of 58 years, range of 20 to 80) with brain tumors compromising the primary motor cortex and the cortico-spinal tract underwent pre-operative MRI and navigated TMS mapping. Stimulation spots evoking muscle potentials (MEP) closest to the tumor were imported into the fiber tracking software and set as seed points for tractography. Next the individual FA threshold, namely, the highest FA value leading to visualization of tracts at a pre-defined minimum fiber length of 110 mm, was determined. Fiber tracking was then performed at a fractional anisotropy value of 75 % and 50 % of the individual FA threshold. In addition, fiber tracking according to the conventional knowledge-based approach was performed. Results of tractography of either method were presented to the surgeon for pre-operative planning and integrated into the navigation system and its impact was rated using a questionnaire. Mapping of the motor cortex was successful in all patients. A fractional anisotropy threshold for cortico-spinal tract reconstruction could be obtained in every case. TMS-based results changed or modified surgical strategy in 23 of 50 patients (46 %), whereas knowledge-based results would have changed surgical strategy in 11 of 50 patients (22 %). Tractography results facilitated intra-operative orientation and electrical stimulation in 28 of 50 (56 %) patients. Tracking at 75 % of the individual FA thresholds was considered most beneficial by the respective surgeons. The authors concluded that fiber tracking based on navigated TMS by the proposed standardized algorithm represents an objective visualization method based on functional data and provides a valuable instrument for pre-operative planning and intra-operative orientation and monitoring. This was a small study and it did not validate navigated TMS findings with improved health outcomes.
Tarapore et al (2012) noted that direct cortical stimulation is the gold-standard technique for motor mapping during craniotomy. However, pre-operative non-invasive motor mapping is becoming increasingly accurate. Two such non-invasive modalities are navigated TMS and magnetoencephalography (MEG) imaging. These investigators compared the accuracy of TMS to both direct cortical stimulation and MEG imaging. Patients with tumors in proximity to primary motor cortex underwent pre-operative TMS and MEG imaging for motor mapping. The patients subsequently underwent motor mapping via intra-operative direct cortical stimulation. The loci of maximal response were recorded from each modality and compared. Motor strength was assessed at 3 months post-operatively. Transcranial magnetic stimulation and MEG imaging were performed on 24 patients. Intra-operative direct cortical stimulation yielded 8 positive motor sites in 5 patients. The median distance +/- SEM between TMS and direct cortical stimulation motor sites was 2.13 +/- 0.29 mm, and between TMS and MEG imaging motor sites was 4.71 +/- 1.08 mm. In no patients did direct cortical stimulation motor mapping reveal a motor site that was unrecognized by TMS. Three of 24 patients developed new, early neurological deficit in the form of upper-extremity paresis. At the 3-month follow-up evaluation, 2 of these patients were significantly improved, experiencing difficulty only with fine motor tasks; the remaining patient had improvement to 4/5 strength. There were no deaths over the course of the study. The authors concluded that maps of the motor system generated with TMS correlate well with those generated by both MEG imaging and direct cortical stimulation. Negative TMS mapping also correlates with negative direct cortical stimulation mapping.
In a feasibility study, Forster et al (2012) examined cortical motor representation after resection of peri-rolandic World Health Organization grade II and III gliomas using navigated TMS. A total of 5 patients were examined before neurosurgery and after a follow-up period of 17.7 +/- 6.8 months. As a control, 5 healthy age-matched subjects were equally studied by navigated TMS in 2 sessions spaced 12.6 (range of 2 to 35) days apart. Resting motor thresholds (RMT), hotspots and centers of gravity (CoG) were identified for the first dorsal interosseous (FDI), APB, extensor digitorum (EXT), TA and abductor hallucis (AH) muscles. Euclidian distances, coefficients of variance and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated. Healthy subjects showed moderate-to-excellent reliability measurement of RMT (ICC = 0.69 to 0.94). Average displacement of CoGs across sessions was 0.68 +/- 0.34 cm in the dominant and 0.76 +/- 0.38 cm in the non-dominant hemisphere; hotspots moved 0.87 +/- 0.51 cm and 0.83 +/- 0.45 cm, respectively. In 1 patient these parameters differed significantly from the control group (p < 0.05 for both CoGs and hotspots). Overall, all patients' CoGs moved 1.12 +/- 0.93 cm, and hotspots were 1.06 +/- 0.7 cm apart. In both patients and healthy subjects, movement of assessed parameters was more important along the X- than the Y-axis. The authors concluded that navigated TMS allows evaluating cortical re-organization after brain tumor surgery. It may contribute to the understanding of neurofunctional dynamics, thus influencing therapeutic strategy.
Makela et al (2013) stated that navigated TMS has been suggested to be useful in pre-operative functional localization of motor cortex in patients having tumors close to the somato-motor cortex. These researchers described functional plasticity of motor cortex indicated by navigated TMS in 2 patients with epilepsy. Navigated TMS, fMRI, diffusion-tensor (DT)-tractography and MEG were utilized to pre-operatively localize motor cortical areas in the work-up for epilepsy surgery. The localizations were compared with each other, with the cortical anatomical landmarks, and in 1 patient with invasive electrical cortical stimulation (ECS). In 2 out of 19 studied patients, navigated TMS identified motor cortical sites that differed from those indicated by anatomical landmarks. In 1 patient, navigated TMS activated preferentially premotor cortex rather than pathways originating from the pre-central gyrus. Functional MRI and MEG localizations conformed with navigated TMS whereas ECS localized finger motor function into the pre-central gyrus. Resection of the area producing motor responses in biphasic navigated TMS did not produce a motor deficit. In the other patient, navigated TMS indicated abnormal ipsilateral hand motor cortex localization and confirmed the functionality of aberrant motor cortical representations of the left foot also indicated by fMRI and DT-tractography. The authors concluded that navigated TMS may reveal the functional plasticity and shifts of motor cortical function. Epileptic foci may modify cortical inhibition and the navigated TMS results. Thus, the authors noted that in some patients with epilepsy, the navigated TMS results need to be interpreted with caution with regard to surgical planning.
In summary, there is insufficient evidence from peer-reviewed medical literature that navigated TMS is an effective clinical diagnostic test. Most published studies entailed small number of subjects; well-designed studies with larger sample sizes are needed to ascertain how this test can reduce clinical diagnostic uncertainty or impact treatment planning.
CPT Codes / HCPCS Codes / ICD-10 Codes
Information in the [brackets] below has been added for clarification purposes.  Codes requiring a 7th character are represented by "+":
Transcranial/navigated transcranial Magnetic Stimulation:
The above policy is based on the following references:
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation:
Klein E, Kreinin I, Chistyakov A, et al. Therapeutic efficacy of right prefrontal slow repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in major depression. Arch En Psychiatry. 1999;56(4):315-320.
George MS, Lisanby SH, Sackeim HA. Transcranial magnetic stimulation. Applications in neuropsychiatry. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999;56(4):300-311.
Cracco RQ, Cracco JB, Maccabee PJ, Amassian VE. Cerebral function revealed by transcranial magnetic stimulation. J Neurosci Methods. 1999;86(2):209-219.
Kirkcaldie M, Pridmore S, Reid P. Bridging the skull: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in psychiatry. Convul Ther. 1997;13(2):83-91.
Loo C, Mitchell P, Sachdev P, et al. Double-blind controlled investigation of transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of resistant major depression. Am J Psychiatry. 1999;156(6):946-948.
Hasey G. Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of mood disorder: A review and comparison with electroconvulsive therapy. Can J Psychiatry. 2001;46(8):720-727.
McNamara B, Ray JL, Arthurs J, et al. Transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression and other psychiatric disorders. Psychol Med. 2001;31(7):1141-1146.
Lisanby SH, Kinnunen LH, Crupain MJ. Applications of TMS to therapy in psychiatry. J Clin Neurophysiol. 2002;19(4):344-360.
Fitzgerald PB, Brown TL, Daskalakis ZJ. The application of transcranial magnetic stimulation in psychiatry and neurosciences research. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2002;105(5):324-340.
Martin JL, Barbanoj MJ, Schlaepfer TE, et al. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of depression. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry. 2003;182:480-491
Padberg F, Moller HJ. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation : Does it have potential in the treatment of depression? CNS Drugs. 2003;17(6):383-403.
Gershon AA, Dannon PN, Grunhaus L. Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2003;160(5):835-845.
Kobayashi M, Pascual-Leone A. Transcranial magnetic stimulation in neurology. Lancet Neurol. 2003;2(3):145-156.
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Tech Brief. Edmonton, AB: AHFMR; 1999.
McNamara B, Ray JL, Arthurs OJ, Boniface S. Transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression and other psychiatric disorders. Psychol Med. 2001;31(7):1141-1146.
Holtzheimer PE, Russo J, Avery DH. A meta-analysis of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of depression. Psychopharmacol Bull. 2001;35(4):149-169.
Dahl Alv A, Aarre Trond F, Johansen Jarle B, et al. Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of depressions. Oslo, Norway: The Norwegian Centre for Health Technology Assessment (SMM); 2001.
Martin JLR, Barbanoj MJ, Schlaepfer TE, et al. Transcranial magnetic stimulation for treating depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2001;(4):CD003493.
Kozel FA, George MS. Meta-analysis of left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to treat depression. J Psych Pract. 2002;8(5):270-275.
Aarre TF, Dahl AA, Johansen JB, et al. Efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in depression: A review of the evidence. Nordic J Psych. 2003;57(3):227-232.
Martin JLR, Barbanoj MJ, Pérez V, Sacristán M. Transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;(2):CD003387.
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Medical Advisory Secretariat. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Health Technology Review. Toronto, ON: Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; June 2004. Available at: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/program/mas/archive.html. Accessed July 20, 2005.
Miniussi C, Bonato C, Bignotti S, et al. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at high and low frequency: An efficacious therapy for major drug-resistant depression? Clin Neurophysiol. 2005;116(5):1062-1071.
Couturier JL. Efficacy of rapid-rate repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2005;30(2):83-90.
Hoffman RE, Gueorguieva R, Hawkins KA, et al. Temporoparietal transcranial magnetic stimulation for auditory hallucinations: Safety, efficacy and moderators in a fifty patient sample. Biol Psychiatry. 2005;58(2):97-104.
Orth M, Kirby R, Richardson MP, et al. Subthreshold rTMS over pre-motor cortex has no effect on tics in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Clin Neurophysiol. 2005;116(4):764-768.
Canavero S, Bonicalzi V. Transcranial magnetic stimulation for central pain. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2005;9(2):87-89.
Pridmore S, Oberoi G, Marcolin M, George M. Transcranial magnetic stimulation and chronic pain: Current status. Australas Psychiatry. 2005;13(3):258-265.
Dell'Osso B, Altamura AC, Allen A, Hollander E. Brain stimulation techniques in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: Current and future directions. CNS Spectr. 2005;10(12):966-979, 983.
Baghai TC, Moller HJ, Rupprecht R. Recent progress in pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options of major depression. Curr Pharm Des. 2006;12(4):503-515.
Fumal A, Coppola G, Bohotin V, et al. Induction of long-lasting changes of visual cortex excitability by five daily sessions of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in healthy volunteers and migraine patients. Cephalalgia. 2006;26(2):143-149.
International Society on Transcranial Stimulation (ISTS). Managing the risks of repetitive transcranial stimulation. Consensus Statement. Bern, Switzerland: ISTS; June 2004. Available at: www.ists.unibe.ch/ . Accessed June 20, 2006.
Wagle-Shukla A, Angel MJ, Zadikoff C, et al. Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesias. Neurology. 2007;68(9):704-705.
Rossini PM, Rossi S. Transcranial magnetic stimulation: Diagnostic, therapeutic, and research potential. Neurology. 2007;68(7):484-488.
Nemeroff CB. The burden of severe depression: A review of diagnostic challenges and treatment alternatives. J Psychiatr Res. 2007;41(3-4):189-206.
Smith JA, Mennemeier M, Bartel T, et al. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for tinnitus: A pilot study. Laryngoscope. 2007;117(3):529-534.
Plewnia C, Reimold M, Najib A, et al. Moderate therapeutic efficacy of positron emission tomography-navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for chronic tinnitus: A randomised, controlled pilot study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2007;78(2):152-156.
Prasko J, Zalesky R, Bares M, et al. The effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) add on serotonin reuptake inhibitors in patients with panic disorder: A randomized, double blind sham controlled study. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2007;28(1):33-38.
Eranti S, Mogg A, Pluck G, et al. A randomized, controlled trial with 6-month follow-up of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2007;164(1):73-81.
Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA) on behalf of National Horizon Scanning Unit (HealthPACT and MSAC). Rapid transcranial magnetic stimulation for stroke rehabilitation; horizon scanning prioritizing summary - volume 15. Adelaide, SA: Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA) on behalf of National Horizon Scanning Unit (HealthPACT and MSAC); 2007.
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). Transcranial magnetic stimulation may aid in stroke rehabilitation. Health Technology Update Issue 4. Ottawa, ON: CADTH; September 2006.
McLoughlin DM, Mogg A, Eranti S, et al. The clinical effectiveness and cost of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation versus electroconvulsive therapy in severe depression: A multicentre pragmatic randomised controlled trial and economic analysis. Health Technol Assess. 2007;11(24):1-68.
Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). MSAC Application No. 1101. Canberra, ACT: MSAC; 2007.
Centonze D, Koch G, Versace V, et al. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex ameliorates spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 2007;68(13):1045-1050.
Lee SL, Abraham M, Cacace AT, Silver SM. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in veterans with debilitating tinnitus: A pilot study. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;138(3):398-399.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Transcranial magnetic stimulation for severe depression. Interventional Procedure Guidance 242. London, UK: NICE; November 2007.
O'Reardon JP, Solvason HB, Janicak PG, et al. Efficacy and safety of transcranial magnetic stimulation in the acute treatment of major depression: A multisite randomized controlled trial. Biol Psychiatry. 2007;62(11):1208-1216.
Associated Press. Magnet device aims to treat depression patients. Health News. Philadelphia, PA: InteliHealth; October 21, 2008. (Study has been completed. Available at: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00149838 . Accessed June 19, 2012).
Avery DH, Isenberg KE, Sampson SM, et al. Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the acute treatment of major depressive disorder: Clinical response in an open-label extension trial. J Clin Psychiatry. 2008;69(3):441-451.
Janicak PG, O'Reardon JP, Sampson SM, et al. Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of major depressive disorder: A comprehensive summary of safety experience from acute exposure, extended exposure, and during reintroduction treatment. J Clin Psychiatry. 2008;69(2):222-232.
Mogg A, Pluck G, Eranti SV, et al. A randomized controlled trial with 4-month follow-up of adjunctive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left prefrontal cortex for depression. Psychol Med. 2008;38(3):323-333.
Demirtas-Tatlidede A, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Press DZ, et al. An open-label, prospective study of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the long-term treatment of refractory depression: Reproducibility and duration of the antidepressant effect in medication-free patients. J Clin Psychiatry. 2008;69(6):930-934.
André-Obadia N, Mertens P, Gueguen A, et al. Pain relief by rTMS: Differential effect of current flow but no specific action on pain subtypes. Neurology. 2008;71(11):833-840.
Pigot M, Loo C, Sachdev P. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as treatment for anxiety disorders. Expert Rev Neurother. 2008;8(10):1449-1455.
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Cranial Electrical Stimulation:
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Policy History
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BBC names new director-general
BBC names new director-general
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LONDON (AP) — The British Broadcasting Corp. named executive George Entwistle its new chief on Tuesday, giving him one of the country's top media jobs.
Entwistle, 49, will replace current director-general Mark Thompson, who announced he would step down following London's 2012 Olympics after an eight year tenure that has seen him handle sweeping cuts to staff and services.
"I love the BBC and it's a privilege to be asked to lead it into the next stage of its creative life," said Entwistle, who joined the BBC as a trainee in 1989 and most recently worked as head of the organization's television services.
The 450,000-pound-salary ($702,000) post will come with a raft of challenges — not least the task of delivering the BBC's mix of entertainment and journalism amid a decline in funding.
Each British household with access to television and radio services pays a compulsory 145.50 pounds ($227) fee each year, but any rises in the levy have been frozen until 2016.
Already, Entwistle — who takes up his role on Sept. 17. — has agreed to take a smaller salary than his predecessor.
Media watchers in Britain had tipped the BBC's chief operating officer, Caroline Thomson, to become the 90-year-old broadcasting organization's first ever female chief.
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George Entwistle faces a tricky balancing act at the BBC | Television & radio | The Guardian
George Entwistle faces a tricky balancing act at the BBC
Mark Lawson
The new director general will need to be both a strong editor in chief, and keep licence-fee payers and critics happy
The BBC's new director general, George Entwistle, must satisfy viewers while also tackling the scandals and crisis that strike the corporation. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA
Wednesday 4 July 2012 09.11 EDT
First published on Wednesday 4 July 2012 09.11 EDT
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Perhaps burned by recent experience with the appointment of an England football coach – when the un-mentioned Roy Hodgson was chosen over the journalistic favourite, Harry Redknapp – newspapers were notably restrained in trying to call the BBC director general race.
As recently as the beginning of the week, there were rumours of secret candidates who had evaded the media page radars. But, in the end, chairman Lord Patten and the BBC Trust have, in George Entwistle , appointed a candidate who has appeared in the top line of reports since Mark Thompson announced his departure.
Patten has also noticeably resisted the rhetoric from the Conservative party, of which he was once chairman, that what the BBC needs at this stage of its history is a "clean skin", an outsider who will introduce to the BBC financial and management attitudes shaped by private business experience. Instead, while Patten declined to appoint Mark Thompson's closest associates in management, Caroline Thomson or Helen Boaden , the job has gone to an insider. Entwistle becomes the first DG for 25 years to have spent his entire career at the BBC after joining as a general trainee. (Alasdair Milne, sacked in 1987, followed that route; his successors Michael Checkland, John Birt, Greg Dyke and Mark Thompson had all held jobs in the commercial sector.)
But Patten has made an appointment that illustrates his own priorities for the outfit, as chairs of organisations tend to. Intellect, journalism and culture matter most to him – and Entwistle's CV exactly dramatises these values. The new DG ran Newsnight (identified by Patten as a key BBC service) before moving to run television arts. He was regarded as an inevitable future controller of BBC4 (which Patten has identified as a crucial service), until jumping to head of vision , with the larger job of controlling all of the BBC TV networks.
Jeremy Vine, in his recently published memoirs, It's All News To Me, presents Entwistle, during his spell as editor of Newsnight, as someone who had always read the latest book or article containing big new ideas or theories, a trait that he shares with the chair of the BBC Trust .
Patten has made clear that he wants a BBC that is unafraid of seriousness and culture and unconcerned with matching the ratings of commercial channels. Everything in Entwistle's record suggests that he was the candidate best positioned to attempt to deliver this vision. The presence in the current schedules of The Hollow Crown – an ambitious Shakespeare quartet – may have been useful during interviews.
The challenge for Entwistle is that the job of director general of the BBC has two distinct parts. One – editor-in-chief of BBC services – is recognised on the contract; the other is unofficial and added to the job description by the British press. This other function is media lightning conductor in chief for any of the scandals or crises that consume the BBC during your term of office.
Few who have worked with Entwistle will question that he has the skills to be editor-in-chief. It's the other half of the task that will be the stretch. A shy and reserved man, he will have to adjust his personality to become someone who can comfortably be questioned by House of Commons select committees or quizzed on Today or Newsnight by a BBC news division that traditionally takes pleasure in giving the BBC's leaders at least as tough a time as external guests. Patten, a man well used to public life, has taken the gamble of dragging in front of the coconut shy someone who, until now, has lived and worked very privately.
Entwistle will also be running the business during a period (successful DGs generally serve for eight years) when all logic suggests that budgets and staffing levels will continue to fall at the BBC, almost certainly resulting in confrontations with a demoralised workforce, furious broadcasting unions and the BBC's Westminster overlords.
As a sort of symbolic sack-cloth shirt, Entwistle will be paid considerably less than his predecessor and may even face the curious management challenge of earning less than some theoretical underlings appointed during a period of splashier salaries. An immediate personal challenge will be difficult conversations with previously senior colleagues who coveted the job, as well as the oddity of dealing with an external regulator – Ed Richards of Ofcom – who also wanted to be DG. Logic suggests that Richards will have to move on.
The key word used by Patten in the global email to staff that announced the appointment was "creative". The challenge for the chair and his new appointee is to solve the paradox of delivering what serious newspapers demand from the BBC – serious and original programming – while also satisfying millions of licence-fee payers who want entertainment and sport which the corporation, competing with reduced funds against ranks of competitors swelled by digital expansion, will struggle to deliver.
In attempting to manage this balancing trick, George Entwistle may come to feel that they are not, as the expression goes, paying him enough.
Former Newsnight editor and current controller of BBC Vision has pledged to return the broadcaster to its creative roots
Published: 4 Jul 2012
No warm welcome for the corporation's new chief, with the Telegraph, Times and Independent all sticking the boot in. By Lisa O'Carroll
Published: 5 Jul 2012
Editorial: The world's greatest programme-making enterprise has rightly been entrusted to an experienced programme-maker
Published: 4 Jul 2012
Hurray! The new director-general of the BBC is another white middle-class man
Published: 4 Jul 2012
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i don't know
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Hyponatremia/hyponatraemia is a problematical reduction of what in human blood serum?
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Hyponatremia: Practice Essentials, Pathophysiology, Epidemiology
Practice Essentials
Overview
Practice Essentials
Hyponatremia is an important and common electrolyte abnormality that can be seen in isolation or, as most often is the case, as a complication of other medical illnesses (eg, heart failure, liver failure, renal failure, pneumonia). The normal serum sodium level is 135-145 mEq/L. Hyponatremia is defined as a serum sodium level of less than 135 mEq/L. Joint European guidelines classify hyponatremia in adults according to serum sodium concentration, as follows [ 1 , 2 ] :
Mild: 130-134 mmol/L
Profound: <125 mmol/L
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms range from nausea and malaise, with mild reduction in the serum sodium, to lethargy, decreased level of consciousness, headache, and (if severe) seizures and coma. Overt neurologic symptoms most often are due to very low serum sodium levels (usually <115 mEq/L), resulting in intracerebral osmotic fluid shifts and brain edema.
Hyponatremia is classified according to volume status, as follows:
Hypovolemic hyponatremia: decrease in total body water with greater decrease in total body sodium
Euvolemic hyponatremia: normal body sodium with increase in total body water
Hypervolemic hyponatremia: increase in total body sodium with greater increase in total body water
Hyponatremia can be further subclassified according to effective osmolality, as follows:
Hypotonic hyponatremia
See Clinical Presentation for more detail.
Diagnosis
There are three essential laboratory tests in the evaluation of patients with hyponatremia that, together with the history and the physical examination, help to establish the primary underlying etiologic mechanism: urine osmolality, serum osmolality, and urinary sodium concentration.
Urine osmolality
Urine osmolality helps differentiate between conditions associated with impaired free-water excretion and primary polydipsia. A urine osmolality greater than 100 mOsm/kg indicates impaired ability of the kidneys to dilute the urine.
Serum osmolality
Serum osmolality readily differentiates between true hyponatremia and pseudohyponatremia. The latter may be secondary to hyperlipidemia or hyperproteinemia, or may be hypertonic hyponatremia associated with elevated glucose, mannitol, glycine (posturologic or postgynecologic procedure), sucrose, or maltose (contained in IgG formulations).
Urinary sodium concentration
Urinary sodium concentration helps differentiate between hyponatremia secondary to hypovolemia and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). With SIADH (and salt-wasting syndrome), the urine sodium is greater than 20-40 mEq/L. With hypovolemia, the urine sodium typically measures less than 25 mEq/L. However, if sodium intake in a patient with SIADH (or salt-wasting) happens to be low, then urine sodium may fall below 25 mEq/L.
See Workup for more detail.
Management
Hypotonic hyponatremia accounts for most clinical cases of hyponatremia and can be treated with fluids. Acute hyponatremia (duration < 48 hours) can be safely corrected more quickly than chronic hyponatremia. The treatment of hypertonic and pseudohyponatremia is directed at the underlying disorder in the absence of symptoms.
Intravenous fluids and water restriction
Administer isotonic saline to patients who are hypovolemic to replace the contracted intravascular volume. Patients with hypovolemia secondary to diuretics may also need potassium repletion, which, like sodium, is osmotically active.
Treat patients who are hypervolemic with salt and fluid restriction, plus loop diuretics, and correction of the underlying condition. The use of a V2 receptor antagonist may be considered.
For euvolemic, asymptomatic hyponatremic patients, free water restriction (< 1 L/day) is generally the treatment of choice. There is no role for hypertonic saline in these patients.
When treating patients with overtly symptomatic hyponatremia (eg, seizures, severe neurologic deficits), hypertonic (3%) saline should be used.
Pharmacologic treatment
Conivaptan, a V1A and V2 vasopressin receptor antagonist, is available only for intravenous use and is approved for use in the hospital setting for euvolemic and hypervolemic hyponatremia. It is contraindicated in hypovolemic patients. It induces both a water and sodium diuresis with improvement in plasma sodium levels.
See Treatment and Medication for more detail.
Next:
Pathophysiology
Hypoosmolality (serum osmolality <280 mOsm/kg) always indicates excess total body water relative to body solutes or excess water relative to solute in the extracellular fluid (ECF), as water moves freely between the intracellular and the extracellular compartments. This imbalance can be due to solute depletion, solute dilution, or a combination of both.
Under normal conditions, renal handling of water is sufficient to excrete as much as 15-20 L of free water per day. Further, the body's response to a decreased osmolality is decreased thirst. Thus, hyponatremia can occur only when some condition impairs normal free water excretion. [ 3 ] Generally, hyponatremia is of clinical significance only when it reflects a drop in the serum osmolality (ie, hypotonic hyponatremia), which is measured directly via osmometry or is calculated as 2(Na) mEq/L + serum glucose (mg/dL)/18 + BUN (mg/dL)/2.8. Note that urea is not an effective osmole, so when the urea levels are very high, the measured osmolality should be corrected for the contribution of urea.
The recommendations for treatment of hyponatremia rely on the current understanding of CNS adaptation to an altered serum osmolality. In the setting of an acute drop in the serum osmolality, neuronal cell swelling occurs due to the water shift from the extracellular space to the intracellular space (ie, Starling forces). Swelling of the brain cells elicits the following two osmoregulatory responses:
It inhibits both arginine vasopressin secretion from neurons in the hypothalamus and hypothalamic thirst center. This leads to excess water elimination as dilute urine.
There is an immediate cellular adaptation with loss of electrolytes, and over the next few days, there is a more gradual loss of organic intracellular osmolytes. [ 4 ]
Therefore, correction of hyponatremia must take into account the chronicity of the condition. Acute hyponatremia (duration < 48 h) can be safely corrected more quickly than chronic hyponatremia. Correction of serum sodium that is too rapid can precipitate severe neurologic complications. Most individuals who present for diagnosis, versus individuals who develop it while in an inpatient setting, have had hyponatremia for some time, so the condition is chronic, and correction should proceed accordingly.
Previous
Epidemiology
United States
The incidence of hyponatremia depends largely on the patient population and the criteria used to establish the diagnosis. Among hospitalized patients, 15-20% have a serum sodium level of <135 mEq/L, while only 1-4% have a serum sodium level of less than 130 mEq/L. The prevalence of hyponatremia is lower in the ambulatory setting.
Mortality/Morbidity
Severe hyponatremia (<125 mEq/L) has a high mortality rate. In patients whose serum sodium level falls below 105 mEq/L, and especially in alcoholics, the mortality is over 50%. [ 5 ]
In patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction, the presence of hyponatremia on admission or early development of hyponatremia is an independent predictor of 30-day mortality, and the prognosis worsens with the severity of hyponatremia. [ 6 ] Bae et al reported that in hospitalized survivors of acute myocardial infarction, the presence of hyponatremia at discharge was an independent predictor of 12-month mortality. The study involved 1290 patients. [ 7 ]
Similarly, cirrhotic patients with persistent ascites and a low serum sodium level awaiting transplant have a high mortality risk despite low severity (MELD) scores (see the MELD Score calculator ). The independent predictors—ascites and hyponatremia—are findings indicative of hemodynamic decompensation. [ 8 , 9 ]
A study by Huang et al indicated that in patients with chronic kidney disease, hyponatremia and hypernatremia are associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality and for deaths unrelated to cardiovascular problems or malignancy. Hyponatremia was also found to be linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular- and malignancy-related mortality in these patients. The study included 45,333 patients with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease, 9.2% of whom had dysnatremia. [ 10 ]
Race-, Sex-, and Age-related Demographics
Hyponatremia affects all races.
No sexual predilection exists for hyponatremia. However, symptoms are more likely to occur in young women than in men. Hyponatremia is more common in elderly persons, because they have anhigher rate of comorbid conditions (eg, cardiac, hepatic, or renal failure) that can lead to hyponatremia.
Previous
References
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McCall B. US and Europe Differ on Use of Vaptans in Hyponatremia. Medscape Medical News. Available at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/845338 . May 26, 2015; Accessed: June 19, 2015.
Media Gallery
Central pontine myelinolysis, MRI FLAIR
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Sodium
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Drugs Causing Low Blood Sodium Levels / Hyponatremia
Hyponatremia is a condition where plasma sodium level falls to less than 135 mmol/L.
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The body maintains a careful balance of electrolytes like sodium, potassium and chloride within the cells as well as in fluid outside the cells like blood and body fluids. Sodium is necessary to carry out some important functions like maintaining blood pressure. It also helps to maintain the function of nerves and muscles. Sodium enters the body through food and fluid intake. The common salt or table salt contains sodium chloride and it is used not only for cooking but also in preservatives. The same sodium chloride also is the reason for the salinity of our oceans. Excess sodium is excreted by the kidneys via the urine. Sodium levels in the plasma are normally maintained at a level of between 135 to 145 mmol/L.
The condition in which plasma level of sodium falls to below 135 mmol/L is called hyponatremia. Hyponatremia causes movement of excess water in the cells, causing them to swell. The cells of the brain in particular are unable to cope up with this swelling since they are confined within the bones of the skull. Thus, many of the symptoms caused by hyponatremia, especially severe cases, are related to the brain.
When taking medication we must remember that some of the drugs cause hyponatremia as a side effect. Many among these bring about this effect by resulting in a condition called SIADH or Syndrome of Inappropriate Secretion of ADH. ADH (antidiuretic hormone) or vasopressin is a hormone secreted by a small gland near the brain called the pituitary. It plays an important role in water absorption from the kidneys and stimulates thirst. Thus, in conditions of dehydration, by increasing water absorption from the urine and stimulating thirst, it helps to maintain the water content of the body.
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SIADH is a condition where the control of ADH secretion is lost and it is secreted independent of the need to conserve water. This results in water retention and subsequent dilution of sodium levels, leading to hyponatremia.
Symptoms of hyponatremia may be mild like:
Nausea, vomiting, headache, and muscle cramps, or Symptoms may be serious like alteration in mental status including confusion, seizures and coma.
If hyponatremia is diagnosed, a careful history should be taken from the patients or their caregivers to find out if the patients are taking any medications that could result in hyponatremia. Stopping the medication usually helps to solve the problem.
Published on Jan 11, 2012
Last Updated on Apr 26, 2016
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How do you know your sodium levels are too low or too high? Are the symptoms different?
Libby Wednesday, October 24, 2012
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2013 RDX - Interior - Honda.com
2013 RDX - Interior
3/26/2012 10:21:00 PM
INTERIOR OVERVIEW
For 2013, the RDX has a whole new interior with more of what customers want. Topping the list is more legroom and shoulder room for both front and rear occupants. More cargo room is now available along with a significantly wider rear hatch opening. More insulation and a new Active Noise Control system help generate a quieter cabin, while two new audio systems deliver a more enjoyable listening experience. Throughout the new "dual personal" cabin, the cockpit design makes use of more sweeping shapes (rather than the previous RDX interior design that had an angular look with more sharp lines). And of course, the 2013 delivers even more driver relevant technology including an available hard disk drive (HDD) based navigation system paired with a new W-VGA monitor. Dual-zone automatic climate control keeps occupants comfortable and tinted door glass reduces eye strain along with the sun load. All said, the 2013 RDX interior has an even more upscale look and a luxury feel that Acura customers have come to expect.
Just as before, RDX seats five but caters to the driver and front passenger first and foremost. Its leather seating surfaces and ergonomically designed seat contours are designed to provide ample support during spirited drives or long road trips. The power actuated driver seat is 8-way adjustable including adjustable lumbar support for a custom fit. Located just rearward of the leather-wrapped steering wheel are LED backlit gauges with progressive illumination and a Multi-Information Display (MID) that allows access to multiple electronic functions.
Acura has long been known for its generous use of high tech items and the 2013 RDX continues with this tradition. New technologies for the 2013 RDX include Pandora® internet radio interface and a SMS text messaging function, while personal comfort is improved via technology in the form of items such as a Keyless Access System with pushbutton start and a new Active Noise Control system. The 2013 RDX features as standard a new rear view camera system with three unique viewing angles.
Among the advanced electronic technologies in the 2013 RDX is a new 360-watt audio system with seven speakers, a CD player, AM/FM radio, XM® Radio with Note function, Bluetooth® Audio, USB port and AUX jack connectivity, and Speed Volume Control (SVC). Staying connected is not a problem as the RDX comes standard with Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® wireless telephone interface that is compatible with most Bluetooth®-enabled mobile telephones.
An available Technology Package integrates seamlessly into the RDX's performance-oriented driving environment. Included is the Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ that has a new W-VGA 8-inch color screen. With the AcuraLink™ Satellite Communication System comes AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™, a system that allows the RDX driver to more easily navigate around congested freeways. In addition, the system includes AcuraLink Traffic Rerouting™ for automatic rerouting around problem areas along the route. Also included is AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ with weather radar image maps to provide weather tracking for area specific, continuously updated weather conditions between your current location and your final destination.
Also part of the RDX's Technology Package is a new Acura/ELS Surround® premium audio system. The new audio system includes a 410-watt Digital Sound Processor amplifier, a 10-speaker surround sound array, and 15 GB of dedicated hard disk drive (HDD) media storage that allows the owner to download and store up to 3,500 songs* for later playback. The Acura/ELS Surround® premium audio system offers DVD-Audio, CD player, DTS™, AM/FM radio, XM® Radio with Note function music reminder, Bluetooth® Audio, and USB port and AUX jack connectivity.
Even more so than every before, transformability of a vehicle is of top concern with buyers- so to be able to quickly and easily convert the RDX from a people hauler to a cargo hauler was paramount. Thus, besides offering exemplary comfort, interior roominess and cargo carrying were high priorities for RDX designers. For 2013, to ease ingress/egress the front doors open wider and the rear door openings are larger. With a new "one touch" activation of the 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks, the rear cargo area (with rear seatbacks folded down) offers 76.9 cubic feet of storage- 16.3 cubic feet more than before. Interior storage compartments include a large center console between the front seats and numerous storage pockets and cubby spaces throughout the RDX. The 2013 RDX has a total passenger volume of 103.5 cubic feet (versus 101.4 cubic feet with previous RDX) which means it has the largest volume in its class.
Interior Features
Luxuriously appointed cockpit designed for comfortable driving
Power-adjustable perforated leather-trimmed seats with heaters
Leather-wrapped steering wheel with fingertip controls
and racing-inspired paddle shifters
Tilt and telescoping steering column
Keyless Access System with pushbutton start
LED backlit gauges with progressive illumination
Multi-Information Display (MID)
Rear view camera with three viewing modes
Active Sound Control
Dual-zone automatic climate control system with air filtration
Power moonroof with tilt, auto-open/close, auto-reverse and key-off operation
One-touch 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks
Acura Premium Sound System with multi-format CD player, AM/FM tuner, and XM® Radio, and seven speakers
USB port and AUX input jack connectivity
Pandora® internet radio interface
Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ (with new 8-inch W-VGA color display screen)
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) system with 60 gigabytes of storage capacity
AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic with Traffic Rerouting™
AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™
GPS-linked solar-sensing, dual-zone automatic climate control system
Acura/ELS Surround® Premium Sound System with DVD-Audio, multi-format CD player, AM/FM tuner, and XM® Radio with Note function, and 10 speakers
Power actuated rear tailgate
DRIVER-ORIENTED COCKPIT AND INSTRUMENTATION
With the commanding outward view of an SUV and a sedan-like seating position, the RDX interior creates a uniquely sporting environment. Acura interior design has always made intuitive functionality a priority, and in the RDX all important systems and controls feature intuitive button location along with easy-to-read markings. The systems used most frequently – audio and cruise control – have switches positioned on the steering wheel and the HVAC buttons are located close to the driver. Technology Package items like Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink®, Satellite-Linked Navigation System and Multi-Information Display (MID) also can be controlled via switches on the steering wheel.
The 2013 RDX has a bold new open-style (the previous RDX had a 3-pod-style) gauge cluster with easy-to-read analog gauges, supplemented with digital and graphic displays. Even though the RDX gives its driver access to many electronic features and conveniences, the interface with each system is simple and intuitive. Sight lines are clear with important items placed within easy view.
MULTI-INFORMATION DISPLAY
The RDX provides important vehicle information via the Multi-Information Display (MID) that is positioned in the upper portion of the speedometer face. An LCD screen shows MID items such as outside air temperature, vehicle mileage and trip mileage, average fuel economy, TPMS status, and controls positioned on the steering wheel allow the driver to cycle the display through additional screens of information while keeping both hands on the wheel.
The MID can display:
Elapsed time
CENTER INSTRUMENT PANEL DISPLAY
To make the climate control and audio systems easy to operate, the RDX has a 5-inch LCD display (left) centrally positioned in the instrument panel. In addition to a digital clock, the upper portion of the screen is devoted to the audio system, and features a multi-line display that can show CD title, as well as RDS radio station information when available. The display incorporates an electronic compass located in the upper right portion of the screen while the lower half of the display is devoted to the automatic climate control system, and shows the operating mode and selected temperature settings.
When equipped with the Technology Package, the center dash display is replaced with an 8-inch W-VGA color screen (right) with an additional display positioned just above. This display shows the most frequently used audio system and climate control settings, which are accessed via the easy-to-use interface dial.
MULTI-VIEW REAR CAMERA
When the RDX transmission is placed in Reverse, the view from a rear-mounted camera is displayed on a 5-inch LCD display that is positioned in the instrument panel. To make it easier for the driver to judge distance and clearance, solid yellow on-screen guidelines indicate the vehicle's width, as well as distances of 1, 2 and 3 meters as measured from the rear of the RDX. In addition, a dotted yellow line marks off the distance required to open the rear hatch.
When equipped with the available Technology Package, a multi-view camera is included that shows one of three different rear view images as displayed on the new W-VGA 8-inch color monitor used for the navigation system.
The primary view is "Normal View," which delivers 130-degrees of rearward visibility. For special conditions, there is the "Wide View," which delivers 175-degrees of rearward visibility. Finally, the "Top View" generates a straight-down look at the trailer hitch area or parking area- thus greatly easing alignment of the trailer or helping when maneuvering in tight parking spaces.
LEATHER-WRAPPED STEERING WHEEL
The 2013 RDX gets a new leather wrapped 3-spoke steering wheel is designed to offer excellent feel and puts the most commonly used controls within fingertip reach. Within the wheel center is SRS front airbag with a cover that is much smoother in design than used with the previous RDX. Audio system controls are positioned on the left spoke with cruise control switches located are on the right spoke. A pair of racing-inspired paddle shifters are located just behind the steering wheel, but are within easy fingertip reach to be able to manually upshift and downshift the new Sequential SportShift 6-speed automatic transmission.
The four o'clock position on the steering wheel has switches that operate the Multi-Information Display. The eight o'clock position is reserved for navigation system controls, including a push-to-talk button to activate the voice recognition system, which provides voice control over the navigation system. Controls for Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® are located on the lower left corner of the steering wheel.
ONE-TOUCH TURN SIGNALS
The 2013 RDX features a new one-touch turn signal system that makes lane changes more convenient. If the RDX driver moves the turn signal lever up (right turn) or down (left turn) for less than 100 milliseconds, the turn signals will flash three times and then self cancel. However, if the turn signal lever is moved up/down for more than 100 milliseconds, normal turn signal operation (consisting of continuous flashing) will occur until the action is cancelled- either manually cancelled by the driver or cancelled via a significant turn of the steering wheel (such as when turning onto a side street).
SEATING
The leather seating surfaces and ergonomically designed seat contours in the 2013 RDX are designed to provide ample support during spirited drives or long road trips. The driver seat is 10-way power adjustable (8-way power seat plus 2-way power lumbar support) and includes a power-adjustable lumbar support mechanism.
INTERIOR ROOMINESS AND CONVENIENCE
The RDX interior offers generous headroom and legroom for five passengers. Rear outboard passengers will also find ample foot room under the front seats.
Convenient storage areas are easily accessible throughout the interior. Each front door panel has a utility compartment built in while in the rear seat area, a center armrest folds down to reveal dual cupholders. The 5.6-liter glovebox is lockable.
Up front, there are two cupholders in the center console that use rubber inserts to better retain contents. Beneath the padded lid of the center console, there is a total of 8.2 liters of storage space. An interior divider makes the console easily adaptable for a variety of needs, including out-of-view storage of valuables such as a camera or a personal music player. The center console also includes an integrated tray that is a convenient way to store items such as a wallet, spare keys, or such.
OVERHEAD CONSOLE
The overhead console incorporates a variety of useful features, including the controls for the HomeLink® system. HomeLink® is a standard feature that allows up to three remote control devices (such as a garage door opener or property gate opener) to be synched to the RDX- thus allowing the remote function to be triggered by the vehicle without needing to carry a variety of bulky remote control devices. Other overhead console features include controls for interior lighting and the power tilt/slide moonroof.
CARGO CARRYING VERSATILITY
Versatile cargo utility is an important attribute of any SUV- something made even better with the 2013 RDX. Behind the rear seats, there is 26.1 cubic feet of storage that is easily accessible via an available new power-actuated rear tailgate. For 2013, the rear opening is 48.8 inches wide- 6.5 inches wider than the 2012 RDX rear opening.
Even more so than ever before, transformability of a vehicle is of top concern with buyers- so to be able to quickly and easily transform the RDX from a people hauler to a cargo hauler was paramount. With a new "one touch" activation of the 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks, the rear cargo area (with rear seatbacks folded down) offers 76.9 cubic feet of storage.
The 2013 RDX has a total passenger volume of 103.5 cubic feet (versus 101.4 cubic feet with previous RDX) which means it has the largest volume in its class.
Interior Lighting
The RDX's driver-oriented interior takes on a technical edge after dark. The analog instruments are LED backlit, with high-contrast markings and a subdued white accent hue. When the driver's door is opened, the instrument lighting comes to life- and then brightens progressively to 100-percent illumination when the ignition is switched on. The illuminated instrument lights then come alive, indicating that the RDX is ready to go. At the end of the drive, the instrument lighting dims progressively.
Interior switches are illuminated to make them easy to locate at night, including the switches on all four doors. All four doors have courtesy lights that illuminate when the doors are open. The RDX has interior lights featuring "theater dimming," which can be customized by the driver via the Multi-Information Display to any of three dimming speeds.
DUAL-ZONE AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM
RDX has a dual-zone, automatic climate control system that lets the driver and front passenger set the temperature to their individual liking. Large, simple-to-use system controls are positioned within easy reach, just below the center instrument panel vents.
In addition, the RDX with Technology Package offers a GPS-linked, solar-sensing, dual-zone, automatic climate control system. Based on continuously updated vehicle position and direction of travel, the navigation system determines the position of the sun relative to the driver and passenger. Combining this information with input from the solar sensor located on top of the instrument panel, the climate control system automatically adjusts the heating and cooling inputs, fan speed, and vent position from side to side as needed to compensate for asymmetrical solar heating and maintain the set cabin temperatures.
ACTIVE SOUND CONTROL
In a first for the RDX, the 2013 model debuts the use of an Active Sound Control system that not only helps eliminate low decibel booming noise entering the cabin, but also helps decrease unwanted high frequency noise. In addition, Active Sound Control is linked to throttle position and engine rpm to provide a quieter cockpit during normal cruising while allowing the 3.5L V-6's muscular sound to be enjoyed during higher rpm, more spirited driving.
The Active Sound Control system operates whenever the car is running, regardless of whether the audio system is on or off. There are two microphones mounted in the headliner- one just behind the front overhead console and another just ahead of the overhead rear light module. The microphones capture low-end drivetrain frequencies entering the cabin, and send a signal to the Active Sound Control unit. The Active Sound Control unit then creates a precisely timed reverse phase audio signal that is sent to an amplifier, which powers the door speakers and the subwoofer positioned on the rear deck.
The Active Sound Control dramatically reduces the booming sound of the exhaust, front and rear. In the frequency range below 100 hertz, Active Sound Control results in an impressive 10 dB reduction in noise level. Moreover, the new Active Sound Control system dramatically reduces high frequency and middle-frequency noise attenuation during normal cruising. In addition, road noise attenuation is also improved over both smooth and rough roads.
7-SPEAKER PREMIUM AUDIO SYSTEM
Built in concert with Panasonic, a new audio system for the 2013 RDX is a 7-speaker design with a CD player, AM/FM tuner, XM® Radio with Note function and Bluetooth® Audio. The CD system can read MP3 and WMA files and includes the Radio Data System (RDS) and Speed Volume Control (SVC).
The system can play audio material from a variety of sources:
Single disc CD player:
MP3 or WMA files (on CD)
AM/FM radio with Radio Data System (RDS)
XM® Radio with Note function music reminder
Bluetooth® Audio
USB port connectivity for items such as an iPod®, iPhone®, or USB storage device
Auxiliary jack for connection of a portable MP3 player
The new audio system uses a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) 360-watt amplifier to drive 1-inch aluminum dome tweeters mounted in each A-pillar, 6.7-inch mid-range speakers positioned in each front door panel, and 3-inch speakers in each rear door panel, as well as an 8-inch subwoofer mounted within a hidden panel at the right rear side of the RDX.
Speed-sensitive Volume Compensation
For optimum sound regardless of vehicle speed, the audio system includes automatic Speed-sensitive Volume Compensation (SVC). SVC adjusts audio volume based on vehicle speed to compensate for continually increasing or decreasing external background sounds in the RDX. The result of SVC is transparent operation and a more consistent perceived sound level regardless of vehicle speed. SVC is standard on both the RDX Premium audio system and RDX with Technology Package.
Connectivity
The sound system offers USB port connectivity (for items such as an iPod®, iPhone® or removable USB storage devices) that now features a significantly faster connection rate (144 ms/track versus the previous 16 ms/track design) for 2013. The USB port is powered and can simultaneously charge plug-in devices while transferring information to the audio system. The USB-connected devices can be operated via the audio system's controls, with filenames and folders appearing on the audio system's three-line text display. When an iPod® is connected via the USB port, the album artwork can now be displayed on the new W-VGA color monitor.
The RDX audio system can also play Bluetooth® Audio when paired with a compatible device. Bluetooth® Audio is a wireless transfer music format that is separate from Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® used for telephone voice communication. Bluetooth® Audio will the display of song title and artist name (when using a compatible phone). There is also an auxiliary (AUX) jack connection enabling use of a portable MP3 music player. The AUX connection requires the music player to be controlled via the device's own interface, though the RDX audio system can control volume, or be used to select a different input- such as the radio, CD player or others.
XM® Radio
XM® Radio is a standard feature with the RDX audio system and it provides more than 200 channels of digital programming with near CD-quality sound. The XM® signal is beamed to two broadcast satellites positioned in geostationary orbit above Earth. The beams from these two broadcast satellites combine to span the entire continental United States and some of Canada.
XM® Radio programming includes channels devoted to music, sports, talk, traffic, weather, children's programming and entertainment. Of the more than 200 XM® channels, 71 are commercial-free. When the RDX audio system plays XM® Radio, the display screen shows the current station, song title, or artist's name. A complimentary three-month subscription to the XM® Radio service is included with purchase of a new RDX, and customers are able to continue the service or cancel any time afterwards.
Note Function for XM®
The RDX audio system includes the Note function for XM® Radio which is designed to be a convenience for owners who want to make note of songs heard on XM®. With the touch of a button, the Note function for XM® Radio records the current song title and artist name in text form, along with a short audio excerpt of the song.
The Note function captures up to 10 seconds of each selected song and can store a total of 30 song excerpts for later playback. Thus, if the RDX driver likes a particular song or artist, it is easy to note (and refer back to) for later consideration.
Pandora Internet Radio Interface
Marking its first ever use by Acura, the 2013 RDX features Pandora® internet radio interface. Pandora® is a free music service that allows users to open an account online and create up to 100 personalized internet "radio stations" that are based on favorite songs or artists. Users can choose among their stations and listen via computer, and can also download a free Pandora® app, which allows users listen to the same list of personalized stations via their compatible smart phone. Although the Pandora® service is free, phone data charges will apply.
At this time, the Pandora® interface in the RDX is only supported on the iPhone®. To use Pandora® in the RDX, an iPhone® is connected via the USB port just forward of the shifter within in the center console. The audio source is set to iPod®, and using the wireless telephone, the Pandora® app is launched. (Note: the Pandora® app is not launched, the iPhone® will function as an iPod®) The Multi-Information Display (MID) displays Pandora® information and album artwork, and the RDX's audio controls allow listeners to choose from among existing stations, pause, resume, skip forward, and mark a track with "like" or "dislike" ratings. To ease driver use, some functionality of the Pandora® iPhone® app is locked out when using the Pandora® interface.
Pandora® internet radio audio can also be streamed wirelessly to the RDX by a compatible cell phone (not only the iPhone®) via the Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® connection. With this type of connection, Pandora must be controlled via the phone. Though the RDX volume control can be used to set the sound level, the other features of the Pandora® interface are not available.
SMS Text Messaging Function
All RDX models have as standard a new SMS text messaging feature that can read incoming texts aloud over the audio system, and allow the driver to reply with any of six factory preset messages. The system works with SMS-capable cellular telephones (such as the Blackberry® and Droid X) that have an active data plan and the Message Access Profile (MAP). Currently, the iPhone® does not support the MAP feature.
Once a compatible cell phone is paired with the RDX's Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® system, the text messaging function is enabled. When the phone receives a text message, an alert appears on the Multi-Information Display (MID). Using the audio system controls, the driver can choose to have the message read aloud, can select among the preset reply choices (see below), or can call the sender- all without touching the phone.
To help avoid driver distraction, the text of the incoming message is not displayed on screen unless the transmission is in Park. Available factory preset text replies:
Talk to you later, I'm driving.
I'm on my way.
No
ACURA/ELS SURROUND® PREMIUM AUDIO SYSTEM
The 2013 RDX with Technology Package is equipped with a new Acura/ELS Surround® 410-watt Premium Audio System with 10 speakers. This highly capable audio system is the next generation of the acclaimed Acura/ELS® system available in the previous generation RDX. Although exceptionally capable, the Acura/ELS® audio system is designed to be simple to operate. Clear, large-format head-unit controls and convenient steering-wheel-mounted buttons make operation intuitive. Select audio system functions can also be accomplished via voice commands.
The Acura/ELS® system gets its name from multi-time Grammy® Award winning producer/engineer Elliot Scheiner's recording industry-recognized moniker "ELS®." Scheiner's goal in the development of the RDX audio system was to capture and reproduce music the way it is heard in the recording studio. The sophisticated ELS® system Scheiner developed together with Panasonic is designed to provide studio quality sound to the interior of the RDX.
The Acura/ELS Surround® premium audio system can play material from:
Single disc player: DVD-Audio, CD audio, DTS CD and MP3 or WMA files (on CD)
15-gigabyte hard disk drive (HDD) media storage (with 3,500-song* capacity)
AM/FM radio with Radio Data System (RDS)
XM® Radio with Note function music reminder
Bluetooth® Audio
USB port connectivity for items such as an iPod®, iPhone®, or removable USB storage device
Auxiliary jack connectivity for a portable MP3 player
*Approximate capacity based on an average song size of 4.0 MB per song at a 128kbps bitrate
The audio system's wide range of formats means it can play audio program material from most common sources. The RDX audio system plays DVD-Audio discs, an advance in reproduction technology that delivers over 500-times higher resolution than traditional CD audio. DVD-Audio delivers smoother, fuller and far more accurate sound through six discrete audio channels.
The addition of hard disk drive (HDD) media storage means the RDX owner can now download CDs to 15 gigabytes of dedicated hard drive space- enough HDD space to hold about 3,500 songs* for later playback. The hard drive's fast file-access time speeds search and retrieval of tracks, and allows tracks to be shuffled by album, artist and genre. Only original CDs and uncompressed CD-R files can be copied to the hard drive (other formats such as DVD-Audio, MP3/WMA, DTS CD, USB, Bluetooth® audio and AUX inputs can not be recorded to the hard drive).
On-board information provided by Gracenote® allows the audio system to display the artist, album name, track name and genre for the program material stored on the hard disk drive (HDD). Gracenote® uses a multi-step recognition method to enable identification, categorization, and organization of digital music. The Gracenote® database is updated quarterly to include new audio releases. The RDX owner can download Gracenote® updates at www.acura.com, and then load them onto a USB thumb drive or CD-R which, in turn, can be downloaded into the audio system. Without the Gracenote® update, newly released audio tracks will play on the Acura/ELS® audio system, but will play without accompanying text information on genre, artist, album name and track name.
The Acura/ELS Surround® premium audio system also offers USB port connectivity for items such as an iPod®, iPhone® or removable USB storage device. The USB port features a significantly faster connection rate than previous versions- 144 ms/track versus 16 ms/track. When an iPod® is connected via the USB port, the album artwork will be displayed on the new W-VGA color monitor.
Moreover, the Acura/ELS® audio system can play Bluetooth® Audio when paired with a compatible device. Bluetooth® audio is a music format that is separate from Bluetooth® used for telephone voice communication. The Bluetooth® Audio allows for the display of song title and artist name (with compatible cellular phone), and Bluetooth® Audio can be easily operated via the audio system's controls.
The audio system's AM/FM radio tuner includes the Radio Data System (RDS). RDS allows digital information sent in FM radio broadcasts to display on the vehicle stereo items such as program information and artist/song info. XM® Radio with Note function music reminder is integrated into the receiver to provide more than 200 channels of digital program material with near-CD quality sound. A text display provides information text on the XM® program material. There is also an auxiliary jack connection for MP3 music players. This basic audio connection requires the music player to be controlled via the device's own interface, though the RDX audio system can control volume- or can be used to select a different input, such as the radio, CD player or others.
Speakers/amplification
The Acura/ELS Surround® premium audio system's 10 speakers create an accurate and dynamic listening experience for all seating positions. Compact 1-inch soft-dome tweeters are positioned in each A-pillar with a 3.2-inch Super Dynamic Range (SDR) driver centered in the top of the instrument panel. Two more 3.2-inch SDR drivers are located high up in the rear. Fitted to the front and rear door panels are 6.7-inch SDR speakers, and at the rear is an 8-inch Super Low Distortion Driver (SLDD) subwoofer. The 10 speaker array is driven by a 410-watt Digital Signal Processing (DSP) amplifier that is located near the head unit.
Song By Voice™
With so much audio content available with the RDX's new hard disk drive (HDD) storage and in a user's iPod®, Acura engineers set out to make it easy to choose audio content while driving. Song By Voice™ (SBV) lets the driver choose music by artist, album, song title, genre, playlist and even composer.
From most navigation screens, the driver simply presses the "TALK" button on the steering wheel and then says "iPod Search" or "HDD Search." A category screen appears, and the user can choose by voice among categories to select the content they want. Alternately, selections can also be made using the interface dial. To improve voice recognition performance with unique words, the system has a feature that accommodates phonetic adjustment for up to 2,000 names. These updated phonetic names then apply to Song By Voice™ use of the hard drive or a connected iPod®.
BLUETOOTH® HANDSFREELINK® WIRELESS TELEPHONE INTERFACE
All RDX models feature as standard Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® hands-free telephone interface that is designed to work with most Bluetooth®-enabled mobile telephones. Bluetooth® is a radio frequency-based cable replacement technology that lets portable devices (such as mobile telephones, PDAs, and laptop computers) communicate wirelessly. The RDX system is compatible with Bluetooth®-enabled cellular phones that have the Hands Free Profile (HFP). Some early Bluetooth®-enabled phones do not have this communications protocol. After the driver completes a one-time pairing process, the RDX will communicate wirelessly and securely with the driver's cellular telephone. The phone needs to be on, but it can be stowed in a pocket, briefcase, purse, or anywhere inside the RDX cabin.
Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® allows the driver to send or answer telephone calls without removing hands from the steering wheel. When a call comes in, the telephone number of the incoming caller is displayed on the Multi-Information Display located in the speedometer face. In addition, a telephone ring tone is played over the audio system. If the driver chooses to answer the call, a press of the "Pick up" button (located at the eight o'clock position of the steering wheel) mutes the audio system and the incoming caller is heard over the audio system speakers. An overhead microphone picks up the driver's voice. Algorithms built into the Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® system cancel "echo effect" and reduce background noise to improve the transmission quality of the driver's speech.
To send a call hands-free, the driver can dial the number by voice to activate the system. The driver also can store frequently called numbers with voice tags in the system's address book. Up to six different compatible mobile telephones can be paired with the Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® system at one time. Additional information can be found at www.acura.com/handsfreelink or www.handsfreelink.com .
AcuraLink® Satellite Communication System
The RDX with Technology Package comes with the latest generation of the AcuraLink® Satellite Communication System that allows for 2-way communication between Acura and the vehicle- allowing customers access to the latest information specific to their vehicle. In cases where communication to and from the Acura Telematics server is needed, the owner's Bluetooth®-compatible cellular telephone is used.
AcuraLink® messages consist of text displayed on the navigation screen plus details via Text-To-Speech that can be heard over the RDX audio system. Each AcuraLink® message is prioritized by importance and high priority messages are displayed immediately upon receipt. Other messages trigger an icon on the navigation screen. Low priority messages display during vehicle start-up to avoid distractions. The RDX owner can choose to read the message immediately, or archive the message to be read later.
A variety of AcuraLink® messages can be sent to the RDX, including Maintenance Minder™ (detailed information regarding the next required maintenance), Quick Tips (information to help maximize the benefit and enjoyment of RDX features), Feature Guide (supplements to the Owner's Manual), Diagnostic Info (detailed information and instruction should an onboard system issue arise), information regarding a service or repair required as well as service appointment reminders. The RDX owner has complete control over the types of messages received and all AcuraLink® preferences can be set via the Owner Link® website.
Since the system allows 2-way data communication between the RDX and the Acura Telematics Server, AcuraLink® can provide the driver with vital information that previously has been unavailable. For example, if an ABS/BRAKE warning light were to appear on the RDX instrument panel, AcuraLink® would automatically send a trouble code to the Acura Telematics Server (if a linked-phone is in range and the user has authorized data transmission), which would interpret the code and then sends a message back to the RDX (for example, "ABS and EBD shut down. Drive slowly. Avoid sudden hard braking."). With this important information, the RDX driver knows if a particular issue is serious enough to cancel a trip, if it can be dealt with later or if it requires special driving techniques. The AcuraLink® data connection is enabled even if the monthly XM® Radio service package is not activated.
ACURALINK REAL-TIME TRAFFIC™ WITH TRAFFIC REROUTING ™
With AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic with Traffic Rerouting™, the RDX's navigation screen can display continually updated traffic information including traffic flow, incidents and construction on freeways in 130 major metropolitan areas. The information is part of the XM NavTraffic® feature (aggregated by NAVTEQ™ from multiple sources including police and highway patrol incident reports and transportation departments). Information is transmitted by XM® satellites to the vehicle where it is graphically displayed on the RDX's navigation screen with a zoom scale ranging between 1/20-mile to 5-mile increments.
To see details or select traffic incidents, the RDX owner can click on an icon on the map by pushing "Enter" on the interface dial. The RDX driver can avoid congestion en route and choose the fastest path to their destination with traffic information that is continuously updated. The system displays traffic incidents, determines average traffic speed and estimates travel time along the chosen route. It can automatically recalculate results as factors change. Plus, the XM NavTraffic® technology alerts drivers of scheduled traffic incidents such as construction and road closures, plus unscheduled incidents such as collisions or disabled vehicles.
When traffic congestion or road incidents are detected along the selected drive route entered into the navigation system, Traffic Rerouting™ can automatically recalculate a detour route and display a pop-up box signifying the route change. Alternately, the driver can recalculate a route in manual mode simply by selecting "TRAFFIC INCIDENTS" from the Map Info menu followed by selecting the "AVOID" command relevant to an incident.
AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™ with Traffic Rerouting™ gives RDX owners a useful time saving tool on freeways. AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™ is offered on a subscription basis following a 3-month free trial period. In addition to on-screen traffic information, RDX owners who maintain their XM® Radio service also receive more general audio traffic information for more than 130 major metropolitan areas that runs on a 2-3 minute loop.
130 major metropolitan markets
Voice recognition function with over 1,100 navigation commands minimizes the need for manual character entry
Voice recognition system recognizes city and street names as spoken words
Simple system operation with clear visual prompts to guide voice navigation
Interface Dial simplifies control of the system and is accessible to driver and front seat passenger
Audio system automatically mutes for turn-by-turn voice guidance (voice guidance can be turned off at any time)
Voice Recognition™ operates common audio and climate control functions
Highly directional array microphone for precise Voice Command recognition
On-screen picture of highway interchanges indicates which lane(s) to use to stay on route
3 languages for all destinations (English, French and Spanish)
Destination memory recalls current trip addresses, previous destinations and user address books
Split-screen mode features simultaneous "map view" and selective route visualization
Trip routing can avoid user-selected areas
Telephone calls to on-screen points of interest with Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink®
Trip routing can include up to five user-chosen way points
Ambient light sensing automatically adjusts screen brightness for the conditions
Rearview camera displays image on W-VGA color navigation screen when transmission is placed in Reverse
Navigation system can be updated with available DVD
Store and display owner image files as wallpaper on navigation screen (store up to 10 images each for Driver 1 and Driver 2)
Enhanced database:
Point Of Interest (POI) database includes approximately 7 million locations
Fuzzy logic POI and address searching simplifies and speeds searches
Smart logic for restaurant POI simplifies searching
Business and recreation directory of virtually all of the continental United States complete with telephone numbers
ZIP code entry speeds address input
Directory categories include restaurants (searchable by type of cuisine), lodging, shopping, airports, hospitals, recreation areas and much more
Zagat Survey™ restaurant guide provides information and reviews on restaurants in database, which can be read on-screen or heard over the audio system
Scenic Route drive route listings categorized by individual state
Exact addressing locates approximately 80-percent of addresses at their actual GPS coordinates (instead of estimating location based on linear street number)
Destinations are searchable by GPS coordinates
The Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ tracks the position of the RDX based on positioning data from up to 12 orbiting Global Positioning Satellites (GPS). If GPS reception is blocked by a tall building, tunnel, or parking garage, an internal gyroscopic system with a speed sensor tracks the location to keep the mapping information current and reliable until satellite reception is restored.
The RDX navigation system stores its mapping data on a new, larger internal hard disk drive (HDD). The same drive is partitioned and used by the audio system to store audio files. Much faster than a DVD drive system, the new HDD is the key to the system's impressive search and routing speed. The system can be updated annually with the latest mapping information by inserting an update disc into the audio system's slot-loading CD/DVD drive. DVD update discs are available for purchase on an annual basis on-line at www.acura.com or by calling 888-549-3798.
The navigation system can be controlled by using the interface dial by choosing menu options or by spelling out a word (e.g., an address, business name or place). Characters on an on-screen keypad can be selected using the Interface Dial. For voice operation, the driver simply presses the "Talk" button on the steering wheel and says any of a number of preset command phrases. The system responds to more than 1,100 command phrases, as well as to spoken city and street names. Voice recognition capability saves time and simplifies operation of the system.
The audio system is automatically muted when the "Talk" button is pressed, and an overhead array microphone receives the command from the driver. Commands can be given in plain English, such as "Display gas stations," "Find nearest hospital," or "Find nearest Chinese restaurant." The RDX voice recognition technology allows the driver to simply speak city and street names aloud, and the system responds by displaying matches available in the database. Points of interest on the map (such as restaurants or grocery stores) can be displayed or you can have the system provide turn-by-turn navigation- all by voice command. The massive point-of-interest (POI) database includes telephone numbers, which can be dialed by using the Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® system or with the driver's cellular telephone.
Wallpaper image display
To further customize the RDX interior, the navigation system allows the storage of up to 10 images each for each driver (two RDX drivers total) on the built-in hard disk drive (HDD) media storage. Any one of the stored images can be displayed as a full-screen image on the navigation display when the display is not otherwise in use. To avoid driver distraction, there is no "slide show" function.
JPEG images can be loaded from a home computer onto a USB storage device, such as a thumb drive. Then the thumb drive can be plugged into the USB port that located just in front of the shifter within the center console. Using on-screen menus, the images can then be transferred to the RDX internal hard disk drive (HDD) media storage. Each driver can then choose among their stored images for display, or set the system to not display wallpaper.
ACURALINK REAL-TIME WEATHER™
The ideal complement to AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™ is the RDX's integrated AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™. In difficult driving conditions, AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ can provide an up-to-date weather picture.
Key features
Specific area weather information
Weather radar image maps
AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ was co-developed with XM NavWeather® to provide a personal weather tracking system for area specific, continually updated weather conditions between your current location and your final destination. The system focuses on the specific weather on your personal drive route, rather than just offering general weather conditions for a region. AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ information is continuously updated and is delivered to the vehicle navigation system via the RDX's built-in XM® receiver.
AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ technology is enhanced for specific travel conditions in 21 specific major metropolitan areas. The information focuses on identifying potential weather threats along with current and future forecast weather conditions. The navigation screen displays current weather conditions in an easy-to-read format. By moving the RDX's navigation system cursor to the desired location on the map you can obtain weather info for a specific location. Press the "Enter" button and information regarding your current location will return.
Unique Threat Matrix Technology within AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ generates prompts with specific icons (within 46 different categories) that inform the driver if the vehicle is headed into oncoming severe weather- such as a developing snow storm, ice, wind shear or an area covered by a tornado warning. Based on this advance information, the RDX driver can choose to reroute before encountering the severe weather. When the display is zoomed out to reveal the entire United States, a weather radar image map shows current weather patterns across the entire country. AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ offers 1- or 3-day weather forecasts for specific areas of the United States.
Weather data is provided by Baron Services, Inc., which deciphers a complex array of National Weather Service information to produce the weather information provided to Acura owners. RDX owners receive a complementary 3-month trial subscription that delivers AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ along with AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™ and XM® Radio. After the complementary subscription expires, AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ is available by monthly subscription. In addition, it can be obtained in combination with AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™ and/or XM® Radio- or as a combined package of all three features on a monthly subscription basis.
ACURALINK REAL-TIME WEATHER™ INFORMATION
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CONFIG.SYS
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Manolete, Belmonte, Gallito and Tomas are famous names from what discipline?
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Jonathan Ive and the Future of Apple - The New Yorker | Apple Inc.
Jonathan Ive and the Future of Apple - The New Yorker
Jonathan Ive and the future of Apple
Jonathan Ive and the future of Apple
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Named from Spanish, 'Land of Fire', what archipelago is the closest land mass to the Antarctic Penninsular?
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List of archipelagos - StudyBlue
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List of archipelagos
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ( the world's second largest )Belcher Islands
The Belcher Islands are an archipelago in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in Hudson Bay.
Along with Flaherty Island, the other large islands are Kugong Island, Tukarak Island, and Innetalling Island.[1]Other major islands in the 1,500 island archipelago are Moore Island, Wiegand Island, Split Island, Snape Island and Mavor Island.
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ( the world's second largest )The Queen Elizabeth Islands (formerly Parry Islands or Parry Archipelago)
Ellesmere Island
Sverdrup Islands
Parry Islands
Amund Ringnes Island, Axel Heiberg Island, Bathurst Island,Borden Island, Cornwall Island, Cornwallis Island, Devon Island, Eglinton Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, Mackenzie King Island, Melville Island, and Prince Patrick Island.[1]
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Franz Josef Land, Franz Joseph Land, or Francis Joseph's Land is anarchipelago located in the far north of Russia. It is found in the Arctic Ocean north of Novaya Zemlya and east of Svalbard, and is administered by Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Zemlya Aleksandry (Alexandra Land)
Ostrov Rudol'fa (Prince Rudolf Island)
Ostrov Kheysa / G.M.O.Imyenya Z.T.Krenkel'a. (Heiss Island) Krenkel
Ostrov Greem-Bell (Graham Bell Island)
Zemlya Georga (Prince George Land
Lofoten (Northern Sami: Lofuohta) is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.
Southern tip of Hinnøya.
Southern 60 % (approx.) of Austvågøy
Gimsøy
Flakstadøya
Moskenesøya
The New Siberian Islandsare an archipelago, located to the North of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic.
Kotelny Island
Vilkitsky Island
Zhokhov Island
Novaya Zemlya also known in English and in Dutch as Nova Zembla, Norwegian Gåselandet (The Goose Land)) is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe at Cape Zhelaniya
Novaya Zemlya consists of two major islands, separated by the narrow Matochkin Strait, and a number of smaller islands. The two main islands are Severny (northern) and Yuzhny (southern). Novaya Zemlya separates the Barents Sea from the Kara Sea.
Severnaya Zemlya is an archipelago in the Russian high Arctic located off mainland Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula across the Vilkitsky Strait. This archipelago separates two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Kara Sea in the west and the Laptev Sea in the east.
October Revolution, Bolshevik, Komsomolets, and Pioneer
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. Located north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.
Spitsbergen is the largest island, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya.
Barentsøya
Svenskøya
Wilhelmøya
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that includes Great Britain, Ireland and over six thousand smaller islands.
There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland. The British Isles also include three dependencies of the British Crown: the Isle of Man and, by tradition, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands
The Chausey Islands south of Jersey are not generally included the Channel Islands but occasionally described as 'French Channel Islands' in English in view of their French jurisdiction.
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. they are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm (the main islands); Jethou, Brecqhou (Brechou) and Lihou.
The Hebrides west coast of Scotland.
The outer hebrides has 15 inhabited islands in this archipelago. The main islands include Barra, Benbecula, Berneray, Harris,Lewis, North Uist, South Uist, and St Kilda.
The Hebrides can be divided into two main groups, separated from one another by The Minch to the north and the Sea of the Hebrides to the south. The Inner Hebrides lie closer to mainland Scotland and include Islay, Jura, Skye, Mull, Raasay, Staffa and the Small Isles.
The Isles of Scilly off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. They are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall.
St Mary's
St Martin's (with White Island)
St Agnes (with Gugh)
Bryher (with Gweal)
Samson
Orkney is an archipelago in northern Scotland, The largest island, known as the "Mainland" has an area of 523.25 square kilometres making it the sixth largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles.
Orkney Mainland
Graemsay
Wyre
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland, off the northeast coast. The islands lie to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east.
Papa Stour
Tórshavn (
Streymoy, southern part )
------- It began with a Viking “Thing”, followed by a market, later it became a thriving town, and today it is one of the smallest and most pleasant capital cities in the world.
Streymoy
Suðuroy
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Vestmannaeyjar (English: Westman Islands) is a town and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland.Vestmannaeyjar came to international attention in 1973 with the eruption of Eldfell volcano.
Vestmannaeyjar comprises the following islands:
Heimaey (13.4 km²)
Elliðaey (0.45 km²
the islands Hani, Hæna and Hrauney and the skerry Grasleysa are called Smáeyjar (small islands).
The Bight of Bonny (also known as the Bight of Biafra) is a bight off the West African coast, in the easternmost part (beyond the Bight of Benin to the West) of the Gulf of Guinea. It extends from the river delta of the Niger in the north until it reaches Cape Lopez in Gabon.
Countries located at the Bight of Bonny are Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea (including Annobon), São Tomé and Príncipe and Gabon.
Annobón (or Annabon or Anabon; from Ano bom Portuguese for Good Year), also known as Pagalu or Pigalu, is an island of Equatorial Guinea.
Bioko (spelled also Bioco, in Europe traditionally called Fernando Pó) is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, in particular Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at 3,012 m (9,882 ft).
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe is the second-smallest African country in terms of population (the Seychelles being the smallest). It is the smallest country in the world that is not a former British overseas territory, a former United States trusteeship, or one of the European microstates. It is also the smallest Portuguese-speaking country.
Saint Helena is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha.
Tristan da Cunha It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world.uninhabited Nightingale Islands and the wildlife reserves of Inaccessible Island and Gough Island. It has a permanent population of 275
The Bahamas
San Salvador Island
Bermuda ( Somers Islands)
Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,373 kilometres (853 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida. Its capital city is Hamilton. It has a subtropical climate.[5] For a place of such small size, there have been many shipwrecks nearby.
Fernando de Noronha The area is a special municipality (distrito estadual) of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco[4] (despite being closer to the state of Rio Grande do Norte)[5] and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its timezone is UTC−2 hours. The local population and travellers can get to Noronha by plane or cruise from Recife[6] (545 km) or by plane from Natal[7] (360 km). A small environmental preservation fee is charged from tourists upon arrival by Ibama
The Magdalen Islands form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec.
There are eight major islands: Havre-Aubert, Grande Entrée, Cap aux Meules, Grosse Île, Havre aux Maisons, Île aux Loups, Île d'Entrée and Brion.
The Outer Lands is a term denoting the prominent terminal moraine archipelagic region off the southern coast of New England in the United States. This region of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York, comprises the peninsula of Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard, the Elizabeth Islands, Nantucket, Block Island, and Long Island, as well as surrounding islets.
The Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago is a group of 15 small islands and rocks in the Atlantic Ocean.It lies in the ITCZ, a region of severe storms. It is approximately 510 nmi ( 590 mi) from the northeastern coastal town of Touros, (388 mi) northeast of the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, and (620 mi) from the city of Natal.
The islets expose serpentinized mantle peridotite and kaesurtite mylonite on the top of the second-largestmegamullion in the world (after the Parece Vela megamullion under Okinotorishima in the Pacific), and they are the only location on Earth where the abyssal mantle is exposed above sea level.
British Antarctic Survey maintain scientific bases at Bird Island and at the capital, King Edward Point, as well as museum staff at nearby Grytviken.
The Argentine claim over South Georgia contributed to the 1982 Falklands War, during which Argentine forces briefly occupied part of the Island. Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Tierra del Fuego
The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chileand Argentina with an area of 48,100 km2 (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands including Cape Horn.
Turks and Caicos Islands
The territory is geographically contiguous to the Bahamas, both comprising the Lucayan Archipelago, but is politically a separate entity. The Caicos Islands are separated by the Caicos Passage from the closest Bahamian islands,Mayaguana and Great Inagua.
Lucayan Archipelago
The Lucayan Archipelago, as defined by Julian Granberry, consists of the islands of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and of theTurks and Caicos Islands (a British Overseas Territory)
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
The archipelago, consisting of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands, is a self-governing British Overseas Territory. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland.
Azores
São Miguel Terceira São Jorge Faial Flores Santa Maria Graciosa Corvo
Canary Islands
Cape Verde Islands
The islands are spatially divided into two groups:
The Ilhas de Barlavento (English: windward islands): Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista;[10] and
The Ilhas de Sotavento (English: leeward islands): Maio, Santiago, Fogo, Brava.[10
Barlavento Islands
It can be divided in to two groups: Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Santa Luzia islands and Branco and Raso islets lie to the west and are rocky, volcanic, agricultural islands.
Sal and Boa Vista lie to the east and are flat, desert islands with economies once based on salt and now turning to tourism, having more in common with Maio among the Sotavento.
Minor islets include Ilhéu de Sal-Rei
The Sotavento islands
The Sotavento islands (literally, the Leeward), is the southern island group of Cape Verde archipelago.
There are four main islands: Brava, Fogo and Santiago are rocky and volcanic agricultural islands, with the longest histories of human inhabitance and densest populations in the Cape Verdes. Maio lies to the east and is a flat desert island whose economy was primarily based on salt, giving it more in common with Sal and Boa Vista among the Barlavento.
Madeira
Madeira, Porto Santo, Desertas,Selvagem
Savage Islands
The Savage Islands, also referred to as the Salvage Islands or the Selvagens Islands,[1] (Portuguese: Ilhas Selvagens, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈiʎɐʃ sɛɫˈvaʒɐ̃ȷ̃ʃ]; Spanish: Islas Salvajes) is a small uninhabitable[2] Macaronesia archipelago in the North Atlantic, roughly midway between Madeira and the Canary Islands.
Åland Islands
Åland comprises Fasta Åland (the "Main Island," with 90% of the population),[2] together with an archipelago to the east that comprises over 6,500 skerries and islands. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Sweden by 38 kilometres (24 mi) of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is contiguous with the Finnish Archipelago Sea. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry ofMärket,[3] which it shares with Sweden.
Archipelago Sea
Archipelago Sea (Finnish Saaristomeri, Swedish Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it is the largest archipelago in the world by the number of islands, although many of the islands are very small and tightly clustered.
Stockholm archipelago
The Stockholm archipelago (Swedish: Stockholms skärgård) is the biggest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the biggest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.Some of its more well known islands are Dalarö, Finnhamn, Grinda, Husarö, Ingarö, Isö,Ljusterö, Möja, Nämdö, Rödlöga, Tynningö, Utö, Svartsö and Värmdö.
Turku archipelago
Turku archipelago may refer to:
Archipelago Sea, part of the Baltic Sea outside the Finnish city of Turku
Islands of Turku, islands inside the city limits of Turku
West Estonian archipelago
Vormsi
ABC islands (Lesser Antilles)
The ABC islands[1] are Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. They are the three western-most islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean, north of Falcón State, Venezuela. From west to east they are, in order: Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire.
Florida Keys
Key Largo , Dry Tortugas, key west, islamorada
Los Roques archipelago
The archipelago is located 80 miles (128 km) directly north of the port of La Guaira, and is a 40-minute flight, has a total area of 40.61 square kilometres. Being almost an untouched coral reef,
Because of the wide variety of seabirds and rich aquatic life, the Venezuelan government declared Los Roques a National Park in 1972.
Caribbean -(west indies)
The region consists of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north, the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands or the Lucayan Archipelago, which are in fact in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, not in the Caribbean Sea.
Aegean Islands
List of islands of Turkey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Turkey
List of islands of Greece
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Greece
The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera.
Ionian Islands
The seven are, from north to south:
Kerkyra usually known as Corfu in English
Paxi also known as Paxos in English
Lefkada also known as Lefkas in English
Ithaki usually known as Ithaca in English
Kefalonia often known as Kefalonia, Cephalonia and Kefallinia in English
Zakynthos sometimes known as Zante in English
Kythira sometimes known as Cerigo in English
Kornati
The Kornati archipelago in Croatia is located in the northern part of Dalmatia, west from Šibenik, in the Šibenik-Knin county.
Malta one of the world's smallest and most densely populated countries
Malta (Malta), Gozo (Għawdex), and Comino (Kemmuna)
Pontine Islands
The Pontine Islands are an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy. The islands were collectively named after the largest island in the group, Ponza. The other islands in the archipelago are Palmarola, Zannone, and Gavi to the northwest, Ventotene and Santo Stefano to the southeast.
Tuscan Archipelago
The archipelago contains the islands of Gorgona, Capraia, Elba (the largest island of the group), Pianosa, Montecristo, Giglio, and Giannutri; all of which are protected as part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park.
Dutch Wadden Islands
Langli (uninhabited)
Southern Gothenburg Archipelago - lies off the coast of Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city.
One of the islands, Brännö, is described as an important location for fairs in the Laxdaela saga, and it is also considered to be the likely location of Breca and the Brondings of the Anglo-Saxon poems Widsith and Beowulf.
Andaman Islands
North Andaman Island is 285 kilometres (177 mi) south of Burma although a few smaller islands including the three Coco Islands which belong to Burma are further north, while at the southern end of the archipelago the Ten Degree Channel separates the Andamans from the Nicobar Islands to the south. The highest point in the Andamans is Saddle Peak Most of the forests are evergreen but there are areas of deciduous forest on North Andaman,Middle Andaman, Baratang and parts of South Andaman Island.
Chagos Archipelago formerly Oil Islands
The largest individual islands are Diego García , Eagle , Île Pierre , Eastern Egmont , Île du Coin and Île Boddam .
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
North Keeling Island is an atoll consisting of just one C-shaped island. Pulu Keeling National Park, established on 12 December 1995. It is home to the only surviving population of the endemic, and endangered,Cocos Buff-banded Rail.
South Keeling Islands is an atoll consisting of 24 individual islets forming an incomplete atoll ring, with a total land area of 13.1 square kilometres (5.1 sq mi). Only Home Island and West Island are populated
Comoro Islands They are divided between the sovereign state of Comoros and the French overseas department of Mayotte.
Ngazidja (or Grande Comore):
Île de la Possession (Possession Island)
Île de l'Est (East Island)
Kerguelen Islands also known as Desolation Islands, are a group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean constituting the emerged part of the otherwise submerged Kerguelen Plateau.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Islands
Langkawi,officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia.
There are two island areas. The Southern Islands, with a heavy tourist population and the islands to the North East which are more secluded without tourist traffic. Langun Island has a fresh water lake like Pregnant Maiden Lake only without the tourists and has Sand Spit Beach on its South facing orientation. Dendang Island next to it form a spectacular bay popular with Langkawi sailing yacht tour operators who favour the area for its natural beauty and peace.
Lakshadweep also known as the Laccadive Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala. The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India.
India`s Coral Islands
The Amindivi group islands and the Lakshadweep group islands , both have a submarine connection between them, together with the Minicoy Island form the Coral Islands of India in the Arabian Sea. All these islands have been built up by corals and have fringing coral reefsvery close to their shores.
Maldives
Vaikaradhoo
Mascarene Islands
is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius,Réunion,Seychelles, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks.
Mentawai Islands Regency
are a chain of about seventy islands and islets off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Siberut (4,030 km²) is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura, North Pagai (Pagai Utara) and South Pagai (Pagai Selatan). The islands lie approximately 150 km off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait. The indigenous inhabitants of the islands are known as theMentawai people.
Mergui Archipelago or Pashu Islands
is an archipelago in far southernMyanmar (Burma). It consists of more than 800 islands, varying in size from very small to hundreds of square kilometres, all lying in theAndaman Sea off the western shore of the Malay Peninsula near its landward (northern) end where it joins the rest of Indochina.
The largest and highest island is King Island[1]
The Mozambique Channel (Bassas da India, Europa, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova) is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar.
Islands in the channel
Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago
Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are part of a great island arc created by the collision of the Indo-Australian Plate with Eurasia. The collision lifted theHimalayas and most of the Indonesian islands, and created a long arc of highlands and islands, which includes the Arakan Yoma range ofMyanmar, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and the islands off the west coast of Sumatra, including the Banyak Islands and Mentawai Islands.
The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are politically part of South Africa.
The two islands are named Marion Island and Prince Edward Island.
Seychelles
is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar. It is part of the Mascarene Islands along with Mauritius and Reunion.
Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Réunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles, with an estimated population of 86,525, has the smallest population of any African state.[3]
The Aldabra Group are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, lying in the southwest of the island nation, 1000 kilometres from the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island.
Aldabra Atoll
Cosmoledo Atoll
Astove Island
The Amirante Islands), a group of coral islands and atolls, belong to the Outer Islands of the Seychelles.
There are eight single islands (five low sand cays and three uplifted sand cays), plus three atolls with a total of 18 islets (St. Joseph Atoll with 14, Desroches with 1, Poivre Atoll with 3).
The Farquhar Group belong to the Outer Islands of the Seychelles
Farquhar Atoll
St. Pierre Island
Wizard Reef
Socotra is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. Socotra is part of the Republic of Yemen.
Socotra is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth of continental origin.
The archipelago consists of the main island of Socotra , the three smaller islands of Abd al Kuri, Samhah andDarsa and small rock outcrops like Ka'l Fir'awn and Sābūnīyah that are uninhabitable by humans but important for seabirds
Tromelin Island
In 1761 the French ship Utile, carrying slaves from Madagascar to Mauritius, ran onto the reefs of the island. The crew reached Madagascar in a raft, abandoning some 60 slaves on the desert island. Fifteen years later in 1776, the chevalier de Tromelin captain of the French warship La Dauphine, visited the island and rescued the survivors — seven women and an eight-month-old child. Tromelin Island was occupied by France in 1954 while it was part of Mauritius and is claimed by Mauritius
The Zanzibar Archipelago consists of several islands lying off the coast of East Africa in the Indian Ocean.
Main islands
Unguja Island, the largest, colloquially referred to as Zanzibar
Pemba Island, the second largest
Dahlak Archipelago
The pearl fisheries of the archipelago have been famous since Roman times and still produce a substantial number of pearls. Only four of the islands are permanently inhabited, of which Dahlak Kebir is the largest and most populated. Other inhabited islands of the archipelago are Dhuladhiya, Dissei, Dohul, Erwa, Harat, Harmil, Isra-Tu, Nahaleg, Norahand Shumma, although not all are permanently inhabited.
Farasan Islands is a large coral island group in the Red Sea, belonging to Saudi Arabia.
It is a protected area and was home to the extinct Arabian gazelle and, in winter, migratory birdsfrom Europe. The largest island of the archipelago is Farasan Island; others include Sajid Island and Zufaf Island.
[edit]
Aleutian Islands formerly known as Catherine archipelago
comprise five groups (east to west): the Fox, Islands of Four Mountains,Andreanof, Rat, and Near island groups (with Buldir Island halfway between Favian and Diana Islands, but part of neither group).
The largest islands in the Aleutians are Attu (also the nearest to the mainland), and Unalaska, Umnak and Akun in the Fox Islands.
Alexander Archipelago off the southeastern coast ofAlaska.
The largest islands are Chichagof Island, Admiralty Island, Baranof Island, Wrangell Island, Revillagigedo Island, Kupreanof Island, Dall Island andPrince of Wales Island.
Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island and Sitka on Baranof Island are the largest towns on the islands. The most populous neighborhoods of the largest town in the region, Juneau, are on the mainland, though portions of the city also lie on Douglas Island, which is a part of the archipelago.
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along theSanta Barbara Channel in the United States of America. Five of the islands are part of the Channel Islands National Park.
Santa Catalina Island is the only one of the eight islands with a significant permanent civilian settlement—the resort city of Avalon, California, and the unincorporated town of Two Harbors.
Natural Seepage of Oil occurs at several places in the Santa Barbara channel.
The Channel Islands at low elevations are virtually frost-free and constitute one of the few such areas in the 48 contiguous US states. It snows only rarely, on higher mountain peaks.
Chiloé Archipelago consists of several islands lying off the coast of Chile. It is separated from mainland Chile by Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and Gulf of Corcovado to the southeast.
The main island is Chiloé Island. The province of Chiloé includes all the Chiloé Archipelago except the Grupo Desertores islands, plus the Isla Guafo.
The Desventuradas Islands (Spanish: Unfortunate Islands) is a group of four small islands located 850 kilometres (530 mi) off the coast of Chile, northwest of Santiago in the Pacific Ocean.[1] The islands together have a total land area of four squarekilometers.
The islands were sighted by Juan Fernández in 1574, and perhaps earlier by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520. Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa wrote in 1579 that "they are now called after St Felix and St Ambor (i.e. Felix and Nabor)". However, by linguistic corruption, the name of the martyrAmbor (Nabor) became confused with that of the more famous bishop Saint Ambrose (San Ambrosio).[2]
San Felix played a part in the Falklands war.
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean
there are 18 main islands. Refer to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia (also known as the Gulf of Georgia, ), betweenVancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada.
The major Southern Gulf Islands, in alphabetical order, are:
Gabriola Island
Santa Clara
Alejandro Selkirk Island
The islands are mainly known for having been the home to the sailor Alexander Selkirk for four years
Patagonic Archipelago
The Patagonic Archipelago is an archipelago on the southwest of coast of South America covering about one third of Chile's coast. Situated between Chacao Channel and Drake's Passage it covers large parts of Chilean Aisén and Magallanes Region. Due to its position between the south Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific, it has strategic waterways such as the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel.
Chonos Archipelago ) is a series of low mountainous elongated islands with deep bays, traces of a submerged Chilean Coast Range.
The deep Moraleda Channelseparates the islands of the Chonos Archipelago from the mainland of Chile and from Magdalena Island.
The largest islands are Melchor Island, Benjamin Island, Traiguen Island, Riveros Island, Cuptana Island, James Island, Victoria Island,Simpson Island, Level Island, Luz Island.
Far out in the Pacific is Guamblin Island with the Isla Guamblin National Park. The National park comprises about 106 km². Blue whalescan often be seen here.
Diego Ramírez Islands (Spanish: Islas Diego Ramírez) are a small group of lesser islands located in the southernmost extreme ofChile about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Cape Horn and 93 km (58 mi) SSE of Ildefonso Islands
The islands contain the southernmost point of theSouth American continent , a title often incorrectly awarded to Cape Horn. Águila Islet , is the southernmost. They were first sighted on 12 February 1619 by the Garcia de Nodal expedition, and named after the cosmographer of the expedition, Diego Ramírez de Arellano.[1] They were cited as the southernmost land mass plotted as of that time, and retained the honor for 156 years, until the discovery of the South Sandwich Islands in 1775.
Queen Adelaide Archipelago is an island group in Zona Austral, the extreme south of Chile. It belongs to the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region.
The major islands in the group are Pacheco Island, Contreras Island, Ramirez Island, Cochrane Island, Juan Guillermo Island and the Rennell Islands (South Rennell Island and North Rennell Island).
Tierra del Fuego
Spanish for "Land of Fire" is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of 48,100 km2 (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands including Cape Horn.
Wollaston Islands is a group of islands in the extreme south of Chile near Cape Horn
The islands are inside Cabo de Hornos National Park, belonging to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region. They belong to the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.
The islands were named between 1829 and 1831 by the British naval officer Henry Foster, after the English scientist William Hyde Wollaston. The Yahgan name of the islands was Yachkusin, 'place of islands
The Queen Charlotte Islands,[2] officially Haida Gwaii ("Islands of the People"
on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. They consist of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south
Other major islands include Anthony, Langara, Louise, Lyell,Burnaby, and Kunghit Islands.
The islands are separated from the British Columbia mainland to the east by Hecate Strait. Vancouver Island lies to the south, across Queen Charlotte Sound, while the U.S. state of Alaska is to the north, across the disputed Dixon Entrance.
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the continental United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S. state of Washington.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines the San Juan Islands as the archipelago north of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, west ofRosario Strait, east of Haro Strait, and south of Boundary Pass.[1] To the north lie the open waters of the Strait of Georgia. The USGS definition coincides with San Juan County. Islands not in San Juan County are not part of the San Juan Islands, according to the USGS.
Japanese Archipelago (including Sakhalin) - the world's third largest (Island Nation)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Archipelago
Kuril Islands
in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately 1,300 km (810 mi) northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean.
Malay Archipelago
It includes Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore,Brunei, East Malaysia and East Timor.
The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands, the Spice Islands)
are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located east of Sulawesi (Celebes), west of New Guinea, and north of Timor. The islands were also historically known as the "Spice Islands" by the Chinese and Europeans, but this term has also been applied to other islands outside Indonesia.
Phillipines
To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across theSouth China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south theCelebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons . 3 Divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The Province of Batanes is the northernmost and the smallest province of the Philippine Republic, both in terms of population and land area. The provincial capital is Basco.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batanes
The Babuyan Islands consist of five major islands: Babuyan Island, Calayan, Camiguin, Dalupiri, and Fuga. Note that the Camiguin island here is different from the island-province of Camiguin in Mindanao.
Geologically the islands are part of the Luzon Volcanic Arc.
In the 19th century, sailors stumbled on the islands and started a backward civilization.
In the mid-20th century Christian Missionaries introduced Christianity to the islands.
In 1942, Japanese troops landed in the Babuyan Islands.
The Calamian is a group of islands in the Philippine province of Palawan. It includes:
Busuanga Island
Coron Island
Culion Island
Historically, the Calamianes was site of the Spanish politico-militar Provincia de Calamianes. Spain later purchased mainland Paragua from the Sultan of Borneo. During the American occupation, the old Provincia de Calamianes was dissolved and jointly administered with the Island of Paragua as the new Province of Palawan.
Since the American regime and until recently, Calamianes serves host to the Culion Leper Colony which is now a regular municipality of the Philippines.
The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the southwestern Philippines. This archipelago is considered to be part of theMoroland by the local rebel independence movement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulu_Archipelago
Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea. Its population are referred to as the Visayans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visayas
The Sunda Islands are a group of islands that form part of the Malay archipelago
The islands are divided up between four countries, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Greater Sunda Islands
Lesser Sunda Islands, from west to east
Bali
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Tierra del Fuego
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What meat jelly dish is named from a French snakelike association?
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Ushuaia Cruise Port: Things to Do Near Port of Ushuaia - Cruise Critic
View all cruises from Ushuaia
Hanging Around
The dock itself has several shops in glass-enclosed kiosks for those last-minute purchases, but be warned, prices here are much higher than they are in the town itself. There is also a phone and Internet kiosk close to the street.
At the very end of the dock proper is a visitor's center with maps and info about the area, but unfortunately little of it is in English. In the same area, to the right of the dock's end, are several booths for tourist activities and excursions, including boat trips to Wolf Island and through the Beagle Channel, flightseeing to Antarctica, bus tours to the Tierra del Fuego National Park, and longer trips, which don't work with most cruise ship schedules.
To the left of the dock's end is a series of handicraft and artisan's huts, which open at around 11 a.m. Here, you can seek handmade items indigenous to the region.
Before crossing Maipu into the city, there's a comfortable little square with benches, colorfully dressed in flowers and shrubs ... an ideal place to get your bearings and contemplate the mountains and sea surrounding you. Also in that general area are taxi stands and enterprising locals handing out maps and shopping coupons.
Don't Miss
Ushuaia Prison Museum: (Yagenes and San Martin Streets, walkable from the dock) Not only does the prison museum allow you to see the actual cells of the prisoners who were housed here through 1947, a couple of them have been left intact with the last of the miscreants' belongings still visible. The Pabillon 4, another area within the prison, is designated a Marine Museum and offers a history of Ushuaia's settlement from the time of its discovery.
Tierra del Fuego National Park: This park straddles the border between Chile and Argentina, and is a wonderful example of eco-cooperation between nations. Glaciers, pristine lakes, incredible viewpoints, streams, rivers and mountains can be found here, within two hours of Ushuaia itself. Ships offer the park within their excursions, or you can hire a taxi in town for the journey if you want to do it individually.
Hammer Island Penguin Rookery: If your journey isn't one that includes the penguin rookery at Punta Tombo, this is your best chance to see the magnificent Magellenic Penguins up close and personal. And, rather than driving over dusty and bumpy roads for a couple of hours, this trip includes sailing on small vessels or catamarans through Lapataia Bay, past Sea Wolves Island, Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse and archipelago, Bird Island and several other Beagle Channel landmarks. Most ships offer it as a shore excursion, or you can purchase the trip from the tourist kiosks at the end of the dock.
The ski lift to the hotels and restaurants above the city. A cab ride of about $5 takes you to the lift, which operates year-round. Here, you can enjoy extraordinary views over Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel while dining on king crab or Argentine beef ... on top of the world at the end of the world.
The catwalk over Bahia Encerrada, which is a small body of water located at the end of Maipu to the left of the dock as you exit. This little bay freezes in winter and becomes the city's ice skating rink; in summer, you can cross it via the catwalk (at the Nautical Club) to get to the peninsula on the other side, enabling fabulous views of the city.
Getting Around
Taxis are cheap and plentiful in Ushuaia, and are located, as noted above, at the end of the dock. Bus service is available as well, from the dock area to the big shopping mall to the left and the prison museum to the right. This is a small city with a central downtown core, so if you just want to visit the shopping and dining areas, walking is the preferred method.
Note: Beyond Maipu (the Coastal Avenue) and San Martin (the main thoroughfare with shops and cafes), the streets become steep and uneven; not suitable for mobility-impaired visitors.
Lunching
The options are nearly limitless in this Fin del Mundo gastronomic paradise. Melt-in-your-mouth Argentine beef, meats cooked "parillo" style surrounding a stone firepit, or the region's king or spider crabs prepared simply or with an exotic flair can all be found in this little city. If a large meal is too much, there are also several coffee houses and bakery/cafes along the main street (San Martin) through the city. This is a great place to splurge: The most elaborate lunch will cost less than $20 per person, maybe $25 with an excellent bottle of Argentine or Chilean wine.
Kaupe: (Roca 470; phone: 42-2704) Located on the mountainside above the city, this family run Alpine-like restaurant is a favorite of Cruise Critic's Associate Editor Melissa Baldwin and Contributor Joyce Gleeson-Adimidas. Located high above the city with sweeping views over the channel (and your ship), the Vivian family serves steak and seafood prepared with a bit of French flair and Argentine passion.
Moustacchio: (Av. San Martin 298 phone: 42-3308) Walk past the windows of this charming restaurant with its meats grilling over the open stone fire, and you'll want to go in to dine on typical Argentine parrilla: plates covered with portions of any of the meats you choose.
BakeryTante Sara Bakery Cafe and Bar: (Av. San Martin 701, phone: 42-4579, www.cafebartantesara.com.ar ) Stop in for a cup of coffee and try one of the cafe's signature Torte Fuegiuna: a gooey, chocolate-y concoction made with ingredients from this region. You can buy one packaged to take home, too.
Shore Excursions
Tierra Mayor Trekking: Take a tour through the Tierra Mayor Valley Natural Reserve and trek along mountain paths to The Five Cascades, waterfalls tumbling from the Alvear Mountains. Dress warmly, as it gets cold during this hike, but it also gives you an opportunity to experience the beauty and natural wonders of the region. Cost: $55 - $65 USD.
Tierra del Fuego National Park: Just 10 miles outside of the city lies one of the largest natural preserves and maintained National Parks in the world, with 150,000 acres of lush natural beauty to explore. The shore excursions take you to see the highlights of the park, including Lake Roca and vista point looking into the Beagle Channel and Lapataia Bay. Cost: $30 - $45 USD.
Train Ride at the End of the World: Take this replica of a steam-driven "prison train" though Tierra del Fuego National Park and experience what the prisoners felt when they were transported to the region a hundred years ago. This tour also visits reconstructed camps of the original Tierra del Fuegans, the Yamanas, and concludes with a motorcoach trip through scenic areas of the national park before returning to Ushuaia. Cost: $110 - $125.
Where You're Docked
Cruise ships dock in the center of town, a short walk along the pier to the Coastal Avenue (Maipu) and just a block from the main shopping street, San Martin.
Watch Out For
The weather, even in summer, is volatile, changing from sleeting rain to blistering heat in a matter of minutes. And it's important to note that sunscreen, even on the bleakest of days, is a necessity: The ozone layer here is one of the thinnest in the world, and the sun's rays can wreak havoc on the unsuspecting tourist.
Language
Spanish is the official language in Ushuaia, although English, Portuguese and German are widely spoken.
Best Souvenir
Anything with Patagonian sheep's wool is a good bet, as well as leather gaucho hats. Argentinian mate cups (made from hollowed-out gourds), "bombillas" (the metal straw through which to drink the yerba mate), and the "tea" of South America, make excellent souvenirs as well. They have the added advantage of being small and lightweight.
For More Information
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i don't know
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Name the Russian feminist rock-protest group, three of whom were jailed for two years in 2012 for performing an anti-state song in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour?
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Russia's female punk band protesters jailed for two years | Reuters
Fri Aug 17, 2012 | 4:22 PM EDT
Russia's female punk band protesters jailed for two years
By Timothy Heritage and Maria Tsvetkova | MOSCOW
MOSCOW Three women from the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in jail on Friday for staging a protest against President Vladimir Putin in a church, a ruling supporters described as his "personal revenge".
The group's backers burst into chants of "Shame" outside the Moscow courthouse and said the case showed Putin was cracking down on dissent in his new six-year term as president. Dozens were detained by police when scuffles broke out.
The United States and the European Union condemned the sentence as disproportionate and asked for it to be reviewed, although state prosecutors had demanded a three-year jail term and the maximum sentence possible was seven years.
But while the women have support abroad, where their case has been taken up by a long list of celebrities including Madonna, Paul McCartney and Sting, opinion polls show few Russians sympathize with them.
"The girls' actions were sacrilegious, blasphemous and broke the church's rules," Judge Marina Syrova told the court as she spent three hours reading the verdict while the women stood watching in handcuffs inside a glass courtroom cage.
She declared all three guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, saying they had deliberately offended Russian Orthodox believers by storming the altar of Moscow's main cathedral in February to belt out a "punk prayer" deriding Putin.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Marina Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, giggled as the judge read out the sentences one by one, but portrayed themselves as victims of Soviet-style persecution during the trial that began on July 30.
They have already been in jail for about five months, meaning they will serve another 19, and could be released if Putin were to pardon them. The Orthodox Church hinted it would not oppose such a move by appealing, belatedly, for mercy.
Pussy Riot took on two powerful state institutions at once when they burst into Moscow's golden-domed Christ the Saviour Cathedral wearing bright ski masks, tights and short skirts to protest against Putin's close ties with the Church.
The judge said the three women had "committed an act of hooliganism, a gross violation of public order showing obvious disrespect for society." She rejected their argument that they had no intention of offending Russian Orthodox believers.
It became one of Russia's most high-profile trials since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Putin's critics said it put the 59-year-old Kremlin leader's policies in the dock.
Opponents depicted it as part of a crackdown by the ex-KGB spy against a protest movement that took off over the winter, attracting what witnesses said were crowds of up to 100,000 people in Moscow to oppose his return to power.
"They are in jail because it is Putin's personal revenge," Alexei Navalny, one of the organizers of the protests, said outside the court. "This verdict was written by Vladimir Putin."
A police source told Itar-Tass news agency 50 people had been detained near the court when scuffles broke out. Among them were Sergei Udaltsov, a leftist opposition leader, and Garry Kasparov, a Putin critic and former world chess champion.
But there was no sign of the opposition taking to the streets in anger. Opposition leaders plan a small gathering in Moscow on Sunday, the anniversary of a failed coup shortly before the Soviet Union fell in 1991, but the next big anti-Putin rally is not planned until September 15.
Putin's spokesman did not immediately comment on the verdict but the president's supporters said before the trial that he would have no influence on the court's decision.
Although Pussy Riot have never made a record or had a hit song, foreign singers have led the campaign for the trio's release. Madonna performed in Moscow with "PUSSY RIOT" painted on her back and wearing a ski mask in solidarity.
But a poll of Russians released by the independent Levada research group showed only 6 percent sympathized with the women and 51 percent found nothing good about them or felt irritation or hostility. The rest could not say or were indifferent.
Valentina Ivanova, 60, a retired doctor, said outside the courtroom: "What they did showed disrespect towards everything, and towards believers first of all."
CHURCH CALLS FOR MERCY
Putin, who returned to the presidency for a third term on May 7 after a four-year spell as prime minister, had said the women did "nothing good" but should not be judged too harshly.
The trio's defense lawyers said they would appeal. The Church issued a statement condemning the women's actions but urged the state to show mercy "within the framework of the law".
That appeared to signal that the Church would back a pardon or reduced sentence, although the women would be expected to admit guilt if they sought a pardon.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington was concerned about the "disproportionate sentences ... and the negative impact on freedom of expression in Russia", and urged Russian authorities "to review this case".
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the sentence called into question Russia's respect for the "obligations of fair, transparent, and independent legal process".
In protests outside Russia in support of Pussy Riot, a bare-chested feminist activist took a chainsaw to a wooden cross bearing a figure of Christ in Kiev. In Bulgaria, sympathizers put Pussy Riot-style masks on statues at a Soviet Army monument.
Opposition leaders say Putin will not ease up on opponents in his new term. Parliament has already rushed through laws increasing fines for protesters, tightening controls on the Internet, and imposing stricter rules on defamation.
Gay rights suffered a blow in Moscow when an appeals court upheld a ruling rejecting applications from activists to hold a gay rights march each year for the next 100 years. Anti-gay activists later sued Madonna for $10 million in St Petersburg, saying she insulted their feelings by speaking out for gay rights there last week.
(Additional reporting by Nastassia Astrasheuskaya, Alissa de Carbonnel, Thomas Grove and Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Olzhas Auyezov in Kiev; Editing by Alastair Macdonald, Will Waterman and Giles Elgood)
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Members of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'' (R-L) Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina sit in a glass-walled cage after a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Maxim Shemetov +
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Members of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'' (R-L) Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich sit in a glass-walled cage during a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012. A Russian judge delivers a verdict on Friday against three members of the Pussy Riot punk band whose trial for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in a church has provoked an international outcry against President Vladimir Putin.
Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin +
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New York Police Department officers arrest a woman demonstrating in solidarity with the Russian punk band Pussy Riot in front of the Russian Consulate in New York August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Lucas Jackson +
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Police detain a supporter of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'' for violation of law and order in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Maxim Shemetov +
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Protestors gather outside the Russian Consulate General building during a demonstration of support for the female Russian female punk band Pussy Riot in Edinburgh, Scotland August 17, 2012.
Reuters/David Moir +
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Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (C), a member of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'', is escorted by police before a court hearing in Moscow August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva +
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A masked man attends a rally, in support of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, in Sydney August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Daniel Munoz +
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Maria Alyokhina (C), a member of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'', is escorted by police before a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva +
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Yekaterina Samutsevich (R), a member of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'', is escorted by police before a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva +
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Yekaterina Samutsevich, a member of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'', is escorted by police before a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva +
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A woman plays drums during a rally, in support of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, in Sydney August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Daniel Munoz +
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Protesters march through midtown Manhattan while demonstrating in solidarity with the Russian punk band Pussy Riot in New York August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Brendan McDermid +
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New York Police Department officers arrest a woman demonstrating in solidarity with the Russian punk band Pussy Riot in front of the Russian Consulate in New York August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Lucas Jackson +
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Activists wear masks with a tape pasted over their mouths in support of members of the female punk band Pussy Riot and during a protest rally in front of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Kacper Pempel +
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Pussy Riot
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"What SI unit (International System of Units) of measurement is defined as ""The amount of substance that contains an equal number of elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012kg of the isotope carbon-12""?"
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Russia's female punk band protesters jailed for two years | Reuters
Fri Aug 17, 2012 | 4:22 PM EDT
Russia's female punk band protesters jailed for two years
By Timothy Heritage and Maria Tsvetkova | MOSCOW
MOSCOW Three women from the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in jail on Friday for staging a protest against President Vladimir Putin in a church, a ruling supporters described as his "personal revenge".
The group's backers burst into chants of "Shame" outside the Moscow courthouse and said the case showed Putin was cracking down on dissent in his new six-year term as president. Dozens were detained by police when scuffles broke out.
The United States and the European Union condemned the sentence as disproportionate and asked for it to be reviewed, although state prosecutors had demanded a three-year jail term and the maximum sentence possible was seven years.
But while the women have support abroad, where their case has been taken up by a long list of celebrities including Madonna, Paul McCartney and Sting, opinion polls show few Russians sympathize with them.
"The girls' actions were sacrilegious, blasphemous and broke the church's rules," Judge Marina Syrova told the court as she spent three hours reading the verdict while the women stood watching in handcuffs inside a glass courtroom cage.
She declared all three guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, saying they had deliberately offended Russian Orthodox believers by storming the altar of Moscow's main cathedral in February to belt out a "punk prayer" deriding Putin.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Marina Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, giggled as the judge read out the sentences one by one, but portrayed themselves as victims of Soviet-style persecution during the trial that began on July 30.
They have already been in jail for about five months, meaning they will serve another 19, and could be released if Putin were to pardon them. The Orthodox Church hinted it would not oppose such a move by appealing, belatedly, for mercy.
Pussy Riot took on two powerful state institutions at once when they burst into Moscow's golden-domed Christ the Saviour Cathedral wearing bright ski masks, tights and short skirts to protest against Putin's close ties with the Church.
The judge said the three women had "committed an act of hooliganism, a gross violation of public order showing obvious disrespect for society." She rejected their argument that they had no intention of offending Russian Orthodox believers.
It became one of Russia's most high-profile trials since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Putin's critics said it put the 59-year-old Kremlin leader's policies in the dock.
Opponents depicted it as part of a crackdown by the ex-KGB spy against a protest movement that took off over the winter, attracting what witnesses said were crowds of up to 100,000 people in Moscow to oppose his return to power.
"They are in jail because it is Putin's personal revenge," Alexei Navalny, one of the organizers of the protests, said outside the court. "This verdict was written by Vladimir Putin."
A police source told Itar-Tass news agency 50 people had been detained near the court when scuffles broke out. Among them were Sergei Udaltsov, a leftist opposition leader, and Garry Kasparov, a Putin critic and former world chess champion.
But there was no sign of the opposition taking to the streets in anger. Opposition leaders plan a small gathering in Moscow on Sunday, the anniversary of a failed coup shortly before the Soviet Union fell in 1991, but the next big anti-Putin rally is not planned until September 15.
Putin's spokesman did not immediately comment on the verdict but the president's supporters said before the trial that he would have no influence on the court's decision.
Although Pussy Riot have never made a record or had a hit song, foreign singers have led the campaign for the trio's release. Madonna performed in Moscow with "PUSSY RIOT" painted on her back and wearing a ski mask in solidarity.
But a poll of Russians released by the independent Levada research group showed only 6 percent sympathized with the women and 51 percent found nothing good about them or felt irritation or hostility. The rest could not say or were indifferent.
Valentina Ivanova, 60, a retired doctor, said outside the courtroom: "What they did showed disrespect towards everything, and towards believers first of all."
CHURCH CALLS FOR MERCY
Putin, who returned to the presidency for a third term on May 7 after a four-year spell as prime minister, had said the women did "nothing good" but should not be judged too harshly.
The trio's defense lawyers said they would appeal. The Church issued a statement condemning the women's actions but urged the state to show mercy "within the framework of the law".
That appeared to signal that the Church would back a pardon or reduced sentence, although the women would be expected to admit guilt if they sought a pardon.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington was concerned about the "disproportionate sentences ... and the negative impact on freedom of expression in Russia", and urged Russian authorities "to review this case".
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the sentence called into question Russia's respect for the "obligations of fair, transparent, and independent legal process".
In protests outside Russia in support of Pussy Riot, a bare-chested feminist activist took a chainsaw to a wooden cross bearing a figure of Christ in Kiev. In Bulgaria, sympathizers put Pussy Riot-style masks on statues at a Soviet Army monument.
Opposition leaders say Putin will not ease up on opponents in his new term. Parliament has already rushed through laws increasing fines for protesters, tightening controls on the Internet, and imposing stricter rules on defamation.
Gay rights suffered a blow in Moscow when an appeals court upheld a ruling rejecting applications from activists to hold a gay rights march each year for the next 100 years. Anti-gay activists later sued Madonna for $10 million in St Petersburg, saying she insulted their feelings by speaking out for gay rights there last week.
(Additional reporting by Nastassia Astrasheuskaya, Alissa de Carbonnel, Thomas Grove and Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Olzhas Auyezov in Kiev; Editing by Alastair Macdonald, Will Waterman and Giles Elgood)
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Members of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'' (R-L) Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina sit in a glass-walled cage after a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Maxim Shemetov +
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Members of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'' (R-L) Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich sit in a glass-walled cage during a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012. A Russian judge delivers a verdict on Friday against three members of the Pussy Riot punk band whose trial for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in a church has provoked an international outcry against President Vladimir Putin.
Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin +
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New York Police Department officers arrest a woman demonstrating in solidarity with the Russian punk band Pussy Riot in front of the Russian Consulate in New York August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Lucas Jackson +
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Police detain a supporter of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'' for violation of law and order in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Maxim Shemetov +
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Protestors gather outside the Russian Consulate General building during a demonstration of support for the female Russian female punk band Pussy Riot in Edinburgh, Scotland August 17, 2012.
Reuters/David Moir +
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Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (C), a member of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'', is escorted by police before a court hearing in Moscow August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva +
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A masked man attends a rally, in support of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, in Sydney August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Daniel Munoz +
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Maria Alyokhina (C), a member of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'', is escorted by police before a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva +
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Yekaterina Samutsevich (R), a member of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'', is escorted by police before a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva +
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Yekaterina Samutsevich, a member of the female punk band ''Pussy Riot'', is escorted by police before a court hearing in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva +
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A woman plays drums during a rally, in support of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, in Sydney August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Daniel Munoz +
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Protesters march through midtown Manhattan while demonstrating in solidarity with the Russian punk band Pussy Riot in New York August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Brendan McDermid +
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New York Police Department officers arrest a woman demonstrating in solidarity with the Russian punk band Pussy Riot in front of the Russian Consulate in New York August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Lucas Jackson +
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Activists wear masks with a tape pasted over their mouths in support of members of the female punk band Pussy Riot and during a protest rally in front of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw August 17, 2012.
Reuters/Kacper Pempel +
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i don't know
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New York artist Vincent Castiglia is noted for painting with what unconventional substance?
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Vincent Castiglia, New York Artist, Paints With His Own Blood (VIDEO) | The Huffington Post
Vincent Castiglia, New York Artist, Paints With His Own Blood (VIDEO)
10/08/2012 03:54 pm ET | Updated Oct 09, 2012
David Moye Pop culture journalist, HuffPost Weird News
Some people think Vincent Castiglia's artwork is bloody wonderful, which is probably a good description since the pieces are made from the artist's own blood.
For the past 10 years, Castliglia has been painting dramatic and graphic works designed to get the heart pumping, and he's been using his own plasma as the paint.
"[Using blood] didn't happen by accident," Castliglia told The Huffington Post. "I went through some very painful circumstances."
Castiglia first started dabbing some of his blood onto pen and ink drawings, but he soon began making portraits entirely of his own blood.
"Some of my paintings are 7 feet tall," he said. "Those can take up to 30 vials of blood."
Castliglia only takes 15 small vials of blood from himself at a time. It's less than a donation to a blood bank, he noted.
"I used to be less conscious of how much blood I removed," he said. "At one point, my right lung collapsed, and I wonder if it's because I was removing too much blood."
Castiglia mixes the blood with water. It's similar to watercolor as a medium, he said, but some of the darker areas look like acrylic after they dry. The blood works can take several months to complete, and can cost as much as $26,000 each.
Castliglia admits his work is dark.
"I consider it depictions of human experiences that most people don't want to look at," he said.
Others look at his work as a gimmick, a characterization that Castliglia disputes.
"My response would be to really take a look at the content of the work, which overshadows what it’s made from, I think,” Castliglia told Oddity Central . “In order for something to be a gimmick, it really would have to lack substance.”
GALLERY: VINCENT CASTIGLIA'S BLOOD PAINTINGS
Vincent Castligia's Bood Paintings
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Blood
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What natural foodstuff in Alsace, France, became unnaturally blue and green in 2012, apparently due to a nearby M&Ms factory?
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TRIPTYKON Cover Artist Announces Sacrifices For The Sanguinary Age Art Exhibition - Bravewords.com
TRIPTYKON Cover Artist Announces Sacrifices For The Sanguinary Age Art Exhibition
September 4, 2010, 6 years ago
hot flashes news triptykon
Bravewords.com has received the following press release from artist Vincent Castiglia (who created the cover art for TRIPTYKON's Eparistera Daimones. Castiglia creates all his work exclusively in human blood):
Meta Gallery is pleased to present Sacrifices For The Sanguinary Age, new works by Vincent Castiglia. In his first exhibition with the gallery as well as his first in Canada, Castiglia delivers his latest body of work with the same cunning skill and depth of visionary dimension for which he has become best known. Representing the dark and otherworldly realms of the human psyche, Castiglia's work elucidates the fragility and innocence of life and is at the foreground of the contemporary visionary practice.
Drawing on a variety of inspiration, from mythical and metaphysical religious symbolism, to HR Giger, to many in the fantastic visionary tradition, Castiglia's figurative surrealist works utilize iconography from various mystic traditions, occultism and witchcraft to create a vision of humanity as struggling, and eventually surrendering to, its own mortality. With the life/death/rebirth cycle as prominent themes in the artist's works, a unified vision of a flawed yet redeemable mankind emerges. One whose hope lies in the strength garnered from the struggle itself.
The medium used to achieve these beautiful works further lends itself to the allegorical quality of the artist's expression. Castiglia's own blood is the sole substance used to create the wide tonal range found in these works. During this process, Castiglia's paintings become a metaphor for his life and art, and visa versa, as he works to resolve his own impermanence and invites the viewer to contemplate the same within themselves.
Vincent Castiglia was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1982. After attending Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School the artist decided not to attend art school and instead focus on his painting full time. He is the first American artist to be given a solo exhibition of his works at the HR Giger Museum in Gruyere, Switzerland as well his art has been exhibited worldwide from New York to San Francisco, Hollywood to London. His work has been featured on television and in print as well as an entry in "The International Encyclopedia of Fantastic, Surrealistic, Symbolist and Visionary Artists." He lives and works in NYC.
Sacrifices For The Sanguinary Age will be on view from September 10 to October 10, 2010. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 12-6 PM. The opening reception will be on Friday September 10 from 7-10 PM. Artist in attendance.
Vincent will be giving an artist talk at the gallery on Saturday September 11 from 1-3 PM.
Please email Jody Polishchuk at [email protected] to be put on the preview list for this exhibition or for further information.
Meta Gallery
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i don't know
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Skip James, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson and Son House are early exponents of?
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Blues Discography - Anthologies | UO Libraries
A
African American music: an introduction.
PERFORMERS: Leadbelly-The Temptations-Mahalia Jackson-Bessie Smith-Pinetop Smith-Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers-Scott Joplin-Louis Armstrong-Jelly Roll Morton-Fletcher -Miles Davis-Anthony Davis-Louis Jordan -The Five Satins-Chuck Berry-James Brown-Sugarhill Gang.
NOTES: Music composed by African Americans, performed principally by African Americans.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX4183
Afro-American blues and game songs.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 747
Performers include: Clifford Gibson, Edward Thompson and Marshall Owens
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2947
The Atlanta blues.
Performers include: Barbeque Bob, Lonnie Coleman, Tampa Red, Blind Willie mcTell, Charlie lincoln, Peg Leg Howell, Alec Johnson, Buddy Moss.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 608
B
The Best of the Chicago blues .
Performers include: Jimmy Cotton, Junior Wells, Otis Spann, Buddy Guy, Big Walter Horton, Johnny Young, Homesick James, J.B.Hutto.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A540
Better boot that thing : great women blues singers of the 1920's.
Performers:Alberta Hunter , Bessie Tucker, Victoria Spivey, Ida May Mack, vocals ; assisting artists.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3584
The blues : authorities discuss the birth of the blues.
DOUGLASS CASSETTE 681M
The blues.
Performers include:
v.1: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Papa Charlie Jackson, Henry Thomas, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace, Sara Martin, Leroy Carr, Barbecue Bob, Jaybird Coleman, Texas Alexander, Jim Jackson, Furry Lewis, Blind Willie Johnson, Cannon's Jug Stompers, Tommy Johnson.
v. 2: Leroy Carr, Frank Stokes, Mississippi John Hurt, Peg Leg Howell, Lonnie Johnson, Charley Patton, Roosevelt Sykes, Memphis Minnie, Speckled Red, Sleepy John Estes, Memphis Jug Band, Mississippi Sheiks, Walter Davis, Son House, Skip James, Bumble Bee Slim, Blind Willie McTell, Big Bill Broonzy, Kokomo Arnold, Cripple Clarence Lofton, Carl Martin, Big Joe Williams.
v. 3: Little Brother Montgomery, Robert Johnson, Peetie Wheatstraw, Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Rushing, Joe Turner, Bukka White, Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, Big Maceo, Washboard Sam, T-Bone Walker, Tommy McClennan, Louis Jordan, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Charles Brown, Wynonie Harris, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Witherspoon.
v.4: Muddy Waters, Lowell Fulson, Aleck, Miller, Jimmy and Mama Yancey, Big Mama Thornton, Junior Parker, Junior Wells, Joe Williams, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Memphis Slim, Bobby Blue Bland, Buddy Guy, Lightnin' Slim, Otis Rush, Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, Henry Johnson, Latimore, John Cephas and Phil Wiggins.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3357 v.1- v.4
The blues at Newport, 1964.
Performer(s): Fred MacDowell, Sleepy John Estes with Yank Rachel and Hammy Nixon, Doc Reese and Robert Pete Williams; Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Rev. Robert Wilkins, Elizabeth Cotton and Willie Doss.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A2168 v.1- v.2
Blues masters: the essential blues collection. Volume 1, Urban blues.
Performers include: Erskine Hawkins & his orchestra-Eddie Vinson-Jimmy Witherspoon-Dinah Washington-Johnny Otis Quintette, with The Robins & Little Esther-Pee Wee Crayton-Charles Brown-Joe Turner-Guitar Slim-Chuck Willis-Lowell Fulson-Count Basie & his orchestra; Joe Williams, vocals-Bobby "Blue" Bland-Otis Rush-T-Bone Walker-Junior Parker-Little Johnny Taylor-Albert King
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3561
Blues masters: the essential blues collection. Volume 2, Postwar Chicago blues.
PERFORMERS INCLUDE: Baby Face Leroy Trio--Muddy Waters-- Jimmy Rogers & His Trio-- Little Walter & The Night Cats -- Sonny Boy Williamson-- Johnny Shines-- Howlin' Wolf-- Bo Diddley-- Eddie Boyd-- Robert Jr. Lockwood-- J.B. Lenoir-- Jimmy Reed-- Jody Williams-- Otis Rush-- Magic Sam-- Buddy Guy-- Earl Hooker-- Junior Wells.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3586
Blues masters : the essential blues collection. Volume 4, Harmonica classics.
Performers include:Little Walter & His Night Cats-Jimmy Reed-Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet-Sonny Boy Williamson- Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band-The Paul Butterfield Blues Band-Lazy Lester-Jerry McCain-Howlin' Wolf-Billy Boy Arnold-Big John Wrencher with Joe Carter-Jimmy & Walter-Snooky Pryor-Hot Shot Love-George "Harmonica" Smith & The Chicago Blues Band-Slim Harpo-The Fabulous Thunderbirds-Charlie Musselwhite.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3562
Blues masters : the essential blues collection. Volume 5, Jump blues classics.
Performers include: Red Prysock-Joe Turner-Louis Prima-Wynonie Harris-Roy Brown-Little Johnny Jones-Tiny Bradshaw-Rudy Greene-Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats-
Jimmy Liggins-Ann Cole-Roy Milton-Big Jay McNeely & Band-Clarence Brown-Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton-Wynona Carr-Bullmoose Jackson & His Buffalo
Bearcats- Ruth Brown.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3587
Blues masters: the essential blues collection. Volume 9, Postmodern blues.
Performers include: Earl Hooker-B.B. King-Albert King- Bobby Bland-Latimore-Magic Slim & The Teardrops-Son Seals-Koko Taylor-Albert Collins-The Robert Cray Band- Delbert & Glen-The Fabulous Thunderbirds-Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble-George Thorogood & The Destroyers-The James Harman Band- Johnny Winter.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3563
Blues masters : the essential blues collection, v. 10, Blues roots.
Performers include:Jali Nyama Suso-Mandingo griots-Fula flutist-Robert Pete Williams-Furry Lewis-Ethel Perkins, Equila Hall-One String-J.D. Short-Rich Amerson-Sister Dora Alexander-Daddy Hotcakes-Mobile Strugglers-Joe Hunter-Lightnin' Hopkins.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3564
Blues masters. Volume 11, Classic blues women.
Performers include: Mamie Smith & her Jazz Hounds-Eva Taylor-Trixie Smith & the Jazz Masters-Ma Rainey with her Georgia Band-Sippie Wallace with Clarence Williams' Blue Five-Ida Cox-Bessie Smith-Mary Johnson-Margaret Johnson with the Black and Blue Trio-Victoria Spivey and her Chicago Four-Alberta Hunter- Henry Brown & Edith Johnson-Billie & Dee Dee Pierce-Billie Holiday.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3565
Blues piano - Chicago, plus.
Performers include: Little Johnny Jones, Floyd Dixon, Little Brother Montgomery, Frank "Sweet" Williams, and Meade Lux Lewis.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 1637
Blues rediscoveries; original recordings by today's rediscovered bluesmen.
Performers Include: Mississippi John Hurt, Bukka White, Henry Townsend, Sleepy John Estes, Blind Gary Davis, Peg Leg Howell, Furry Lewis, Joe Williams.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 1756
Blues roots/Chicago, the 1930's.
Performers Include: Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Minnie, Johnnie Temple, Jazz Gillum, Big Maceo, St. Louis Jimmy (Jimmy Oden), Washboard Sam.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 1753
Blues routes.
NOTES: "Heroes & tricksters, blues & jazz, worksongs & street music"
PERFORMERS: Gandy Dancers--John Cephas and Phil Wiggins--Warner Williams--Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson and Willy "Pinetop" Perkins--Erbie Bowser, T.D. Bell, and the Blues Specialists--Robert Jr. Lockwood--Etta Baker--Abner Jay--Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders--Claude Williams--Sammy Price--Booker T. Laury--White Cloud Hunters Mardi Gras Indians--Rapper Dee, C.J., and Five Gallons of Fun--Georgia Sea Island Singers--Boozoo Chavis and the Magic Sounds--Joe Louis Walker and the Boss Talkers
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX5424
Performers include: Zora Young, Bonnie Lee, Big Time Sarah.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX914
C
Chess blues
PERFORMERS: Clarence Samuels-Andrew Tibbs-Sunnyland Slim-Muddy Waters-Robert Nighthawk-Forest City Joe-Forrest Sykes-Laura Rucker-Baby Face Leroy-Little Johnny Jones-Jimmy Rogers--Memphis Slim-Dr. Isaiah Ross-Johnny Shines-Billy Boy Arnold-Howlin' Wolf-Arbee Stidham-John Lee Hooker--Little Walter-Memphis Minnie-Willie Nix-Rocky Fuller-Eddie Boyd-Gus Jenkins-Willie Mabon-John Brim-Elmore James-Henry Gray-Alberta Adams-Henry Gray & Morris Pejoe-Lowell Fulson -J.B.Lenoir--Willie Dixon-Sonny Boy Williamson-Paul Gayten & myrtle Jones-Jimmy Witherspoon--Otis Spann-Floyd Dixon-Lafayette Leake-Otis Rush- Buddy Guy-Detroit Jr.-Lloyd Glenn-Albert King-Little Milton-Etta James-The Big Three Trio-Walter Horton-Koko Taylor-Little Joe Blue- Eddie Burns-Hound Dog Taylor.
CONTENTS: Disc 1. 1947-1952 -- Disc 2. 1952-1954 -- Disc 3. 1954-1960 -- Disc 4. 1960-1967.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3663
Chess rhythm & roll.
PERFORMER(S): Rhythm and blues, and rock and roll songs, performed by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Etta James, the Moonglows, the Tune Weavers, and others on the Chess label from 1947 to 1967.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2464
Chicago ain't nothin' but a blues band.
Performers include:Sunnyland Slim, J.T.Brown, Eddie Clearwater, Jo Jo Williams, Morris Pejoe, Harmonica George.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds 5916
Chicago blues: the early 1950's.
Performers Include: Homesick James, Baby Face Leroy, Little Walter, J.B.Hutto, Eddie Boyd, Junior Wells, Little Willie Foster, Snooky & Moody, Johnny Young, Floyd Jones, Big Walter, Robert Nighthawk, John Brim.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 569
Performed by: the Mountain Musicians' Cooperative.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 1739
The Country blues.
Performers Include: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, Cannon's Jug Stompers, Peg Leg Howell, Blind Willie McTell, Memphis Jug Band, Blind Willie Johnson, Leroy Carr, Sleepy John Estes, Big Bill, Bukka White, Tommy McClennan, Robert Johnson, and Washboard Sam.
DOUGLASS CASSETTE KIT 344M
Cuttin' the boogie; piano blues and boogie woogie, 1926-41
Performed by: Jimmy Blythe, J.H. Shayne, Hersal Thomas, Clarence "Pinetop" Smith, Meade "Lux" Lewis, Albert Ammons, Jimmy Yancey, Pete Johnson, Dave Dexter, Albert Ammons.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 1766
Performers include: Willie Walker-Blind Blake-William Moore-Carl Martin-Tarter & Gay-Bo Weavil Jackson- Bayless Rose-Chicken Wilson & Skeeter Hinton.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2948 & DMdl 1598
Encyclopedia of jazz in the '60's. Volume one :The blues.
Performers include: Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery; Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines; The Encyclopedia of Jazz All Stars; Count Basie and his orchestra.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds 7877
Eugene blues : [an anthology]
PERFORMERS: Olem Alves Band-J.C. Rico-Nicolette Helm & Queen Bee -Zydeblue-Vintage Blues Band-David Jacobs-Strain-Walker T. Ryan-The HepCats- The JiveMasters-The Deb Cleveland Band-The Vipers-Don Latarski and Rue de Blues.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX5803
F
Fantasy blues twofer giants.
Performers include: Jimmy Witherspoon, Lightnin' Hopkins, Furry Lewis, Rev. Gary Davis, Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker, jesse Fuller, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Tom Rush, Dave Von Ronk, Holy Modal Rounders.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl A450
Female country blues. Vol. 1, The twenties (1924-1928)
Performers include: Anna Lee Chisholm -Virginia Childs -- Eva Parker -- Cora Perkins -- Lulu Jackson.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2905
Folk festival at Newport : [vol.2]
PERFORMER(S): Odetta, Joan Baez, Bob Gibson, New Lost City Ramblers, Mike Seeger, Barbara Dane, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds 7571
G
Going away blues 1926-1935.
Performers include: Lottie Beaman -- Charlie Kyle -- Uncle Bud Walker --Frank Stokes -- Charley Jordan-- Jelly Jaw Short --Henry Thomas-- Lottie Beaman -- Robert Wilkins -- William McCoy --George "Big Boy" Owens
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2921
Great bluesmen: Newport.
Performers include: Robert Pete Williams--Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee--John Lee Hooker--Son House--Sleepy John Estes:--Dock Reese--Mississippi John Hurt--Skip James--Rev. Gary Davis--Willie Doss--Mississippi Fred McDowell--Lightnin' Hopkins:
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A826
H
Harmonica blues : great harmonica performances of the 1920s and '30s.
Performers include: Freeman Stowers, State Street Boys, Carver Boys, Lee Brown, Ashley & Foster, Robert Hill, Chuck Darling , Jaybird Coleman, Jazz Gillum, Alfred Lewis, Chicken Wilson & Skeeter Hinton, Bobby Leecan & Robert Cooksey, De Ford Bailey.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2908
Legends of the blues.
Performers include:
v.1: Bessie Smith-Blind Lemon Jefferson-Mississippi John Hurt-Blind Willie Johnson-Bo Carter-Blind Willie McTell- Lonnie Johnson-Charley Patton-Leroy Carr- John White- Leadbelly-Pettie Wheatstraw-Robert Johnson-Blind Boy Fuller-Big Bill Broonzy-Memphis Minnie-Bukka White- Muddy Waters-Big Joe Williams-Son House.
v. 2. Roosevelt Sykes-Texas Alexander-Aaron T-Bone Walker-Robert Hicks, as Barbecue Bob-Tampa Red-Lucille Bogan as Bessie Jackson-Walter Roland-Amos Easton as Bumble Bee Slim-Buddy Moss-Robert Wilkins-Lil Johnson-Casey Bill-Victoria Spivey-Curtis Jones-Merline Johnson as the Yas Yas Girl, with the Louisiana Kid- Charlie Spand-Bill "Jazz" Gillum as Bill McKinley-Champion Jack Dupree-Brownie McGhee.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3552 v.1 & v.2
Living Chicago blues
Performers Include:
v.1: Jimmie Johnson, Larry Burton, Carl Snyder, Ike Anderson, Dino Alvarez, Jimmy Johnson Blues Band, Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang, Hubert Sumlin, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, LaFayette "Shorty" Gilbert, Chico Chism; Left Hand Frank & his blues bnad, Frank Craig, Dimestore Fred, Pocket Watch Paul, Bob Stroger, Odie Payne Jr.
v. 2: Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band, Lurrie Bell, Bob Riedy, Aron Burton, Odie Payne Jr; Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Morris "Magic Slim" Holt, Coleman "Daddy Rabbit" Deltis, Nick Holt, Joel Poston; Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, Louis Myers, Bob Stroger, Chris Moss.
v. 3: Lonnie Brooks Blues Band; Lonnie Brooks, Bob Lewis, Rob Waters, Harlan Terson, Casey Jones, Pinetop Perkins; Joe Willie Perkins, Sammy Lawhorn, Luther Johnson Jr., Calvin Jones, Willie Smith, Songs of the Blues; Billy Branch, Lurrie Bell, Freddie Dixon, Jeff Ruffin.
v.4: A.C.Reed and the Spark Plugs, Scotty and the Rib Tips, Lovie Lee with Carey Bell.
v.5: Lacey Gibson with the Chicago Fire Band, Loen Brooks' Blues Harp Band, Andrew Brown.
v.6: Detroit Junior, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Queen Sylvia Embry.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A1486 v.1 - 6
The long road to freedom: an anthology of Black music.
NOTES: Various Performers, including field recordings.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX6760
M
Martin Scorsese presents The blues: a musical journey.
PERFORMERS: Othar Turner & The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band-Lightning & Group-Mamie Smith-W.C. Handy-Bessie Smith-Blind Lemon Jefferson-Skip James- Lead Belly-Big Joe Williams-Roosevelt Sykes-Billie Holiday-Robert Johnson-Memphis Slim-Percy Mayfield-Jackie Brenston-Elmore James-Rosco Gordon- Little Walter-Big Mama Thornton-Freddie King-Junior Parker-John Lee Hooker-Albert Collins-Muddy Waters-Howlin' Wolf-Son House-B.B. King- Johnny Winter-Derek & The Dominos-Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers-The Allman Brothers Band-Z.Z. Hill
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX11106
Masters of the Delta blues: the friends of Charlie Patton.
Performers include: Son House, Tommy Johnson, Willie Brown, Kid Bailey, Bertha Lee, Ishman Bracey, Louise Johnson and BukkaWhite.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX1913
Mean old world.
Performers Include:
Vol. 1. Memphis Minnie-Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five-Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup-Leadbelly- T-Bone Walker-Dinah Washington -Cecil Gant-Hot Lips Page-Big Maceo-Doctor Clayton-Billie Holiday-John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson-Roy Brown and his Mighty Men- Amos Milburn-Charles Brown-John Lee Hooker-Tampa Red- Li'l Son Jackson-Robert Nighthawk-Professor Longhair-Johnny Otis Quintette with Little Esther Phillips.
Vol. 2. Muddy Waters-Memphis Slim and the Houserockers-Percy Mayfield-Elmore James-Howlin' Wolf-Big Bill Broonzy-Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats- Little Walter and his Night Cats-Eddie Boyd-Little Walter and his Night Cats-Big Mama Thornton-Big Maybelle- Muddy Waters-Guitar Slim and his band-J.B.Lenoir- Gatemouth Brown with the Pluma Davis Orchestra-Ray Charles and his orchestra-Jimmy Rushing-- Joe Turner and his All-stars-Jesse Fuller-Otis Rush- Johnny "Guitar" Watson.
Vol. 3. Elizabeth Cotten-Champion Jack Dupree-Jimmy Witherspoon-Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee-Fred McDowell-Howlin' Wolf-Robert Pete Williams-Mance Lipscomb-Freddie King-Lightnin' Hopkins-Sonny Boy Williamson #2-Junior Parker-Jimmy Reed-Bobby Bland-Albert Collins-B.B.King-Slim Harpo-Jimmy McCracklin -Koko Taylor-Junior Wells-Johnny Shines.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3570
Memphis masters: early American blues classics,1927-34.
Performers include: Will Batts -- Tom Dickson -- Furry Lewis -- Joe McCoy -- Frank Stokes --Pearl Dickson -- Jed Davenport --Memphis Minnie -- South Memphis Jug Band.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2910
Mississippi masters: early American blues classics, 1927-35.
Performers include: Garfield Akers -- William Harris -- Otto Virgial --Mattie Delaney --Geeshie Wiley -- Joe Calicott -- John D.Fox -- Elvie Thomas --Blind Joe Reynolds -- King Solomon Hill .
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2924
Mississippi moaners, 1927-1942.
Performers include: Mississippi John Hurt --Washington White -- Mattie Delaney -Rube Lacy -- Skip James --Uncle Bud Walker -- Charley Patton --Son House -Bobby Grant -- Mae Glover -- Papa Harvey Hull --Joe Calicot -- The Mississippi Moaner --Blind Willie Reynolds.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 1259
The Mississippi, river of song : a musical journey down the Mississippi.
PERFORMERS INCLUDE: John Koerner-Soul Asylum-Sounds of Blackness-Greg Brown-John Hartford-Eugene Redmond and Sylvester "Sunshine" Lee-Fontella and Martha Bass-Oliver Sain-the Bottle Rockets-the Memphis Horns and Ann Peebles-Levon Helm and James Cotton-Robert Lockwood, Jr -Big Jack Johnson and the Jelly Roll Kings-Little Milton-the Mississippi Mass Choir -Irma Thomas-Eddie Bo with Henry Butler-Soul Rebels
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX4176
Mississippi string bands and associates: complete sessions 1928-1931 in chronological order.
Performers include: Alec Johnson --Mississippi Mud Steppers -- Mississippi Blacksnakes -- "Sam Hill" from Louisville . and others.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2920
Modern Chicago blues.
PERFORMER(S): Blues songs; Johnny Young, Wilbert Jenkins, Maxwell St. Jimmy, Big Walter Horton, Robert Nighthawk, John Wrencher, John Lee Granderson.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 3504
Negro prison songs from the Mississippi State Penitentiary.
Recorded by Alan Lomax in 1947 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, Mississippi
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 1449
The Newport folk festival, 1964: Evening concerts.
Performers include:v. 1. Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band, Sleepy John Estes -- v. 2. Jesse Fuller, The Phipps Family, The Staples Singers.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A2170 v.1 + v.2
The Newport folk festival, 1964: evening concerts, vol. 3.
PERFORMERS: Doc Watson -- Fred McDowell -- Hedy West -- Swan Silvertones -- Tom Paxton -- Koerner, Ray and Glover --Judy Roderick; Cajun Band
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds 8653
News & the blues: telling it like it is.
Performers include: Bessie Smith-- Victoria Spivey-- Blind Willie Johnson-- Mississippi John Hurt,--Lucille Bogan-- Charlie Patton--Casey Bill Weldon--Big Bill Broonzy-- Alfred Fields--Jack Kelly--Blind Boy Fuller--Bukka White-- Bill Gaither--Memphis Minnie--Peter Cleighton--Big Bill Broonzy--Sister O.M. Terrell--Homer Harris-- Willie "Long Time" Smith.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2946
O
Okeh Chicago blues
Performers include: Johnny Shines, Muddy ` Waters, Big Joe Williams, Big Boy Edwards, Victoria Spivey and Her Chicago Four, Curtis Jones, Roosevelt Scott, Brownie McGhee, Tony Hollins, Memphis Minnie.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A1176
Okeh rhythm & blues
Performers include: Smiley Lewis, Chuck Willis & his Orchestra,Big Maybelle, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Titus Turner, Larry Darnell, Johnnie Ray, Billy Stewart, The Schoolboys, The Treniers, Paul Gayten & his Orchestra, Little Joe & the Thrillers, Doc Bagby, Red Saunders & his Orchestra,
and Little Richard.
Performers include: John Mayall, Eric Clapton, OtisSpann, Champion Jack Dupree, and others.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds 3795
Roots music : an American journey.
PERFORMERS INCLUDE: Bessie Jones-The Persuasions-Dave Van Ronk-Etta Baker-Mississippi Fred McDowell-Robert Nighthawk, Carey Bell-J.B. Hutto & the New Hawks-Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias-Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown-Walter "Wolfman" Washington
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX10897
Roots 'n' blues: the retrospective 1925-1950.
Various performers, including "white ballad singers, solo singer-instrumentalists, fiddlers, vocal duos, country string bands, Sacred Harp singers, [and] blues performers."
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2466
Roots of Black music in America.
DOUGLASS CASSETTE 1589M
The Roots of Robert Johnson
Performers include: Skip James-- Kokomo Arnold,Leroy Carr-Son House-Charlie Patton-Henry Thomas-Hambone Willie Newbern
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX1558
The Roots of the blues.
Performers include: Fred McDowell, Tangle Eye, Miles Pratcher, Bessie Jones, Henry Ratcliff.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds 3335
The slide guitar : bottles, knives & steel.
Performers include: Weaver & Beasley -- Barbecue Bob --Blind Willie Johnson-- Ruth Willis, Blind Willie McTell --Sylvester Weaver-- Tampa Red -- Charlie Patton-Blind Boy Fuller- Leadbelly-Casy Bill Weldon-Buddy Wood-Robert Johnson-Bukka White-Sister O.M. Terrell-Son House.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX2950
The sound of soul, 1965-1966
PERFORMERS: Willie Tee -- Solomon Burke -- Barbara Lewis --Otis Redding -- Wilson Pickett - Don Covay & the Goodtimers -- Sam & Dave -- Percy Sledge -- The Capitols -- Eddie Floyd
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds 11505
The story of the blues.
Performers include: Fra-Fra tribesmen-Mississippi John Hurt-Blind Willie McTell-Charley Patton-Blind Lemon Jefferson-Leadbelly-Texas Alexander-Peg Leg Howell- Barbecue Bob and Laughing Charley-Henry Williams and Eddie Anthony-Mississippi Jook Band-Memphis Jug Band- Bessie Smith-Lillian Glinn- Bertha "Chippie" Hill- Butterbeans and Susie-Leroy Carr/Scrapper Blackwell-Faber Smith/Jimmy Yancey-Peetie Wheatstraw-Casey Bill/Black Bob-Bo Carter-Robert Johnson-Bukka White-Memphis Minnie-Blind Boy Fuller/Sonny Terry-Brownie McGhee-Joe Williams/Sonny Boy Williamson- Big Bill Broonzy-Joe Turner/Pete Johnson-Otis Spann-Elmore James-Johnny Shines.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl A340
Texas guitar from Dallas to L.A.
Performers include: Al King-Lawyer Houston-Ray Agee-T-Bone Walker-R.S. Rankin-Guitar Slim.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 1636
This is how it all began
Performers include: Lloyd Price, Little Richard, Larry Williams, Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, Art Neville, Don and Dewey, Jerry Byrne, Swan Silvertones, Alex Bradford, John Lee Hooker, Frankie Lee Sims, Chosen Gospel Singers.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A1502 v.1 & 2
Tough mamas
Performers include: Pearl Reaves and the Concords-Big "Mama" Thornton-Madonna Martin-Honey Brown with Freddie Mitchell Orch.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 2112
Traditional music at Newport, 1964.
PERFORMER(S): : Hobart Smith, Moving Star Hall Singers, Sarah Gunning, Cajun Band, Willy Doss, Ken & Neriah Benfield, Sacred Harp Singers, Chet Parker and Elgia Hickok, Joe Patterson, Bill Thatcher, Doc Watson, Fred MacDowell -- Clayton McMichen, Phipps Family, Robert Pete Williams, Seamus Ennis, Frank Proffitt, Georgia Sea Island Singers, Mississippi John Hurt, Glen Ohrlin, Reverend Robert Wilkins, Jean Ritchie, Almeda Riddle,
Phoebe and Roscoe Parsons.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A2171 v.1 & v.2
Performers include: Roosevelt Sykes or Little Brother Montgomery
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl A447
W
White country blues (1926-1938) : a lighter shade of blue.
Performers include: Frank Hutchison-Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers-Cauley Family-Tom Darby & Jimmie Tarlton-Riley Puckett-Clarence Green- the Carolina Buddies-Tom Ashley-Roy Acuff & his Crazy Tennessean- Carlisle & Ball-Cliff Carlisle-Val & Pete-Mr. & Mrs. Chris Buchillon-W.T. Narmour and S.W. Smith-Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers-Roy Harvey and Leonard Copeland-W. Lee O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys- Blue Ridge Ramblers- Clayton McMichen-Larry Hensley- Callahan Brothers-Homer Callahan-W. Lee O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys-Asa Martin-Bill Cox and Cliff Hobbs- "Ramblin" Red Lowery- Anglin Brothers-Allen Brothers- Smiling Bill Carlisle-Bill Cox-Al Dexter-the Rhythm Workers.
DOUGLASS COMPACT DISC CX3548
Wizards from the Southside
Performers include: Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 422
Women of the blues.
Performers include: Mamie Smith, Lizzie Miles, Victoria Spivey, Alberta Hunter, Margaret Johnson, Monette Moore, Sweet Peas, Sippi Wallace.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMdl 271
Woodstock.
PERFORMER(S): John B. Sebastian-Canned Heat-Richie Havens-Country Joe & The Fish-Arlo Guthrie-Sha-Na-Na-Country Joe McDonald-Joan Baez featuring Jeffrey Shurtleff-Crosby, Stills & Nash-TheWho-Joe Cocker-Santana-Ten Years After-Jefferson Airplane-Sly & The Family Stone-John B. Sebastian-Butterfield Blues Band -Jimi Hendrix.
DOUGLASS PHONODISC DMds A512
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Blues
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What French magazine was first to publish naked pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge in 2012?
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SecondSpin - Used CD / Son House - Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions
Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions
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Work Songs
Review
After being rediscovered by the folk-blues community in the early '60s, Son House rose to the occasion and recorded this magnificent set of performances. Allowed to stretch out past the shorter running time of the original 78s, House turns in wonderful, steaming performances of some of his best-known material. On some tracks, House is supplemented by folk-blues researcher/musician Alan Wilson, who would later become a member of the blues-rock group Canned Heat and here plays some nice second guitar and harmonica on several cuts. This two-disc set features alternate takes, some unissued material and some studio chatter from producer John Hammond, Sr. that ocassionally hints at the chaotic nature inherent to some of these '60s "rediscovery" sessions. While not as overpowering as his earlier work (what could be?), all of these sides are so power packed with sheer emotional involvement from House, they're an indispensable part of his canonade.~ Cub Koda, Rovi
Influenced By Son House
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i don't know
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Scientists announced in 2012 that more than 1,000 of what creatures (formica lugubris) had been fitted with tiny radio transmitters to study the species?
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Newsletter | Marconi Veterans Association
Marconi Veterans Association
Please click on the title Newsletter 2016 above to open the full document with the index and on any picture in this newsletter to open a larger image.
Peter Turrall, MVA Chairman
Essex Chronicle photograph
Following the presentation of an Honorary Degree of Technology at Anglia Ruskin University on Wednesday 7th October, Princess Elettra Marconi Giovanelli, the daughter of our founder Guglielmo Marconi, accompanied by her son and daughter-in-law Prince Guglielmo and Princess Victoria Marconi Giovanelli with hosts Chairman Peter Turrall and his wife Jean toured various establishments in the Chelmsford area which had some connection in the past to Marconi’s.
At a dinner on Wednesday evening at the University where the Vice Chancellor and learned Professors together with the directors of Anglia Ruskin were present, Princess Elettra thanked all concerned in honouring her with the degree which she accepted with great pleasure.
The following day a rapid tour took place. First stop was the Marconi building in New Street, now the home of Benefit Cosmetics, an American-based organisation selling various cosmetics in the UK. We were received here by Ian Marshall the MD and his staff who gave us an excellent tour of their building. The original front reception area together with the Edwardian staircase is still present, but the whole of the inside has been completely brightened with light walls/ceilings etc. The front offices depict many wireless set replicas and photographs and it was a real pleasure to see how much recognition of the work of Marconi’s has been displayed.
All the staff were anxious to know the history of the Company and what took place in the building. Photographs and more details of our history will be given to the Benefit company which they will gladly display in one of the rooms.
There is a number of modifications inside the building. The Directors’ Luncheon Club has been completely renovated and the partition at the rear where small dining rooms were situated, together with the kitchen area, has been removed. The rear area has been blocked off and a small entrance door adjacent to the old surgery has been installed. The area where the old organisation for travel arrangements and part of the photographic department is now one very large room.
My old office, once used by Marconi himself, is a reception area and on the wall various wireless sets are arranged. The whole organisation from MD down were delighted to see the Princess and are eager to learn more about the work of the Marconi Company.
The next visit was to All Saints Church Writtle where Princess Elettra saw for the first time the Marconi/Platt coloured glass window which was opened by her son some fifteen years earlier. Due to a broken ankle at that time she was unable to come to the UK herself to perform the opening ceremony. Following this was a visit to Melba Court Writtle where Marconi had his experimental laboratories and where work started on what became wireless broadcasting.
Then a quick visit to Chelmsford City Museum in Oaklands Park where all the Marconi equipment including cameras, and other communication items were on display. It was then a short journey to BBC Essex in London Road to visit the plaque depicting the opening of the Chelmsford Station by Princess Elettra’s Mother, Maria Cristina Marconi. A final trip to the Marconi statue at the rear of Chelmsford bus station ended the very quick tour of Chelmsford before the Marconi family were driven to Heathrow Airport for their flight back to Rome.
Please click on the title Newsletter 2015 above to open the full document with the index and on any picture in this newsletter to open a larger image.
Peter Turrall, MVA Chairman
New Street, January 2015
According to recent reports from our local newspaper The Essex Chronicle, Chelmsford City Council is contemplating changing the dozen or so large brown signs on all the entries to our county town of Chelmsford which state ‘Chelmsford the Birthplace of Radio’. These signs of course refer to our own Marconi Company and certainly make visitors and residents aware that history was made in this city many years ago.
The suggestion is for new signs to portray Hylands House, a good mile out of the city, which does not give any indication of Chelmsford’s major industrial past. It was Marconi and other major industries such as Hoffmann, Crompton, Clarkson and Christy who put Chelmsford on the map, fostering its development from a sleepy market town with a population of 30,000 citizens in the early 1900s, to a major industrial centre. This gave employment to thousands and a start to other enterprises to set up shops and offices to cater for the needs of an increasing population which has now reached nearly 200,000.
Already strong comments have been made by local residents and ex-Marconi personnel to both the city council and the local newspapers stating that the signs should cover Chelmsford’s industrial achievements especially as Marconi in Chelmsford was the start of worldwide wireless communications and other associated engineering achievements.
It is unfortunate that our city council does not highlight the industrial past of Chelmsford, which in itself, if portrayed correctly, is an enormous tourist attraction. Apart from the museum in Oaklands Park and, way out of the city, Sandford Mill, and a Marconi statue hidden behind the local bus station, there is nothing in the city centre illustrating the achievements of these world renowned organisations. It has been suggested to the city council that a kiosk giving information about local attractions of historical interest and where to find them could be sited opposite the Shire Hall in the city centre. At the moment this suggestion has not been acted on.
The Marconi New Street building, which has for over one hundred years been the centre point of all major visits to the company, is now in good shape having been modernised and the front gardens spruced up. This building will shortly be used by an unknown pharmaceutical company as their headquarters. To date it has not been possible to contact this organisation with the hope that the Marconi Veterans Association could utilise one of the areas to portray the history of the company and/or display some of the products manufactured in the original factory. (Photo taken on 29th January, just before four workmen in hard hats and grubby high-vis jackets together with a heavy load fork-lift carrying a mini-skip turned up at the front door)
I’ve had one or two unwished for problems in getting this issue off the ground. The main one was that I didn’t have a recording of the speeches at the 2014 reunion to refer to when compiling the report on page 10: unwisely, relying on there being one, I hadn’t made any notes. Up to the time of writing this they were missing from the website, but the full texts can now be found there. Given a fair wind the speeches will be recorded this year, but just in case, there will be a back-up plan.
The usual yearly situation with regard to supply of material. I report at committee meetings during the year that contributions have not been very forthcoming, and I don’t know if I’m going to have enough for a twelve pager, but then, when I get down to it in January I find that there is more that enough for fourteen or even sixteen. Sometimes however, as this year, an item will have to be held over until the following year.
You will see that a significant amount of space has been devoted to obituaries. I felt it appropriate to devote a full page to David Speake, such a prominent figure in the company story. He died very shortly before last year’s edition went to press and we could at that time include only the briefest of tributes. Page 12 is given over entirely to the appreciation from one of his Baddow colleagues, Laurence Clarke. Unfortunately, as anno domini bears on more and more of us it’s going to become increasingly likely that I have to decide whether or not to include a written tribute to a former colleague who has passed away, but I will have to guard against overdoing it.
As in previous years, a number of letters are from correspondents seeking information about former colleagues, for research into their family history, or for the preparation of articles, books, etc. If no contact detail appears with the letter then please direct your reply or any correspondence for the enquirer to: Barry Powell, Secretary, Marconi Veterans Association, 22 Juliers Close, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 7EP; 01268 696342; [email protected] – or to the editor, Ken Earney, 01245 381235; email: [email protected]
Certain items in this issue, particularly on this and the next page, are responses to letters or articles appearing in the 2014 edition which have already been posted during the last eleven months on the website. There is thus an inevitable but necessary duplication catering for those Veterans who have no possibility, or wish, to use the internet.
Finally note that, to avoid unnecessary repetition of the Association’s name in full, the initials MVA have in places been used.
Leslie Frank Cox
From Marie-Ann Capps, 15 December 2014
My grandfather Leslie Cox worked at the Marconi site in Chelmsford during 1939 to 1945. He never told us what his role was there and when he disappeared to London in 1945 there was apparently a warrant issued for his arrest and return to Marconi.
The Bodleian Library could not trace any employee records for my grandfather and suggested that, during that period, there may have been many external organisations using the Marconi works. This would mean that he may not have worked directly for Marconi but for some other entity.
Is there anyone who remembers him? He would have been in his late 20s/early 30s when he was there as he was some years older than my grandmother. I don’t really know much more than this apart from his name, Leslie Frank Cox, and that he lodged with the Crosier family in Brownings Avenue in Melbourne, Chelmsford during his time at Marconi.
I would be extremely grateful to you on behalf of my mother and her two sisters, as well as Leslie’s son, if you could point me in the right direction of being able to trace records of his time at Marconi. Thank you.
Would anyone who can help please contact the secretary at the address above.
The fish in the New Street cooling pond
VJ Bucknell, 17 March 2014
With reference to David Emery’s letter on page 3 of the last issue concerning the fish in the pond. These fish were originally in the large 30ft tank in Marine Test used for testing echo sounders. I believe there were originally three and they were put in the tank probably in the 1950s. When the tank was cleaned in the early 1970s they were moved to the pond beside Marconi Road.
VJ has also spotted an error in Peter Stothard’s article ‘Essex Clay’: the fifth paragraph on page 11 puts Frinton north of Walton-on-the-Naze. In fact, it’s south of Walton.
A Chain Home app from Bawdsey Radar
Eileen Dew, Secretary, Bawdsey Radar
[email protected]
If you are ‘smart phone enabled’ and interested in Chain Home then please try the new app from Bawdsey Radar. ‘RADAR Chain’ can be downloaded for free from App Store or from www.bawdseyradar.org.uk . RADAR Chain gives details of 63 Chain Home Stations around the UK with pictures and text wherever possible. We hope you find it interesting.
Post-war history of Great Bromley
LA Thomas, Swansea, 2 September 2014
I’m doing research work on the post war history of Canewdon and Great Bromley. During my time, I frequently consult the classified files at the Public Record Office at Kew. However, I write to you in the hope that some of the former Marconi radar people can assist me with some details of the post war history of Great Bromley. It appears from several files that during the late 1950s experiments were carried out at Bromley on a project codenamed Zinnia, a sort of over-the-horizon radar. I am uncertain of the outcome of these experiments and would be interested to hear from anybody.
Marconi Heritage websites
David Samways has created a website to gather input for the Marconi Old Fellows Society (MOFS) site so Alan Hartley-Smith has decided to do the same for the Marconi Heritage Group (MHG). The following are the URLs for these two sites:
https://sites.google.com/site/callingoldmarconipeople/
This is an extension of the Meet-and-Greet session held during last year’s Ideas Festival in Chelmsford so if you come across or are approached by anyone wanting to join in the quest to set up a Heritage Centre or donate material please give them this method of getting in touch.
John Iorwerth (Yorrie) Morse, Marconi Marine
From John Morse, 28 February 2014
John Iorwerth Morse
I am trying to trace my late father’s employment history, particularly during WW2. He continued to be employed by Marconi during this time (his was a reserved occupation), and I believe that he worked in Africa for at least part of this period, as a civilian in naval bases. I have no idea what he did or where he was stationed.
I understand that the Marconi archive is now at the Bodleian Library and I will contact them, but I wonder if any of your members might have any information or guidance.
John says that he has written to the Bodleian but has not yet had a reply to his letter, and so would obviously still like to hear from any Veteran who may be able to help in his enquiries. He mentioned in passing a photograph of his father which appeared in the book entitled ‘Marconi 1939 – 1945 – a war record’, published by Chatto & Windus in 1946. On the right is that photograph, which has the caption “He is Wireless Operator and, believe it or not, his name is Morse!”
Marconi WW1 deaths in service
Bernard de Neumann, MOGS posting, 31 August 2014
During WW1 348 Marconi staff sacrificed their lives. Presumably their names are all recorded appropriately, and steps will be taken to ensure that their memorial is safeguarded. Does anyone know where the memorial is currently located?
The first three staff to lose their lives in WW1 did so on 22 September 1914. They were each wireless operators aboard HMSs Cressy, Hogue, and Aboukir, three battle-class cruisers, which were patrolling in the outer Thames Estuary when they were sunk by torpedoes in quick succession by a single U-boat, U-9, with the loss of almost 1500 lives.
At the outbreak of war Marconi operators aboard merchant ships were taken up by the RN as their ships returned to the UK and put to service aboard warships, rapidly causing shortages of wireless operators in the merchant service. Thus I am not sure whether the above three Marconi men were likewise inducted into the RN.
Marconi wireless in WW1 – Tim Wander
Alan Hartley-Smith, MOGS posting, 30 July 2014
In view of the current national interest in all things related to the First World War I have put a comprehensive article on our Marconi Heritage website, written by Tim Wander, which shows how the technology developed and was used by all three armed services. You can read it here:
Marconi, Plessey, Ekco, etc in Essex
Bernard de Neumann, MOGS posting 16 May 2014
In my delvings into the connections/rivalries of the various electronics firms in the area I came across an interesting historical piece about the origins of these firms which is available for download from the University of East London website: https://www.uel.ac.uk/risingeast/archive07/academic/miranda.pdf
For those of you interested in such history it is well worth a read.
John Baker – Marconi Instruments
Arthur Foulser is trying to contact John Baker who worked at Marconi Instruments. If anyone can advise his current contact details would they please contact the secretary Barry Powell so that he can forward Arthur’s letter to John.
Marconi Monument on the Isle of Wight
Jonathon Butterworth, Needles Park, IOW 14 August 2014
I’m Jonathon Butterworth and I work on behalf of The Needles Park on the Isle of Wight. I am getting in contact because I stumbled across the Marconi Veterans website last night and I thought I should inform you that we have a monument to the great man on our grounds, I’m sure you are aware of the work he did at Alum Bay and that is what we’re commending. All the information about our monument can be found on our website ( http://www.theneedles.co.uk/marconi-monument.php ) – I just thought that it would be nice to share this with you and in turn you might want to share it with the visitors to your website.
Worth a visit because of its significance in company history, but be prepared to be disappointed by its location immediately adjacent to the visitor attractions of the Needles Park. Ed.
Some more aphorisms (hopefully not already used in earlier issues!)
Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
Shin, a device for finding furniture in the dark.
The colder the X-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
IT has spawned a huge growth industry – in selling manuals on how to use IT.
And welcome to 2015
Looking back, I realise that I have been Secretary for 10 years now and I must say that I have enjoyed every minute. The Marconi Veterans’ Association ‘office’ is a computer cupboard at one end of our kitchen so dependent upon permission from ‘er indoors (otherwise known as the Secretary’s Secretary). Careful negotiations have worked so far – long may they continue to do so.
And our new caravan is now sorted and we have had a season to smooth out any problems.
With regard to the subscription, we are pleased to maintain the rate at £6.00 per annum but, regrettably due to increased costs, we must, again, raise the cover price for the reunion to £25.00. I am sure that you will agree that this is still excellent value for a four course meal with tea/coffee and wine.
Please note that the date of the reunion is Saturday 18th April where our President will be Veteran Basil Francis who, for many years, was Chief of the Installation Drawing Office of Marconi Communication Systems at New Street, Chelmsford. Guest of Honour is Mr John Warwicker MBE who had a varied career as a Metropolitan Police officer and close protection officer to a number of prime ministers. He has also written a number of books covering his professional career. No doubt he will be giving an interesting talk on some of his many experiences.
Last year’s reunion (see report on page 10) passed off without any problems so I do not envisage any changes for this year.
With regard to the name tags, last year’s arrangements seemed to work quite well so we will, again, produce the name tags on A4 sheets which will be at the merchandise table so you can collect your label as you enter the hall. When you order your ticket, please indicate, in the box provided, how you would like your tag to read. The default will be to print your name as it appears on the first line of your address label.
I won’t bore you by repeating last year’s description of the arrangements for the reunion – suffice to say that, if you are still unsure or have any questions, please give me a ring. I am always happy to talk and can give you names of those Veterans who attended recent reunions.
If you know of an ex-Marconi employee who does not receive the newsletter please urge them to contact me as soon as possible. It may be that they have moved or not replied to a confirmation request of a few years ago or that they left with 21 to 24 years service and have now become Veterans by virtue of the reduction in service requirement to 21 years.
The ‘Friends of The Marconi Veterans’ Association’ has been set up to cater for anyone who does not qualify as a Veteran but wishes to be kept informed of things Marconi. Numbers are growing slowly with, currently, over 40 members and any more would be welcome. All three registers – the main register and those for In Memoriam and Friends – are now published on the website so please have a look if you can and let me know of any errors.
Please note that I may be contacted at the address below. Finally, I would like to wish you all a very prosperous 2015 and hope to see as many of you as possible either at the reunion on 18th April or the next Open Day at Sandford Mill on Saturday 25th April.
One final note – the 2016 Reunion will be on Saturday 16th April,
Barry Powell, Secretary, Marconi Veterans’ Association, 22 Juliers Close, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 7EP
Phone: 01268 696342 (answer-phone if we are out, please leave a message and I will ring you back)
Email: [email protected]
Geoff Bowles (l) with Nick Wickenden
Dr Geoff Bowles has now retired from the Chelmsford Museums Service after almost 25 years. Geoff, who was elected an Honorary Veteran at the 2013 Reunion, joined the Museums Service from Leicester in July 1990 as a Research Officer and progressed to become Curator of Science at Sandford Mill. During this time, he was largely responsible for setting up the Sandford Mill site and the educational activities it offers, and has done a lot to ensure the preservation and availability of Marconi equipment and documentation. He now intends to devote his time to a renovation project but does not rule out the occasional visit to Sandford Mill and, hopefully, the Veterans Reunion. We understand that Nick Wickenden is currently interviewing for Geoff’s replacement – he will be a hard act to follow! We send Geoff all our best wishes for a long and happy retirement.
David Griffiths
In a professional career distinguished by an outstanding ability recognised at a young age, David Griffiths gave invaluable service both to Marconi and to successive UK governments. Promoted to Commercial Manager at the age of 24, in 40 years career he served as Commercial Director and Company Secretary at Marconi and, latterly, BAE Systems. He was a protégée of the late Max Stothard ( 2014 newsletter, pages 1 & 11). His professional career spanned the Cold War, the collapse of Communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the digital revolution with its new implications for national defence and the precarious alignments of the War on Terror. After retirement from industry, he acted in an advisory capacity to the MOD, and sat on the MVA committee. He was committed to his work and greatly fulfilled by it.
From a Welsh background, although born in Reading and raised in West London, he was educated at Latymer Upper School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. His immediate forebears were miners; none had previously attended university or finished school. Paternal grandfather, James ‘Pop’ Griffiths, ran away to sea at the age of 14 and became a ship’s captain and later Mayor of Cardiff. He was deeply proud of family ties to Wales, and nautical family history inspired his own love of the sea and sailing; he loved the shining dunes of Ynyslas and Aberdyfi. In his spare time, he skippered several boats of his own, and in last two decades he sailed from Tollesbury Marina close to his Essex home.
David Griffiths was hugely committed to his work and until fairly recently he was engaged in meetings and travel across Europe, the Americas, Australasia and the Far East. He once said that because of his career, he had been to every country he had ever wanted to visit, except possibly Iceland, and he thought he could accept that deficit. He greatly enjoyed meeting a wide array of people in so many countries, forging many and lasting friendships in Marconi’s local offices at Chelmsford, Leicester and Frimley, as well with international partner companies in Rome, Montreal and Helsinki. He was enormously forgiving of others, getting the best from his colleagues by example and leadership. When ill-health forced him into a more sedentary lifestyle, he used on-line technologies to continue working as long as he could. He also embarked on substantial projects of amateur history, with a particular interest in the Second World War.
For more than twenty years he prevailed against deteriorating health, maintaining a wry sense of humour and determination and managing to joke about his condition until the end in October 2014. He is survived by his children, Joanna and Daniel, his former wife Susan who remained a close personal friend to the end of his life, and by two grandchildren.
Based on an edited version of the obituary which appeared in The Times last year.
Jim Cole
EF91 valve
Poking about at home the other day, I found this EF91 valve, complete with MWT box. When I started work as a junior engineer in the wooden huts at Writtle in 1952, these valves, together with a smaller version, the EF95, were the staple tool of the trade. We used them for everything, from VHF to audio. They had 6.3 volt heaters, B7G bases, and often were provided with an aluminium screening can.
We worked in what was known as the ‘end hut’ directly under the tower. Warmly remembered colleagues included Colin Lewis, Ken Johnson, George Otley and Rex Willet.
Later on, when I had returned to Writtle in 1954, after National Service, we moved into plush new laboratories, where every engineer enjoyed the luxury of his own desk and bench. A big change from the cramped wooden huts. Now all the talk was of transistors. Initially we used the OC70/71, a germanium transistor. Were they point contact devices? (No, junction – Ed.) They were prone to damage and failure even on the lab bench, let alone in service. We had little faith in them! Later, reliable silicon junction transistors became available, and we started serious transistorisation of all our new designs.
The third stage of my story occurred after I had left development in the mid-1960s. At Beehive Lane works, we manufactured the Myriad computer. This computer owed its high speed to the first use of integrated circuits. These were the DAT7 and DAT10, made by Ferranti. The degree of integration was very modest by later standards. Just two transistors and two diodes on one silicon chip. Nevertheless, they were ground-breaking at the time. The Myriad computers were very high speed, and found application in many real time applications, from power station control to weather forecasting. I think we made over 100, together with a variant marketed by English Electric Computers.
I expect many fellow Veterans across the Marconi Companies will have similar recollection of new technologies being introduced, perhaps prompted by these brief notes. In the 1950s and 1960s, I don’t think any of us had any idea that this transition from valves to transistors, and then to integrated circuits, would so quickly lead to millions of transistors on one small silicon chip, and to the high speed computing and communications which we now enjoy.
Graham Marriott
When I left grammar school I spent four years on a thin sandwich course at the City University. My sponsoring company was Standard Telephone and Cables (STC) at New Southgate. During the four years, when I was at the factory, I spent time in some of the following areas – the drawing office, the sheet metal shop and the printed board assembly area. Towards the end of the four years, I spent time in some of the development laboratories.
DC3 at Stansted
One of these areas was in developing radio altimeters. STC had its own Dakota (DC3) which was used to test the equipment and we flew from Stansted where the plane was based, sitting the equipment on one of the rear seats. On my first flight we flew out over the North Sea at about 1000 feet, just below some cumulus clouds. The heating was on and the tail of the aircraft was bobbing up and down in the disturbed air below the clouds: virtually all of us engineers on board had to visit the ‘little room’ at the rear of the aircraft, to relieve the discomfort in our stomachs!
(Did the CAA know about this?)
Radio altimeter equipment
After gaining my BSc in Electrical Engineering I spent a further year with STC as an engineer. The laboratory I was in was developing error correction circuits for teleprinter signals sent over HF radio links. The teleprinter code consisted of five bits. (This evolved from a code proposed by Baudot and eventually became the International Telegraph Alphabet No 2 (ITA2)). The signal from an HF link would introduce errors in the teleprinter information in terms of the bit values of a hole or space being changed, so to provide error correction, five parity bits were added to the original five code bits and sent over the link. The error correction circuitry could correct a single bit error and detect multiple bit errors. There were no microprocessors in those days so the system used integrated circuits. So began my introduction to a career in electronics and avionics that lead to a ‘tour of duty’ with Marconi.
At this stage of my career I had the idea of becoming a lecturer in a college or university so I tried to gain a research or higher degree. With a grant from the Science Research Council I joined the University of Surrey at Guildford. My research in solid state physics was carried out at Aldermaston. Firstly I investigated doping semiconductors by using ion implantation, then I looked at secondary electron emission. This research didn’t lead to a higher degree however so I decided to return to working in industry. Prior to joining the GEC group of companies I was working for RS Components (formerly Radio Spares) in the city. Having married in this period we had moved to Chelmsford when our first child was born. As I didn’t see much of my son due to the commuting I decided to try and gain a local job. At that time Chelmsford was almost known as Marconiville with many Marconi or GEC companies located in it. I didn’t manage to get a post in any of the Chelmsford companies: however I did land a job with Marconi Elliot Avionics Systems Ltd at Basildon. (I always called it Measles!)
So I started at Basildon in the Design Quality Assurance group in the Airadio laboratory in A Building. I remember Bert Holmes was one of the senior team members in this group. One of the first pieces of equipment that I worked on was the AD130. This was used in the Maritime Nimrod aircraft, and I was involved in the environmental tests on this and carrying out the reliability predictions for it. (These reliability predictions used a computer at the Research Laboratories at Great Baddow. The information was sent from Basildon via a teleprinter link. This took me back in remembering my time at STC on the error correction equipment).
Presentation by GEC of Silver Medal.
L to R Alan Maycocke; Doug Farthing ??; Graham Marriott; Sue Marriott.
Airadio also put me on a course to gain a City & Guilds in Quality Control. The course was held in Chelmsford at Marconi College and the course tutor was Alan Maycocke from Thurrock College. One of his students had been the top exam student winning the silver medal for the past few years. The rest of the class must have thought I looked intelligent as they turned to me and said, ‘go for it Graham’! So I did and I won the Silver Medal, and a cement company and a group of small trade unions gave me monetary prizes for winning. GEC also gave me a small monetary prize as well. I used these monetary prizes towards purchasing my first 12 string guitar which I still have. (Photo – Presentation by GEC of Silver Medal. From left Alan Maycocke; someone causing some perplexity – Graham thought it was Doug Farthing, but others disagree – can anyone put a name to this face please; Graham Marriott; Sue Marriott)
When I joined Airadio I was given the option of transferring to development, so I joined one of the development teams. During my time in development I did some preliminary work towards the Merlin helicopter avionics and a control unit for the radios in the Gazelle helicopter. Whilst working on this project I managed to cadge a flight in a Gazelle from Middle Wallop, during which I had a wonderful view of Salisbury Cathedral and the amazingly large grass airfield of Middle Wallop.
I then decided it would be great to work nearer to home and transferred to Marconi Radar at Chelmsford working under Brian Partridge. My section was responsible for the design and development of the large raster PPI displays for primary radar. I then worked in the project management team on the Bacchus project: this was a defence radar for Yugoslavia. It was interesting to reflect that when the Bosnia conflict arose I am sure the first thing the RAF did was to take out this defence radar. I sensed that contracts and work were running down at that time at Marconi Radars, so, like a ‘bad penny’ I returned to Basildon!
However this time I was recruited to the IT section in the Airadio Development laboratory rather than the development side. This involved looking after the Banyan Vines network that provided the inter-connection for all the PCs. In addition it involved looking after the Sun Solaris UNIX workstations. At that time PCs were so weak in terms of processing power that design work was done on the more powerful UNIX machines. During this time GEC sent me on quite a few courses. One was a Sun Solaris UNIX course which helped me on the next and final stage in my career. But I remember Don West who ran Airadio development asking me one day whether I was very busy at the moment. When I said that I wasn’t too heavily loaded, he put me on a ‘Compelling Presentation Course’. This taught one how to speak and use visual aids, but I never did use this for Marconi. However I like to think that has helped me in my preaching over the years in various churches. Well, I haven’t seen anyone nod off to sleep yet, so I must have picked up something from this course!
But with my UNIX and network skills, late in my career, I gained a job in Addison Wesley Longman at Harlow, who are part of the Pearson group of companies. Pearson is one of the largest publishing companies in the world, operating mainly in the educational field. They own the Financial Times and Penguin books amongst their many brands and titles. Working for a succh a company was very different to Marconi, particularly the flavour of the old Wireless Telegraph company days. The Pearson building was a modern five storey building, with, on the ground floor, a café open all day serving food, hot drinks and even alcohol! When I worked in development in Airadio at Basildon it consisted predominately of me. However in Pearson there were an equal number of men and women. Publishing also had a very different feel and atmosphere to an engineering company like Marconi.
Pearson primarily recruited me for my UNIX knowledge. However they began to phase out their UNIX systems and go over to Microsoft NT servers instead. So I was trained in networking skills based on Cisco routers and switches. In addition I also helped administer the Checkpoint firewall and the telephone system for the building. This period with them complemented my engineering knowledge gained with the Marconi companies, giving me a quite extensive knowledge of PCs and particularly networking. This proves invaluable in sorting out my broadband problems and those of my family and friends!
Airadio Ramblers in August 2014.
L to R; Derek Juniper; John Little; Dave Neylon; John Rendell; Len Briggs; Mike Hopper; Mike Rowe.
Having retired I have renewed my association with Marconi as I now go out walking with a small group of men from the Airadio Division of Marconi at Basildon. (We call ourselves the Airadio Ramblers). Every two weeks we go out into the Essex countryside or sometimes into Suffolk. Our walks vary on average between nine to twelve miles. It is great walking with the Airadio Ramblers not just for the walking but as a reminder of my time in the Marconi companies, particularly in the Airadio Division at Basildon. It was through this group that I was encouraged to join the Marconi Veterans Association.
Some time ago, prompted by a thread of the recollections of former Apprentice Training Centre trainees that ran over three or four bulletins on the MOGS forum (some of them were reproduced in the 2011 edition of the newsletter) a request was made to MOGS and to David Samways’ Marconi Old Fellows website for a photograph of the legendary Marconi Toolbox showing it still in daily use some 50 years or more after manufacture in the Apprentice Training Centre. Keith Thomas down in Oz got in touch recently and sent these two photographs. He says: “I had intended responding at the time but then forgot about it. Today, I was reminded again when servicing my recent restoration of a 1958 Triumph motorcycle and made sure that I didn’t forget for a second time!”
John M Brown
Ascension Island, South Atlantic.
Showing the desolate terrain of the satellite communications site.
In 1965, I was Chief of Systems in Bill Quill’s Special Projects Group, Radar Division, New Street: our principal focus at the time was compiling the company’s technical and commercial input to the Hughes International Consortium bid for the £110M Project, NADGE (NATO Air Defence Ground Environment). The consortium had its offices in Paris (where NATO was at that time), so all of us were travelling regularly to Paris for meetings. Our Divisional Manager was Dr Tom Straker, who also had been following with interest the progress being made with communication satellites operating in synchronous orbit, pointing the way to global communications. Many readers will recall the design and development of the three SCAT (Satellite Communication Air-Transportable stations) for UK MoD, project-managed by Alec Kravis, which had to operate with random-orbit satellites, and were built around this time.
Although Dr Straker knew I was heavily involved with the NADGE bid, he tasked me to seek out any openings for the company in this possible new market of satellite communication ground stations, having already participated in some of the military study work carried out by the Baddow Research Laboratories, Hughes, and British Aircraft Corporation, which ultimately led to the UK’s SKYNET, and to Marconi’s provision of the central ground station at RAF Oakhanger, Hampshire.
I had visited Dick Cannon, Cable & Wireless’ Deputy Engineer-in Chief, during July to see if they were contemplating becoming Earth Station operators; however, their board had considered that it was too early at present. A month later, on a Friday afternoon, Dr Straker received a telephone call from its Managing Director to tell him that NASA had asked them to provide an Earth Station on Ascension Island urgently, as part of the Apollo ‘man on the moon’ project. Bids were being invited, and the tendering time would be only three weeks. An initial meeting was held on the Saturday morning, and Dr Straker tasked me to be responsible for co-ordinating the Company’s tender; the technical documentation would be available on the Monday. Having distributed this to the key engineers, I went across to Bridge Works, the company’s printing plant to see Peter Bass, the Superintendent. As always, Peter was most helpful and agreed to accept the tight timescale, even though he was as busy as ever. I held the first meeting on the Tuesday: everybody was enthusiastic, and appreciated the importance of winning this prestigious contract.Our principal competitor was likely to be World Satellite Terminals, a consortium set up by GEC, AEI, Plessey, and STC. The next two and a half weeks were hectic, but the material flowed in and was passed through to Peter Bass, after editing by me. The cost estimates started to come together as well, as the designers settled on their preferred plans. I delivered the twelve sets of tender documents to Mercury House before the deadline of noon on 9 September, 1965. After Cable & Wireless’ scrutiny of the bids, including clarification meetings, a month later we received the momentous news that Marconi’s had won the contract. At his own personal expense, Dr Straker held a ‘thank you’ lunch at Marconi College, and invited everyone who had contributed to the successful bid, including Peter Bass who had printed the entire document
Implementation
The jetty at Georgetown where all the equipment was brought ashore.
The Marconi design was for a 42 ft parabolic reflector, fully steerable in both azimuth and elevation, mounted on a 15ft tripod gantry (the turntable and gantry being similar to those supplied to NATO for the Early Warning Chain). Because of the need for high reliability, the transmitters and receivers were duplicated. The shortness of the timescale and the remoteness of Ascension Island necessitated careful planning of the project between the equipment designers, the manufacturing organization, the installation planners, and Cable & Wireless Chief Architect’s Department who were responsible for the buildings, antenna foundations, and main power supply. Within Marconi, a special management team was formed, under Iain Butler, with overall responsibility for the complete project. As well as the Marconi factories, English Electric Accrington made a major manufacturing contribution to the project. Some idea of the achievements in production can be gauged by the fact that the entire station was put together for the first time at Rivenhall, seven months after the start of the project. This trial run proved invaluable since any snags could be cleared by the design engineers on the spot. Customer confidence was also established when the new station communicated through Early Bird, specially released to the Company on two occasions. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh also came to see the installation during tests.
The last petals going up to complete the dish in 1966.
In the picture are Don Reed; David Oliver; Dick Muir.
At the end of July 1966 the installation, having competed testing satisfactorily, was dismantled, carefully packed and crated and transported by a chartered ship from Harwich to Georgetown, Ascension Island. In early August a team of engineers departed from England for the island by a special charter flight to be ready to receive the equipment on its arrival. The speedy re-erection of the station was assisted by all the interconnecting cables between the antenna structure and the operations building being able to be dropped straight into prepared ducts, thereby eliminating the need to re-terminate cables, with all the inherent chances of faulty joints.
Completed earth station June 1967.
Picture by Richard Raikes, company Publicity Manager.
The station was satisfactorily commissioned and operationally demonstrated to Cable & Wireless using Early Bird, and handed over on 19 September, 1966, just eleven months from the commencement of the project. Thanks to the full steering capability of the antenna, the station was the first to lock-on, track, and communicate using the errant INTELSAT II Pacific satellite which had failed to achieve synchronous orbit, and was following a 12-hour elliptical orbit. Clear speech was transmitted from Ascension to Andover, Maine using the satellite. Perhaps the most significant achievement for the UK was that the Ascension Island station was the first to become operational in the Apollo network, although it was the last station to receive a contract to proceed.
Right, in June 1967, this photo of the completed satellite communications earth station on Ascension Island was taken by Richard Raikes, then the company’s Publicity Manager, when in Ascension on the C&W visit.
Jim Cole
This photograph was taken around 1935 at Cable & Wireless headquarters on the Victoria Embankment. At the time, C&W were the Marconi parent Company. The engineer operating the scanning equipment is my late father, AW Cole, who much later became Manager of MWT’s Communications Division. He had joined the Marconi Company in 1920, direct from school aged 14 as a telegraph messenger. He obtained technical qualifications through study at evening classes, and courses at Marconi College, and was appointed to the technical staff in 1927.
Pictures by Wireless
A W Cole operating the scanning equipment ca 1935
He became involved in developing the technology for the commercial transmission of pictures by wireless between the USA and the UK. This required collaboration with RCA, and visits to New York sailing across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary.
The system involved a scanner. The picture to be transmitted was wound round a drum, driven at 60 rpm by a motor, and a photocell mounted on a scanner head and driven the length of the drum by a lead screw. Reception was achieved by using the same system in reverse to expose a photographic film.
Early photographs, just black and white, were ill defined, but quite soon the pictures were good enough to be reproduced in newspapers, with the credit ‘pictures by wireless’.
Since the only other practical method of getting pictures across the Atlantic was by ocean liner, taking 2 to 3 days, ‘pictures by wireless’ was a major innovation.
I think it is uncanny to reflect that, now, many of us have our own scanners and printers at home, and we can send and receive pictures (colour pictures even) to and from all over the world.
The 78th annual Veterans Reunion took place on the 5th April 2014. Our President at the reunion and for the past year has been Mike Thornton. The Guest of Honour was Ray Hagger, formerly with Shell Mex and BP, subsequently a specialised training organisation and also a Pensions Liaison representative.
The toast to the President was proposed by MVA Chairman Peter Turrall MBE. In his introductory remarks he noted that Mike joined MWT in 1956 and has served in a variety of roles in Airadio at Basildon, travelling widely on company business initially in product support and then progressing through sales, marketing and divisional managerial roles, culminating in the position of managing director of Basildon site. He retired from that position having served the company for 39 years.
In responding to the toast, Mike Thornton opened by saying it was somewhat difficult to know where to start his address, but he knew he had only seven minutes and thirty seconds to deliver it!
He reflected on the evolution of the avionics capability with the Marconi Companies over the years. In the early 50s and 60s Airadio Division achieved much success in the development and marketing of Doppler navigation systems, initially classified projects for the UK military, and radio navigation and communication equipments, at a time when the divisional capability was split geographically: engineering and product support based at Writtle in a collection of wooden huts (one of them the original 1922 2MT hut), divisional management, contracts and commercial departments at New Street and production at the Skating Rink in Chelmsford. This configuration continued through the fifties until new buildings were completed at Basildon when the full divisional team could be brought together as Airadio Division.
The products were widely installed on many aircraft, both at home and overseas. They were among the first systems in the world to use transistors in the aircraft environment, and formed the basis of a radio guidance system for the world’s first blind landing installations on the Trident and VC10 aircraft of BEA and BOAC. An exciting period with the development of new aircraft and the introduction of jet engines, and the challenges for aircraft radio installations that these entailed. New concepts brought their own problems to be solved. Many test flights were undertaken during this period by both development and product support engineers to ensure that optimum performance was achieved. Exciting yes, but hitting an 11,000 volt overhead cable at 40 feet with the rotor blade of a Westland helicopter whilst testing a Doppler system can be just a little too exciting!
In 1960 the move of the whole team to a new purpose-built facility at Basildon was completed. The management structure remained unchanged, with the divisional manager reporting to the MWT Managing Director, the division continuing to use many of the MWT central facilities at Chelmsford. This situation lasted until 1967, when, in very short order, English Electric bought Elliott Brothers (with its own well established avionics business), then GEC bought that new group including Marconi’s from English Electric. In two years the avionics business was reporing to the Elliott Bros headquarters at Rochester, within a new company Marconi-Elliott Avionics under MD Wally Patterson. Over these years the day-to-day liaison between Basildon and New Street virtually disappeared.
The defence market brought challenges from increased overseas competition. To meet it the total GEC-Marconi expertise had to be concentrated on new technology, for both ground and airborne systems. But before this policy could be implemented GEC sold the defence business to BAE systems, and the Basildon divisions were included in that sale.
The electro-optical divisions were by this time contracted to supply thermal imaging systems to UK and US defence services, the total Basildon business was almost totally defence-oriented and the sale to BAE was probably a wise move. As we now know, that business was then sold by BAE to Finmeccanica whose affiliate UK company Selex ES employs over 4000 people in the UK and whose headquarters in the UK are based at Basildon. They fully acknowledge their success is related to their Marconi history.
The Chairman then introduced the Guest of Honour Ray Hagger, a long-standing friend of our President. From the early 1970s he worked in the UK for Shell Mex and BP, in the marketing arm of Shell, mainly in commercial and industrial sales, principally in retail, especially marketing and project management, culminating as Head of Retail Management Training. After leaving Shell he worked with a specialised training organisation delivering a staff/management communication package to HMRC before finally renewing the connection with Shell as a Pensions Liaison representative.
Ray Hagger developed the theme of the Communications Revolution. Mobile phones and other hand-held electronic devices – e-readers, iPods, iPads – that enable world-wide personal communications, teleconferencing, the operation of social media services like Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and then online shopping and so on – these would have been unthinkable back in the ‘40s. They have brought about a more informed and open global society. Space exploration has enabled this – consider its impossibility of these examples without satellites, GPS etc. One current instance – the Rosetta spacecraft mission to put the lander Philae on the surface of comet 67P – highlights the essential role of radio communictions in all of this, the brainchild of Guglielmo Marconi, the immigrant entrepreneur, whose belief, tenacity, and passion for scientific discovery made imagination into reality. A true Champion of Science.
These are heavily edited versions of the speeches, the full texts of which can now be found on the MVA website. Ed
David Whiting
From left back row: sixth Peter Whitnall; seventh Quinton Bullard; ninth Brian Bolton.
Second row: first John Everett.
Third row: seventh Martin Bates; eighth David Whiting.
Front row: third Ron Farrell
I shared a flat in a very nice house on Danbury Common with Pete Whitnall, Quinton Bullard, Brian Bolton, John Everett and Martin Bates, they all, and Ron Farrell, came to my wedding in ‘63. Ed.
While searching a possible Grundy relative I fell on your internet site: http://www.marconi-veterans.org/?p=1552&page=24 which refers to an editorial note under the article by Cyril Taylor about his RAF Yatesbury days – see page 14 of the 2012 newsletter. That paragraph reads:
“Another coincidence. After the time when Cyril Taylor was testing AD107s at New Street, I was servicing AD107/114s from our Comet 4s in the Radio Servicing Section at RAF Watton in Norfolk. I can also remember having a visitation from two Marconi Field Support engineers (I later found out they were Eddie Ratcliffe and Phil Flowerday) whilst I was in one of the aircraft, out on the airfield, investigating a problem of tripping supply circuit breakers on the system. It transpired that the diameter of the trunking installed for the cooling air supply was inadequate.”
After leaving school I had wanted to join the RAF and fly as both my father and stepfather had done. P/O JM Whiting, my father, was killed with his crew when their Lancaster from 630 Squadron was shot down over Denmark returning from dropping sea mines in Kiel Bay on the night of 21-22 May 1944. Following the telegram that the Lancaster was missing, my mother later wrote to the recently retired Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding in the hope that he might have avenues of research to discover the fate of my father. They met to discuss the matter, and later on they married. Hugh Dowding bought me up during my school days. However, the prospects of flying with the RAF were not for me, as I’m colour-blind, so Dad said he had contacts with Ferranti in Scotland and the Bristol Aeroplane Co in Filton. Scotland seemed a very long way from our home in Tunbridge Wells, so I went to Bristol in 1957 to start a 5-year apprenticeship. In around late 1959-60 I transferred to Marconi Chelmsford to specialise in electronics, staying first at the Marconi student hostel. On completion of my training I was offered a staff position with the Aeronautical Division, Basildon, in preparation to be the resident engineer at London Heathrow airport for the introduction of the AD2300 and later the AD560 Doppler navigation systems. (See http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%200924.html )
Dummy shot of DW putting an AD560 unit into a Boeing 707. In reality the unit was accessed from the freight bay on the starboard side under the galley.
The workshop manager at Heathrow was Jo Grundy, who lived near Croydon. My paternal great-grandmother was a Grundy I have recently discovered. The other resident engineer was Phil Flowerday. He left and went to work with Cossor Electronics I think in the late 1960s.
I wonder if you have any contacts with Marconi people who were based at Heathrow around 1963?
David Speake died during preparation of the last newsletter so it was not possible to do him justice. The following is an edited version of the tribute paid at his memorial service in Shenfield by Laurence Clarke, a former Marconi colleague.
David Speake
Reflections on David’s professional life remind me of that of my father, who also lived into his 90s after a long research career and was to me a beacon of wisdom. David often reminded me of him when I was in difficult situations. Speaking at a Memorial Service so long after the professionally active time inevitably stretches the memory.
David had a long and productive professional life – so long that it is not really possible for one person to speak of it from beginning to end. His early work after the services in the war, running a physics group at Marconi Research before moving to research management, is unknown to me. Talking with one of his few remaining colleague of the time I learned that he already showed the helpfulness and understanding which I think characterised his life. From personal knowledge I can only cover the last 47 years since English Electric took over Elliott Automation shortly followed by the major revision of the UK electrical industry by GEC. These events brought us to work alongside each other in a number of ways. It means that I cannot refer to individual professional projects where David was successful. However I suspect that his more significant contribution to the field of electronics came from the way that he managed the transition from the world of Marconi to that of GEC, not only at Baddow but in the group as a whole.
David was a gentleman, in every sense of the word, who found himself thrust into the rather brutal business world of Arnold Weinstock – so very different from the steady, conservative and dare one say, comfortable, control of Lord Nelson and Bob Telford. He was running a major and well respected Research Laboratory at Baddow and as the Marconi Technical Director, overseeing the work of Marconi as a whole – work which was, in many ways leading the world. However in the new GEC empire there were other groups with claims of competing, groundbreaking work and this must have made life very difficult. Each of those projects had their dedicated teams who genuinely thought that they were doing the ‘right’ thing, and fought vigorously to maintain their independence. David calmly met the challenge seeking the best, and most efficient ways forward to achieve the overall aims without, as far as I know, riding roughshod over any of the parties.
It was not only Arnold Weinstock who introduced a ‘brutal’ financial regime. Industry as a whole was being controlled far more by the accountants and by Stock Exchange reputations. The old hierarchical structures of privilege for the bosses were on the way out. Perhaps the most extreme example of this to which AW put a stop, was the case where a company’s Managing Director kept his dog under his desk in the office and under the table in the board’s private dining room (I hasten to add that this was not in a Marconi company,).
Computers, arising to a great extent from the code breaking efforts at Bletchley Park during World War II, began to cause a major disturbance to established ways of working. One only has to look around today to see that with the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, we were only at the very beginning of a revolution which would have a major effect on the lives of everyone and not just the electronics industry.
Not surprisingly all the major elements of the new GEC complex had seen this as a field in which they should take a share. In the public eye this seemed to be entirely concerned with stand-alone machines used for business purposes. The Weinstock exercise rapidly resulted in the many GEC bits being merged into the growing ICL
However the central part which computers and digital electronics would play in all GEC Marconi’s traditional fields was less acknowledged. Radar, Avionics, Battlefield and Naval Command and Control systems were all becoming increasingly dependent on computers of one sort or another – and in each of these fields GEC found itself with multiple activities in dispersed locations and again, each quite sure that they had the ‘right’ approach. David’s direction was again called for in resolving many of these situations.
This all took place more than 30 years ago and David’s retirement was on the horizon, but the government was recognising that the spread of R&D effort in the country – industry, universities and government laboratories – was inevitably counterproductive in competition with the USA and Japan, and should, if possible, be pulled together. A major collaborative venture, the Alvey Project, was formed with substantial funding from government matched by industrial contributions. Having assisted in the management of the project as the monitor on several projects, towards the end of the project in 1986, David became a member of the Steering Committee enabling him to bring to bear his experience of GEC overlaps and difficulties forming collaborations with particular reference to a possible follow-on project. He became the right hand man of Sir Austin Bide, then Chairman of Glaxo, the man charged with formulating proposals. Sadly a change of government meant that the spotlight had moved in other political directions, and that follow-on did not materialise.
So David steered a path from the almost pre-war environment of Marconi in the 1950s to a position well on the way to the digital world he left, exerting his calm consideration to all who needed help – a rare quality.
Michael Simpson, Tucson, Arizona, USA ([email protected]) – 2 November 2014
Marconi Searchlights
I don’t know if it is appropriate to ask this of you, but I would like find information on two Marconi searchlights I have recently purchased. I am trying to restore these magnificent items, which seem to be prototypes produced at Leicester England. One of the boxes also references ‘LE McAllister Control Engineers’. You may follow the link below to see documentation of efforts so far to restore them to working condition: one was working briefly, but is no longer.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?345748-1-000-Watt-Marconi-Radar-Systems-Military-Short-Arc-Searchlights
Please excuse me if I have submitted this request inappropriately but I would be ever so grateful for any assistance you could provide. I would like to ask if any of the Marconi Veterans remember this prototype project, and if they have any recollections about the history of the lights, their intended use, details of how and when they were manufactured, or any technical data about the project. I believe they may have been made around the late 1980s or the 1990s, but I am not sure.
Thank you kindly for taking time to read this request, and if you have any ideas about sources of information on these wonderful pieces of history, I would be most grateful.
Reply from MVA Secretary Barry Powell, 2 November 2014
These searchlights seem, from the markings, to have been made at the Leicester Factory of Marconi Radar Systems Ltd. From the photographs, I can see a part number SS1573 for the starter – this would translate to a drawing number S-**-1573. If you could find a similar identity label for the entire assembly, it should give the type/drawing number. Otherwise, the drawing for the starter should have a ‘used on’ entry which would enable you to track up to the overall identity.
I would recommend that you contact The Bodleian Library in Oxford who now hold the Marconi Archives – contact is a Mr Michael Hughes – [email protected]
Some information may still be held by BAE Insyte who are the current incarnation of Marconi Radar Systems and I am copying this reply to a member of our committee who works there, and we will post your enquiry on our website and publish it in our newsletter, forwarding any replies to you.
Best wishes for a successful project.
(There are numerous photos showing close-ups of the details of the lights and suggestions concerning possible uses on the referenced forum page. A number of posts suggest a military aircraft application. Ed)
Alan ‘Matty’ Matthews MOGS posting, 27 July 2014
Prompted by recent mention in the forum of the possible origins of Air Commodore Ted ‘Daisy’ Sismore’s nickname (he died on 22 March 2012 – Telegraph obituary at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/9181831/Air-Commodore-Ted-Sismore.html is an excellent resumé of his life and achievements) Alan ‘Matty’ Matthews posted this on the MOGS forum on the 27th July 2014.
Air Commodore Ted Sismore
I have probably told this story before, but sometime in the early seventies I went to the Paris Air Show from Southend in a 12-seater twin light aircraft with a group which included John Crispin (complete with red silk lined cloak), Barry France I think and Ted Sismore, who I did not know very well, but was my boss several levels up. I was in sales at a fairly junior level, but think I was probably taking Fred Kime’s place for some reason.
When we got into the plane Ted asked the young pilot if he would mind if he sat with him up front. “Fine” said the pilot, and off we went. But when we landed at an airfield near Paris, the pilot said to some of us: “Who was the old guy who sat with me on the way here – he seemed to know every church, road, bridge and other feature in France, and knew quite a bit about flying?”
So we said: “He was an RAF Air Commodore and had the reputation of being the best navigator in the RAF during the war and was also a top pilot with multiple DFCs.”
The pilot was horrified that his efforts had been seen by such an eminent flyer and asked if we could make sure Ted travelled in the back on the way home – though I am sure any of Ted’s comments, if any, would have been kind ones.
On the way back, in France, John Crispin stopped the bus and bought many cases of wine to take home and these were packed into the big boot at the front of the aircraft. It must have exceeded our duty free allowance many times over but John with his impressive scarlet lined cloak managed to convince the Customs men that the cargo was legitimate and we later shared ‘the spoils’.
Eric Walker, for all his Marconi career an Airadio man, died on the 19th December 2014. The newsletter has carried two articles by him, one entitled ‘What’s the rate of exchange for kudos’ in the 2007 edition and ‘Life in the 50s and 60s at Writtle’ last year. Two colleagues closely associated with him during his time, Ray Walls and John Rendell, have penned this appreciation of his career.
Eric Walker
Eric Walker joined Marconi’s in September 1950 as a Graduate Apprentice. His apprenticeship involved time at sheet metal, the drawing office school, commercial offices and finally a five month course at the Marconi College in Chelmsford.
With this experience he was posted in September 1951 to the development activity of the Aeronautical Division at Writtle where he joined a section of some nine engineers led by Geoffrey Beck. The task of this section was to take the design of an airborne navigation equipment that had started at Marconi Research at Baddow, and bring it to production. The project, using Doppler principles, enabled an aircraft to determine its speed and thus position without the use of ground aids. It was classified Secret and was given the codename Green Satin. Eric worked on the tracker unit that analysed the returns from microwaves beamed to the ground.
Some later flight trials of the developed equipment were made in a Canberra aircraft at Warton aerodrome in 1955. Eric gave on-site support monitoring the equipment and the results.
In the 1960s he led a team in the development of a transistorised Doppler sensor that was designed specifically for military helicopters. Eric liaised closely with RRE Malvern who was effectively the Design Authority. The requirement was more complex in that the system had to work down to zero altitude and at hover speeds, forwards, backwards and sideways. It was fitted to the Royal Navy Wessex 3 and the German Navy Sea King helicopters.
Then, in 1978, the Airadio business was divided into two divisions: Airadio Products and Airadio Systems. Eric was appointed Manager of the Airadio Systems Division.
This division was established to manage the development, manufacture and procurement of a communications equipments intended for the AEW Nimrod aircraft. The comms system was required to provide the flight crew and onboard tactical systems operators with automated access to intercom facilities and the various radios necessary to fulfil their mission role. A full-scale aircraft cabin simulator was set up at Basildon to test and demonstrate the system. Portable ground stations were supplied to support flight trials of both communications and radar systems. This was a multi-facetted programme with complex contractual and technical working relationships with the customer, other GEC Marconi companies, major US based sub-contractors and BAE, the airframe manufacturer. Eric successfully managed this challenging programme and despite eventual cancellation of the overall project it was acknowledged that the communications system had met its design and performance goals.
Under Eric’s leadership Airadio Systems Division continued to prosper, with a series of contracts awarded for the supply of secure communications systems destined for installation in a wide range of RAF aircraft and Navy helicopters. All of this was accomplished at a time of ever changing government procurement policies and internal company restructuring. Despite these responsibilities Eric always managed to make time for his golfing, badminton and horticultural interests. Many working relationships were enhanced both within the company and with our customers by his enthusiasm for these activities.
Lady Betty Telford
It is with great regret that we announce the death of Lady Telford, better known to all of us as Betty, wife of our late Marconi Company chairman and former MVA President Sir Robert Telford. She died in hospital in early December following a short illness having broken her leg during a fall at home.
Many Marconi personnel attended her funeral at Rettendon Church on 15th December 2014 where many tributes were paid for her achievements and support of Sir Robert, her prowess in sporting activities and her ability in playing bridge.
Betty will be sorely missed as she was a loyal supporter of The Marconi Veterans Association.
We report the death of those Veterans notified to the secretary from the copy date of the last newsletter to the 31st January 2015 We extend our sympathy to the families of those mentioned.
The death of all these Veterans has been reported at various times throughout the year on this website
FH Austin, RL Awcock, Mrs D Bateson, DG Beech, SC Beedie, J Bradley, HM Chandler, SC Church MBE, MJ Coombe, RE Cornhill, AS Dodd, GS Dunn, AV Forwood, PE Foulds, CJ Greenham, JK Gregory, RG Greygoose, DM Griffiths, PW Gurton, DE Hart, TF Heaton, PJ Humphrey, JA Jason, TH Kendall, RE King, AW Lamb, CG Marshall, Mrs FA Marshall, Mrs JR Mason, JW Milligan, JR Moody, PB Moore, J Nicol, CS Owen, E Pearson, ET Perkins, A Peters, Mrs C Pye, A Rayner, JC Ryley, GD Speake OBE, G Stevens, RF Taylor, Lady E Telford, TN Tisdall, RH Vanstone, JE Viles, EG Walker, RC Willis, RA Wood, V Wood, R Wray.
Newsletter 2014
Peter Turrall, MVA Chairman
Please click on the title Newsletter 2014 above to open the full document and on any picture in this newsletter to open a larger version.
Over the last nine months considerable work by the owners Bellway Homes has taken place on the Marconi Communication Systems site at New Street Chelmsford. All of the factory building has been completely demolished as well as Building 720 (the one with the wavy roof) and also the four storey building of Marconi House. The latter was riddled with concrete cancer and there was no real possibility of this remaining without extensive and costly improvements. (The accompanying aerial view was taken on 5 May 2013 by Alan Batchelor, who worked with Ted Pegram on HF Radar during the 1980s. On that date Marconi House was still standing.)
The only remaining buildings are the power house and the water tower, the latter being camouflaged in WW2 to resemble a church. The developers have just submitted plans to Chelmsford City Council for extra windows and doors to be fitted to this building. Its future use is unknown: at one time there was the possibility of an arts centre being established here, but as far as we know this has not been confirmed.
The site where the factory and other buildings were situated is now full of machinery, very high piles of earth and deep holes filled with water. In due course building foundations will be installed but it does appear this is some way off.
The front building, which has a preservation order on it, has been extensively improved, both externally and internally. The external appearance looks excellent and the gardens in front have been planted with miniature trees and other shrubs. This building will become the headquarters of the developers and already flags on our old flagpoles and other boards announcing future houses and buildings have been erected. It is hoped that the Marconi Veterans Association will be able to discuss at some future date the possibility of having some of our manufactured equipment on show within this complex, and also recording the work which was carried out here for over one hundred years.
The blue plaque which announced that Marconi the Father of Wireless had his factory on this site is still in place at the front of the building and small boards with photographs are there to advise the public of the work carried out and the importance of the industry in the City of Chelmsford.
Marconi Veterans’ Association will continue to have discussions with the developers in an effort to keep alive at the site the importance of the Marconi name, the place where the manufacture of some of the worlds finest electronic equipment occurred, and to recognise that this was the site of the first commercial broadcast by Dame Nellie Melba in the 1920s.
Not a lot of new material has come in over the last twelve months, so I’ve needed to call up two backlog items which both occupy two pages each. The backlog is now all but exhausted. Interesting and relevant photos are in also in short supply. Ideally, I should have a better mix of the shorter items, those of around 400 to 500 words in length, to leaven those long pieces, together with some pictures of course, so it’s up to you, fellow veterans.
One of the longer pieces, ‘Essex Clay’, is a beautiful piece of writing by someone who is not a Marconi Veteran. Sir Peter Stothard, a former editor of The Times from 1991 to 2002, is currently editor of the Times Literary Supplement. He is the son of Max Stothard, a well-known Baddow engineer: the family lived on the Rothmans Estate – the ‘Marconi patch’ – in Great Baddow during the 50s and 60s. The article, on page 10, is an extract from Peter Stothard’s memoir ‘On the Spartacus Road’ and describes his boyhood years on the Rothmans estate.
It was first published in Granta Issue 109, Winter 2009: Work. (www.granta.com)
As in previous years, a number of letters are from correspondents seeking information about former colleagues, for research into their family history, or for the preparation of articles, books, etc. If no contact detail appears with the letter then please direct your reply or any correspondence for the enquirer to:
Barry Powell,
[email protected]
or to the editor, Ken Earney, 01245 381235; email [email protected]
Certain items in this issue, particularly on this and the next page, are responses to letters or articles appearing in the 2013 edition which have already been posted during the last eleven months on the website. There is thus an inevitable but necessary duplication catering for those Veterans who have no possibility, or wish, to use the internet.
Note that, to avoid unnecessary repetition of the Association’s name in full, the initials MVA have in places been used.
Finally, apologies to David Emery, VJ Bucknell and Eric Walker whose contributions should have appeared in last year’s edition.
Farnborough Air Show 1952
Eric Walker, 28th February 2012
The photograph on page 13 of the 2012 newsletter reminded Eric Walker of a similar visit two years earlier.
On 6 September 1952 my wife Ann and I boarded a coach full of Marconi people to go the Farnborough Air Show, which was then a yearly event. They were exciting meetings with many new aircraft on display for the first time. It was organized by the SBAC (Society of British Aircraft Constructors) and the RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment). With so many new and experimental aircraft there were bound to be accidents.
In those days there was no ban on sonic booms and aircraft were allowed to fly over the masses of aircraft enthusiasts. To finish his display, John Derry flew his de Havilland DH110, a twin-engined fighter designed at Hatfield, straight and low at the crowd on the hill. The plane broke up into pieces, the fuselage fell onto the runway just short of the crowd barrier and the 2 engines ‘flew’ together, with a cloud of bits dropping off. I shouted out “He’s broken-up!” grabbed Ann and dropped to the ground. The engines flew over and crashed into the crowds behind us. Many were killed and more injured, including some Marconi people. We were unhurt, just shocked, as were many others. John Derry and his colleague Tony Richards perished. These things happen.
East Ham Palais de Danse
From Doug Paynter, 12 August 2013
I first became acquainted with the East Ham Palais de Danse when I started my secondary education at Wakefield Central School at the age of eleven. It was a large building with a magnificent sprung maple floor and ornate balcony. The main use of the building was as a dance hall although other activities took place. Next door to the Palais was the Congregational Church and one of my memories is of those far of days when as a teenage church enthusiast, I was privileged to take an afternoon service from the pulpit. I can remember the vicar finishing his sermon and I had to announce the next hymn. At that moment the band next door (Sydney Anderson?) started to play ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ as sung by Judy Garland in the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’. My foot was tapping to the foxtrot when I found myself initiating the hymn and the organ sprang into life, completely drowning the music next door. At the time I was not sure this was an improvement! Other events that took place at the Palais included marathon dances when couples competed for the longest survival. This was featured in a film starring Jane Fonda called ‘They shoot horses don’t they?’
On the outbreak of war I left the district. In 1956 I was recruited by Sir Eric Eastwood to join Marconi Research at Great Baddow. During my early days at Baddow I had to visit Marconi Marine at East Ham and on arrival I was amazed to find it was situated in the old Palais de Danse which was exactly as I remember it, the dance floor appeared to be unchanged, the balcony still ornate with red velvet pillars but used as a store for marine comms equipment.
The Established Designs Group Xmas Dinner 1964
From VJ Bucknell, March 2012
This letter provides further information about some of the missing names in the caption to the photo on page 11 of the 2011 edition.
Mike Southall is sitting on the left-hand side of the table, and is the 4th person along from the left (ignoring R Rodwell). Sitting next to him is a lady who was a draughtswoman in the DO (sorry, I’ve forgotten her name). Next to her I believe is Les Saunders. Bill Garvey is in the front of the picture next to our secretary Carole. The surname of the person seated to her left was I believe Chowdri. He was attached to Established Designs for a short while. I recognise many of the other faces but their names have left me.
Leonard Whitworth Stephenson
From K Douglas, Montreal Canada, August 2013 and amended January 2014
I was delighted to learn on-line of your association and to see mention of a distant relative, Leonard Whitworth Stephenson (1881-1970), amongst the list of deceased veterans.
As part of my family research, I have been particularly intrigued by LW’s immigration to Canada. A passenger list indicates that an LW Stephenson left Liverpool for Montreal on 14 June 1907, and I do think that this must be Leonard Whitworth, though no age or occupation is given. Information links him first possibly with Marconi in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and then to the West Coast by 1912, and then, working as a government engineer, helping to establish various coastal wireless stations. He apparently retired in 1945. The last record I had found of him in England was his listing in the 1901 Census as a 19-year-old electrician, boarding in Chelmsford.
Do you hold records about individuals? And, if LW Stephenson belonged to your association, might there be any mention of his participation? (Incidentally, he seems to have visited Britain in 1919, marrying in 1922 in Victoria, BC)
The secretary replied:
The 1904 date in our records relates to the date of joining a company within the Marconi family. To qualify as a Veteran at that time, he would have had to serve for 25 years or more so would have been employed up to 1929 or beyond.
The only other information that we have is that his entry in the register was last amended in 1992 – this is usually when we are advised of a Veteran’s passing (it is quite common for this to be several years later).
There may well be service records within the Marconi Archives which are now held by the Bodleian Library under the care of Mr Michael Hughes. I would suggest that you email your request to Mr Hughes at [email protected] – we have generally found him to be very helpful.
Mrs Douglas replied:
Curiously (with reference to the 25 year requirement for Veterans) from my research so far, I have found LW listed as a Canadian Federal government employee in ‘Sessional Papers for the First Session of the Twelfth Parliament of the Dominion of Canada’, 1911-1912 (on-line). He worked for Wireless Stations/Building & Maintenance’, as ‘engineer, salary, 3 m to March 31st at $125’. I’ve also found him mentioned in similar but full-time employment in 1925 and 1926, I hope to consult further such records in our National Archives in Ottawa later this month.
There are, however, gaps for LW in the Victoria Directories and Voter’s lists, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, so perhaps LW, having retired from government work in 1945, left Victoria and did further work for Marconi at that time…
Hopefully I shall learn more as I look at other resources, and look forward to seeing your up coming newsletter.
Marconi Football Club in the 60s
From David Emery, 4 March 2012
I believe I know the identity of one of the unknown men in the second Marconi Football Club photograph (page 15, 2012 newsletter). Standing at the back with jacket and tie, third from the left, is my grandfather Reg Turner.
He joined the company in 1929 and initially worked in stores at New Street. He later worked in planning, progress, at Rivenhall (where he was superintendent), Widford and finally again at New Street as an invoice clerk with E Buck. He left on 21 November 1975. I think he was associated with the Sports and Social Club, which may explain why he appears in the photograph.
Little did I know that many years later I would follow in his footsteps when I started work at what was then Marconi Radar at Eastwood House in 1996.
I also have a question to ask – does anyone know when the fish first appeared in the cooling pond beside Marconi Road in the New Street works? Despite all the sad decay, the fish are still alive – I saw them only last week. They may be the only occupants to celebrate 100 years of the site.
That was nearly two years ago. Now, in January 2014, the cooling pond is no more.
David also sent in an enquiry via the website last March concerning any possible Marconi connection with an ex-RAF comms site on the East Yorkshire coast. The query was largely answered for him by information to be found on the Airfield Information Exchange website, see below, but if any Veteran can throw any more light on the topic he would be pleased to hear from you. (You will need to register with Airfield Information Exchange if you wish to view images or post messages there.)
Lund, East Yorkshire – email 16 March 2013
Do any Veterans know if the Marconi Company had a link with a wireless telegraph station at Lund, East Yorkshire? It is shown on mid-20th century OS maps, but the masts had probably been removed by the 1970s. A single storey building remained until fairly recently. The locals apparently refer to it as the ‘old Marconi station’.
Some Churchillian put-downs
“He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”
“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one.” – George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
“Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second … if there is one.” – Winston Churchill, in response.
And welcome to 2014.
We took it easy in 2013 as my wife was still not 100%. Then at the end of the year, we decided to upgrade our caravan to a newer, larger and better appointed one – so that’s the bulk of our holidays sorted for the next 15 years or so. It’s still at Cromer, luckily clear of the areas that were severely damaged in December last year.
With regard to the subscription, we are pleased to maintain the rate at £6.00 per annum but, regrettably due to increased costs, we must raise the cover price for the reunion to £24.00. I am sure that you will agree that this is still excellent value for a four course meal with tea/coffee and wine.
Please note that the date of the Reunion is Saturday 5th April where our President will be Veteran Mike Thornton who for many years was with Marconi’s Aeronautical Division at Basildon. He retired from the position as Managing Director in 1994 after over 39 years service with the Company. The Guest of Honour will be Mr Ray Hagger who for many years was with Shell Mex and BP, mainly involved with retail marketing. On leaving Shell he joined a specialised training organisation and later became involved as a Pensions Liaison representative.
2014 is the centenary of the start of World War 1 and the involvement by Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company in the manufacture of electronic equipment for the armed forces through the War Department will be commemorated in the design of the coaster.
This will be the second reunion to be held at the new Club premises so there should only be some minor changes to the arrangements in the light of last year.
With regard to the name tags, there were a few problems with sending them to you but otherwise I was pleased with their reception. This year, we will produce the name tags on A4 sheets which will be at the merchandise table so you can collect your label as you enter the hall. When you order your ticket, please indicate in the box provided how you would like your tag to read. The default will be to print your name as it appears on the first line of your address label.
It is probably appropriate to say a few words about the reunion to dispel any concerns that a first time attendee may have. When you complete the application form, just tick the box requesting a ticket and indicate at which company table you would like to sit. If you have special dietary requirements (vegetarian, gluten free, halal etc.) please mention it in the space provided. We can cope with most needs – if you are not sure, please ring me. By return, well almost, you will receive your ticket.
The hall opens at 11.00am when the bar will be open and you can collect your name tag and reserve your seat at a table. We do not allocate actual places at table but only use the information from the application forms to ensure that there are sufficient places for each of the companies. If you wish to sit with a particular person or group, arrange with them to reserve a suitable number of places on a table (there are 10 places at each table) for the appropriate company. I am happy to advise you who is attending/usually attends and help you contact them. You can now relax and enjoy the reunion until lunch is served. On one of the tables there will be books containing messages from Veterans unable to attend and a list of those Veterans who have passed away since the last reunion.
If you have requested a special meal, I would urge you to arrive as early as possible, reserve your place and then let me know where you are sitting – I will be the one with a harassed expression carrying a clipboard – as I have to let the caterers know where to deliver them by 12 noon.
You will be asked to take your seats at around 12.45pm and, shortly after, the top table (including the President and Guest) take their places. On your table, for each person, there will be a commemorative coaster, menu, list of attendees and the papers for the AGM (more later). There will also be an envelope containing a strip of raffle tickets for which we would request £1.00 – someone will be around to collect this during the meal.
After a minute’s silence in memory of our founder, Guglielmo Marconi, and the grace, the meal is served. During the meal, there will be a few toasts as our President celebrates his year with parts of the Marconi organisation that have a special meaning to him.
At the end of the meal Veteran Valerie Cleare will pass on some messages from Veterans unable to attend and then the speeches start. There are only three – an introduction of the President, the President and his Guest. They are usually light-hearted and last around 5 minutes each. We have received a few comments about Veterans carrying on individual conversations during the speeches. Please refrain from this as it is very discourteous to the speaker and distracting for other Veterans. Together with a few toasts this takes us to around 3.45pm when there is a short break.
At 4.00pm the AGM commences. This usually lasts for only a few minutes and is followed by the raffle which concludes the programme for the afternoon and leaves you free to carry on the reunion.
If you have any questions, please give me a ring.
Apologies for the above to the many who regularly attend but we have had quite a few comments from Veterans saying that they would come but feared having to sit on a table with nobody they knew or having to sit through interminable speeches – if you know anyone like this, please put them right and encourage them to attend.
If you know of ex-Marconi employees who do not receive the news-letter please urge them to contact me as soon as possible. It may be that they have moved or not replied to a confirmation request of a few years ago or that they left with 21 to 24 years service and have now become Veterans by virtue of the reduction in service requirement to 21 years.
The ‘Friends of The Marconi Veterans’ Association’ has been set up to cater for anyone who does not qualify as a Veteran but wishes to be kept informed of things Marconi. Numbers are growing slowly with, currently, over 40 members, and any more would be welcome.
The three registers (the Main register, In Memoriam and Friends) are now published on the website so please have a look if you can and let me know of any errors.
Last year at the AGM we voted unanimously to award honorary life membership to Dr Geoff Bowles, curator of the Sandford Mill Industrial Museum, in acknowledgement of his efforts in maintaining the collection of Marconi equipment and memorabilia at Sandford Mill. At the museum open day on Saturday 27th April, International Marconi Day, I presented Geoff with a letter of confirmation, together with the association’s tie, lapel badge and 2013 Reunion coaster – see photo above.
Please note that I may be contacted at the address below. Finally, may I wish you all a very prosperous 2014 and hope to see as many of you as possible either at the reunion on 5th April or the next Open Day at Sandford Mill on Saturday 26th April (10.00am to 5.00pm).
One final note – the 2015 Reunion will be on Saturday 18th April.
Barry Powell,
Canvey Island,
Essex, SS8 7EP
Phone: 01268 696342 (answerphone if we are out, please leave a message and I will ring you back)
Email: [email protected]
In the Tuesday 28 January episode of this popular series, Michael Portillo visited Ransome’s works in Ipswich to hear about the production under licence of the first ever grass mowing machine designed by Edwin Budding, the Colne estuary to meet Graham Larkin of the Colchester Oyster Fishery operation, the Hole in the Wall pub in Colchester, Alderman Mechi’s experimental farm at Tiptree Hall (which is now a Wilkin & Sons farm) and Wilkin’s jam factory, then finally to Chelmsford to investigate some of our Marconi heritage.
In the 1912 New Street building he first met Geoff Bowles who explained how Marconi was the first to successfully transmit and receive over distances of several hundred metres because he, unlike the other experimenters in the field, employed an aerial and an earth connection to his apparatus: the first ever sound broadcast – readings from Bradshaw’s railway timetables and how the celebrated broadcast of Dame Nellie Melba from the Chelmsford works in 1920 sparked off the popular demand for entertainment broadcasting. Clad in the signature salmon pink jacket and green shirt Michael Portillo then went to the Sandford Mill museum to talk about the maritime applications of wireless, in particular its importance for the safety of ships at sea, with Peter Watkins, a former Marconi Marine radio officer who, as a volunteer at the museum, has been actively involved in the recreation of a working ship’s radio room and with the mounting of displays of the Walters collection of ships’ radio equipments. Peter Watkins invited him to try his hand at Morse communication – he had to admit that his keying speed wouldn’t cut the mustard.
The photo shows Peter Watkins in the radio room with, no, not Michael Portillo but the late Charles Shelton, G0GJS, of Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society. (I intended to use a screen shot from the morse-keying sequence from the programme here, but Getty Images’ licence fee said otherwise! Ed)
An appeal from Alan Hartley-Smith in the MOGS forum on 30 August 2012 for a list of supervisors at the Apprentice Training Centre in Chelmsford released a flood of reminiscences. What follows is a sample of them.
David Samways
I can only remember Joe Hillman who was there in 1957 when I started. Every lunchtime he used to have his sandwiches then lie down under his table and go to sleep for 30 minutes. That gave him the energy to berate us in the afternoons.
Jim Butterworth
I couldn’t remember the name, but the ATC supervisor still had his forty winks every lunchtime when I was there in late 1958. It was a steep learning curve for us apprentices – from 12 years at a school desk to workplace. I remember the Colchester lathes took ages to warm up on cold mornings and the smell of the soap water.
John Lancaster
I was in Pottery Lane in 1948/49 and Hillman was the supervisor. Forty winks after lunch sounds about right!
Bob Mountfort
In 1953 Joe Hillman was sleeping on a platform, under his bench, onto which he painstakingly unrolled a length of green felt. As I recall the strange smell was said to be due to a gangrenous wound on one of his legs which was bandaged. Diabetes? Or a war wound?
John L
Yes – I remember the smell, and the explanation!
Mike Plant
Regarding JH, I don’t recall him ever becoming involved in any training in our 5 or 6 months. Instructors included Messrs Whittaker – sheet metal; Lane – wireman assembly; Ted Cordery – ???; Thrift – capstans or lathes. I can’t remember who taught mills. Vertical drills too, though they could have been merged with one of the other disciplines. Others with a working memory will be able to correct me and fill in the gaps!
Colin Drake
Further (hopefully correct!) information to that sent by MP. During May to September 1954, the instructors comprised Joe Hillman – Chief Instructor (not working!); Assistant Chief Instructor – Charlie Sweetman (moved back to Dev Workshops as Chief during this period); Whittaker – sheet metalwork; Wray – wiring; Bob? Frith – lathes; Cordery – assembly; ‘Hondo’ Lane, – instrument making; Eve – milling machines; Westlake – ?
Jim Butterworth
Ye gods – I feel 50+ years younger! But what memories to remember the names of the supervisors. Apart from ‘being there’ and the amazingly fast-moving canteen queues my memories are minimal I’m afraid. I do still have and use some of the tools I made at the time; the centre punch; the scriber and the toolbox. I also still have many tools I bought at the time – the micrometer, calipers and hammer immediately come to mind. And does anyone else remember making the double screw – right hand and left hand threads with nuts to match – never found a use for it though! and the old chap wandering around with clean orange ‘ipers’ when ours got too grimy to use. Those were the days – followed by evenings working on the bikes, motorcycles and cars at Brooklands and Springfield House. Hmmm – you know you are old when you start to reminisce. Back to working out tomorrow’s swimming lessons!
David S
Ted Cordery was there for a few years because he was in Nigeria with me in 1963 and 1964. I have been trying to track him down for 18 months but got nowhere. Anyone know of him?
John Tarrant
In addition to the names already mentioned, I would also like to add the name of Johnny Cooper, who in 1956/57 was in charge of the capstan lathes. Sadly he passed away during that time. I well remember the double-ended screw and nuts with left and right hand threads. I spent a lot of time trying to help salvage some of the disasters that occurred producing them, and re-grinding screw cutting tools, during the time I was seconded for about six months to assist Freddy on the lathe section when, in the absence of Johnny Cooper, the capstan lathes were added to his section. Colin Drake mentions him as Bob Frith, which is probably correct, but I remember him as Freddy Frith. In addition to Joe Hillman, how about adding the names of Frank Wilder and Bob? Hitchins (or Hitchens) who were both involved with apprentice training, and resided in what I remember as the education office on the mezzanine floor above Joe’s office.
For any of you that were ever posted to Waterhouse Lane you will also no doubt remember Ernie, who ran the small sheet metal work section that was supposed to add to the skills gained from Frank Whittaker in the ATC, and whose main objective seemed to be to assist those under his wing to produce what he called a ‘proper’ tool box, that was bigger and better than the standard ATC product. I still have one of these much improved Waterhouse Lane versions, which is in regular use. Hope that this might ring a few bells for some of you. (The toolbox shown is one of the standard ATC variety belonging to Ray Binning.)
Jim Butterworth
This photo, showing Bob Thrift with a trainee in the Apprentice Training Centre, accompanied the article in the 2006 newsletter by Ron Hurrell describing his experiences over 47 years in the company’s employ
As we have moved upstairs – going up to the Education Office usually brought news I didn’t want to hear. However I can remember attending the Workers Educational Association meetings; can’t remember anything about them now, or if I actually learnt anything! But how do you remember all those names so many years on? I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday!
David Samways
I can’t believe you have said that. The only reason apprentices moved upstairs was to view Jackie! Many folks, if they agreed of course, would agree!
Brian Kendon
No one seems to have mentioned Mr Watts who was Mills and Drills in my time at the ATC (1949/50). I have fond memories of being one of the few who managed to operate the tapping machine without breaking 6BA taps in the hard brass work pieces. Not to be forgotten was the reaction of all to the sight and sound of a mill table ploughing into a surrounding newly constructed health and safety cage out of control of a young man not suited to the workshop environment. Those were the days.
John Lancaster
I remember Mr Watts very well – he couldn’t understand why I found it so difficult to sharpen a drill correctly! I can see his face now, when he said – ‘do it again, Lancaster’!
Colin Drake
And yet another memory, the capstan – ‘turrets’ were taught by Johnny Cooper in ‘54
Alan Matthews – ‘Matty’
I went into the Training Centre in 1953. Charlie Sweetman was the chief instructor.
I was making a ‘Home Office’ extractor to pull the flywheel from its taper on my Douglas Motorcycle and needed a large diameter (bigger than half an inch) bolt to go into a tapped hole in the centre of the extractor. So I made out a stores warrant for it and asked Charlie Sweetman to sign it. “What the hell is this for he asked?” – so biting the bullet I told him and received a right *******ing, after which he signed it!!! The tool worked fine by the way and if I still had it I suppose I could donate it to Mike Plant who has a Douglas still.
When working on the Mills section, which was in line with Joe Hillman’s open door, I left a very big shifting spanner on the nut on the end of the mill shaft. Went away and then came back pushed the GO button on the mill which proceeded to start and throw the spanner with one bounce through the door into the office. Another lesson learned the hard way.
I think Mr Watts was a small man who instructed on centre lathes and was always amazed that he could work looking down at the job with a fag in his mouth. My final test with him was to make a spindle with a three start Acme thread at each end – one end left handed and the other right. Then a suitable big knurled nut had to be made to fit each end.
I think I struggled for about a week before I had finished, with much scrap metal created, before I took it to him for inspection. He put the nuts on and shook it. “Well that’s what we used to call a ‘rattling good fit’ in the trade but I suppose it will do” he said. But I think that the skills they taught to us young green lads in a few months were really quite amazing.
Jim Butterworth
The apprentices training was certainly an unforgettable experience for all of us. Many skills were learnt which have stood me in good stead over the years. Coming to the ATC from 12 years of school, 9am-4pm with a long lunch break, ensured we slept well; I can remember going to sleep in the middle of a conversation and waking up 8 hours later in time for a ridiculously early (to me) breakfast at Brooklands. And then Mid-Essex courses in the evening when you were already tired out and really only wanted to sleep.
As well as the machinery already mentioned, remember the test pieces we had to make using waxed thread – every turn equi-spaced and all the knots in a straight line? And repeat assembly of small mechanisms – how many hundred in a day? And then Transmitter Test – real work at last!
I forget the names but I shall never forget the experience – with grateful thanks to Marconi and their long-suffering instructors.
The 77th annual Veterans’ Reunion took place last year on Saturday 20th April. Our President for 2013, in recognition of his tireless efforts on behalf of the Marconi Veterans’ Association and keeping alive the name and memory of Marconi, was our chairman, Peter Turrall. Unfortunately, due to a temporary health problem, he was unable to attend the union.
The toast to the President was proposed by our Patron, Veteran Robbie Robertson, who opened by saying that regardless of any time limit that Peter might have set for his contribution he was going to take the time needed adequately to say what needed to be said.
Peter joined Marconi in 1951, eight years before Robbie. The fourth floor of Marconi House then was hallowed ground belonging largely to Broadcasting Division; humble Communications Division guys could only visit the top floor with permission, to seek knowledge and wisdom on the mysteries of broadcasting. He has lost count of the number of times that Peter, the source for him of all information on TV studios, had pulled him out of the holes he’d dug for himself in the early days of his involvement in broadcasting: through the years it often seemed he was being rescued from someone or something, once notably during a visit to South West TV in Plymouth. Of the many things they did together, one of the most memorable for him of Peters’ many achievements was the MCSL Agents Conference around 1986. Representatives from around 40 countries attended; thanks to Peter’s splendid organisation, none of the expected disasters occurred, or at least only nearly!
Robbie spoke of Peter’s incredible contribution to the Marconi Veterans’ Association. An active member of the committee for around 25 years, most of which was either as vice-chairman, or for the last several years, as Chairman, with many hours spent in committee meetings and countless further hours implementing decisions made at the meetings. Peter has campaigned tirelessly for all things Marconi; Chelmsford owes him a debt of gratitude for his efforts in the public arena, on a mass of activities far too numerous to list, for instance, major contributions to Mencap in Essex; his involvement in the life of Chelmsford Cathedral, and his current efforts regarding the New Street site redevelopment.
Robbie closed by saying that we were all honoured, and grateful, that Peter has agreed to be our president for 2013. We thank him for this, and we wish him all that is good in his presidential year.
In a recording played to the Veterans Peter Turrall apologised for not being able to be present at the reunion. He then went on to talk about the importance of the history of the company, mentioning Bill Baker’s official history which covered the period from the company’s founding until 1950. When he was asked by Sir Robert Telford to clear out his office, he was told that all senior staff had been asked to commit to paper the story of their operations, designs and stories concerning the installation. As a result a large amount of material was gathered up and handed over to the Sandford Mill museum. He appealed for any veteran with memories to contribute to commit them to paper, or tape, and pass them on to the secretary, Barry Powell, or to Alan Hartley-Smith (ref Alan’s appeal on this subject in last year’s newsletter, page 5, also this edition pages 6 and 13).
Regarding Marconi House in Chelmsford, Peter is attempting to maintain good relations with Bellway Homes, the owners and developers of the New Street site with the aim that at some time in the future there will be a room in the building dedicated to Marconi where we might display some of our artefacts. He spoke about the difficulties of getting Chelmsford Borough (now City) Council to recognise the reputation and tangible benefits that Marconi and the other great industrialists brought to Chelmsford, and that those efforts must be maintained.
His final theme was the enjoyment derived from 48 years serving under nine managing directors – he got on very well with eight of them, but under the ninth he felt he qualified for the ‘I survived Glasgow’ badge. He recalled one or two high points in that career. The first, attending an exhibition at the IBC in a London hotel and showing, at lunchtime when only one other colleague was with him on the stand, an unknown gentleman and lady the various equipments on display, only to discover at the end of their visit that he had been speaking to Sir Arnold Weinstock. The second highlight was to win his biggest order ever, much celebrated back in Chelmsford, from the Egyptian broadcasting organisation for OB vehicles, cameras, transmitters telecine equipments etc. He concluded by appealing again for veterans to commit their memories to paper.
Our Guest of Honour this year was Mr Jonathan Douglas Hughes OBE DL who is a senior partner of Gepp & Sons, solicitors in Chelmsford and Under Sheriff for the county of Essex. In his speech he concentrated on his work as Under Sheriff. This is very much a legal role and, in particular, he has on his staff four bailiffs. He is not involved in the day to day collection of small dues but becomes involved in major recoveries.
As an example he recounted the story of a Boeing 707 presidential jet that was flown into Stansted from Africa with the president’s family. The owner of the aircraft (not the president or his government) required payment of the leasing dues, and others required payment for the fuel. As a result the aircraft was seized and the Under Sheriff ultimately disposed of the aircraft to recover as much money as possible.
In a brief address during the AGM, Alan Hartley-Smith, against the background of his article in the 2013 newsletter, outlined the contacts made with the BAE Heritage Committee and Heritage Manager Howard Mason with a view to establishing how Marconi heritage aims can be integrated into BAE Heritage policy. BAE is already involved in providing assistance in transferring a S600 radar at Bushey Hill to the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum at Neatishead in Norfolk. The principal aim is to establish a physical Marconi Heritage Centre in Chelmsford, possibly connected in some way with the redevelopment of the New Street site. He appealed for ideas as to how this centre might be used and funded – meetings, exhibitions, Marconi-related lectures etc. The full transcript this appeal and all the reunion speeches are available on the website. (Please also see below AH-S’s report of the Marconi Heritage Group activities for the past year.)
The editor relayed an appeal from the Essex Record Office for volunteers to be available for assistance with the examination, cataloguing and indexing of the Marconi photographic archive in ERO’s possession, a project that is to be the subject of a Heritage Lottery funding bid by ERO. Owing to the similarity of its aims with those of the Marconi Heritage Group reported below, ERO is to liaise with the group with a view to preparing a combined bid encompassing the aims of both.
A reminder that this year’s reunion is held on Saturday 5th April, and in 2015 it will be on the 18th April.
Alan Hartley-Smith
A lot of activity has been undertaken by the Marconi Heritage Group in the past year leading to very positive outcomes, with the result that we are now seeking to set up a charitable trust to carry forward negotiations.
Following the presentation by BAE at the 2013 Reunion there has been continuing participation in the Heritage Product Committee. This led to a significant action in the form of the donation of an S600 radar to the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum at Neatishead, which is currently being installed ready for public exhibition (photo – right). Also Marconi is featured in the prestigious 2014 Heritage calendar. Ongoing are discussions with the aim of achieving the creation of a physical heritage centre.
Locally we have participated in two major events: the Essex Record Office conference on Essex’s Industrial Archaeology in July, at which Professor Roy Simons gave a presentation ‘Marconi the Father of Wireless’ which roused a lot of interest, and the ‘Changing Chelmsford Ideas Festival’ in November. We took part in three activities: Marconi’s Wireless Telegraphy Workshop hosted by Geoff Bowles from the Sandford Museum, in the Library atrium; ‘Imagining Marconi’s and Hoffman’s industrial past – The Frederick Roberts Archive’ hosted by Anglia Ruskin University; Marconi – Then and Now, a meet-and-greet session hosted by the Marconi Heritage Group in the Library atrium. Display panels covering the company history were provided by the Essex Record Office, where a large number of people with personal and family Marconi connections met our team. We recorded many personal memories and received great support for better recognition of Marconi by the city.
From this latter event there have been follow-up meetings involving other parties interested in preserving and promoting heritage in Chelmsford. One of these relates to the effort to find premises for a heritage centre, which is ongoing, with possibilities including the New Street site and more recently the original Marconi factory in Hall Street. It is as yet too early to make any positive statement but there are hopeful signs of progress.
During the year there have been several associated events of interest, in particular a presentation in Bedford by Professor Francesco Marconi about his grandfather’s early history, at which we made contact and received a promise of support. At the ERO conference the formation of a new Essex Industrial Archaeology Group was announced and we are now working with them.
Much progress has been made with populating the online wikis, in particular those associated with communications, for which there are now extensive entries covering broadcast and line systems, television, marine and avionics.
A major current activity is to have the considerable contribution made by wireless in the operations of all three armed services during the First World War properly recognised during the commemoration activities being mounted over the next four years, to which end we have joined the First World War Centenary partnership being coordinated by the Imperial War Museum. We are seeking input from as many sources as possible and would welcome any information from the members of the MVA.
We will be organising events as part of the 2014 Chelmsford Ideas Festival, which is provisionally timed to run from 20th October to 2nd November. See also Stop Press on page 11
Peter Stothard
Essex clay could be like living flesh or a cold dead wall. We could punch it, climb it, cut it, try to mould it, try not to offend it, but the clay was permanent like nothing else. Half a century ago, behind the back door of a semi-detached house on the Marconi works estate, a mile from Chelmsford, were hundreds of slimy-sided cubes of this clay, newly cut by machines, soft but indestructible, leaden red by day and looming brown by night, an amalgam that at a child’s bedtime might be an Aztec temple or an ancient Roman face or a Russian.
Ours were homes built in a hurry, dug out of a butcher’s farmland below a giant steel aerial mast that had been erected against the Communists as soon as the Nazi threat was past. The mobilization of men and material to watch for Cold War missiles was as demanding as the hot war in which my father and his engineering friends had learned their craft. In the Rothmans fields of Great Baddow village, beside a town that already boasted the title ‘Birthplace of Radio’, we became part of an instant works community of families whose fathers understood klystrons, tweeters and ‘travelling-way tubes’ for the long-distance radar that kept the enemy at bay.
Every man I knew then understood either about the radar that saw things far away in the dark or about the various electric valves that were its eyes. There was a residual wartime spirit, an appreciation of values shared; and also a rising peacetime ambition for new values, new houses, holidays and televisions. As well as helping to defend British prosperity against hostile objects in the sky, we were supposed to share in it, creating a haven of high education, a science park, even an Essex garden community in which the clay cut to make the foundations of 51 Dorset Avenue might one day grow cabbages, fruit trees and flowers.
There were many advantages to life on these company streets. Almost everyone, for example, had a television set. Almost everyone’s father could make his own model if he wished. Ours had no polished cabinet (my mother’s woodworking came only later) and its twinkling diodes were slung along the picture rails and around the back of the sofa. But when we wanted a better picture, the contrast of our black and white could be improved from the first principles of the cathode ray. To make the most of The Billy Cotton Band Show, a massed expertise could be deployed, from as far afield as Noakes Avenue, the outer limit where Marconi-land ended and Essex farming returned.
The houses were so alike, and the food in their cupboards so absolutely alike, that it hardly mattered where on the estate we fed our pet pond creatures or ate our tea. Most boys had the same-shaped box room for their den, an unusual cube that contained within it another cube, not much smaller than itself, in which the inner supports of the staircase were held. A sawn-off end of a radar monitor was so perfect for newt-keeping that every boy who braved the ‘bomb-hole’ pond in the ‘rec’ had one of his own. Break the glass and there was always a replacement the next night. All groceries came from the same dirty-green single-decker coach of ‘Mr Rogers’, a silent ex-soldier who piled his fruit and vegetables on either side of the aisle where the seats had been and twice a week toured the avenues from Dorset to Noakes to sell cereals, sugar, flour – everything that the gardens might one day produce but did not yet.
Books were universally rare. There were five at 51 Dorset, the brightest-coloured being a sky-blue edition of ST Coleridge, the title printed in such a way that for years I thought that the poet was a saint. Next to it sat a collected Tennyson, in a spongy leather cover, half bath accessory, half one of the then new and exciting table-tennis bats from Sweden. There was my Yorkshire grandfather’s copy of the second half of Virgil’s Aeneid, with the name B Stothard, in a firm, faded script, inside the flyleaf. I have that one here with me now. On the shelf below was a cricket scorebook in which someone had once copied improving philosophical precepts, and beside that, The First Test Match, a slim, slate-green hardback which alone looked as if it had been read.
This was a community of algebra and graph paper. Mathematics was the language of choice. Contract bridge was the nightly recreation. My curly-haired, smiling father had a brain for numbers that his fellow engineers described as Rolls-Royce. Notoriously, he did not like to test it beyond a purr. In particular – and this was unusual in a place of intense educational self-help – he did not care to inculcate maths into his son. This was a task which he had recognized early as wholly without reward. Max Stothard would occasionally attack the mountain of clay in his garden but never knock his head against a brick wall. He was nothing if not blissfully relaxed.
Like most of our neighbours, he had learned about radar by chance, in his case while becalmed for the war years off West Africa on a ship called HMS Aberdeen. He had bought red-leather-bound knives for his mates back in the Yorkshire-Lincolnshire borderlands; he had sent postcards of Dakar’s six-domed cathedral to his strictly Methodist mother; he had never fired a hostile shot except at a basking shark. And when he had needed something else to do, he chose to watch the many curious ways that waves behave in the air above the sea, turning solid things into numbers. That was how he spent most of the rest of his life, in the south of England instead of the north because that was where the radars were made, quietly reasoning through his problems on his ‘bench’ in the Marconi laboratory and in an armchair at home, spreading files marked ‘Secret’ like a fisherman’s nets. He earned £340 per year, as my mother and I discovered when he died. Secrecy about earnings was always an obsession, although everyone was paid much the same.
The Rothmans estate was based on a bracing sense of equality and a suffocating appreciation of peace. Although most of our fathers felt they had a part in this great military project of the future, rarely can so massive a martial endeavour, the creation of air defences along the length of Britain’s eastern coast, have been conducted in so eirenic a spirit. Not even the Bournville chocolate workers of Birmingham, the group best known then for living together in a company town, could have demonstrated such a Quaker appreciation of calm. The fighting war was absolutely over. The new business was civil, work carried out with civility above all else, work that would keep us safe and increase our prosperity as the politicians promised. And because everyone was in it, everyone was in it together.
That was the constant message of Miss Leake, our doughty headmistress at Rothmans School, whose doctrine of ‘excellence and equality’, delivered in her severest voice, was adapted only slowly to the gradually advancing evidence of differences around her. There were certain girls with vastly superior proficiency at maths; but certain boys could freely pervert the spirit of Rothmans peace in a greater Rothmans cause, designing missiles and fighter planes to crash Pauline Argent and Anne Spavin back to earth. For our first two years Mrs Sheffield reassured us repeatedly that we were all much the same; but eventually and inexorably, when we were aged seven and in the empire of Mrs Maloney, those of us who counted badly had to be separated from those who counted well. Those who could not sing were called ‘groaners’ and told to wait outside the door; and those who preferred Virgil’s stories to vulgar fractions were reluctantly allowed to write fiction for our homework, as long as it was science fiction.
My father was not at all worried about my being a ‘groaner’ (he listened to no music himself at all and was especially offended by the violin and the soprano voice) but he was faintly sad about my missing number skills. Numbers were the key to advancement. Physics was the first step to a working future, a future in paid employment in a world which itself worked well. Many of my friends with no aptitude at all for figures – who could draw a beautiful anti-Pauline-Argent plane but never match her equations – were pummelled on to numerical paths. How, asked our neighbour on the other side of the clay mountain, could anyone pull themselves up by any other route? It was hard to find anyone who would argue with this doctor of metallurgy from the northern steel lands of Scunthorpe – about that or about anything much else except bidding conventions in hearts and spades and the best way to see things that dared fly low in the sky.
At the same time there grew among us the gradual acceptance of other differences. Ours was only in part a works estate in the tradition of the Birmingham chocolatiers and the Wirral’s Port Sunlight. It was becoming a place for the upwardly mobile at a time of restless mobility. So there were questions. Were the engineers’ families of Rothmans Avenue, Dorset Avenue and Noakes Avenue quite as much the same as first appeared? Did the more brilliant scientists live in Rothmans, the more managerial in Dorset, the more clerical in Noakes? Were they richer in Rothmans and rather poorer in Noakes? Did the ‘Millionaires Row’ houses by the school gates really have four bedrooms? Whose kitchen had less Fablon and more Formica? Should Marley floor tiles be polished? And where exactly did everyone go on holiday?
Summer was the great unequalizer. On the North Sea coast, only thirty or so miles away, the skies were known equally to all masters of air defence. But the beaches beneath were crisply divided. Clacton, Walton and Frinton were never the same. We always went to Walton-on-the-Naze, the middle town of the three, the one which had the widest concrete esplanades where children could ride bikes. Clacton?on?Sea was south of Walton and had slot machines and candyfloss booths where ‘other people’ could waste their money. North of Walton was Frinton-on-Sea, which had no candy-floss, no caravans (we always stayed in a caravan), no fish and chip shops, not even a pub, just Jubilee gardens and what was known, only by warnings not to walk on it, as ‘greensward’. Did Rothmans Avenue families prefer Frinton? By the time of my eleventh birthday in 1962, it sometimes seemed that they did. Our Marconi estate was small, confined and had only one entrance to the world. Once inside it we could always roller-skate through the class lines. On the coast, it was an impossible walk, and even an awkward drive, between three neighbouring towns that seemed built deliberately to show how different from one another we might be.
My father was a typical Rothmans engineer of his time, in every respect except in certainty that his was the right path. That was his grace and glory. He never stopped me preferring stories about science to the understanding of what science actually did. He read the fictions that I wrote about my manufactured hero, Professor Rame, without complaining directly to me that there was no point in any of that. He did not much like the Coleridge and the Tennyson being on hand. But he did not take them away. He himself liked to see people as electro-machinery, as fundamentally capable of simple, selfless working. It was simpler that way. But he never imposed the company line. His own mind was closed to the communications of religion or art. His favourite picture then was a photograph of Great Baddow’s tribute to the Eiffel Tower. But his passions for moving parts, moving balls and jet streams in the skies over air shows did not preclude an acceptance of others’ passions. He was a pleasure-seeking materialist – in a company estate where those were the prevailing values and the predominant aspirations. Materialism in those days was a means of science, which he loved, not of extravagance, which did not exist, nor even of shopping, which he would barely tolerate. It was the successful basis of a contented, comfortable life.
John Wright, ex Electro-Optical Surveillance Division, Basildon
In the early 80s, Baghdad was one of the safest cities on the planet. It was also remarkably civilised considering Saddam Hussein was fighting Iran and had an iron grip on the country, keeping it isolated from external influence. Western dress was acceptable – one rarely saw a burqua – and you could sit by the Tigris and drink beer at the riverside bars. Saddam of course was everywhere. His picture was in every commercial establishment, on huge posters in the street and the evening television programme was one long propaganda show – Saddam the military leader in a tank inspiring the troops, compassionate Saddam in a hospital with the wounded and then his cameo performance in a story. Some poor person gets robbed or beaten when he is rescued by a mysterious stranger who keeps his face hidden until the end when, surprise, surprise, it’s Saddam again!
I first went there with our marketing man on a two-week sales demo trip with one set of airborne surveillance equipment. Waiting for our equipment to come out of customs (sound familiar?) gave us time to acclimatise to a Baghdad with a chronic shortage of electricity. It was three months after the Israelis had flattened the local nuclear power station which meant we only had electricity for an hour a day – bad enough in itself but worse when you don’t know which hour. Torches were the order of the day and try and make sure you are not covered in soap in the shower when everything dies. Without lights, the restaurants resorted to candles and Flambé became the ‘in’ dish – lovely in summer with no air conditioning. Anyhow, eventually we got our equipment and were taken to the helicopter base at a place called Abu Ghraib (we always wondered what the nearby high security building was!). The base housed the VIP squadron and the Colonel in Charge, trained by the RAF, was Saddam’s personal pilot – probably not the safest of jobs.
By this time we had already lost nearly a week from our time schedule so we had to ask to work beyond the normal one o’clock finish to meet our timescales. This caused consternation amongst our hosts as they didn’t do any catering on the base and they were in danger of not being able to provide the traditional Arab hospitality at lunchtime. A man was despatched and he came back with some rather nice meat, salad and bread. A table was laid out in the middle of the hangar and we were invited to eat while all and sundry watched – to refuse would have been an insult. By six o’clock that evening sickness and diarrhoea had brought us down – we later found out that the food had come from a dodgy roadside stall. Eventually however, we got the equipment installed and started flying. The idea was to demonstrate how we could see things miles away etc, but we soon found that the heat haze put paid to all that. So we stooged around and just videoed anything vaguely interesting: this seemed to satisfy the Air Force and they eventually placed a substantial order with Basildon.
The marketing man left and shortly after this, after arranging for the return of the equipment, I returned to UK, the first 1000km by taxi. With only Iraqi and Jordanian planes flying out of Baghdad, flights were hard to come by and the alternative was a ride in a large old American gas guzzling taxi. A price is agreed and off you go across the desert on a largely straight road at 130 km/hour regularly passing the burnt out wrecks of less fortunate high speed taxi trips. Half way between Baghdad and Amman, at a stop in the middle of nowhere, the driver starts talking of extra money for petrol. This is the cue to quickly get back in the taxi, strap yourself in and then tell him the Ts and Cs of the journey do not include extras for petrol.
A year later, the editor went off to Baghdad with three other specialists to start the installation work and I joined them a couple of weeks later We spent the next few weeks fitting out and certifying the first helicopter and our mobile receiving station, a remotely steerable antenna/receiver on top of a 100 foot mast (see right). We had both received instruction on the erection of these masts which required nifty work with winches and some sturdy stakes in the ground for the guy wires. Fine in the UK but a bit iffy in desert sand and once it had been erected at Abu Ghraib, the first thing we did as we arrived for work every day was to look to see if it was still standing.
Having completed the fitting out and certification of the first helicopter, the team apart from me went home. Many of us have grand plans of visiting exotic places whilst returning home but usually when the time comes we are just glad to get on the first, fastest direct flight home. The editor is the exception – he actually does it and on this occasion was last seen disappearing into the Jordanian desert on a camel (the reality was a pony, but camel sounds more appropriate somehow – see picture below) to witness the dawn sun rising on the ancient city of Petra.
Nothing much happened at Abu Ghraib for a couple of weeks and then there was a request for a two-week training course to prepare a team to do some battlefield surveillance. Seven NCOs and a flight lieutenant duly turned up and I started instruction. Cameras, lenses, zoom, focus, transmitter on, transmitter off – it’s not too difficult and operating in the helicopter just needs a bit of practise. Putting 100 foot towers up and aligning them is another matter. The mast was raised up to its full 100 feet and had been lowered back down 20 feet and I was beginning to feel hopeful that the team had mastered it when a winchman started winding one of the guys too hard and pulling the mast to one side. And when he was shouted at to stop he just panicked and winched harder. Racing towards him, I suddenly realised that the mast was doomed, changed direction and dived under a lorry as the mast broke and collapsed around us. Being brainwashed by GEC, all I could think of at the time was ‘who is going to pay for this’. Fortunately, the antenna landed in sand and after some straightening and reassembling it worked again. Some sections of the mast were broken but we were able to use it up to sixty feet – a good job as it was the only one in-country at that time. Anyhow, the course was completed and everybody passed, including the flight lieutenant who always sat facing the opposite direction in the classroom, smoking a cigarette and not listening to a word to show his contempt. I don’t know how he passed but leaving the exam room unattended may have helped.
And so, off we went to Basra. I flew down in the helicopter with the surveillance turret fitted. Flying over the desert requires a different technique due the strong thermals – the helicopter soars and swoops using them as opposed to battering through them, so it is relatively slow. We were forced to land once at a remote radar station to avoid a sandstorm – the officer i/c proudly reciting the names of all the then current Manchester United team to me when he found out I was English. Then off again for the best part of the trip, flying over the southern Iraqi marshes, with spectacular views of the Marsh Arabs who live in ornately woven reed houses on floating reed islands.
As for Basra, we put up our 60 foot mast and the helicopter went off with one of the trainees to video the battle where Iraq lost Khorramshar to the Iranians. The results were pretty useless, the helicopter was keeping its distance, the operator didn’t know where to look and the combatants kept themselves hidden in all the dust which was being stirred up. And so interest was lost, I was despatched back to Baghdad, this time in a Russian MIL8 helicopter – crude but roomy. Then back to UK, this time by air from the brand new Baghdad airport. It hadn’t quite sorted itself out and tended to over issue boarding passes so when you were due to board, you milled about by the departure gate and when this was opened, you raced across the tarmac to the aircraft, found a seat and strapped yourself in – women and children first might be OK for the Titanic but not Baghdad Airport!
Many months later, when all the equipment on the contract had been delivered, the editor and I returned to commission it and complete the contract. This time, everything had moved to a big military establishment at Taji, north of Baghdad. Fortunately, we were able to travel daily from the luxury of the Sheraton Hotel in Central Baghdad. It was at the Sheraton that I discovered the gourmet side of the editor. Nearly every evening a different nationality theme buffet was available where he had to sample every dish, which in total amounted to at least 3 dinner plates full – and he didn’t add a pound to his weight!
Our visit was in February and even on a sunny day we wore woolly-pullies to keep warm. We shared the hangar with Russian built Hind gunships fitted with multiple rocket launchers which were used effectively against the Iranians when they carried out their first world war tactics of charging en masse across open ground. There were no workshop facilities available and we were reduced to carrying out delicate adjustments to cameras, lenses, gyros etc on the helicopter with power coming from a huge, noisy diesel ground power unit belching fumes only six feet away.
Finally it was time for us to leave for the last time. The support team we had trained seemed genuinely sorry to see us go. Ken mentioned taking back some local cake delicacies to UK so they gave us what seemed like the total output of the local bakery. I was not surprised as, apart from the odd hardliner, the Iraqis were very nice people and I feel really very sorry for their troubles since our ill-advised venture with George W.
Alan Hartley-Smith
There is to be an Essex County Council event in Hylands, Chelmsford on 14th September – we plan to be represented, and MHG has been registered in the First World War Centenary partnership being coordinated by the Imperial War Museum – see http://www.1914.org/partner/?id=AM463539 for our entry.
Tim Wander has put together a booklet about Marconi involvement with all three armed services; I will be incorporating copy and pics from this for the events and in a new website www.marconiheritage.org which is still under construction. Veterans who have relevant information about their own or family involvement are invited to make contact with me.
Eric Walker, formerly Airadio, Basildon
In the 2007 newsletter I reproduced an extract from a much longer piece by Eric Walker – for all of his Marconi career an Airadio man – which focused on some of the less serious aspects of the life of the avionics engineers inhabiting the Writtle huts in the 50s. Mike Lawrence, who served in the DO at Writtle and for a while at Basildon, expanded Eric’s original article, written in 1998, with additional material and turned it into a hand-crafted booklet with a very limited production run. Eric and Mike both had copies – Mike is sadly no longer with us – and other copies went to the Writtle village archivist and to the Sandford Mill Museum. It is well worth reading in its entirety, and we are endeavouring to make it accessible on the website.
The photo below shows the Lawford Lane site sometime between 1948 and 1956, the period in which the Lancaster airframe was resident there. The photo at foot of page 17 shows a view of some of the huts.
This extract looks at the day to day life of the Airadio people in their Writtle times – working conditions, getting on with one another, pay, perks – or lack of, and so on. It was written in 1998, but would anyone in work today, looking at Eric’s comments on how it he viewed things in ’98, perhaps raise a wry smile? Do graduates starting to climb the seniority ladder expect to get an office, as was the norm in ’98? All workplaces are much more open plan these days.
Life was made cheerful by the morning and afternoon arrival of Fred Hazel and his tea urn. He was usually accompanied by his mate Stan Porter, a very quiet man. Fred also swept out the huts and could be regarded as an early proponent of recycling as he sprinkled his used tea leaves to keep down the dust! In the early part of the 50s food was provided by Ella Walden in the canteen hut. Later, as the staff numbers grew, we took over her hut and people made their own arrangements for grub.
It might be of interest to today’s new graduates that I joined in 1951 at £350 per year. So my take-home pay was, after ‘Standard Deduction’ about £25 per month. To my surprise and delight I also received £2.5.5d (£2.27) per month supplement! We didn’t have a minimum wage in those days – so I suppose it was a state incentive to encourage firms to provide apprenticeships. When I moved on to staff conditions in March 1952 I received £500 pa. It took me 4 years to double this pay rate. In the whole of my 40 years with the company I never received a single penny for the enormous amount of overtime I worked then, and throughout the rest of my time. Staff salaries managed to increase just ahead of the overtime payment limit! I think the criterion was that overtime was only for hourly paid workers. Staff were expected to work whatever hours were needed to get the job done.
Another point of comparison, then and now, is the working environment. Nowadays as soon as graduates start to climb up the seniority ladder, they hope to get an office or at least a boxed-off cubicle to themselves, with desk, filing cabinet, telephone, a chair, personal computer etc, etc. Our Green Satin team worked in a wooden hut with benches and stools. You didn’t even have a dedicated area of bench although before long the hardware took a fairly static location so a work pattern was formed. The only office was a partitioned-off bit, open at the top where Geoff Beck worked. It was necessary because he had ministry and company visitors. We took the view that it maintained official security and fenced-off management activities from the real work of the laboratory! Beck had the only telephone.
We were issued with one screwdriver large, one screwdriver small, side cutters and round-nosed pliers: wire stripping tools were a later luxury. To prevent tools straying we each bound them with our own colour-coded wire. I still have some today – perhaps I should have handed them in when I retired. We were given a Marconi propelling pencil: lead for the pencil, and writing pads, were negotiable from Dudley Shearman! Most of the engineers were capable of operating machine tools – it depended on the Development Workshop foreman whether we were allowed to or not. It is a characteristic of design engineers to want their own workshop in their own laboratory, to use when and how they please. It is a characteristic of senior management to oppose such a notion!
Clerical services were very limited compared with today. No personal secretaries (except for very senior management); no word processors. We wrote all internal or external letters or reports in longhand and gave them to Dudley’s office, where Barbara Trevor, or Dudley himself, typed them, with carbon copies. If formal documents for a customer, or Internal Technical Memoranda were required in several copies. Stencils had to be typed. Any amendment or error-correction was a messy operation, with Tippex and overtyping (usually misaligned!). The office staff were heroes. By the way, DG Shearman was known as Dudley to us and as Gordon to others. I liked to think we were on first name terms.
The Aeronautical Comms lab in 1960, shortly before the move to Basildon. Pictured from left to right are Brian Ady, Peter Freeman, Ronald Robertson and Dennis Moore. The office beyond the glass panel was occupied by TT Brown, Coms lab leader, and Wilf Rich, Transmitter lab leader
Another difference, then to now, was in personal relationships. We addressed equals by their surnames. Our seniors addressed us by our surnames. We addressed them as Mister -, with many ‘Yes Sirs’ and ‘No Sirs’ in the course of conversation. If there was more than one person of the same name, a descriptor was added.
In the 50s most people smoked, and many affected, pipes. The habit had been encouraged in the HM Forces by the availability of cheap tobacco rations. We smoked over our work, but we did our best to clean out fag ends and ash from equipment to be delivered to our customers!
Rank was not clearly defined as it is today in career progression ladders. We were all Engineers, with some more senior than others; we all knew our relative status. Steps up the ladder were to Section Leader, or Group Leader as one became responsible for guiding the work of others. Nowadays titles have proliferated and become inflated sometimes to a meaningless jargon. In the 1950s Marconi’s top man, F N Sutherland was the General Manager.
Another difference is in ‘parking’. Nowadays all sites need large car parks for employees. In the early 50s very few staff had motor-cars, bicycles were the usual mode of transport. Note the press pictures of employees pouring out of New Street works and blocking the road under the railway bridge. There were bicycle-racks everywhere. George Parker had a car, a Citroën I believe, front wheel-drive of course. A very fast driver was GPP. Beck had a car, DCD 183. So did Tim Tate, EMX 914. How do these number-plates stick in the memory? The most junior engineer to have a car in 1951 was Cliff Harris, with a pre-war Austin 7 Ruby. I bought my first car in 1957! A 3 year old Ford Popular for £300 – then the flood started. Company motor cars? – well, perhaps at Board level.
The first man I knew with a company car was Dr BJ O’Kane who became Manager of Aeronautical Division in 1959 – he had a Humber Hawk, which was passed down to his successor, Les Mullin. When it became beyond economic repair it was replaced by a Ford Escort, Ghia version of course. Times change. I think the USA industry system is best – pay employees enough and let them buy what they need and can afford.
A feature of working at Writtle was that the River Wid overflowed its banks every winter and flooded the site. That was in the days before the local authorities cleaned out and partially lined the three rivers in Chelmsford to improve the flow and thus reduce the flood risk in the town itself. Every winter there was flooding in the Friars area of Moulsham Street. At Writtle we drew up a flood-rota – a list given to the gatekeeper to call out whenever the site was threatened, whatever time of day or night. Their main task was to raise as much equipment as possible above the last recorded flood level.
At the end of each year we held the Writtle dinner. For many years the venue was the Saracen’s Head. They were ‘Stag’ events and started off formally with speeches from the dignitaries at the top table. Then, after the dinner, the proceedings became very relaxed verging on the boisterous. In 1956 the Stag element was dropped and we had mixed dinners and dance, the first at the Odeon. These were very popular and we went on to hold the dinner at Canon’s restaurant, opposite the railway station, where the Nationwide BS office is now located. One year we hired the Shire Hall; another year we went to the hotel at Ingatestone (with the swimming-pool) which has now been built over. In the early years the ‘entertainment’ was home-made, later on we had professional bands, but there were always competitive events between the departments. Happy Days!
Bernard de Neumann
David Speake died peacefully on the 8th of January, aged 94, whilst reading a book. His wife noticed that it had fallen to the floor.
He was Director of Research at Baddow when I first joined there in 1964, and he was still there, but acting as a consultant when I left for City University 25 years later. He was succeeded by Peter Brandon, who eventually became a Professor at Cambridge, and upon Brandon’s departure, David returned to Baddow, and was later succeeded by John Williams.
During Williams’s term of office Sir Eric Eastwood returned to Baddow as a consultant, having retired from being Director of Research for GEC. Directing research at Baddow was a difficult task with all the competing demands for funds, and the limited amount available, together with the necessity of ensuring that all the contributing companies gained from it. David was thus cautious and diplomatic during his time at the helm.
From Peter Turrall
David was seconded to New Street where Marconi Communication Systems Ltd had their operation and for some time he was a General Manager responsible for the technical aspects of the Communications Company.
The photograph of David Speake in conversation with Tom Mayer was taken at the 2011 reunion.
From Don Halstead
Ron (Ronald) Kitchen died peacefully in Broomfield Hospital on the 10th September 2013 at the age of 88. I first encountered Ron in the early 1960s when I believe he headed New Street’s Radar Display Test and oversaw the testing of the first transistorised 12″ displays, including the S3002 reliability trials. Subsequently he moved on to become one of Marconi’s leading experts on radiation safety and the like. His ‘RF and Microwave Safety’ manual is still available today and doubtless many of us encountered him through his work in that and other areas.
Ron always struck me as a true Marconi gentleman, not least when both my parents died within a week of each other. He knew them well through mutual connections with Methodism, and he was quick to enquire how I was coping and whether he could offer any support.
From Bernard de Neumann
I knew Ron when he was manager of quality assurance at Baddow during my last years there. He was a nice guy, whom I met occasionally because of my interest in theoretical reliability prediction and assessment, which resulted in the computerized reliability tools that we developed in Baddow for use throughout GEC. The FMECA tools we developed proved to be much more sophisticated than those specified by DoD and MOD, and quite frequently threw up design faults in nascent system designs thereby enabling pre-hardware modifications to be made before major costs were incurred. Our FMECA methods were in some ways like a design walk-through, and, then rivals, BAE, were interested in buying our software tools, but Marconi blocked the sale. RIP Ron.
Marconi House was demolished in mid-afternoon on the 21st June 2013 – the end of an era.
We report the death of those Veterans notified to the secretary from the copy date of the last newsletter to the 31st January 2014 We extend our sympathy to the families of those mentioned.
DG Argyle, AG Barrett, AC Barton, AHG Bearman, DJ Beer, PW Boorer, JE Brett, M Bull, RE Burrells, DF Candy, RLJ Cave, J Cowling, DC Creed, PE Davidson, Mrs E Drake, F Faulkner, GA Ferrand, CP Freeman, KF Gazi, MT Gordon, CJ Greenham, PJ Hall, RV Hammond MBE, KA Hardy, JS Heward, KS Hewitt, DAR Holdom, DE Hughes, KTD Hughes, GG Hutley, R Kitchen BEM, G Lee, MH Leveridge, BE Lingwood, JK Lonsdale, F Matthews, WJ Meehan, RG Mitchell, DE Money, Mrs JE Oddy, WL Peace, A Pitches, RW Potter, JE Pownall, DG Pudsey, RW Rawlings, PM Ratcliffe, GK Rogers, R Safe, C Samms, GA Sheardown, CD Sinclair, GD Speake OBE, AH Stoneham, Mrs M Sutterby, NTJ Sutterby, AK Thorogood, PJ Treadaway, AJ Wickens, HJ Williams, RT Worricker, AH Wreford.
Newsletter 2013
Marconi New Street building receives a face-lift
Please click on the title Newsletter 2013 above to open the full document and on any picture in this newsletter to open a larger version.
Peter Turrall MVA Chairman
Bellway Homes, whose headquarters are in Rainsford Road Chelmsford, has purchased the Marconi site in New Street. Following two exhibitions at the Anglia Ruskin University where they showed plans of the possible redevelopment of the site, they have now submitted plans to the Chelmsford City Council for modifications to the front building and small demolition immediately behind this which was the old Television Test area. The plans also include retention and updating of the water tower which is along Marconi Road. Detailed plans of the rest of the site which take into consideration comments made at the two exhibitions by members of the public will be submitted in 2013 and will contain requirements for over four hundred houses and other small outlets. It is hoped that recognition of some of the major achievements associated with the Marconi Company will be included in the general layout of the site.
The Marconi Veterans Association has already had preliminary discussions with the owners: in due course it is hoped these will lead to us helping them establish and possibly exhibiting some of the artefacts of the company within the front building.
The whole front area which had been neglected by the previous owners for a number of years was tidied up by the local authority when it was known the Olympic flame was to pass by on its way to the city centre. (The damaged ground floor window apertures were covered by protective panels decorated with images representing the history of the site. The photo on the left was taken as the Olympic torch was passing the building on the 6th July last year. Ed.) Now the building is completely shrouded by plastic sheets and scaffolding whilst repairs are carried out to the leaking roof, and the window sills and front façade are repaired. The owners hope with internal modifications such as exhibition area, offices and new toilets, this building will be open as Bellway Homes new headquarters in the spring of 2013.
Whilst exact details of the rest of the site are unclear at this stage, it is proposed to knock down the five storey concrete building known as Marconi House and also the wavy roof building known as Building 720. Although a number of objections to the removal of these two buildings have been made, it is understood both will not be in line with the modernisation of the rest of the site. In addition Marconi House is suffering from severe concrete cancer.
At least the front building, which celebrated its centenary in 2012, will be preserved and the many memories of staff and the products they produced will still be exhibited within the new complex.
Above, the New Street factory in its youth, circa 1918, from a postcard containing one of Fred Spalding’s splendid photographs of Chelmsford. The reverse carries the following message: “Dear Dorothy, I thought you would like these p.cards of the place where I am working. This one is when we are leaving off. I hope you receive my letter. With love from Dorothy.”
Another Spalding postcard image appears on the back page.
Be sure to read Alan Hartley-Smith on page 5 regarding future preservation of the Marconi Heritage.
Please click on the blue heading above to gain access to the full Newsletter
Why didn’t I start sooner?
The eternal cry of those who work to deadlines, and who doesn’t? Material starts coming in for next year’s edition even before the current year’s has hit the doormat, but by then I’ve moved on to something else. Should I follow up the new emails now, or leave them for later, etc, etc? So here we are in January, with precious little time to get the issue ready for the printer at the end of the month, and I’m running into the late January conflict between this publication and the village newsletter. Both need the same PC and we’re reluctant to lash out on a lap-top to cope with this once a year panic.
In this issue there is an emphasis on the years around 1912, and the company’s maritime heritage. Marconi often said that the aspect of wireless which gave him the greatest satisfaction was its use in saving life and property at sea, and a major part of the company’s early output was ships’ communications equipment. In this issue we feature the loss in mid-Atlantic of the White Star liner SS Titanic, the bravery of her radio officer Jack Phillips, and his connection with the transatlantic telegraph station in Connemara. Perhaps the most significant event in the past year has been the donation to Chelmsford of an historically valuable collection of early marine radio equipment assembled by a former radio officer, Bill Waters, which he bequeathed to the town shortly before his recent death.
Please click on the blue heading above to gain access to the full Newsletter
Should you go back – a further reflection
Pursuing the theme of last year’s editorial, I had to drive from Newbury to Bristol Airport last July to pick up family members returning from SW France. A beautiful sunny afternoon with plenty of time on my hands, so I opted to travel via the A4 – Hungerford, Marlborough, Calne etc – a more pleasant journey than the M4. And so of course I passed by the site of the former No 2 Radio School, RAF Yatesbury. Many fellow veterans will have passed through its portals during the years from the second world war until the end of National Service in 1961: a reduced demand led to its closure in 1965. My time was from April to November 1956 as an air wireless fitter trainee on AWF113, one of the last intakes to be trained on T1154/R1155. I had an early lesson in the perils of even small quantities of West Country scrumpy in the Black Horse in Cherhill!
No sign of the base now save for the road in from the A4 which passes the site of the guardroom – (Chiefy Dunlop?). It has been returned to farmland, but a small portion is occupied by the Wiltshire Microlight Centre. The runway appears to be a section of the main road through the camp running parallel with the A4, and their operations didn’t seem to detract much from the serenity of the surroundings. Had I more time I would have had a short flight: it would have been very pleasant, a few hundred feet up over that part of Wiltshire, close to Avebury. An altogether happier experience than my visit to Watton a year earlier.
The RAF Yatesbury Association http://rafyatesbury.webs.com aims to preserve the memories and history of RAF Station Yatesbury and sister stations in the vicinity. Membership is open to all who have an interest in this area. A book – ‘History of RAF Yatesbury’ by Phil Tomaselli – ISBN 0-9548236-0-5 is available from the Association’s secretary in addition to some of the usual on-line sources.
Newsletter 2010
Number 12, January 2010
Some of the articles included in the annual paper copy of the Newsletter have appeared on this site over the past year. They are repeated here for completeness and so that the two versions of the newsletter are similar. Webmaster.
Should I go back?
Another fourteen page edition this year. At the last committee meeting at the beginning of December I reported that I appeared not to have enough material even for twelve pages due to a lack of contributions. I needn’t have worried. Regrettably though, despite the appeal in the last edition, nothing from lady veterans.
As an ex-Avionics man I’m very pleased to have two or, stretching a point three, items on aeronautically related subjects. And that prompts me to digress a little – I beg your indulgence but the end point probably chimes with many of you.
In the 60s a popular local trio, Talisman, entertained audiences in Essex and beyond with a mix of songs, much of it their own material with folk/jazz/blues/cabaret influences, with purely acoustic guitar and bass accompaniment. I think they appeared before audiences at the MASC on a number of occasions. Who remembers Chessy Harrington’s rendering of Piaf’s ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’? Anyway, one of their numbers, entitled ‘Never try to go back’ told of the likely disappointment for anyone attempting to revisit the fondly remembered places of their earlier years.
I share with a handful of other Veterans the interesting experience of having been stationed at RAF Watton in Norfolk in the 50s. During WW2 it had been the home of RAF and USAAF units, the latter a maintenance unit responsible for repairing battle-damaged Liberators from surrounding operational bases. In my time it was the Central Signals Establishment, involved in cold war signals intelligence and countermeasures activities, flying a motley variety of interesting aircraft.
Regularly holidaying on the North Norfolk coast from the 60s onwards, my wife and I detoured that way to have look whilst returning home in 1993. The old place was there much as I remembered it, but in the guardroom local enthusiasts had set up a very good museum, devoted at that time principally to its WW2 history. They intended later to widen the collection to cover the cold war period. The visit brought back a number of fond memories.
Forward to 2009, again after a holiday in Salthouse, we returned for another look, and to see the museum’s new material. Disaster, the guardroom was no more and whole area was a very sizeable housing development. The former pattern of internal roads had been incorporated into the layout of the estate, bearing names like Mosquito Close and Liberator Avenue, but otherwise it was unrecognisable. It was of course a very appropriate use of what had become a brown-field site. We have to move
on, but it caused me a moment or two of sadness.
The moral is, think carefully before you decide to go back, but if you must, do a little homework first of all – a spur-of-the moment visit might bring disappointment.
Contributions still roll in, but ladies, where are you?
As you will see, there was more than enough material for this year’s edition, since we’ve had to run to fourteen pages, which is very good news, but where are the contributions from you ladies? Only three in the 2006 edition, my first, and none since. And you’ll note that there has been a predominantly engineering bias in all four editions that I’ve edited. Fair enough perhaps, we were an engineering company, but others who were not engineers must have amusing tales, hairy experiences or fond memories to share. So come on folks, let’s provide a bit of counterbalance to the engineers!
At places throughout this issue are references to web addresses where further information about the topic can be found. Apologies to those of you who don’t have access to the internet, but if you can’t get to a library, or have family and friends to help out, then get in touch with me. Subject to negotiation, and so long as I’m not inundated with requests for reams of material, I’m happy to post out hard copies.
May I draw your attention to a special service taking place on the 26th April 2009 in Chelmsford Cathedral. The plaque which commemorates the seventeen employees who died when a bomb fell on the New Street works on the 9th May 1941 has been re-erected in the cathedral and will be unveiled at this service.
Full details can be found in section 18 ‘The Marconi Memorial Plaque’
Number 10, January 2008
Lulled into a false sense of security.
The 2006 edition really wasn’t too much of a problem to deal with, given my background in sharing with my wife the production of our village newsletter. The main difficulties came with setting up my own template, and sifting through the pile of articles that had been submitted to Peter after his appeal in the 2004 edition, prioritising the ones for inclusion in my first issue and those which would ultimately appear in subsequent years’ editions, or on the website. The scanning and editing of lots of sheets of A4 and putting it on the page is all pretty routine stuff.
The 2007 edition was almost a breeze, with a stockpile of backlog items held in readiness against the possibility of insufficient new contributions through the year, then with a number of really good new contributions coming in.
So this time I thought ‘a doddle – no need even to switch on the computer until the New Year’. A bad move. No sooner had I put finger to keyboard than we were plagued with a misbehaving operating system (or hardware?) – repeated crashes, random spontaneous rebooting etc. One day, any number of crashes, the next day none at all. Took it to ‘my man’ who replaced a suspect power supply module – OK for a couple of days, then misbehaving again. We’d got to the time in January when we needed to start preparing the February edition of the village newsletter in parallel, but whilst we were experiencing continual interruptions, we were able to carry on working. If it was handed over to the man for a proper investigation it would be away for an indeterminate period. Therefore soldiering on was the least worst option, which is what we’re doing. As I type this, some light relief from shoehorning the last few items into spaces where they don’t really fit, I’m about a working day away from the press deadline: I might just make it.
Honour for Veterans’ Chairman
The Marconi Veterans’ Association Committee offer congratulations to Charles and wishes him a speedy recovery from his recent illness.
With thanks to Peter Turrall and the Essex FA website for information used in this article.
Charles Rand, Chairman of Marconi Veterans’ Association and this year’s President, has been awarded the MBE in the New Year’s Honours list. The award was made for his services to sport in Essex (specifically football) where he has played, refereed, assessed other referees and been a long serving member of the Essex Olympian League Management Committee.
Charles, who lives in Chelmsford, was for many years Chief Production Engineer of Marconi Radar Systems, Writtle Road, Chelmsford when John Sutherland was Managing Director. His footballing career started at the age of 15 in 1946 when he took part in his first competitive game for the Mid-Essex Technical College, but his involvement in the sport increased once his playing days were over. He was one of the founder Committee Members of the Olympian League when it was formed in 1966, so-called as it was an Olympic year. He started as Fixture Secretary until 1971 and was also Publicity Secretary in 1968/69, refereeing in the League simultaneously.
He was Honorary Secretary from 1971 until 1973 when he was made Vice-Chairman, being elected Chairman in 1978. This was a position he occupied until the end of the 1999/2000 campaign and that year he was named the League’s first ever Patron. Conducting around 270 referee assessments during that time, the culmination of the 2003/04 season saw his efforts recognised on a countywide scale as he received the Essex County Football Association’s Award of Merit. Not intent on stopping there, he continued refereeing under 12s’ matches until the ripe old age of 75!
He said ‘I was overwhelmed when the letter from the Prime Minister’s Office arrived and I am deeply thrilled to receive this in recognition of my long association over many years with Essex football. Within hours of the release of the news I had the press visiting. I needed to keep it a secret from them for the six weeks since I received the news up until the New Year, which was the hardest part’. The presentation will be made at Buckingham Palace mid-February when wife Betty and his two daughters will accompany him.
Mailbag
A number of letters this year are from correspondents seeking information whilst researching their family history, or for the preparation of articles or books. If no contact detail appears with the letter then please direct any information, or your own contact details for the enquirer, to Barry Powell or to the editor.
RAF Aerial Erectors
David Kniveton wrote in September 2007 seeking assistance with a book he is writing about the activities of RAF Aerial Erectors, and asking how he could gain access to the archives. He was given a number of possibly helpful leads – and told the sorry story of the archives. The letter is reproduced here. Although the book is written it has not yet been published and any additional contributions, if helpful, can be incorporated, so if anyone can assist he would welcome the contact.
We have his e-mail and postal address. Ed.
He writes:
About eight years ago I was in touch with Gavin Baxter, Assistant Archivist at the GEC Archives whilst researching for a book I am writing about the Royal Air Force Aerial Erectors. The time delay is due to me suffering various health problems, but now I am fit and well and determined to finish the book.
The letter I have from Gavin Baxter states that I have full permission to use the photographs etc that he was kind enough to send me.
Now that I have picked up my pen again I find that shortly after being in contact with Gavin the archives have disappeared, or at least to me they have. After a lot of searching on the web I came across a GEC newsletter from 2006 where you were taking over as editor.
I understand now that GEC made a gift of the archives to the local council. Can you please shed any light onto the archives now? Are there any contact details available?
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Colwyn Bay College, and ‘The Marconi Scientist Mystery’
Richard Shaw, February 2007
Many thanks for another excellent issue: full of interesting information, much of it vital material for anyone engaged in historical research. Do you deposit a copy with the British Library or any other archive from which it could be made available in the future? (Currently we don’t, but we intend to lodge copies with the Essex Records Office. Ed.)
Of particular interest to me was the article by Felix Mascarenhas whose name is familiar and whose path I crossed more than once without, I think, ever meeting.
The first time was at Colwyn Bay Wireless College, which he left in the year I first went there. The second occasion was the Cardiff depot in Mountstuart Square, which I think he must have left before I started there in 1956. Perhaps we shall finally achieve a sighting at the reunion in April.
The article, ‘The Marconi Scientist Mystery’ I found most intriguing. I had not read Tony Collins’ book, ‘Open Verdict’, but I was immediately reminded of an article that appeared in the News of the World on September 7, 2003. Titled, ‘The Kelly Conspiracy’, it asked, ‘Are the deaths of 25 scientists linked?’, and named 25 ‘of the world’s top scientists – including Dr David Kelly – [who] have died mysteriously in the past two years.’
All, it seems, worked in similar fields. ‘Many of the specialists – some world leaders in the development of weapons grade biological plagues – died within days of each other’, the report continued. ‘Ten were killed in plane crashes, one caused by a ‘stray’ surface-to-air missile.’
‘Five died after apparently being mugged at home and three were shot.’
‘Two, including Dr Kelly, committed suicide while another was stabbed to death. One was gassed in a laboratory’s air-locked rooms, another was mown down while out jogging. And one mysteriously fell off a bridge after suffering a ‘dizzy’ spell.’
There appears to be no direct connection between any of these 25 deaths and those of the 25 Marconi scientists. But although both groups worked in several different fields, all had military, or potentially military, uses.
Consequently, even if one discounts ten per cent of those deaths as possibly accidental, the fact that so many such scientists met unnatural deaths in so short a time tends to challenge a belief in coincidence: a challenge that seems strengthened by the apparent lack of any further news of official investigations.
A letter from Keith Hughes in Dovercourt last March regretted his not being able to attend the reunion, and went on to say:
Thank you for the 12-page news letter – it had some very interesting news. As a Welshman I had a particular interest in the Colwyn Bay story (P2) and also to read the letter from Fred Kenyon on the late Derek Greiss. Both Fred and Derek were good friends of mine years ago and I would like to write to Fred in Australia – would you be able to gave me his present address?
(A further contribution on Derek Griess’ involvement with HF/DF in WW2 appears later in this newsletter)
The wisdom of the Saturday supplements
Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of cheques.
Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.
The Marconi Lancia
This article has been on the website since July 2007. If you wish to re-read it please look at the archive for the month.
The Baddow tower – further thoughts
Bill Fitzgerald, March 2007
Further to your note in the newsletter on the Baddow tower, I am wondering if there is any point in having the tower listed! The only advantage gained might be to delay its destruction. All the owners would need to do would be to declare it ‘unsafe’.
If a listing was given and honoured, who could be persuaded to re-erect it and where? Bawdsey perhaps, but all the listed towers they had are gone. The cost to dismantle the tower, from the top down, to transport it, to re-erect it and paint it would be extremely costly. Perhaps we could get a mobile phone company to erect it at Sandford Mill (God forbid).
Sorry to be an old pessimist but we must consider the facts. Whatever happens the tower cannot stay at Baddow if the site is sold for residential use. A swift charge of explosives at each leg – and goodbye!
Could you get your spies at Baddow to see if the structure is being cared for. The tower is of mild steel and requires care to prevent corrosion. I think I know now why English Heritage is reluctant to list it!
In passing, did you get a copy of the plan of the factory, in colour, from the developers? Has anybody combed the site for any artefacts? I spent hours in that building on top of the white building checking the Marine Radar linearity against the echoes from the avenues. Has anyone been up there since?
Bill Godden’s memory of a ‘Barnacle Buster’ brought memories flooding back. It was developed in Building 38 (by the Marconi Road gate) where Marine Radar and Echo sounders were developed. Johnny Glasgow was the engineer assisted, or should I say that he was frustrated, by the attentions of Captain Round! Is Johnny a veteran, I would like to hear from him? (Yes, John Glasgow is on the Register of Veterans.)
Memories of Marconi Radar
David Ashman
I visited the website of the Marconi Veterans’ Association because of the fond memories and admiration I always held for the Marconi Company. Watching and reading about the demise of the company at the start of the millennium from Asia was extremely painful. An absolute travesty for employees and the Chelmsford community.
I worked for Marconi Radar in Great Baddow for just two and half years in the sixties, holding a relatively junior position in the Air Traffic Control section and then with Systems A team…. or was it Systems B team? During my short time of employment I worked under Don Eastaugh and then, on the Systems team, worked for Roger Woodcock and Ian Donaldson. I greatly admired their technical skills, know-how and man management skills.
My technical interest and work was involved with primary ATC Radar systems. Marconi Company introduced me to digital signal processing. I found an additional challenge in computers as I was drawn into the world of Marconi Myriad Computers and trained as a programmer at the Writtle Training Centre.
I enjoyed happy and satisfying employment at Marconi Radar with good prospects. What more could I want. I had the best job in the world and was, it seemed to me, surrounded by most of the best people. Unfortunately this wasn’t to last. Family problems made it necessary for me to resign and return to working and living in London. Eventually the computer systems skills given to me by Marconi took my career into the financial sector. The Marconi managers also gave me a model upon which to build my own management style. My career prospered as a result.
Since those very happy days I’ve worked in many ‘blue chip’ companies, worked in over 100 countries, encountered a variety of modern managers, survived culture change programmes, participated in ‘customer first’ workshops, endured immersion in the quality management way whilst generally trying to stay up-to-date with modern management methods. I suppose these have made their mark on me and indeed have probably contributed to my career which has taken me all over the world and given me much satisfaction. However when I reflect on the companies I’ve worked for, the managers I’ve served, and the satisfaction I experienced, despite all the advances in ‘methods’ none exceed the personal satisfaction I experienced working for and serving the Marconi Company.
Having visited your website from my desk in Singapore and experiencing the pleasure of linking to one of the very happy periods of my life, I just wanted to express my appreciation to the Marconi community for the contribution they made to my life and career.
Scottish Signal School (Glasgow Wireless College)
Vix Kennedy – [email protected]
I’m wondering if you or any of your members know anything of the Scottish Signal School, also referred to as the Glasgow Wireless College, which was at 15 Newton Place, Glasgow during the war?
My son’s great grandfather is listed as principal there between 1942-1946 and then he moved his family to Rhodesia. This is all I know! Rhodesia at that time was the new world and many people moved there to help build the country, much like Australia and New Zealand. I assume he would have been doing a similar trade there and been involved in wireless communications.
I’m pretty sure he would have left there as it became Zimbabwe, and may have gone to South Africa or more likely USA or even returned to Scotland, but I’m sure he would have remained in the trade.
His name was Charles Theodore Kennedy and he was married to an Annie Elizabeth Gibson. They had a son in 1944 called Raymond. If any of your members know anything about the school or remember him as a principal I’d love to hear from them!
History of ATC and airport radar
L A Thomas, Swansea
I am doing research on the history and development of ATC and Airport radar systems in the UK for the post war years, and write to you in the hope that some of your members may be able to assist me with any trade literature or general technical knowledge of the sets that Marconi designed and manufactured. I am led to understand that the former radar archives are no more, and to date have obtained information from early issues of aeronautical journals, technical magazines eg Marconi Review, and from the official files at the National Archives. The official files refer to the planning and siting of ATC radars, but do not provide any general details of the equipment, and often contain lobe diagrams. If any of your members have any information on the following Marconi radars I would be interested to hear – S232 series, S264, S264A, S264 A/H and the S650 series.
I recently placed a reader’s request letter in an Essex newspaper for information on the above but had a very poor response.
Elsie, the Squigger-Bug
Normally the Squigger-Bug is kept below the threshold on a lead (often a short grid lead). If this lead is lengthened, the creature appears above the threshold and becomes self-excited by continually repeating her curious cry, a kind of variable mew. When fully excited she dives into the nearest closed circuit round which she races, tail in mouth, at incredible speed. The presence in a transmitter of the female of the species attracts the male (in this case, one Mike R O Henry by name). Mike has on several occasions tried to choke Elsie with the grid lead, but the reluctance with which she reacts to his coercive force ensures that there is no change in Elsie’s characteristic curves.
When chased out of a transmitter, the female Squigger-Bug goes immediately to earth by way of the nearest bypass, digging herself in with a circular movement of ever-increasing radius, and finally disappearing with a loud report, leaving behind a characteristic odour of burnt bakelite and a pile of brass filings. Hence the Pyramids.
This, the only specimen of the well-known parasite which has survived captivity, answers to the name of Elsie Ratio. She has a magnetic personality although her head is a perfect vacuum. The female is very voracious and, owing to her self-capacity, is able to eat excessive amounts of grid currants and a little anode feed. The latter is kept in a tank coil and comes out of a tap. The Squigger-Bug eats from a quartz plate (which in wartime was reduced to a pintz plate), and is accustomed to feed from positive to negative. She is much perturbed if fed the other way, a process known as negative feedback.
Her bent-up chassis is inductive (abbrev. infinitely seductive) and her component parts are colour-coded giving an attractive skin-effect. Vanity is responsible for the full-wave in her antennae, although this Hertz antennae unless padding capacities are used.
Squigger-bug – Parasiticus Preposterosus. Germinated, incubated and brought to maturity in the laboratory of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Marine Development Section I.B.
Click here for a larger image
From the first issue of the Marconi Mariner, Vol. 1, No.1, July-August 1947 with thanks to Jimmy Leadbitter.
He was very wrong, but lived…
Tom Gutteridge – a contribution from December 2005
An occasional reader of the Newsletter, I have been interested to read other people’s contributions to this little bit of Marconi history: here are some of mine.
I joined Marconi Test Department from the Chelmsford Tech in 1943 and leaving in 1974, my memory of those times is hazy but I think Mr Robb, who had an office in the front building, was the Chief of Test.
As a junior, I started with the boring job of testing components like capacitors, inductances, Muirhead drives and coils. The area for testing coils was at the end of the girls’ winding shop upstairs. A dangerous place for self-conscious young men! Later I moved on to High Power Test. This was the ‘big bang’ area – before Safety at Work rules and regulations! SWB 8s and SWB 11s for the Admiralty were a fairly steady work load and later, high power Broadcast Transmitters.
High Power Test was run by Mr Whiteman and later by V J Sandy. Among the ‘oldies’ were G C Baker, and Mr Wylie – who I think suffered as a Marine Operator earlier in the war. Then there was Alfie Amos, Tommy Tomlinson, Doug Hills, Ecclestone and many others whose names have slipped my memory. G C Baker would regale us with the excitement and problems of taking his nanny goat(s) on the back seat of his open Riley car to visit Sandy’s goat the previous evening.
We were handling lots of kilowatts but I don’t recall anyone getting seriously hurt: even a young man known as ‘fearless Fearman’ who insisted that power was off at the wall and proceeded to put a screwdriver across the terminals of a SWB 8 transmitter to prove it. Unfortunately he was very wrong, but lived to explain loudly that it was somebody else’s fault!
In the exposed corner by the entry to the High Power Test was a lash-up to provide very high voltages (like lightning!) mainly for testing or proving high voltage insulators. Very, very high voltages were generated (enough to make your hair stand on end!) and it took a bit of know-how to set up the tuned circuits to get the required voltage. Wylie was good at this.
The transmitters were built in the workshop below Marconi House opposite the canteen. I cannot immediately recall the name of the foreman but the chargehand was Charlie Pashley. I think he had been involved in the Altmark event off Norway in the Second World War and survived. I got to know many of the fitters. They were a good and friendly lot, some of whom later worked with me on overseas installations. At the entrance to Marconi House (or just behind) there was an entrance to the lower ground area or cellar where the archives and records were kept in the care of an old RN sailor who took part in the Zeebrugge attack in the First World War. He certainly had several fingers missing. I can’t think what I was doing there but he was always good for an interesting chat. Another link to the First World War was Diggens who was a sort of general helper around Power Test. He would cheerfully relate the most unpleasant experiences of fighting in the trenches.
In due course I went into the services for a spell and on my return became involved on overseas installation work, but that’s another story.
The Marconi Site, New Street, Chelmsford
Peter Turrall
The new owners of the Marconi factory and offices, Messrs Ashwell Developments of Cambridge, have submitted proposals for the redevelopment of the site to Chelmsford Borough Council and right now discussions with the council’s Planning Department are taking place.
The latest date for Messrs Selex (who are at the moment the occupiers) to leave the site is July 1st this year. After this date the developers will, providing planning permission is granted, move in to start the first phase of the redevelopment which probably will be the demolition of the factory and associated buildings. The main front building housing offices will remain as this is already covered by a preservation order.
On behalf of the Veterans’ Committee, I have had negotiations with Chelmsford Borough Council Planning Director as well as the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Arts and Heritage. The council, whilst in favour of a Heritage Centre which the Veterans’ Committee would like in the front building, are unable to offer any finance for this to become reality. The finance, if any, to house archives, memorabilia and other documentation must come from other sources and hopefully from the developer. Already discussions in this direction have taken place, but the developers have other important aspects which must be considered before a Heritage Centre can come to fruition. Therefore it will be sometime before we can take the next steps.
Meanwhile, I am gathering memorabilia, documents and other Marconi related items. Hopefully one day these can be catalogued and held in the Heritage Centre at New Street. Please, whatever you do, make sure anything you possess in this area is made available to the Veterans’ Association and not put into the bin, now or whenever you pass on. Quite recently we have been given a complete set of microphones, some made at New Street, all beautifully mounted on wooden stands.
The initial outlay to get the Heritage Centre under way looks to be in the order of £50K. This is because a considerable amount of work to get toilets, water, electricity, modifications to the building and heating sorted out is necessary. This area has been vacated for a number of years and certainly would have to be sorted out before we could offer the public access to the site. Parking is also a problem but eventually this will be overcome once the site is cleared.
Your committee is considering any shortcuts available to finance even a small area of the site to house documentation and memorabilia and this will be discussed at the reunion.
Meanwhile, it is hoped to record on audio disks the voices of people who worked in the Company and already a list of possible names has been drawn up. If you have some stories to relate of your time with the Company, then please advise the undersigned who will take all details and if appropriate, will make in due course arrangements for a recording to be made. The most modern equipment will be available for this purpose but here again it will cost money to carry this out and funding will have to be sought.
Your Veterans’ Committee has given the go-ahead to a proposal I made to them of preparing a book of memories from people who worked for the Company. More details will be given at the reunion but, if you have any story no matter how small or long, please put this to paper and send either to the undersigned or our secretary Barry Powell. Again, it will cost a lot of money to produce and we are looking for ways to finance this. Timescales dictate that during the next 12 months information will be gathered and edited. Preparation for printing requires a further few months, meaning that the book will be ready for sale in about 18 months time. The anticipated cost will be around £15 each and we will need to sell at least 1,500 to make the project worthwhile. The title of the book is likely to be ‘Memories of Marconi in Chelmsford – Gone But Not Forgotten’.
Sandford Mill Museum
Marconi Day, Saturday 26 April 2008
International Marconi Day commemorates Guglielmo Marconi’s birthday. Your chance to visit the Marconi collections, see the new exhibition in the Marconi broadcasting hut, and explore the mysteries of radio transmission and Morse code with Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society. Entrance free, 10am – 5pm
Summer Sundays – 3, 10, 17, 24 August 2008
The Engine House is open on Sunday afternoons throughout August. See the museum’s industrial collections and visit the Discovery Zone! Entrance free, 2 – 5pm
http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6790
The role of Derek Griess in WW 2
Arriving just at the time that the obituary of Derek Griess appeared in the last newsletter, Bryan Everett passed on to Barry Powell further background to Derek’s WW 2 career which came to him from Fred Kenyon in Australia. He writes:
Herewith copies of information from Fred Kenyon regarding Derek Griess’ wartime work with Marconi installing HF/DF equipment. Fred was most anxious to lay hands on Derek’s passports and I just couldn’t understand why this was so – I now know.
(In the documents received from Bryan Everett was a list of 33 passport entries from April 1940 to June 1945 covering the area of the Atlantic from Liverpool to Portugal, West Africa, South Africa, St Helena, the Caribbean, the USA and Canada, evidence of a number of transatlantic crossings over that period. Ed.)
Fred’s letter to an aunt of Derek’s in York notes that a significant part of Derek’s wartime career was associated with the installation of HF/DF (Huff-Duff) equipment at coastal stations on both sides of the Atlantic in support of the Royal Navy’s North Atlantic convoy escort duties. It played a crucial role in containing the U-boat threat.
The foregoing was a preface to a page from Fred giving more detail of this period, which follows here.
During World War 2 there was a period from the commencement of the conflict in September 1939 when Britain was totally dependent on sea traffic across the Atlantic when supplies from America were vital. This was particularly so after Britain was isolated following the fall of France.
German U-boats were very successful sinking allied shipping, often sinking as many as sixty per cent of the ships in a convoy. Tactics were changed, and convoys were escorted by the Royal Navy using destroyers and frigates fitted with a number of new weapons. One of the most important of these was direction-finding equipment using high frequency radio (HF/DF) nicknamed Huff-Duff. The German U-boats hunted in packs and they communicated with each other and with Berlin when they surfaced every twenty four hours to charge their batteries. They assumed that if they broke radio silence only briefly with encoded signals they could not be traced.
Britain developed Huff-Duff using seaboard and land-based equipment so that even a brief HF signal could be registered and tracked from a number of receivers, allowing an exact location of the transmission to be immediately established and providing a bearing for the escort vessels to locate the enemy. The Marconi Company was involved in installing Huff-Duff stations around the Atlantic in British colonial countries which fortunately bordered the whole Atlantic coast. Derek Griess was the young (26) qualified radio engineer chosen for this urgent mission in May 1940. During the next five years he travelled constantly to many places around the North and South Atlantic coast from Halifax Nova Scotia and the West Indies and British Guiana in South America, across to Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast of Africa and even St Helena, a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The result of all this effort was that in Spring 1941 the escort vessels sailing out of Liverpool suddenly started to be very successful in locating and sinking the enemy U-boats. The German Admiral Dönitz lost some of his best U-boat commanders and the leader of the British Royal Navy escort ships Captain Frederic John Walker (known popularly as Johnnie Walker) became a hero being awarded four DSOs and a knighthood. From this time leading up to the D-Day invasion on 6 June 1945 the Atlantic gateway was open to massive amounts of traffic bringing the armaments that enabled the successful invasion of Europe.
North Atlantic convoy (above) and (below) an HF/DF set
Photos: www.mikekemble.com
(Background to Huff-Duff and the Battle of the Atlantic at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huff-Duff. Google that and Frederic John Walker for a number of other relevant articles)
(I have a copy of the list of Derek Griess’s wartime passport entries, and would be happy to email a copy to any veteran requesting it. Ed).
Report of the 2007 Veterans’ reunion
The 71st annual reunion, at the MASC in Beehive Lane, Chelmsford, took place on Saturday 14th April. The president for the year, Professor Roy W Simons, was introduced by MVA Chairman, Charles Rand. In his introduction Charles touched on their shared past in Marconi Radar, first at Baddow, then later at Writtle Road when he was Chief Production Engineer during Roy’s time as Technical Director.
Roy Simons reviewed the Marconi companies’ involvement in radar systems design and manufacture, from Marconi’s anticipation of the concept of radiolocation, when in 1922 in an address to the American Institution of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) he said’…it should be possible to design apparatus to radiate or project a beam of rays, which rays, if coming across a metallic object such as a ship, would be reflected back to a receiver..’, until the time of his (Roy Simons’) own departure from the Marconi Radar Systems Ltd in 1986.
The company’s first practical involvement in radar came with design of the aerial arrays for the Chain Home system in the mid 1930s, moving then during WW2 into manufacture of many radar systems, particularly for gunnery and naval surveillance, and also notably large-scale manufacture of magnetrons.
His own introduction to radar at the end of the war, under R J Kemp, was involvement in the design of a radar for the Marine Company – the basis of Radiolocator.
Subsequent notable milestones over the following years included a major contract for refurbishment of the wartime air-defence radar system of the United Kingdom during the late 40s/early 50s – a total of 20 sites for the RAF, design and manufacture of the Type S247 radar, the Queen’s Award-winning S600 series, GWS Sea Wolf system for the Royal Navy, the formation of Marconi Radar Systems in 1969, and the last major surface radar that the company produced, another Queen’s Award winner, Martello. Over these years two parallel product lines for radar systems materialised, one for HMG business and the other for private venture (predominantly overseas) business.
He concluded by saying that the Marconi Company was the leading supplier of radar systems to the world and he was proud to have been associated with the work of his colleagues in Marconi Radar Systems as the Technical Director for its first 17 years.
MVA Vice Chairman Peter Turrall then introduced the Guest of Honour, Dr John Williams OBE, FREng, HonFIEE. John Williams was for a number of years Director of the Marconi Research Centre at Great Baddow, and later Secretary and Chief Executive of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
Dr. Williams shared some reminiscences of Lord Weinstock, to whom he had to report for about eight years, and interspersed his speech with various anecdotes about meetings with Lord Weinstock and some of the subterfuges used to prevent him from finding out too much about the particular operating company, and how it was necessary to explain the existence of certain staff who Lord Weinstock might otherwise consider excessive to the business.
Lord Weinstock was obsessed with not wasting money or resources and would take the opportunity at budget meetings to probe into particular areas. He was not interested in details of long term strategy; in fact in a memo to all MDs he said that making money from running businesses that GEC knew something about was the company’s only strategy and we were forbidden to use the word in future monthly reports. Talking about memos from Lord Weinstock, one managing director was surprised to get a response from Lord Weinstock to his monthly report which started ‘your monthly report is not entirely unsatisfactory’. The MD considered this the height of praise and framed the memo for posterity.
Dr Williams offered another anecdote that beautifully illustrated the focus on avoiding waste of money – and how it might be sidestepped. On a visit to Great Baddow, Lord Weinstock asked why it was necessary to employ two gardeners at the site. It was explained that they were necessary to keep the grass down to minimise HF path losses between transmitter and receiver antennae.
He concluded by emphasising his great respect for Lord Weinstock’s management style and his prudent business approach, and wondering how different things might have been for the Company had he not bowed to City pressure and handed over the reins when he did.
Veterans’ reunion 2008
The 2008 reunion will take place on Saturday 12th April at the MASC, Beehive Lane, Chelmsford, commencing at 1.00pm. This year’s President is Veteran Charles Rand MBE, chairman of the MVA Standing Committee and previously Chief Production Engineer, Marconi Radar Systems Ltd, based at the Writtle Road complex. He will be introduced by Professor Roy W Simons OBE, CEng, FIET, CPhys, FInstP, last year’s President. During the AGM, Peter Turrall will give an update on the impending redevelopment of the New Street site, and Robbie Robinson, former Managing Director of Marconi Communications Systems Ltd and a member of the Pensions Consultative Committee will update Veterans on the telent/Stanhope Pensions Trust pension situation and answer any questions that Veterans may wish to ask.
A project anecdote of times past
E J (Ted) Haydon
I’m thinking about the time around the early to mid eighties. Do you remember those days, when we worked hard and when the opportunity arose played hard. It was a time when we looked forward to going to work; it was intellectually challenging and best of all it was fun. I guess around the mid-eighties things changed, but let’s not dwell on that.
An annual event was entertaining our customers to lunch on HMS Belfast. As those of us who were fortunate enough to attend these occasions will remember, the form was pre-lunch drinks, wine with the meal, and there was always plenty of this, and of course when dining with the Navy, the obligatory bottle of port which is passed around at the end of the meal until it is empty. Negotiating your way home after that was quite an art. I understand that some more ‘experienced’ diners would venture out in the evening to a night club but I know nothing of these activities!
On one particular occasion after lunch I was invited to join a naval officer and his wife for dinner that evening. They lived during the week with their dog on a longboat moored on the Regents Canal. We met his wife from work and dined at a Greek restaurant somewhere in Camden Town. Having done justice to a couple more bottles of wine, it was suggested that we adjourn for coffee to the boat. Now, I can vaguely remember arriving, but must have passed out before coffee, as the next thing I remember was the dog licking my face at 6am the next morning. After thanking my ‘hosts’ for the night’s impromptu stay, I hurried home just in time to meet my wife on the doorstep as she left for work. I can still remember her words as she cycled off – ‘Oh! You made it then’.
I reported in around 10am explaining to my boss the reason for my lateness. He, whom shall remain nameless (MVB), then told me he had been woken up that morning by the cleaners in a railway carriage in the sidings at Southend. I think I was slightly peeved that he was at his desk working before me!
But then it was business as usual. Happy days!
Photo – Anders Isaksson www.isazone.com
This contribution injects a Basildon flavour into this issue. We did things differently there – or did we? Ed.
Research – military radio
From Peter R Jensen
I recently came across a copy of the Marconi Veterans’ Newsletter and saw that it contained a wealth of material which could be particularly useful for the book that I am starting to assemble. You may recognize my name from a couple of books that have dealt with the development of telecommunications over the last 100 years. I notice that one of them is referred to in the newsletter, ‘In Marconi’s Footsteps – Early Radio’. The more recent book, ‘From the Wireless to the Web’, was published in 2000.
Needless to say, the newsletter came to my attention courtesy of the internet and the redoubtable search engine Google.
The book that I am working on is provisionally entitled ‘Wireless as War’, and in it I am aiming to explore the development of radio technology from 1901 in South Africa to probably the 1960s when my military service was undertaken as a National Serviceman. As for the earlier books, it is intended to do this through a series of narratives dealing with actual events, and for this reason the Marconi Veterans represent an interesting source of potentially relevant experience.
In addition to Military Radio as used by the conventional fighting forces, I am also particularly interested in clandestine radio communications and its development. This is because the demands for light weight and compactness led to a series of developments that influenced radio design during the years following the war. In this context, I am currently involved with a group of radio amateur historical radio society people to replicate the Paraset of 1943, an interesting early portable transmitter receiver that was used by SOE in its efforts to undermine the Nazis in France.
Given the foregoing, I wonder if you can suggest a means to obtain access to the newsletter. Are you aware of it being provided to any organisation in Australia, which I where I am based? (Peter Jensen has been directed to the website to access back editions of the newsletter, and Barry has sent him hard copies of issues which do not appear on the website. Ed.)
Apropos ‘In Marconi’s Footsteps – Early Radio’, if there are other veterans of the Marconi Company who are interested in obtaining a copy, I have a stock of new books that came from the publisher when they decided to declare the book out of print. The going rate is £35 Sterling which includes postage on an airlifted basis and involves approximately 2 week or less delay from receipt of funds which can be a Sterling cheque as I have an account in the UK.
With kind regards and thanks in anticipation of your response.
The changing times…
Alan Hine, February 2007
As you spoke about hearing any scraps of news, I thought I would put pen to paper.
I worked at Marconi Basildon for 36 years and have been retired for 16. However I met a couple of work mates in town that still worked at the new SELEX building and was asked to pop in and see some of the other lads, and have a cup of tea and a natter. Having just reached my 80th birthday I thought it would be nice to pay them a visit. My son kindly took me by car and I made my way to the reception area. The woman rang a supervisor I had worked with, who arrived on the scene. He made off to make arrangements for a photograph and pass. But when he returned he said the powers that be would not issue one because of security, so I was not allowed to enter. This perhaps is not the sort of letter you would like to print but I was very annoyed and felt like speaking my mind. (So much for 36 years service!)
Aeronautical Memories
Roderick Mackley, February 2007
Thank you for the Newsletter which arrived this morning. I am most impressed by the way you have put this issue in particular together which constituted an absorbing read.
There is something very special about the dear old Marconi Company and its old members – I am still very, very proud to have spent so many years of my working life, firstly in the Company’s Commercial Department and subsequently in the Aeronautical Division and the Radar Company and I just cannot understand those people who have said that work was a bore – I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute of every day.
Eric Walker’s memories of life at Lawford Lane is of particular interest as I really started my Marconi life there, joining Aeronautical Division for two weeks in late 1946 and staying for seventeen years before moving on! Eric’s account broadly confirms mine – he, like me, enjoyed the light-hearted, hard-working regimen there, almost like the RAF in which I had served during WWII but in civilian clothes! I will avoid repeating myself – my very warm memories of those early days were described in the January 2005 Newsletter.
It pleases me to see that Radar is being celebrated this year, and that my old mate, Roy Simons, is this year’s President. It grieves me though that I shall be unable to attend the Annual Reunion because of a health blip which, to date, six specialists have been unable to diagnose. Thankfully it is not life-threatening, just a wretched inconvenience!
I have now been retired for twenty years all but one month – doesn’t time fly?
Alfred H Howarth
John Howarth, Cumbria
This letter appeared in the October/November 2007 of ‘Radio Bygones’ journal, and as the result of an exchange of correspondence with John Howarth it is reproduced here. If anyone can help in his researches, please contact him directly via email on [email protected], or pass any information or your own contact details for the enquirer to Barry Powell or to the editor.
I am researching the career of my father, Alfred H Howarth, as a Marconi-trained ‘Sparks’ or Radio Officer.
What little information I have at present indicates that he served on board the ocean-going tug Flying Breeze during WW1. This would be the first vessel bearing that name, as I understand that the one he served on was replaced by another with the same name at a later date.
From the end of WW1 till the early thirties he served as ‘Sparks’ on board many Merchant ships, mainly of the ‘tramp’ variety, sailing around most of the globe.
Unfortunately, the Marconi Company seems to have fragmented recently and I am unable to ascertain where the records of this company are deposited. In particular I am interested in any records of the Marconi Radio Operator branch, who would have been his employer.
I would appreciate any help that anyone out there can give me in either locating these records, or any other information that would give me a lead in locating further information.
Pat O’Hanlon, Radio Officer
Patrick O’Hanlon, Holden, Massachusetts, USA
I have just read with great interest the latest (April 2007) Marconi Veterans’ Association newsletter, in particular, the recollections of Felix Mascarenhas.
My uncle, Pat O’Hanlon, was also a Marconi Marine Officer during WW2, during which time he received recognition for good work when his vessel was torpedoed. He trained at the Marconi school in Liverpool or North Wales during the 1930s. Unfortunately, I do not know which shipping line he was attached to during peace time, but I do know that he subsequently worked for the British government in some communications capacity.
I am researching my family tree and Pat O’Hanlon was my uncle – he passed away some years ago. I would be extremely grateful if you could point me to any information that would perhaps help me find out a little more about my uncle and his career in radio communications.
Postscript to MIMCO Singapore 1942 to 1945
Extracts from Mr Duncan Robertson’s report to company management following his release from Japanese internment in 1945 were published under this heading in the 2006 newsletter, and the full text, less the missing page, was recently posted on the website entitled Singapore 1942. Scanning recently through the bound volume of the first editions of the Marconi Mariner covering 1947 to 1950 I can add this postscript.
When in 1942 the Japanese armies were forcing their way down the Malayan Peninsular, the work of the depot carried on almost up to the day when Singapore was finally occupied. The Depot Manager, Mr Duncan Robertson, and his Technical Assistant, Mr H Thompson, left Singapore by ship in an endeavour to reach the Dutch East Indies. Unfortunately, their vessel was intercepted by a Japanese warship and sunk after a short but intense bombardment. Mr Thompson was killed and Mr Robertson taken prisoner and carried off into captivity.
Singapore was finally liberated by the British on September 5th, 1945, and the former local staff of the depot, Messrs Andrew B Pinto, W M Wambeck and Ibrahim Shariff, reported for duty on September 7th. Mr Duncan Robertson arrived back from internment on September 18th and thus, after nearly four years’ break, the work of the depot was restarted. Mr Robertson, as a direct result of his internment, was at that time a very sick man, badly in need of a long rest. With the closing of the depot at Mombasa the Company transferred the European staff there to Singapore. Messrs J I Morse and E Dalton arrived in the Colony by air in November 1945, with Mr Morse as Acting Depot Manager.
By March 1949 Mr Robertson is recorded as being back in position as Depot Manager (see photo – Duncan Robertson, seated, is the fourth from the left), and then retiring from the Company on the 30th June 1949.
For a larger picture please click here
Auxiliaries Anonymous
A very brief extract of the chapter in the ‘Book of Chelmsford’ by Gilbert Torrey (publ.1985) mentioned in the 2006 edition, to slot into the last awkward space. Non-Chelmsford Veterans – please forgive the indulgence.
At the start of WW2 the covert British Resistance Organisation was established to become active in the event of a German invasion, organised into local cells or patrols of 6-8 men with good local knowledge who could blend into the landscape and be useful in a tight corner. Underground bunkers were constructed as bases. A local group of cells in Chelmsford, Wickham Bishops, Hatfield Peverel, Terling and Boreham was commanded by Capt Keith Seabrook, a farmer from Little Leighs.
The Chelmsford patrol, whose bunker was in woodland adjoining Hanningfield Reservoir, was led by HC Berry, with the rank of Sergeant, later succeeded by WT Macnab, and comprised R*W Bartle, K*N Carter, BC Ager, AG Taylor and HW Pratley (*some doubt over these initials). With the exception of Pratley and Taylor, and this is really the point of including this item, they were all from the Test Department of MWT in New Street, in their twenties and thirties at the outbreak of war, and were undoubtedly recruited for their knowledge of radio and radar in addition to their other qualities. Pratley was in Marconi Research at Great Baddow, and Taylor was with LNER (as it then was) at Liverpool Street Station.
In Memoriam
The deaths of all Veterans notified to the secretary are published on a regular basis on this website. The latest list is accessed from the front page index and the earlier notifications from the archive index. These publishing dates correspond with the times of the Committee meetings.
The consolidatedl list of the deaths over the past year is published in the paper copy of this newsletter.
Tom Watson – Works Dentist
Peter Turrall
Not a Veteran but Works Dentist from 1957 until he retired, Tom Watson died on 3rd January 2008 aged 95. He used to live in Chelmsford but moved several years ago to Brandon near Thetford. I play golf with his son Alan Watson every Sunday. If you intend to send a letter of condolence please forward it to me and I will hand it to Alan the following Sunday.
Writtle Road
In keeping with a thread running through much of this issue – Marconi Radar – this aerial view of the Writtle Road site was taken in 1994 from a hot air balloon by Ray Strudwick.
For a larger and higher definition version of the image please click here.
To members of the GEC (1972) Plan Pension
Robbie Robertson, January 2008
I know that many of you are concerned about the current state of affairs with regard to your pensions; this note is an attempt to explain the present position.
telent,* the small remaining core of our company, was bought by Pensions Corporation, a major finance and insurance group, in November last year. telent is the owner and sponsor of the company which administers our pension fund, Stanhope Pension Trust (SPT). SPT is a legal UK entity, controlled by a board of trustees (directors); the appointment of trustees is regulated by UK law, and historically we have had a board of 3 trustees appointed by telent, 3 appointed by the Pensions Consultative Committee acting on behalf of Fund members, and three independents, chosen by telent, and appointed with the approval of the Government Pensions Regulator. One of the independents has been chairman of the board.
Your three member nominated directors (MNDs), together with the independent chairman, have been extremely active and effective on your behalf. As soon as news of the possibility of a takeover emerged, they approached the Pensions Regulator (PR), asking that he use his powers to protect our fund. The PR agreed to their request, and three Independent Trustees (ITs) were appointed by the PR as additional trustees of the Plan for six months from 19th October 2007. The primary objective of the ITs is to ensure that future pension benefits continue to be protected, and that this objective receives independent consideration. The appointment of the ITs has had no effect on the day to day operation of the pension fund, which continues unchanged. The ITs are in position until 18th April 2008; if, at that date, the PR is still concerned about ownership/control of the SPT Pension Fund, then their appointment will be extended.
Because of the prompt and effective early action of the independent chairman and the MNDs, your pensions remain secure; I feel that the subject is now so well reported and publicised that this security is assured for some time to come. Your Pensions Consultative Committee has ex-Chelmsford pensioners Mick Elliot and me among its members, and continues to monitor the ongoing position closely; the pensions office will be issuing an update newsletter soon.
*For those Veterans not familiar with this remnant of MCSL, yes, it really does start with a lower case t ! Ed.
Please send articles for next year’s newsletter to:
Ken Earney,
Number 9 January 2007
Ordeal by Readership
I survived! At the 2006 Reunion, Raymond Rowe said very kind things about my first effort with the newsletter, and a number of you have expressed similar sentiments subsequently. Thank you, I must have done something right. I do have a little worry at the moment however. Where no photos are supplied with contributions I like to insert photos or graphics which have some relevance to subject matter of an article to relieve the acres of text and give the publication a less dense feel. You will see what I mean in this issue. However, you might feel that this is an unacceptable use of space which could otherwise have been used to include another contribution or two. Are there too many pictures and too few words? Please let me know what you think, by post, email, or in person at the reunion in April.
Not many contributions came in over the last twelve months, so I have dipped into the backlog going back to ’05. Some of the articles are extracts from much longer pieces. Anyone who has a memories of the company – amusing and lightweight, serious and thoughtful, from the trivial to the technical (but not too technical) – please jot them down and send them in, with pictures if you have them. They don’t need to be lengthy: the longer the article the more the cutting and editing I have to do! And on the subject of the backlog, you will recall that a number of articles were to have been posted on the website: this didn’t happen but I promise that this year it will. The first to appear, barring any technical hitches, will be the MIMCO Manager D Robertson’s report to London following his release from Japanese internment in 1945. Any posted on the website will appear in their entirety.
New Street site – the latest
Peter Turrall, Vice Chairman, Marconi Veterans Association
Messrs Ashwell Developments of Cambridge, the owners of the Marconi Communication Systems site at New Street, now occupied by Selex Communications, are in regular consultation with the Planning Department of Chelmsford Borough Council concerning the proposed development of this valuable nine and a half acre site.
An outline planning proposal has been submitted which covers the removal of several of the large buildings and the complete removal of the factory. The 1912 front building which already has a preservation order on it, will remain, although there will be several modifications to cover possibly an area for exhibition of Marconi products and a few offices. Despite previous rumours this building will not become a hotel.
The large four storey Marconi House and Building 720 with the corrugated roof will also be removed, allowing the site to have shops and residential areas laid out with gardens and a heritage walkway which will depict the history of our company.
Part of the area adjacent to the New Street Security Office and close to the railway line will be removed, allowing a walkway and road which will lead to the railway station. The Power House and the two cottages plus the tower on the opposite side of the railway line will remain. It is hoped in this area some of the company’s artefacts can be on view with possibly modern presentation facilities of voices of past employees and also film footage.
To ensure the history of the company and its employees is preserved, the undersigned has joined with the developers and their heritage and conservation experts in some of the planning and decision making areas. Over the coming months a team of photographers and audio crew will be contacting many ex-employees to obtain stories of life within the company during their employment. If you are interested in this aspect, then please contact the Editor who will be pleased to pass on this information. If you have any artefacts which could be permanently loaned, then these could form part of the heritage trail through the site. Your assistance in this latter respect would be most welcome.
On page 12 of the last issue, Stanley Fisher promised to send a recent photograph of him standing outside the main New Street entrance. It seems appropriate to place it here accompanying Peter Turrall’s news of the proposals for the New Street site.
Mailbag
The Baddow Photo
In the last newsletter, on page 5, we carried a picture of a group of Baddow engineers taken in 1939. The location of the photo was uncertain, and there were gaps in the list of names. I’ve received two letters on the subject, from Ian Butt and Cyril Marshall.
Ian Butt writes:
It shows (on the front row) Percy Beanland and FE Sainsbury as numbers 14 and 15 – I think this should be 12 and 13. I hope with returns from the Veterans you may be able to publish a more complete list of who’s who, since most of the engineers/boffins were really at the forefront of Marconi’s later expertise in new design etc, apart from all the technology that appeared during World War II.
I assume you know that Chick (Mac) Mackenzie died recently.
From Cyril Marshall:
Roy Simons comments on the photo did trigger my memory of those times. I was in the Test Department at New Street in 1934, having joined the company in 1929 as an apprentice. I agree with Roy in that the photo was taken at Writtle, not Baddow. However, I’m certain that Mervyn Morgan is number 10 in the back row. I recognise a few more faces:- second row 5 JF Hatch, 7 VJ Cooper, 8 NW Jenkins, and 15 in the back row is Watts from R&D Workshops. Front row 13 FWJ Sainsbury, I remember him as a tall person and responsible for the Sainsbury design equipment cabinet. Like Roy, there are other faces that I recognise but am unable to remember names.
On Colwyn Bay Wireless College
Richard Shaw
Peter Robinson’s news of Colwyn Bay Wireless College was of particular interest, since I was a student there in 1941-42 before joining the Marconi Marine Company, and I have been able to pass news of its website to another old boy who was there in 1948. We first met in 1982 when I came to live in a village near here and he and his family were next door but one. We both worked for the Marconi Company in its various incarnations until our retirements, and he was delighted to have the news. I had returned to the Wireless College in 1948, just missing my future colleague who left the previous term, and enjoyed another eight years or so at sea and three on the shore staff in Cardiff.
Regarding Marconi’s statue, I find its treatment by the Borough Council (which commissioned it) quite disgraceful. Of course it should stand in the centre of Chelmsford. If it were not for Marconi, Chelmsford would have been neither wealthy nor famous, but just another county town. Its councillors need a damn good talking to!
I was sorry to read of the death of John Sutherland who, as Managing Director of Marconi Radar Systems, presented me with my certificate as a Marconi Veteran. I recall that we could have either a presentation watch or a sum of money worth rather less.
As I already had a watch but was rather short of the other, and my car battery was nearing its end, I asked for a replacement (obtainable at a discount from a local garage) instead of the watch, and the balance in cash! I think he was a little surprised by my unusual request, but granted it nevertheless, thereby making me probably the only Marconi Veteran whose membership presentation included a chit for a lead acid battery.
Pleased the association still exists
Bernard de Neumann
I’m very pleased to see that the Marconi Veterans’ Association still exists, as I thought it had become defunct since I no longer receive any mailings from you. (Prof de Neumann is one of the lost and found referred to at the end of this newsletter. Ed.)
I became a Marconi Veteran in 1986/7 I think: I joined Marconi Research Labs as a mathematician in ‘Mathematical Analysis’ of Mathematical Physics with Jozef Skwirzynski. I left MRL in 1988 to take up an appointment as Professor of Mathematics at The City University, London, and am now retired.
You may care to note for the newsletter that a portrait of me by the noted artist John Wonnacott, won the 2005 Ondaatje Prize (£10,000 plus a gold medal) of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters last May. See for example: http://news.bbc.co.Uk/2/hi/entertainment/4486329.stm Consequentially, as a professional mathematician, I have now added to my cv that I am mathematical model – and am, somewhat uniquely, a living breathing example rather than an idealised representation!
The wisdom of the Saturday supplements
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism – to steal from many is research.
Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
Report of the 2006 Veterans’ reunion
The 70th annual reunion was held, as usual, at the MASC in Beehive Lane Chelmsford. Our president this year, Veteran Raymond Rowe, was introduced by Veteran Ewan Fenn. Raymond’s working life as an engineer from 1946 to 1988 spanned a wide spectrum of technologies from microwave link through space communications and troposcatter to broadcasting. He joined Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company as an engineer in the HDB Group at Writtle in 1955, and save for a very brief interlude at Cossors in the 60s, he remained with the company until his retirement in 1988 whilst acting Divisional Manager of Broadcasting Division.
In his reply, Raymond detailed some of the highlights of his career, and of the Marconi Company. Some quotes from his speech that are worthy of note.
‘If there was a place in the world in trouble then either we (in Marconi) had been there just before or we soon would be.’
‘Who knows what else there is to come. I believe we probably saw the best of it; the work was still very much hands on. The engineers of today, because of the computer interface, are a bit more remote from the end product…’
‘So we were there at a very influential period of Marconi’s, probably the most important time since the beginning of radio. The name Marconi did not need explaining to any one that I met in my travels for the company.’
‘As Marconi Veterans we perhaps do not really understand how important our group is. We are among the relatively few who really knew what Marconi’s meant. I am sure that all of us are proud that we can trace our company back to the beginnings of radio.’
Raymond then introduced the Guest of Honour, Robert Wellbeloved C.Eng, FIEE. Bob was formerly Chief Engineer (Transmitter Operations) for the IBA and latterly an independent consultant for many UK and overseas organisations, mainly on Digital TV transmissions. He joined Marconi Communication Systems in 1956 on a four year Graduate Apprenticeship followed by installation work on behalf of Broadcasting Division before joining the ITA in 1965 as a Transmitter Engineer.
In his speech Bob noted that is was just 50 years since he had joined Marconi-MWT. He used 50 years as his theme and posed three questions – what would he have done differently over the last 50 years, what have been the most significant changes over this time, and would he have preferred a different 50 year period for his working life?
The answer to the first was – very little. In responding to the second question he cast a wry eye over many things that have changed in the last 50 years, some good, some bad, but even some of the goods were not unalloyed.
He would not have wished to change the time slot of his career and noted that the late Victorian era had abysmal living standards and a much lower life expectancy. The early 20th century had two world wars and the depression. And would he like to be leaving University in 2006 with the prospect of working until 2060? Definitely not!
Veterans’ reunion 2007
The 2007 reunion will take place on Saturday 14th April at the MASC, Beehive Lane, Chelmsford, commencing at 1.00pm. This year’s President is Professor Roy W Simons, OBE, CEng. Roy served with the company for 43 years, joining MWT in 1943 with the major part of his career in radar. In 1965, with the restructuring of the Company, he became Technical Manager of Radar Division, and with the subsequent merger with GEC, he was appointed Technical Director of Marconi Radar Systems, a post that he held until just before his very busy retirement in 1986. His leisure time is devoted to a number of musical interests. He will be introduced by Marconi Veterans’ Association Chairman Charles Rand, previously Works Manager at Writtle Road.
The Guest of Honour will be Dr John C Williams OBE, FREng, Hon FIEE who for a number of years was Director of The Marconi Research Centre at Gt Baddow, Chelmsford and later was Secretary and Chief Executive of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) in London.
News from Kwazulu Natal
Barry Powell received the following email from Jack Mayhew last March:
Many thanks for the latest news letter which I have just received. It is very much appreciated. I must give you my latest postal address as we have just moved. (Barry has the address for anyone wishing to contact Jack). We have a magnificent view from our new house and can see the Indian Ocean in the far distance. Unfortunately a few weeks before we moved I had a stroke but I am pleased to say that although I was paralysed down one side I am now able to walk a few steps again. Please pass my congratulations to Ken, the new editor of the newsletter, but please ask him if and when he uses my name again would he please add the last three letters to my surname! Kindest regards.
Jack refers to the item on page 10 of the last issue, under ‘Some more Marconi bibliography’, attributed to Jack May. I was thrown by his email username – jackmay. Many apologies Jack. Ed.
What’s the rate of exchange for kudos?
Eric Walker
This extract from a much longer piece by Eric Walker – for all of his Marconi career an Airadio man – focuses on some of the less serious aspects of the life of the avionics (although I’m not sure that the term was in common parlance then) engineers inhabiting the Writtle huts in the 50s. Mike Lawrence, who served in the DO at Writtle and for a while at Basildon, has expanded Eric’s original article with additional material and turned it into a hand-crafted booklet with a very limited production run – Eric and Mike both have two copies, the Writtle village archivist another and there is a sixth copy at the Sandford Mill Musuem. It is well worth reading in its entirety, and we shall endeavour to make it accessible on the website.
When I arrived at Writtle in 1951 we were housed in wooden huts. The only brick-built facility was the workshop. Historically, Les Mullin’s team occupied the original 2MT (2 Emma Tock) hut of early broadcast fame, in which part of the 1922 installation was still visible. Geoffrey Beck’s Air Navigational Aids team occupied a relatively new wooden Hut A. We later expanded to Hut AK as our team grew in number and parallel projects were undertaken.
Beck’s team was formed to develop Green Satin, a military project funded on a cost-plus basis by the Ministry of Supply. The equipment is well-described in Chapter 42 of W J Baker’s ‘History of the Marconi Company’. Briefly, it was a self-contained airborne navigational aid, which used the Doppler effect to measure the ground speed and drift angle of an aircraft from which present position and other navigational attributes could be deduced. ‘Self-contained’ means independent of ground-based aids. The accuracy of Green Satin depended on high-precision waveguides in its aerial, both in dimensions and in the slotting process which was coped with by Charlie Swanborough in the waveguide section at New Street.
Green Satin was a considerable step forward in the art of air navigation. The project derived from work done at TRE Malvern, a Ministry establishment, by Johnny Clegg and George Thorne. Experimental models had been made by Mervyn Morgan’s team at Baddow and we, at Writtle, had to develop a design into production, just as fast as we could. The programme was classified secret and was urgent, as it was needed for the Canberra aircraft and the V bomber force (Valiant, Victor and Vulcan, although only the latter two were fitted). We handmade eight development models followed by thirty ‘crash-production’ models before full production was undertaken at the New Street works.
Green Satin was a challenging project to a very tight timescale. It was an exciting programme for a team of mainly young engineers to work on, and we worked very hard, with good team spirit.
Starting time was 7.45am in the workshops and 8.15am for design staff; and we clocked-in. Knocking-off time was supposed to be 5pm, but we rarely left until much later. We worked 6 days a week and often on Sundays when the programme required us to. The notion was, if something needed doing you stayed and did it. The only times you left work unfinished was when it was not possible to complete it for one reason or another. This habit of working long hours stayed with many of us even when the pressure finally came off. You felt you were letting the team down if you worked to the clock. Those who did leave on time, for domestic reasons, usually took briefcases of papers home with them.
Jumping ahead a bit, when we had successfully put Green Satin into production, Bernard MacLarty came to thank us and said that our efforts had earned kudos for the company. We were brash enough to ask what the rate of exchange for kudos was and if it would benefit us? He took it in good part. But there seemed not to be such a thing as a bonus in those days. The idea was that if you did a good job you might move up the ladder and take on more responsibility for perhaps more pay. I saw records of staff reviews where senior management debated at length whether Bloggs should receive an increment of £12 or £15 per annum.
Our work, though intense, had plenty of fun in it. On Guy Fawkes day rockets were fired, suspended on a wire strung from near the hut to down the field. Fireworks figured quite a lot at other times. Much skill was put into secreting bundles of bangers in other peoples’ workplaces, which went off when you (or they) operated power switches. The ballistics expert was Ray Walls. But Arthur Adam earned the medal for concealment. One evening we blew up a bundle we had dropped between the walls of his hut (AK). Next morning, when we came to work, we searched our hut for the response we knew must be there. In vain. He waited until mid-morning before activating it. He must have worked half the night to put in the subterranean wiring. Beck put a stop to it after that, for fear of fire, or mayhem.
Our hut was very cold in the winter, the only heat coming from a few hot-water radiators (by courtesy of the stoker Bill Crabb) and of course the heat generated by the concentration of bodies and active high-powered equipment and test gear. In the summer it was too hot, even with open windows. We had a water tap and basin in the hut, so the bright-ideas squad, led again by Ray Walls, ran a suitably punctured hosepipe along the ridge of the hut roof. Water pressure was then adjusted until drips just came off the eaves before evaporating. Much experiment was needed to get the leak wetting pattern just right to cover the roof.
Such activities as these greatly amused EB Greenwood, manager of the newly-erected Basildon Works, who visited us often. He particularly liked our system of warning that our door had been opened, combined with the means of shutting it again. A Heath Robinson device comprising pulleys, angle-iron, a large loose nut and a bell (acoustic). What tickled Greenwood was that it was ridiculous, in such a small hut with so many inhabitants.
No project really ends, even when it is in service. Much remains to be done in the way of support, training and maintenance. A significant time is reached when most work is done by ancillary staff and the key designers move onto new programmes. When this happened, in 1954, we decided to commemorate Green Satin and its design team by placing a brass plaque on the roof-supporting beams of Hut A. I had it engraved in the workshop. It said ‘On this site was designed the world’s first airborne Doppler navigational aid to become a standard service equipment’. Not very inspiring: not even grammatical. But the project was still secret (and remained under wraps for another 3 years) so very little could be said. Besides, it was a small plaque. With the low cunning of a Marconi apprentice, Ray Walls screwed it onto the beam, having filed the screw heads so they could be driven in, but not out. The plaque was there long after we left in 1960. We had intended to reclaim it if and when the hut was no longer in use. But the site, in Lawford Lane, is now a housing estate. I wonder what happened to the plaque? Sad really.
A landmark on the Writtle site was the Lancaster aeroplane. It was used to try out aerial arrangements and various other installations. People wondered how it arrived there – did it fly in? No, it came by road in bits and was reassembled on site. It was dismantled and disposed of in 1956.
Walter Cook
Before work on the previous issue had been started, Martin Cook, a former seagoing Radio Officer based at the East Ham depot and now living in New Zealand, contacted Barry Powell about the death of his father Walter Cook on the 20th July 2005. Walter served with the company from 1939 until 1971, at Hackbridge from ’39 to ’47, Writtle from ’47 to ’52, Chelmsford from ’52 to ’64 and Hackbridge again from ’64 to ’71. When Martin was clearing up his effects, he came across these three items which he thought might be of interest to the Veterans’ Association. Walter appears in the top photo, which seems to be taken at a later period than the lower – he doesn’t appear in that one. The identity card was for his time at Hackbridge. Martin has provided the bones of Walter’s cv, but can anyone throw any light on who any of the individuals are, and where the photos were taken.
A plea for information
Hello, I wonder if you could help me.
My name is Don Simpson, I am an employee (1974 – present) of Marconi Radar/MRCSL/Alenia/Marconi/AMS/Bae Systems Insyte (who next?), but I’m interested in my father’s career. I have a little bit of info, but not much, and I can’t get a clear picture from my mother (Dad is now deceased – December 1983)).
His name was Stanley Simpson, he joined Marconi some time round about 1952/3/4 (confusion about the actual date). At that time he was manager (?) of the Electrical Goods department at Perth Co-op (Scotland) and previous to that had been running his own small business servicing accumulator driven radios. His addresses would have been 111, Mildmay Road, Chelmsford, and, after that, Glenorchy, South Street, Great Waltham. His birthdate was 13 August 1909. My understanding is that he was approached by Marconi, either because of articles that he had written into Wireless World, or possibly through his RAF service (he was a radio technician, spent the entire war in Palestine/Kenya).
Would the Association be able to access any employment records that could confirm his employment dates (he left around 1957 to go back to Scotland), his position (I understand he worked at Writtle) or possibly confirm how and why he was approached? I’m just interested to try to find the real facts about him.
Curious that I should have ended up in the same ‘old’ company as him, in the same town again.
Don Simpson, PDM Team Lead, Chelmsford, BAE Systems Insyte.
Barry has explained that the Association has no access to any employment records, and furthermore that they may have been archived so that even HR Departments have difficulty in accessing them. Don’s only hope therefore appears to be one of you. Does anyone remember a Scot, Stanley Simpson, who appears to have worked at Writtle in the mid 50s. Please send any reply to Barry for forwarding to Don.
The Marconi Scientist mystery
Peter Wyss, an ex-Electro-Optical Advanced Systems Division (Basildon) Veteran, was involved in the Stingray Torpedo project since its inception in the early 70s. Some months ago he was sent by Ted Haydon, also ex-EOASD Veteran, the cutting from the Letters page of the Costa Brava News shown on the right. Peter entered into an exchange of correspondence with Pamela Handford, the writer of the letter, and then emailed a number of former colleagues with the results of this exchange, including your editor because he thought it might be of interest to other Veterans who had worked on Stingray, or with a taste for intrigue, conspiracy theories etc.
Pamela Handford has a number of apparently well-placed contacts all resulting from her group’s involvement with UFO research. The group’s activities have brought them to the attention of US Air Force and Spanish Military Intelligence. Their investigations revealed links to the deaths in suspicious circumstances of 25 Marconi engineers working on the Stingray Torpedo project in the mid/late 80s. An article appeared in Computer News at the time, and a book on the subject was published in 1990, Open Verdict: an account of 25 mysterious deaths in the defence industry, Tony Collins (1990), Sphere Books. Any Veteran with a taste for intrigue, conspiracy theories, ‘spooks’ etc wanting to learn more about this story can contact Peter Wyss through me or Barry Powell.
Fort Perch Rock Museum
Arising from a conversation with Jimmy Leadbitter, Stan McNally sent Barry Powell the web address for a museum on Merseyside with which he is associated. Fort Perch Rock (near New Brighton) on the Mersey is a former fort from the Napoleonic era. The museum houses many interesting exhibits, an important theme running through them being Merseyside’s maritime past. A recent addition, formally opened last October, is the Merchant Navy Wireless Room which contains Marconi equipment and so may be of interest to Marconi Marine Veterans.
The web address is: http://sco493.co.uk/album34.html
March 1944 – Eindhoven, Chelmsford and RAF Bradwell Bay
Chelmsford area veterans may well have been aware of the publicity given last year to the presence at Sandford Mill Museum of the WW II Luftwaffe relief model of the Marconi and Hoffmans complex in Chelmsford. This brought to mind for MVA chairman Charles Rand the copy in his possession of an article that appeared in the county magazine in 1970 (The unknown airfield – RAF Bradwell Bay, Essex Countryside, December 1970). It concerned the history of RAF Bradwell Bay, a wartime base for light bomber and nightfighter operations – Bradwell nuclear power station stands on part of the site of the airfield. Of interest to Marconi Veterans are the paragraphs concerning the Luftwaffe raid on the Marconi works on the night of the 21st March, 1944, involving one of the nightfighter units based at Bradwell, 488 Squadron equipped with Mosquito Mk XII/XIII. (the Mk XII is pictured below – IWM photo).During winter 1943-4 No. 488 Squadron gradually built up a ‘score’ of enemy aircraft, but there is no doubt that the highlight was the night of March 21, 1944, when the Luftwaffe, as a reprisal for the RAF’s attack on Philips’s Eindhoven factories (which the patriotic Dutch had welcomed), decided to wipe out Marconi, Chelmsford, using a picked force of Junkers 88/188 bombers. Not until long afterwards was it released that Chris Vlotman (the only Dutchman flying night fighters) in shooting down two Ju 88s just off the coast had brought down the leader of the formation and that 488 had destroyed all five of the first ‘pathfinder’ force, two to Squadron Leader Nigel Bunting and the fifth to Flight Lieutenant John Hall. A prisoner, literally blown out of his Junkers, was captured by the Southminster police and the writer helped to hold him as 488’s doctor stitched a gash in his face where the jagged fuselage had caught him as the bomber disintegrated in mid-air.
Later, as the allies entered Germany in 1945, an RAF Regiment officer found on a Luftwaffe base a magnificent model of the Marconi works which had apparently been made for briefing pilots for the attack. This is now in the entrance hall at the Chelmsford offices and Chris Vlotman, now captain of a KLM DC8 jet, flew from Alaska some years ago to be the company’s guest and speaker at a charity dinner-dance for the Trueloves school for physically handicapped boys at Ingatestone.
Captain Chris Vlotman, DFC, Netherlands War Cross (left), inspecting the model of the Marconi factories made by the Luftwaffe. With him are Mrs Vlotman, Mr Leslie Hunt, local aviation historian, Mr Neil Sutherland, managing director of Marconi, and ‘Dusty’ Miller, editor of Marconi Magazine. Essex Weekly News photograph.
As indicated in the first paragraph, the model is now of course located at the Sandford Mill Museum in Chelmsford – not all of our heritage disappeared off to Oxford! There is an interesting footnote to this story. Charles Rand didn’t know the source of the article, or the name of the author. In the Essex Chronicle at the beginning of January appeared the report of a local aviation historian, Stephen P Nunn, signing copies in Maldon of his newly published book ‘Maldon, the Dengie and the battle in the skies 1939-1945’. Your editor made contact with him to find out if could throw any light on the source of the article – he could – and it transpired that he is the son of Peter Nunn who was a production engineer with Marconi Communications at Waterhouse Lane until his retirement in the early 90s. Regrettably Peter died in 1995, not long after his retirement, but Charles knew him very well as did no doubt many other Veterans.
The Baddow Tower – update
In response to Roy Simons’ item and my editorial comments about the history of the CH tower at Baddow, Veteran Bill Fitzgerald sent me a copy of an interview with him which appeared in the Miscellany column of the Essex Chronicle in June 2005. It reported that he was launching a solo campaign to persuade English Heritage to put a preservation order on it, on the grounds that it is the last structurally secure WWII CH radar tower in the country. English Heritage at that time took the view that it was not at risk, because it was still in use. In the accompanying letter Bill reiterated that it is the last remaining CH tower in the UK, but the tower would obviously be at risk should the site be closed down and sold off.
My enquiries to establish the current situation prior to typing this item triggered a flurry of telephone calls, which included The Essex Chronicle telephoning me, but at the time of going to press there is nothing to add. Watch this space.
Radio Officers’ memoirs
Bill Godden
The photo below is the installation fitted by Glasgow Depot, at the beginning of 1957 on board the Lyles Shipping Company’s MV Cape Horn. I joined the ship at Greenock for her maiden voyage in June 1957. The equipment consisted of Oceanspan VI main transmitter, Reliance reserve transmitter, Mercury and Electra main receivers, Vigilant AutoAlarm, Autokey and Alert fixed 500kc/s receiver. All powered by batteries. One of the receiver power packs can be seen under the Morse key, I don’t remember the type number. The ship’s broadcast receiver I think was a Dynatron.
Of particular interest was that the ship was fitted with one of the few Ultrasonic Antifouling Devices, (a Barnacle Buster), I think there were only ever three fitted. The idea was to set up ultrasonic vibrations through the ship’s hull to stop marine growth, barnacles and the like attaching to the ship.
We had a good maiden voyage lightship down to Cuba, where we loaded bulk sugar in Boqueron and Cienfuegos and took it to Tokyo.
On passage across the Pacific I experienced my first hurricane, Hurricane Kanoa. We were in it for about a week during which time I was sending weather reports to San Francisco Radio, KFS I think, every four hours. From Japan we were lightship down to McKay in Queensland where we took on another load of bulk sugar for Liverpool and Glasgow.
It was October when we arrived back in the UK after a good trip with a good crew. Most of us signed on for the next trip which was supposed to be a six week run down to South Africa and back. The Third Mate organized to get married on return to the UK, but it turned out to be a long six weeks which took us to South Africa, Mozambique, Texas, Japan, Canada, Ocean Island, Nauru, Australia and New Zealand, in all fourteen months. After spending most of the time in the tropics we signed off in Hull in January 1959. The Third Mate did get married to the same girl.
We had some good fun and, at that time it, was common for ships to disappear over the horizon for two or three years. Some blokes were lucky to get happy ships, a lot were unlucky and the trip was misery from beginning to end. I was lucky in this case.
Felix Mascarenhas
My career in the Marine Company was varied and commenced on the sea staff during the second world war. The Marconi Radio Officer held a unique position on board ship. Although not employed by the shipping company, he came under the direct jurisdiction of the Master and was an integral part of the crew, enjoying the same privileges as the other officers.
I studied to become a Radio Officer at the Wireless College in Colwyn Bay and having passed my ‘ticket’ I joined the Marconi International Marine Communication Company in July 1941. During the war Radio Officers were in short supply. A senior and two juniors were needed to maintain a 24-hour watch on all deep sea merchant ships. The examination for the necessary qualification, which was issued by the Postmaster General, was held at the college under the jurisdiction of a Post Office Marine Wireless Superintendent, whose main duties involved surveying the wireless equipment on merchant vessels. The exam consisted of sending and receiving Morse code in plain language, in code and in figures at various speeds, a written paper on electronic theory, fault finding on the equipment, and a knowledge of Q codes and operating procedures. To indicate the shortage of Radio Officers at that time, a Marconi Personnel Officer from Liverpool depot attended the college after the exam and immediately signed up those who passed. I had a medical examination on the same day and was appointed to my first ship and was at sea within a few days.
Not much is known of the part the Merchant Navy played in the hostilities. One in every five of the 180,000 men who sailed under the Red Ensign were lost, and this figure includes over 1,400 Radio Officers who gave their lives in the fight for freedom. On a percentage basis the losses were higher than any of the armed services with the exception of aircrews. A total of over 2,400 vessels were sunk, or destroyed by enemy action.
For added protection, whenever possible vessels sailed in convoys of possibly twelve vessels across and ten or more deep, covering an area of several square miles. The Commodore ship was positioned in the centre of the front row of vessels. The Commodore, who usually was a retired Vice-Admiral or Captain, controlled the convoy via encoded flag messages which were acknowledged by all the vessels hoisting the same flags. Over twenty Commodores lost their lives in the North Atlantic. Because radio signals could be picked up by submarines and surface raiders strict radio silence was always observed. Convoy protection was provided by several naval vessels made up of destroyers, corvettes and armed merchant trawlers.
Radio traffic was transmitted to ships every four hours from naval coast stations situated in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. To ensure that radio silence was maintained the messages were not acknowledged. Instructions from the ships’ owners and/or the Ministry of War Transport were transmitted in code groups of five numbers. Each vessel had a code book containing pages of groups of five numbers. The first two groups in the message indicated where to commence the operation of subtracting the received groups from the numbers in the book. The resulting groups, after subtraction, were then applied to another code book which translated them into plain language. This work was undertaken by the Radio Officer, whose other duties involved keeping a continuous watch on the international distress frequency, listening on the direction-finder for enemy submarines and assisting on the bridge by hoisting flags and signalling with the Aldis lamp. The only time radio silence was broken was when a vessel was attacked. The SOS distress signal was not used, instead SSS was sent to indicate an attack by submarine, AAA an attack by aircraft and RRR an attack by a surface warship.
Deep sea merchant vessels were reasonably well armed. A 4.7 inch gun was mounted on the stern poop-deck. A naval gun-layer and two or three naval ratings manned this weapon, assisted by crew members. A 12-pound anti-aircraft gun on the stern after-deck was manned by two army gunners. Two Oerlikon quick tracer firing guns were mounted on each side of the bridge and two machine guns were mounted on the boat-deck. These were manned by the ship’s crew.
One of my worst wartime experiences happened during my second trip in December 1941. I had been appointed to a very old Cardiff tramp ship. We joined our convoy at Milford Haven but were unable to keep up through lack of speed, probably due to engine trouble, and were left behind. We were ordered to rendezvous with another convoy but again we were not able to keep up due to our poor speed, so we were instructed to proceed to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada on our own. The weather worsened, and the storm which lasted for several days was one of the worst that I have ever experienced. We lost our lifeboats, which were slung out over the side for easy access, and our rafts, which were fitted as an extra wartime safety measure, were smashed. The vessel’s superstructure was considerably damaged by the heavy seas. The cabin, which I shared with the Deck Apprentice Officer and the gun-layer, was also damaged due to the deck-head having been torn open when a machine gun was ripped off its mooring by the seas. The cabin heating consisted of a cast-iron coal-burning stove called a ‘bogie’. The excessive draft from the storm force winds caused it to over heat and glow red-hot, and as the deck was awash with water swirling backwards and forwards and over the stove the cabin was filled with clouds of steam. Everything was wet including our bunks. We slept fully clothed with our sea-boots on. It took the best part of four weeks to cross the Atlantic.
I experienced my first encounter with a fatality on board that ship. One of the naval ratings, on leaving his post, was hit by the sea coming over the ship and was not found until daylight the next morning, entangled in the rigging. His burial, attended by all the crew was a sad and unforgettable experience. The ship heaved too, and his body, wrapped in canvas, was put over the side after a short service conducted by the Master.
Halifax was very cold that December and January. The sea water in the harbour was frozen over. To add to our discomfort, repairs to our cabin deck-head were carried out while we were still on board. A large canvas awning was our only protection from the elements. One night the apprentice and I came back from ashore only to find the gun-layer in his bunk completely buried in snow which had emptied into the cabin when the canvas awning had given away. He had previously had quite a few drinks and was oblivious to his perilous predicament. To this day I have never been able to understand the reasoning why this dilapidated old vessel was made a Commodore ship. The Commodore with his complement of naval signallers joined our already over-manned vessel and we lead an 8 knot convoy back to the United Kingdom, fortunately in calm seas via the Arctic Circle without a gun being fired.
At the end of hostilities, conditions gradually returned to normal: only one Radio Officer was required on most ships. As additional equipment became available, such as VHF and UHF-RT sets, single sideband HF-RT, telex, radar, television, closed circuit monitoring equipment, etc, etc, the Radio Officer’s duties increased and became a lot more technical.
I sailed on eighteen different ships ranging from cargo ships, troopships, passenger ships, tankers, bulk-carriers, and tramp ships, during the thirteen years I spent at sea. Each voyage was a different experience. Two of my voyages lasted over two years and two lasted over one year without returning to the United Kingdom. It was an enjoyable and a worthwhile career for a young single man. With some regret I hung up my sea boots in 1953 when I joined the Company’s shore staff at Cardiff depot as a temporary Marine Technical Assistant.
Looking back over more than sixty years to those days of my youth when joining a ship for another voyage was always an adventure, I only choose to remember the good times, the parties on board ship, the nights ashore in far flung ports all over the world, the ships on the Indian coast where the officers even had their own butler, and Gordon’s gin was three rupees a bottle. I often reflect on the hours spent on the bridge at night with the Second Mate somewhere in the vast Pacific ocean picking out the constellations in the star filled sky and marvelling at the magnificence of the Universe.
With the demise of the British Merchant Navy, and the introduction of satellite marine communication systems, the Marconi Radio Officer, like the lamp trimmer, is now surplus to requirements. At the end of hostilities the Marine Company, in its prime, employed 5,500 Radio Officers and had depots and bases and agents situated in ports all over the world. Sadly, very little is left of the once largest marine wireless communication company in the world, but we still have our memories.
Felix now lives in retirement in Dover and invites former colleagues who might be in the area to look him up.
Derek Griess
The appreciation of Derek Griess was published on the website in September 2006, shortly after his death. It is repeated in the paper copy of the newsletter.
Baddow Model Shop memories
Rob Wakefield
After reading the latest newsletter I thought I would send you a few lines about the few chaps I work with at Baddow.
I work in the Model Shop with 5 other skilled machinists. I and two others are all Marconi trained and are still very proud to be part of the Marconi history. The news letter transports us back like a time machine as if it were yesterday. The eldest of us came from Pottery Lane, my other colleague from the Radar company and myself from New Street, Bld 29 R&D. Our total service adds up to 104 years. We are all survivors of the collapse of the Marconi company and have ended up together at Baddow. When you think we are the only millers and turners left working on an old Marconi site in Chelmsford – there were hundreds of us with machine shops at Radar, Waterhouse Lane and the largest at New Street – it kind of makes you proud!
You know you’ve had too much of modern living when…
…..you pull up in your drive and use a cellphone to see if anyone is home.
…..you don’t stay in touch with family because they don’t have e-mail.
Military Scout & Wireless Cars
The following is an extract from an article by Harry Edwards which appeared in the Autumn 2004 edition of the Journal of the Morris Register (Harry was a mechanical designer involved in studio design, OB and radar displays and was with Marconi Marine at retirement. He is the editor of the Journal and the Register’s historian). A Marconi connection with the manufacture of the kit may strike a chord with senior Veterans.
A number of wooden huts comprised the Signals Experimental Establishment, under Colonel C J Aston, the Officer Commanding at Woolwich Common in 1926, when the development work began on the No.1 Set transmitter/receiver. This was the first design by the SEE to employ both radiotelephony and wireless telegraphy and also the first to be designed to work on the move. It was battery operated and two years later in 1928, it was severely tested by the Oxford University expedition to Greenland.
Although wireless had proved to be of great value to artillery during World War 1, the production of a postwar artillery set was shelved for several years. An experimental radiotelephone set working on the 10 metre band was given a trial. The use of this band was a bold innovation at the time, but unfortunately a little premature, the set had a communication range of three miles, which was not enough and in any case was insufficiently robust and liable to frequent faults. The artillery was without wireless until the issue of the No.1 set in 1933.
By 1929 considerable experience had been gained in the design of radiotelephone sets and a new series of army wireless sets was formulated. Originally six types were proposed, the No.1 set being for infantry and artillery brigades; the No.2 for divisions; the No.3 for corps; the No.4 for armies; the No.5 for the L of C; and the No.6 for worldwide strategic communications. Subsequently this series was extended to provide for armoured fighting vehicle sets and later for infantry, anti-aircraft and special purposes.
Significant features of the new series were, firstly, the inclusion of radiotelephone facilities in the Nos 1, 2 and 3 sets each covering a relatively narrow frequency band. With an overlap between the Nos.1 and 2, and between the Nos. 2 and 3 respectively the total range of the three sets extended from 6.66 to 1.36 MHz (presumably converted from wavelength – I assume this means 1.36 to 6.66MHz. Ed.). It was not considered in 1929 that the use of reflected waves would be feasible for forward tactical communications owing to the vagaries of the skip distance. All these sets were therefore designed to work by ground waves and their communication ranges were limited accordingly.
With the research work and design completed by the Signals Experimental Establishment, it was left to the electronics industry to produce these sets. Manufacturers known to have built and supplied the No.1 sets include Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, H W Sullivan Ltd, and Aeronautical & General Instruments Ltd.
Around the same time the military began to order small cars for use as scout cars. The first of these appear to have been issued to the 11th Hussars and then other Cavalry regiments, and were the unmilitary-like two seater Austin Seven Gordon England Cup models made at Wembley. An initial order of 65 vehicles was later increased. Early in January 1929 an Austin Seven two-seater with a boxlike boot was made for evaluation by the Army by Page and Hunt. Far more military-like was the Austin Seven two-seater design of 1929 by Mulliners. (Assumed to be Mulliners of Birmingham, a name associated with the Austin Seven.). This two-seater was based on the same lines as the Page & Hunt body with a squared off locker at the rear, within clips were provided for the ubiquitous .303 rifle. In addition to the Austin Seven the overhead camshaft Morris Minor chassis was given the same Mulliner style body in February 1929. So far these vehicles appear to have been used as scout cars. In 1932 a War Department approved design for a two-seater wireless car enters the picture, making use of the No.1 Set.
This same design was used for both Morris Minor and Austin Seven chassis The boxlike area behind the seats accommodated the radio equipment while a fixed support bracket, bolted to the body side, provided the mounting for the aerial insulator. Published figures suggest that some 176 Austin Sevens of this type went into service, and the writer estimates a total of 169 Morris Minors, most, if not all, based on the 1933 model Morris Minor (see photo left). The writer is not aware of any surviving examples of the Morris versions but a completely restored version of the military Austin Seven, owned by Andy Hodge, complete with the No 1 Set, can usually be seen at the Royal Corps of Signals Museum, Blandford.
Obituaries
Obituaries have been posted on the web site at various times over the past year. A full list for the year is published in the paper copy. All deaths can be found under the “In Memoriam” category on this The latest deaths notified are shown in the index bar on the left. To view earlier notifications please go to the Archive.
Nicholas Swarbrick
From Veteran George Cockburn
This contribution was received from George Cockburn, who felt that, although Nicholas Swarbrick was not a Marconi Veteran, he would have been known to some you and so of interest.
I would like to record the death of Nicholas Swarbrick who died on February 2nd aged 107.
Nicholas was a Merchant Navy Radio officer on the Atlantic Convoys during the 1st World War picking up horses in Nova Scotia for shipment to France and later on the Liverpool/New York run ferrying American troops.
He was born in 1898 at Grimsargh near Preston and gained his Certificate of Proficiency in Liverpool. He never married and I would think he would have been the veteran of veterans.
His obituary was in the Daily Telegraph of 8/2/2006 (I have a copy should it be of interest).
Kind regards
(I also have a copy of the obituary. Ed.)
Arthur Adam, 1926 – 2006
Arthur Adam, one of the characters featuring in Eric Walker’s reminiscences on page 4, died on the 2nd March 2006. He was the son of a Professor of Chemistry at Southampton University and a mathematician who worked with Neville Shute Norway on the R100 airship. He joined the company in 1946 after reading engineering at Cambridge.
Francis Faulkner, Eric Walker, Denys Harrison and Ray Walls at the Airadio reunion following Arthur Adam’s funeral service last March. Photo – Brian Ady
He worked throughout the 50s in Geoffrey Beck’s Airborne Navigational Aids Development team at Writtle, and, outside work, pursued his interest in sailing, photography and bird watching. Denys Harrison relates a number of interesting experiences when their perfectly lawful pursuit of these activities brought them to the attention of the law, the maritime authorities and HM Customs and Excise. Perhaps it was that, although legal, these incidents occurred in the hours of darkness!
Arthur judged that the move of all airborne activities from Writtle to Basildon in 1960 would take him too far from his sailing at Maldon, so transferred to Baddow. Writing software for Display and Data Handling Laboratories, he remained there until the mid-70s when because of a slump in contracts and staff reductions at Baddow, he transferred Basildon working in Allan Barrett’s team on the comms system for the AEW Nimrod.
In the 80s he retired early due to ill health, but, with his wife Maggie, remained very active. In his closing years he devoted himself to keeping him and Maggie, who he predeceased by only a few months, living independently at their home in Downs Road Maldon. They had no children.
Many of his former colleagues gathered at Chelmsford Crematorium on the 20th March 2006 to bid him farewell, and then afterwards at the Airadio reunion/wake at the Conservative Club in Chelmsford, at the invitation of his closest relatives.
Veterans lost and found
Throughout the year individual committee members have come across former employees who have either complained that they had had their long service presentation and Veterans tie some years ago and then no contact from the Association, or that communications from the Association had ceased at some time in the past. There are a number of reasons for these unfortunate situations, including failure of HR/Personnel departments to pass on details of the long service employees details to the association, and failure of Veterans to notify the secretary of a change of address. Whatever the reason, if you know of anyone in this sort of situation do urge them to get in touch with Barry Powell, or pass their details on to Barry yourself. The viability of the organisation depends on a healthy membership roll.
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Newsletter | Marconi Veterans Association
Marconi Veterans Association
Please click on the title Newsletter 2016 above to open the full document with the index and on any picture in this newsletter to open a larger image.
Peter Turrall, MVA Chairman
Essex Chronicle photograph
Following the presentation of an Honorary Degree of Technology at Anglia Ruskin University on Wednesday 7th October, Princess Elettra Marconi Giovanelli, the daughter of our founder Guglielmo Marconi, accompanied by her son and daughter-in-law Prince Guglielmo and Princess Victoria Marconi Giovanelli with hosts Chairman Peter Turrall and his wife Jean toured various establishments in the Chelmsford area which had some connection in the past to Marconi’s.
At a dinner on Wednesday evening at the University where the Vice Chancellor and learned Professors together with the directors of Anglia Ruskin were present, Princess Elettra thanked all concerned in honouring her with the degree which she accepted with great pleasure.
The following day a rapid tour took place. First stop was the Marconi building in New Street, now the home of Benefit Cosmetics, an American-based organisation selling various cosmetics in the UK. We were received here by Ian Marshall the MD and his staff who gave us an excellent tour of their building. The original front reception area together with the Edwardian staircase is still present, but the whole of the inside has been completely brightened with light walls/ceilings etc. The front offices depict many wireless set replicas and photographs and it was a real pleasure to see how much recognition of the work of Marconi’s has been displayed.
All the staff were anxious to know the history of the Company and what took place in the building. Photographs and more details of our history will be given to the Benefit company which they will gladly display in one of the rooms.
There is a number of modifications inside the building. The Directors’ Luncheon Club has been completely renovated and the partition at the rear where small dining rooms were situated, together with the kitchen area, has been removed. The rear area has been blocked off and a small entrance door adjacent to the old surgery has been installed. The area where the old organisation for travel arrangements and part of the photographic department is now one very large room.
My old office, once used by Marconi himself, is a reception area and on the wall various wireless sets are arranged. The whole organisation from MD down were delighted to see the Princess and are eager to learn more about the work of the Marconi Company.
The next visit was to All Saints Church Writtle where Princess Elettra saw for the first time the Marconi/Platt coloured glass window which was opened by her son some fifteen years earlier. Due to a broken ankle at that time she was unable to come to the UK herself to perform the opening ceremony. Following this was a visit to Melba Court Writtle where Marconi had his experimental laboratories and where work started on what became wireless broadcasting.
Then a quick visit to Chelmsford City Museum in Oaklands Park where all the Marconi equipment including cameras, and other communication items were on display. It was then a short journey to BBC Essex in London Road to visit the plaque depicting the opening of the Chelmsford Station by Princess Elettra’s Mother, Maria Cristina Marconi. A final trip to the Marconi statue at the rear of Chelmsford bus station ended the very quick tour of Chelmsford before the Marconi family were driven to Heathrow Airport for their flight back to Rome.
Please click on the title Newsletter 2015 above to open the full document with the index and on any picture in this newsletter to open a larger image.
Peter Turrall, MVA Chairman
New Street, January 2015
According to recent reports from our local newspaper The Essex Chronicle, Chelmsford City Council is contemplating changing the dozen or so large brown signs on all the entries to our county town of Chelmsford which state ‘Chelmsford the Birthplace of Radio’. These signs of course refer to our own Marconi Company and certainly make visitors and residents aware that history was made in this city many years ago.
The suggestion is for new signs to portray Hylands House, a good mile out of the city, which does not give any indication of Chelmsford’s major industrial past. It was Marconi and other major industries such as Hoffmann, Crompton, Clarkson and Christy who put Chelmsford on the map, fostering its development from a sleepy market town with a population of 30,000 citizens in the early 1900s, to a major industrial centre. This gave employment to thousands and a start to other enterprises to set up shops and offices to cater for the needs of an increasing population which has now reached nearly 200,000.
Already strong comments have been made by local residents and ex-Marconi personnel to both the city council and the local newspapers stating that the signs should cover Chelmsford’s industrial achievements especially as Marconi in Chelmsford was the start of worldwide wireless communications and other associated engineering achievements.
It is unfortunate that our city council does not highlight the industrial past of Chelmsford, which in itself, if portrayed correctly, is an enormous tourist attraction. Apart from the museum in Oaklands Park and, way out of the city, Sandford Mill, and a Marconi statue hidden behind the local bus station, there is nothing in the city centre illustrating the achievements of these world renowned organisations. It has been suggested to the city council that a kiosk giving information about local attractions of historical interest and where to find them could be sited opposite the Shire Hall in the city centre. At the moment this suggestion has not been acted on.
The Marconi New Street building, which has for over one hundred years been the centre point of all major visits to the company, is now in good shape having been modernised and the front gardens spruced up. This building will shortly be used by an unknown pharmaceutical company as their headquarters. To date it has not been possible to contact this organisation with the hope that the Marconi Veterans Association could utilise one of the areas to portray the history of the company and/or display some of the products manufactured in the original factory. (Photo taken on 29th January, just before four workmen in hard hats and grubby high-vis jackets together with a heavy load fork-lift carrying a mini-skip turned up at the front door)
I’ve had one or two unwished for problems in getting this issue off the ground. The main one was that I didn’t have a recording of the speeches at the 2014 reunion to refer to when compiling the report on page 10: unwisely, relying on there being one, I hadn’t made any notes. Up to the time of writing this they were missing from the website, but the full texts can now be found there. Given a fair wind the speeches will be recorded this year, but just in case, there will be a back-up plan.
The usual yearly situation with regard to supply of material. I report at committee meetings during the year that contributions have not been very forthcoming, and I don’t know if I’m going to have enough for a twelve pager, but then, when I get down to it in January I find that there is more that enough for fourteen or even sixteen. Sometimes however, as this year, an item will have to be held over until the following year.
You will see that a significant amount of space has been devoted to obituaries. I felt it appropriate to devote a full page to David Speake, such a prominent figure in the company story. He died very shortly before last year’s edition went to press and we could at that time include only the briefest of tributes. Page 12 is given over entirely to the appreciation from one of his Baddow colleagues, Laurence Clarke. Unfortunately, as anno domini bears on more and more of us it’s going to become increasingly likely that I have to decide whether or not to include a written tribute to a former colleague who has passed away, but I will have to guard against overdoing it.
As in previous years, a number of letters are from correspondents seeking information about former colleagues, for research into their family history, or for the preparation of articles, books, etc. If no contact detail appears with the letter then please direct your reply or any correspondence for the enquirer to: Barry Powell, Secretary, Marconi Veterans Association, 22 Juliers Close, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 7EP; 01268 696342; [email protected] – or to the editor, Ken Earney, 01245 381235; email: [email protected]
Certain items in this issue, particularly on this and the next page, are responses to letters or articles appearing in the 2014 edition which have already been posted during the last eleven months on the website. There is thus an inevitable but necessary duplication catering for those Veterans who have no possibility, or wish, to use the internet.
Finally note that, to avoid unnecessary repetition of the Association’s name in full, the initials MVA have in places been used.
Leslie Frank Cox
From Marie-Ann Capps, 15 December 2014
My grandfather Leslie Cox worked at the Marconi site in Chelmsford during 1939 to 1945. He never told us what his role was there and when he disappeared to London in 1945 there was apparently a warrant issued for his arrest and return to Marconi.
The Bodleian Library could not trace any employee records for my grandfather and suggested that, during that period, there may have been many external organisations using the Marconi works. This would mean that he may not have worked directly for Marconi but for some other entity.
Is there anyone who remembers him? He would have been in his late 20s/early 30s when he was there as he was some years older than my grandmother. I don’t really know much more than this apart from his name, Leslie Frank Cox, and that he lodged with the Crosier family in Brownings Avenue in Melbourne, Chelmsford during his time at Marconi.
I would be extremely grateful to you on behalf of my mother and her two sisters, as well as Leslie’s son, if you could point me in the right direction of being able to trace records of his time at Marconi. Thank you.
Would anyone who can help please contact the secretary at the address above.
The fish in the New Street cooling pond
VJ Bucknell, 17 March 2014
With reference to David Emery’s letter on page 3 of the last issue concerning the fish in the pond. These fish were originally in the large 30ft tank in Marine Test used for testing echo sounders. I believe there were originally three and they were put in the tank probably in the 1950s. When the tank was cleaned in the early 1970s they were moved to the pond beside Marconi Road.
VJ has also spotted an error in Peter Stothard’s article ‘Essex Clay’: the fifth paragraph on page 11 puts Frinton north of Walton-on-the-Naze. In fact, it’s south of Walton.
A Chain Home app from Bawdsey Radar
Eileen Dew, Secretary, Bawdsey Radar
[email protected]
If you are ‘smart phone enabled’ and interested in Chain Home then please try the new app from Bawdsey Radar. ‘RADAR Chain’ can be downloaded for free from App Store or from www.bawdseyradar.org.uk . RADAR Chain gives details of 63 Chain Home Stations around the UK with pictures and text wherever possible. We hope you find it interesting.
Post-war history of Great Bromley
LA Thomas, Swansea, 2 September 2014
I’m doing research work on the post war history of Canewdon and Great Bromley. During my time, I frequently consult the classified files at the Public Record Office at Kew. However, I write to you in the hope that some of the former Marconi radar people can assist me with some details of the post war history of Great Bromley. It appears from several files that during the late 1950s experiments were carried out at Bromley on a project codenamed Zinnia, a sort of over-the-horizon radar. I am uncertain of the outcome of these experiments and would be interested to hear from anybody.
Marconi Heritage websites
David Samways has created a website to gather input for the Marconi Old Fellows Society (MOFS) site so Alan Hartley-Smith has decided to do the same for the Marconi Heritage Group (MHG). The following are the URLs for these two sites:
https://sites.google.com/site/callingoldmarconipeople/
This is an extension of the Meet-and-Greet session held during last year’s Ideas Festival in Chelmsford so if you come across or are approached by anyone wanting to join in the quest to set up a Heritage Centre or donate material please give them this method of getting in touch.
John Iorwerth (Yorrie) Morse, Marconi Marine
From John Morse, 28 February 2014
John Iorwerth Morse
I am trying to trace my late father’s employment history, particularly during WW2. He continued to be employed by Marconi during this time (his was a reserved occupation), and I believe that he worked in Africa for at least part of this period, as a civilian in naval bases. I have no idea what he did or where he was stationed.
I understand that the Marconi archive is now at the Bodleian Library and I will contact them, but I wonder if any of your members might have any information or guidance.
John says that he has written to the Bodleian but has not yet had a reply to his letter, and so would obviously still like to hear from any Veteran who may be able to help in his enquiries. He mentioned in passing a photograph of his father which appeared in the book entitled ‘Marconi 1939 – 1945 – a war record’, published by Chatto & Windus in 1946. On the right is that photograph, which has the caption “He is Wireless Operator and, believe it or not, his name is Morse!”
Marconi WW1 deaths in service
Bernard de Neumann, MOGS posting, 31 August 2014
During WW1 348 Marconi staff sacrificed their lives. Presumably their names are all recorded appropriately, and steps will be taken to ensure that their memorial is safeguarded. Does anyone know where the memorial is currently located?
The first three staff to lose their lives in WW1 did so on 22 September 1914. They were each wireless operators aboard HMSs Cressy, Hogue, and Aboukir, three battle-class cruisers, which were patrolling in the outer Thames Estuary when they were sunk by torpedoes in quick succession by a single U-boat, U-9, with the loss of almost 1500 lives.
At the outbreak of war Marconi operators aboard merchant ships were taken up by the RN as their ships returned to the UK and put to service aboard warships, rapidly causing shortages of wireless operators in the merchant service. Thus I am not sure whether the above three Marconi men were likewise inducted into the RN.
Marconi wireless in WW1 – Tim Wander
Alan Hartley-Smith, MOGS posting, 30 July 2014
In view of the current national interest in all things related to the First World War I have put a comprehensive article on our Marconi Heritage website, written by Tim Wander, which shows how the technology developed and was used by all three armed services. You can read it here:
Marconi, Plessey, Ekco, etc in Essex
Bernard de Neumann, MOGS posting 16 May 2014
In my delvings into the connections/rivalries of the various electronics firms in the area I came across an interesting historical piece about the origins of these firms which is available for download from the University of East London website: https://www.uel.ac.uk/risingeast/archive07/academic/miranda.pdf
For those of you interested in such history it is well worth a read.
John Baker – Marconi Instruments
Arthur Foulser is trying to contact John Baker who worked at Marconi Instruments. If anyone can advise his current contact details would they please contact the secretary Barry Powell so that he can forward Arthur’s letter to John.
Marconi Monument on the Isle of Wight
Jonathon Butterworth, Needles Park, IOW 14 August 2014
I’m Jonathon Butterworth and I work on behalf of The Needles Park on the Isle of Wight. I am getting in contact because I stumbled across the Marconi Veterans website last night and I thought I should inform you that we have a monument to the great man on our grounds, I’m sure you are aware of the work he did at Alum Bay and that is what we’re commending. All the information about our monument can be found on our website ( http://www.theneedles.co.uk/marconi-monument.php ) – I just thought that it would be nice to share this with you and in turn you might want to share it with the visitors to your website.
Worth a visit because of its significance in company history, but be prepared to be disappointed by its location immediately adjacent to the visitor attractions of the Needles Park. Ed.
Some more aphorisms (hopefully not already used in earlier issues!)
Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
Shin, a device for finding furniture in the dark.
The colder the X-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
IT has spawned a huge growth industry – in selling manuals on how to use IT.
And welcome to 2015
Looking back, I realise that I have been Secretary for 10 years now and I must say that I have enjoyed every minute. The Marconi Veterans’ Association ‘office’ is a computer cupboard at one end of our kitchen so dependent upon permission from ‘er indoors (otherwise known as the Secretary’s Secretary). Careful negotiations have worked so far – long may they continue to do so.
And our new caravan is now sorted and we have had a season to smooth out any problems.
With regard to the subscription, we are pleased to maintain the rate at £6.00 per annum but, regrettably due to increased costs, we must, again, raise the cover price for the reunion to £25.00. I am sure that you will agree that this is still excellent value for a four course meal with tea/coffee and wine.
Please note that the date of the reunion is Saturday 18th April where our President will be Veteran Basil Francis who, for many years, was Chief of the Installation Drawing Office of Marconi Communication Systems at New Street, Chelmsford. Guest of Honour is Mr John Warwicker MBE who had a varied career as a Metropolitan Police officer and close protection officer to a number of prime ministers. He has also written a number of books covering his professional career. No doubt he will be giving an interesting talk on some of his many experiences.
Last year’s reunion (see report on page 10) passed off without any problems so I do not envisage any changes for this year.
With regard to the name tags, last year’s arrangements seemed to work quite well so we will, again, produce the name tags on A4 sheets which will be at the merchandise table so you can collect your label as you enter the hall. When you order your ticket, please indicate, in the box provided, how you would like your tag to read. The default will be to print your name as it appears on the first line of your address label.
I won’t bore you by repeating last year’s description of the arrangements for the reunion – suffice to say that, if you are still unsure or have any questions, please give me a ring. I am always happy to talk and can give you names of those Veterans who attended recent reunions.
If you know of an ex-Marconi employee who does not receive the newsletter please urge them to contact me as soon as possible. It may be that they have moved or not replied to a confirmation request of a few years ago or that they left with 21 to 24 years service and have now become Veterans by virtue of the reduction in service requirement to 21 years.
The ‘Friends of The Marconi Veterans’ Association’ has been set up to cater for anyone who does not qualify as a Veteran but wishes to be kept informed of things Marconi. Numbers are growing slowly with, currently, over 40 members and any more would be welcome. All three registers – the main register and those for In Memoriam and Friends – are now published on the website so please have a look if you can and let me know of any errors.
Please note that I may be contacted at the address below. Finally, I would like to wish you all a very prosperous 2015 and hope to see as many of you as possible either at the reunion on 18th April or the next Open Day at Sandford Mill on Saturday 25th April.
One final note – the 2016 Reunion will be on Saturday 16th April,
Barry Powell, Secretary, Marconi Veterans’ Association, 22 Juliers Close, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 7EP
Phone: 01268 696342 (answer-phone if we are out, please leave a message and I will ring you back)
Email: [email protected]
Geoff Bowles (l) with Nick Wickenden
Dr Geoff Bowles has now retired from the Chelmsford Museums Service after almost 25 years. Geoff, who was elected an Honorary Veteran at the 2013 Reunion, joined the Museums Service from Leicester in July 1990 as a Research Officer and progressed to become Curator of Science at Sandford Mill. During this time, he was largely responsible for setting up the Sandford Mill site and the educational activities it offers, and has done a lot to ensure the preservation and availability of Marconi equipment and documentation. He now intends to devote his time to a renovation project but does not rule out the occasional visit to Sandford Mill and, hopefully, the Veterans Reunion. We understand that Nick Wickenden is currently interviewing for Geoff’s replacement – he will be a hard act to follow! We send Geoff all our best wishes for a long and happy retirement.
David Griffiths
In a professional career distinguished by an outstanding ability recognised at a young age, David Griffiths gave invaluable service both to Marconi and to successive UK governments. Promoted to Commercial Manager at the age of 24, in 40 years career he served as Commercial Director and Company Secretary at Marconi and, latterly, BAE Systems. He was a protégée of the late Max Stothard ( 2014 newsletter, pages 1 & 11). His professional career spanned the Cold War, the collapse of Communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the digital revolution with its new implications for national defence and the precarious alignments of the War on Terror. After retirement from industry, he acted in an advisory capacity to the MOD, and sat on the MVA committee. He was committed to his work and greatly fulfilled by it.
From a Welsh background, although born in Reading and raised in West London, he was educated at Latymer Upper School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. His immediate forebears were miners; none had previously attended university or finished school. Paternal grandfather, James ‘Pop’ Griffiths, ran away to sea at the age of 14 and became a ship’s captain and later Mayor of Cardiff. He was deeply proud of family ties to Wales, and nautical family history inspired his own love of the sea and sailing; he loved the shining dunes of Ynyslas and Aberdyfi. In his spare time, he skippered several boats of his own, and in last two decades he sailed from Tollesbury Marina close to his Essex home.
David Griffiths was hugely committed to his work and until fairly recently he was engaged in meetings and travel across Europe, the Americas, Australasia and the Far East. He once said that because of his career, he had been to every country he had ever wanted to visit, except possibly Iceland, and he thought he could accept that deficit. He greatly enjoyed meeting a wide array of people in so many countries, forging many and lasting friendships in Marconi’s local offices at Chelmsford, Leicester and Frimley, as well with international partner companies in Rome, Montreal and Helsinki. He was enormously forgiving of others, getting the best from his colleagues by example and leadership. When ill-health forced him into a more sedentary lifestyle, he used on-line technologies to continue working as long as he could. He also embarked on substantial projects of amateur history, with a particular interest in the Second World War.
For more than twenty years he prevailed against deteriorating health, maintaining a wry sense of humour and determination and managing to joke about his condition until the end in October 2014. He is survived by his children, Joanna and Daniel, his former wife Susan who remained a close personal friend to the end of his life, and by two grandchildren.
Based on an edited version of the obituary which appeared in The Times last year.
Jim Cole
EF91 valve
Poking about at home the other day, I found this EF91 valve, complete with MWT box. When I started work as a junior engineer in the wooden huts at Writtle in 1952, these valves, together with a smaller version, the EF95, were the staple tool of the trade. We used them for everything, from VHF to audio. They had 6.3 volt heaters, B7G bases, and often were provided with an aluminium screening can.
We worked in what was known as the ‘end hut’ directly under the tower. Warmly remembered colleagues included Colin Lewis, Ken Johnson, George Otley and Rex Willet.
Later on, when I had returned to Writtle in 1954, after National Service, we moved into plush new laboratories, where every engineer enjoyed the luxury of his own desk and bench. A big change from the cramped wooden huts. Now all the talk was of transistors. Initially we used the OC70/71, a germanium transistor. Were they point contact devices? (No, junction – Ed.) They were prone to damage and failure even on the lab bench, let alone in service. We had little faith in them! Later, reliable silicon junction transistors became available, and we started serious transistorisation of all our new designs.
The third stage of my story occurred after I had left development in the mid-1960s. At Beehive Lane works, we manufactured the Myriad computer. This computer owed its high speed to the first use of integrated circuits. These were the DAT7 and DAT10, made by Ferranti. The degree of integration was very modest by later standards. Just two transistors and two diodes on one silicon chip. Nevertheless, they were ground-breaking at the time. The Myriad computers were very high speed, and found application in many real time applications, from power station control to weather forecasting. I think we made over 100, together with a variant marketed by English Electric Computers.
I expect many fellow Veterans across the Marconi Companies will have similar recollection of new technologies being introduced, perhaps prompted by these brief notes. In the 1950s and 1960s, I don’t think any of us had any idea that this transition from valves to transistors, and then to integrated circuits, would so quickly lead to millions of transistors on one small silicon chip, and to the high speed computing and communications which we now enjoy.
Graham Marriott
When I left grammar school I spent four years on a thin sandwich course at the City University. My sponsoring company was Standard Telephone and Cables (STC) at New Southgate. During the four years, when I was at the factory, I spent time in some of the following areas – the drawing office, the sheet metal shop and the printed board assembly area. Towards the end of the four years, I spent time in some of the development laboratories.
DC3 at Stansted
One of these areas was in developing radio altimeters. STC had its own Dakota (DC3) which was used to test the equipment and we flew from Stansted where the plane was based, sitting the equipment on one of the rear seats. On my first flight we flew out over the North Sea at about 1000 feet, just below some cumulus clouds. The heating was on and the tail of the aircraft was bobbing up and down in the disturbed air below the clouds: virtually all of us engineers on board had to visit the ‘little room’ at the rear of the aircraft, to relieve the discomfort in our stomachs!
(Did the CAA know about this?)
Radio altimeter equipment
After gaining my BSc in Electrical Engineering I spent a further year with STC as an engineer. The laboratory I was in was developing error correction circuits for teleprinter signals sent over HF radio links. The teleprinter code consisted of five bits. (This evolved from a code proposed by Baudot and eventually became the International Telegraph Alphabet No 2 (ITA2)). The signal from an HF link would introduce errors in the teleprinter information in terms of the bit values of a hole or space being changed, so to provide error correction, five parity bits were added to the original five code bits and sent over the link. The error correction circuitry could correct a single bit error and detect multiple bit errors. There were no microprocessors in those days so the system used integrated circuits. So began my introduction to a career in electronics and avionics that lead to a ‘tour of duty’ with Marconi.
At this stage of my career I had the idea of becoming a lecturer in a college or university so I tried to gain a research or higher degree. With a grant from the Science Research Council I joined the University of Surrey at Guildford. My research in solid state physics was carried out at Aldermaston. Firstly I investigated doping semiconductors by using ion implantation, then I looked at secondary electron emission. This research didn’t lead to a higher degree however so I decided to return to working in industry. Prior to joining the GEC group of companies I was working for RS Components (formerly Radio Spares) in the city. Having married in this period we had moved to Chelmsford when our first child was born. As I didn’t see much of my son due to the commuting I decided to try and gain a local job. At that time Chelmsford was almost known as Marconiville with many Marconi or GEC companies located in it. I didn’t manage to get a post in any of the Chelmsford companies: however I did land a job with Marconi Elliot Avionics Systems Ltd at Basildon. (I always called it Measles!)
So I started at Basildon in the Design Quality Assurance group in the Airadio laboratory in A Building. I remember Bert Holmes was one of the senior team members in this group. One of the first pieces of equipment that I worked on was the AD130. This was used in the Maritime Nimrod aircraft, and I was involved in the environmental tests on this and carrying out the reliability predictions for it. (These reliability predictions used a computer at the Research Laboratories at Great Baddow. The information was sent from Basildon via a teleprinter link. This took me back in remembering my time at STC on the error correction equipment).
Presentation by GEC of Silver Medal.
L to R Alan Maycocke; Doug Farthing ??; Graham Marriott; Sue Marriott.
Airadio also put me on a course to gain a City & Guilds in Quality Control. The course was held in Chelmsford at Marconi College and the course tutor was Alan Maycocke from Thurrock College. One of his students had been the top exam student winning the silver medal for the past few years. The rest of the class must have thought I looked intelligent as they turned to me and said, ‘go for it Graham’! So I did and I won the Silver Medal, and a cement company and a group of small trade unions gave me monetary prizes for winning. GEC also gave me a small monetary prize as well. I used these monetary prizes towards purchasing my first 12 string guitar which I still have. (Photo – Presentation by GEC of Silver Medal. From left Alan Maycocke; someone causing some perplexity – Graham thought it was Doug Farthing, but others disagree – can anyone put a name to this face please; Graham Marriott; Sue Marriott)
When I joined Airadio I was given the option of transferring to development, so I joined one of the development teams. During my time in development I did some preliminary work towards the Merlin helicopter avionics and a control unit for the radios in the Gazelle helicopter. Whilst working on this project I managed to cadge a flight in a Gazelle from Middle Wallop, during which I had a wonderful view of Salisbury Cathedral and the amazingly large grass airfield of Middle Wallop.
I then decided it would be great to work nearer to home and transferred to Marconi Radar at Chelmsford working under Brian Partridge. My section was responsible for the design and development of the large raster PPI displays for primary radar. I then worked in the project management team on the Bacchus project: this was a defence radar for Yugoslavia. It was interesting to reflect that when the Bosnia conflict arose I am sure the first thing the RAF did was to take out this defence radar. I sensed that contracts and work were running down at that time at Marconi Radars, so, like a ‘bad penny’ I returned to Basildon!
However this time I was recruited to the IT section in the Airadio Development laboratory rather than the development side. This involved looking after the Banyan Vines network that provided the inter-connection for all the PCs. In addition it involved looking after the Sun Solaris UNIX workstations. At that time PCs were so weak in terms of processing power that design work was done on the more powerful UNIX machines. During this time GEC sent me on quite a few courses. One was a Sun Solaris UNIX course which helped me on the next and final stage in my career. But I remember Don West who ran Airadio development asking me one day whether I was very busy at the moment. When I said that I wasn’t too heavily loaded, he put me on a ‘Compelling Presentation Course’. This taught one how to speak and use visual aids, but I never did use this for Marconi. However I like to think that has helped me in my preaching over the years in various churches. Well, I haven’t seen anyone nod off to sleep yet, so I must have picked up something from this course!
But with my UNIX and network skills, late in my career, I gained a job in Addison Wesley Longman at Harlow, who are part of the Pearson group of companies. Pearson is one of the largest publishing companies in the world, operating mainly in the educational field. They own the Financial Times and Penguin books amongst their many brands and titles. Working for a succh a company was very different to Marconi, particularly the flavour of the old Wireless Telegraph company days. The Pearson building was a modern five storey building, with, on the ground floor, a café open all day serving food, hot drinks and even alcohol! When I worked in development in Airadio at Basildon it consisted predominately of me. However in Pearson there were an equal number of men and women. Publishing also had a very different feel and atmosphere to an engineering company like Marconi.
Pearson primarily recruited me for my UNIX knowledge. However they began to phase out their UNIX systems and go over to Microsoft NT servers instead. So I was trained in networking skills based on Cisco routers and switches. In addition I also helped administer the Checkpoint firewall and the telephone system for the building. This period with them complemented my engineering knowledge gained with the Marconi companies, giving me a quite extensive knowledge of PCs and particularly networking. This proves invaluable in sorting out my broadband problems and those of my family and friends!
Airadio Ramblers in August 2014.
L to R; Derek Juniper; John Little; Dave Neylon; John Rendell; Len Briggs; Mike Hopper; Mike Rowe.
Having retired I have renewed my association with Marconi as I now go out walking with a small group of men from the Airadio Division of Marconi at Basildon. (We call ourselves the Airadio Ramblers). Every two weeks we go out into the Essex countryside or sometimes into Suffolk. Our walks vary on average between nine to twelve miles. It is great walking with the Airadio Ramblers not just for the walking but as a reminder of my time in the Marconi companies, particularly in the Airadio Division at Basildon. It was through this group that I was encouraged to join the Marconi Veterans Association.
Some time ago, prompted by a thread of the recollections of former Apprentice Training Centre trainees that ran over three or four bulletins on the MOGS forum (some of them were reproduced in the 2011 edition of the newsletter) a request was made to MOGS and to David Samways’ Marconi Old Fellows website for a photograph of the legendary Marconi Toolbox showing it still in daily use some 50 years or more after manufacture in the Apprentice Training Centre. Keith Thomas down in Oz got in touch recently and sent these two photographs. He says: “I had intended responding at the time but then forgot about it. Today, I was reminded again when servicing my recent restoration of a 1958 Triumph motorcycle and made sure that I didn’t forget for a second time!”
John M Brown
Ascension Island, South Atlantic.
Showing the desolate terrain of the satellite communications site.
In 1965, I was Chief of Systems in Bill Quill’s Special Projects Group, Radar Division, New Street: our principal focus at the time was compiling the company’s technical and commercial input to the Hughes International Consortium bid for the £110M Project, NADGE (NATO Air Defence Ground Environment). The consortium had its offices in Paris (where NATO was at that time), so all of us were travelling regularly to Paris for meetings. Our Divisional Manager was Dr Tom Straker, who also had been following with interest the progress being made with communication satellites operating in synchronous orbit, pointing the way to global communications. Many readers will recall the design and development of the three SCAT (Satellite Communication Air-Transportable stations) for UK MoD, project-managed by Alec Kravis, which had to operate with random-orbit satellites, and were built around this time.
Although Dr Straker knew I was heavily involved with the NADGE bid, he tasked me to seek out any openings for the company in this possible new market of satellite communication ground stations, having already participated in some of the military study work carried out by the Baddow Research Laboratories, Hughes, and British Aircraft Corporation, which ultimately led to the UK’s SKYNET, and to Marconi’s provision of the central ground station at RAF Oakhanger, Hampshire.
I had visited Dick Cannon, Cable & Wireless’ Deputy Engineer-in Chief, during July to see if they were contemplating becoming Earth Station operators; however, their board had considered that it was too early at present. A month later, on a Friday afternoon, Dr Straker received a telephone call from its Managing Director to tell him that NASA had asked them to provide an Earth Station on Ascension Island urgently, as part of the Apollo ‘man on the moon’ project. Bids were being invited, and the tendering time would be only three weeks. An initial meeting was held on the Saturday morning, and Dr Straker tasked me to be responsible for co-ordinating the Company’s tender; the technical documentation would be available on the Monday. Having distributed this to the key engineers, I went across to Bridge Works, the company’s printing plant to see Peter Bass, the Superintendent. As always, Peter was most helpful and agreed to accept the tight timescale, even though he was as busy as ever. I held the first meeting on the Tuesday: everybody was enthusiastic, and appreciated the importance of winning this prestigious contract.Our principal competitor was likely to be World Satellite Terminals, a consortium set up by GEC, AEI, Plessey, and STC. The next two and a half weeks were hectic, but the material flowed in and was passed through to Peter Bass, after editing by me. The cost estimates started to come together as well, as the designers settled on their preferred plans. I delivered the twelve sets of tender documents to Mercury House before the deadline of noon on 9 September, 1965. After Cable & Wireless’ scrutiny of the bids, including clarification meetings, a month later we received the momentous news that Marconi’s had won the contract. At his own personal expense, Dr Straker held a ‘thank you’ lunch at Marconi College, and invited everyone who had contributed to the successful bid, including Peter Bass who had printed the entire document
Implementation
The jetty at Georgetown where all the equipment was brought ashore.
The Marconi design was for a 42 ft parabolic reflector, fully steerable in both azimuth and elevation, mounted on a 15ft tripod gantry (the turntable and gantry being similar to those supplied to NATO for the Early Warning Chain). Because of the need for high reliability, the transmitters and receivers were duplicated. The shortness of the timescale and the remoteness of Ascension Island necessitated careful planning of the project between the equipment designers, the manufacturing organization, the installation planners, and Cable & Wireless Chief Architect’s Department who were responsible for the buildings, antenna foundations, and main power supply. Within Marconi, a special management team was formed, under Iain Butler, with overall responsibility for the complete project. As well as the Marconi factories, English Electric Accrington made a major manufacturing contribution to the project. Some idea of the achievements in production can be gauged by the fact that the entire station was put together for the first time at Rivenhall, seven months after the start of the project. This trial run proved invaluable since any snags could be cleared by the design engineers on the spot. Customer confidence was also established when the new station communicated through Early Bird, specially released to the Company on two occasions. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh also came to see the installation during tests.
The last petals going up to complete the dish in 1966.
In the picture are Don Reed; David Oliver; Dick Muir.
At the end of July 1966 the installation, having competed testing satisfactorily, was dismantled, carefully packed and crated and transported by a chartered ship from Harwich to Georgetown, Ascension Island. In early August a team of engineers departed from England for the island by a special charter flight to be ready to receive the equipment on its arrival. The speedy re-erection of the station was assisted by all the interconnecting cables between the antenna structure and the operations building being able to be dropped straight into prepared ducts, thereby eliminating the need to re-terminate cables, with all the inherent chances of faulty joints.
Completed earth station June 1967.
Picture by Richard Raikes, company Publicity Manager.
The station was satisfactorily commissioned and operationally demonstrated to Cable & Wireless using Early Bird, and handed over on 19 September, 1966, just eleven months from the commencement of the project. Thanks to the full steering capability of the antenna, the station was the first to lock-on, track, and communicate using the errant INTELSAT II Pacific satellite which had failed to achieve synchronous orbit, and was following a 12-hour elliptical orbit. Clear speech was transmitted from Ascension to Andover, Maine using the satellite. Perhaps the most significant achievement for the UK was that the Ascension Island station was the first to become operational in the Apollo network, although it was the last station to receive a contract to proceed.
Right, in June 1967, this photo of the completed satellite communications earth station on Ascension Island was taken by Richard Raikes, then the company’s Publicity Manager, when in Ascension on the C&W visit.
Jim Cole
This photograph was taken around 1935 at Cable & Wireless headquarters on the Victoria Embankment. At the time, C&W were the Marconi parent Company. The engineer operating the scanning equipment is my late father, AW Cole, who much later became Manager of MWT’s Communications Division. He had joined the Marconi Company in 1920, direct from school aged 14 as a telegraph messenger. He obtained technical qualifications through study at evening classes, and courses at Marconi College, and was appointed to the technical staff in 1927.
Pictures by Wireless
A W Cole operating the scanning equipment ca 1935
He became involved in developing the technology for the commercial transmission of pictures by wireless between the USA and the UK. This required collaboration with RCA, and visits to New York sailing across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary.
The system involved a scanner. The picture to be transmitted was wound round a drum, driven at 60 rpm by a motor, and a photocell mounted on a scanner head and driven the length of the drum by a lead screw. Reception was achieved by using the same system in reverse to expose a photographic film.
Early photographs, just black and white, were ill defined, but quite soon the pictures were good enough to be reproduced in newspapers, with the credit ‘pictures by wireless’.
Since the only other practical method of getting pictures across the Atlantic was by ocean liner, taking 2 to 3 days, ‘pictures by wireless’ was a major innovation.
I think it is uncanny to reflect that, now, many of us have our own scanners and printers at home, and we can send and receive pictures (colour pictures even) to and from all over the world.
The 78th annual Veterans Reunion took place on the 5th April 2014. Our President at the reunion and for the past year has been Mike Thornton. The Guest of Honour was Ray Hagger, formerly with Shell Mex and BP, subsequently a specialised training organisation and also a Pensions Liaison representative.
The toast to the President was proposed by MVA Chairman Peter Turrall MBE. In his introductory remarks he noted that Mike joined MWT in 1956 and has served in a variety of roles in Airadio at Basildon, travelling widely on company business initially in product support and then progressing through sales, marketing and divisional managerial roles, culminating in the position of managing director of Basildon site. He retired from that position having served the company for 39 years.
In responding to the toast, Mike Thornton opened by saying it was somewhat difficult to know where to start his address, but he knew he had only seven minutes and thirty seconds to deliver it!
He reflected on the evolution of the avionics capability with the Marconi Companies over the years. In the early 50s and 60s Airadio Division achieved much success in the development and marketing of Doppler navigation systems, initially classified projects for the UK military, and radio navigation and communication equipments, at a time when the divisional capability was split geographically: engineering and product support based at Writtle in a collection of wooden huts (one of them the original 1922 2MT hut), divisional management, contracts and commercial departments at New Street and production at the Skating Rink in Chelmsford. This configuration continued through the fifties until new buildings were completed at Basildon when the full divisional team could be brought together as Airadio Division.
The products were widely installed on many aircraft, both at home and overseas. They were among the first systems in the world to use transistors in the aircraft environment, and formed the basis of a radio guidance system for the world’s first blind landing installations on the Trident and VC10 aircraft of BEA and BOAC. An exciting period with the development of new aircraft and the introduction of jet engines, and the challenges for aircraft radio installations that these entailed. New concepts brought their own problems to be solved. Many test flights were undertaken during this period by both development and product support engineers to ensure that optimum performance was achieved. Exciting yes, but hitting an 11,000 volt overhead cable at 40 feet with the rotor blade of a Westland helicopter whilst testing a Doppler system can be just a little too exciting!
In 1960 the move of the whole team to a new purpose-built facility at Basildon was completed. The management structure remained unchanged, with the divisional manager reporting to the MWT Managing Director, the division continuing to use many of the MWT central facilities at Chelmsford. This situation lasted until 1967, when, in very short order, English Electric bought Elliott Brothers (with its own well established avionics business), then GEC bought that new group including Marconi’s from English Electric. In two years the avionics business was reporing to the Elliott Bros headquarters at Rochester, within a new company Marconi-Elliott Avionics under MD Wally Patterson. Over these years the day-to-day liaison between Basildon and New Street virtually disappeared.
The defence market brought challenges from increased overseas competition. To meet it the total GEC-Marconi expertise had to be concentrated on new technology, for both ground and airborne systems. But before this policy could be implemented GEC sold the defence business to BAE systems, and the Basildon divisions were included in that sale.
The electro-optical divisions were by this time contracted to supply thermal imaging systems to UK and US defence services, the total Basildon business was almost totally defence-oriented and the sale to BAE was probably a wise move. As we now know, that business was then sold by BAE to Finmeccanica whose affiliate UK company Selex ES employs over 4000 people in the UK and whose headquarters in the UK are based at Basildon. They fully acknowledge their success is related to their Marconi history.
The Chairman then introduced the Guest of Honour Ray Hagger, a long-standing friend of our President. From the early 1970s he worked in the UK for Shell Mex and BP, in the marketing arm of Shell, mainly in commercial and industrial sales, principally in retail, especially marketing and project management, culminating as Head of Retail Management Training. After leaving Shell he worked with a specialised training organisation delivering a staff/management communication package to HMRC before finally renewing the connection with Shell as a Pensions Liaison representative.
Ray Hagger developed the theme of the Communications Revolution. Mobile phones and other hand-held electronic devices – e-readers, iPods, iPads – that enable world-wide personal communications, teleconferencing, the operation of social media services like Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and then online shopping and so on – these would have been unthinkable back in the ‘40s. They have brought about a more informed and open global society. Space exploration has enabled this – consider its impossibility of these examples without satellites, GPS etc. One current instance – the Rosetta spacecraft mission to put the lander Philae on the surface of comet 67P – highlights the essential role of radio communictions in all of this, the brainchild of Guglielmo Marconi, the immigrant entrepreneur, whose belief, tenacity, and passion for scientific discovery made imagination into reality. A true Champion of Science.
These are heavily edited versions of the speeches, the full texts of which can now be found on the MVA website. Ed
David Whiting
From left back row: sixth Peter Whitnall; seventh Quinton Bullard; ninth Brian Bolton.
Second row: first John Everett.
Third row: seventh Martin Bates; eighth David Whiting.
Front row: third Ron Farrell
I shared a flat in a very nice house on Danbury Common with Pete Whitnall, Quinton Bullard, Brian Bolton, John Everett and Martin Bates, they all, and Ron Farrell, came to my wedding in ‘63. Ed.
While searching a possible Grundy relative I fell on your internet site: http://www.marconi-veterans.org/?p=1552&page=24 which refers to an editorial note under the article by Cyril Taylor about his RAF Yatesbury days – see page 14 of the 2012 newsletter. That paragraph reads:
“Another coincidence. After the time when Cyril Taylor was testing AD107s at New Street, I was servicing AD107/114s from our Comet 4s in the Radio Servicing Section at RAF Watton in Norfolk. I can also remember having a visitation from two Marconi Field Support engineers (I later found out they were Eddie Ratcliffe and Phil Flowerday) whilst I was in one of the aircraft, out on the airfield, investigating a problem of tripping supply circuit breakers on the system. It transpired that the diameter of the trunking installed for the cooling air supply was inadequate.”
After leaving school I had wanted to join the RAF and fly as both my father and stepfather had done. P/O JM Whiting, my father, was killed with his crew when their Lancaster from 630 Squadron was shot down over Denmark returning from dropping sea mines in Kiel Bay on the night of 21-22 May 1944. Following the telegram that the Lancaster was missing, my mother later wrote to the recently retired Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding in the hope that he might have avenues of research to discover the fate of my father. They met to discuss the matter, and later on they married. Hugh Dowding bought me up during my school days. However, the prospects of flying with the RAF were not for me, as I’m colour-blind, so Dad said he had contacts with Ferranti in Scotland and the Bristol Aeroplane Co in Filton. Scotland seemed a very long way from our home in Tunbridge Wells, so I went to Bristol in 1957 to start a 5-year apprenticeship. In around late 1959-60 I transferred to Marconi Chelmsford to specialise in electronics, staying first at the Marconi student hostel. On completion of my training I was offered a staff position with the Aeronautical Division, Basildon, in preparation to be the resident engineer at London Heathrow airport for the introduction of the AD2300 and later the AD560 Doppler navigation systems. (See http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%200924.html )
Dummy shot of DW putting an AD560 unit into a Boeing 707. In reality the unit was accessed from the freight bay on the starboard side under the galley.
The workshop manager at Heathrow was Jo Grundy, who lived near Croydon. My paternal great-grandmother was a Grundy I have recently discovered. The other resident engineer was Phil Flowerday. He left and went to work with Cossor Electronics I think in the late 1960s.
I wonder if you have any contacts with Marconi people who were based at Heathrow around 1963?
David Speake died during preparation of the last newsletter so it was not possible to do him justice. The following is an edited version of the tribute paid at his memorial service in Shenfield by Laurence Clarke, a former Marconi colleague.
David Speake
Reflections on David’s professional life remind me of that of my father, who also lived into his 90s after a long research career and was to me a beacon of wisdom. David often reminded me of him when I was in difficult situations. Speaking at a Memorial Service so long after the professionally active time inevitably stretches the memory.
David had a long and productive professional life – so long that it is not really possible for one person to speak of it from beginning to end. His early work after the services in the war, running a physics group at Marconi Research before moving to research management, is unknown to me. Talking with one of his few remaining colleague of the time I learned that he already showed the helpfulness and understanding which I think characterised his life. From personal knowledge I can only cover the last 47 years since English Electric took over Elliott Automation shortly followed by the major revision of the UK electrical industry by GEC. These events brought us to work alongside each other in a number of ways. It means that I cannot refer to individual professional projects where David was successful. However I suspect that his more significant contribution to the field of electronics came from the way that he managed the transition from the world of Marconi to that of GEC, not only at Baddow but in the group as a whole.
David was a gentleman, in every sense of the word, who found himself thrust into the rather brutal business world of Arnold Weinstock – so very different from the steady, conservative and dare one say, comfortable, control of Lord Nelson and Bob Telford. He was running a major and well respected Research Laboratory at Baddow and as the Marconi Technical Director, overseeing the work of Marconi as a whole – work which was, in many ways leading the world. However in the new GEC empire there were other groups with claims of competing, groundbreaking work and this must have made life very difficult. Each of those projects had their dedicated teams who genuinely thought that they were doing the ‘right’ thing, and fought vigorously to maintain their independence. David calmly met the challenge seeking the best, and most efficient ways forward to achieve the overall aims without, as far as I know, riding roughshod over any of the parties.
It was not only Arnold Weinstock who introduced a ‘brutal’ financial regime. Industry as a whole was being controlled far more by the accountants and by Stock Exchange reputations. The old hierarchical structures of privilege for the bosses were on the way out. Perhaps the most extreme example of this to which AW put a stop, was the case where a company’s Managing Director kept his dog under his desk in the office and under the table in the board’s private dining room (I hasten to add that this was not in a Marconi company,).
Computers, arising to a great extent from the code breaking efforts at Bletchley Park during World War II, began to cause a major disturbance to established ways of working. One only has to look around today to see that with the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, we were only at the very beginning of a revolution which would have a major effect on the lives of everyone and not just the electronics industry.
Not surprisingly all the major elements of the new GEC complex had seen this as a field in which they should take a share. In the public eye this seemed to be entirely concerned with stand-alone machines used for business purposes. The Weinstock exercise rapidly resulted in the many GEC bits being merged into the growing ICL
However the central part which computers and digital electronics would play in all GEC Marconi’s traditional fields was less acknowledged. Radar, Avionics, Battlefield and Naval Command and Control systems were all becoming increasingly dependent on computers of one sort or another – and in each of these fields GEC found itself with multiple activities in dispersed locations and again, each quite sure that they had the ‘right’ approach. David’s direction was again called for in resolving many of these situations.
This all took place more than 30 years ago and David’s retirement was on the horizon, but the government was recognising that the spread of R&D effort in the country – industry, universities and government laboratories – was inevitably counterproductive in competition with the USA and Japan, and should, if possible, be pulled together. A major collaborative venture, the Alvey Project, was formed with substantial funding from government matched by industrial contributions. Having assisted in the management of the project as the monitor on several projects, towards the end of the project in 1986, David became a member of the Steering Committee enabling him to bring to bear his experience of GEC overlaps and difficulties forming collaborations with particular reference to a possible follow-on project. He became the right hand man of Sir Austin Bide, then Chairman of Glaxo, the man charged with formulating proposals. Sadly a change of government meant that the spotlight had moved in other political directions, and that follow-on did not materialise.
So David steered a path from the almost pre-war environment of Marconi in the 1950s to a position well on the way to the digital world he left, exerting his calm consideration to all who needed help – a rare quality.
Michael Simpson, Tucson, Arizona, USA ([email protected]) – 2 November 2014
Marconi Searchlights
I don’t know if it is appropriate to ask this of you, but I would like find information on two Marconi searchlights I have recently purchased. I am trying to restore these magnificent items, which seem to be prototypes produced at Leicester England. One of the boxes also references ‘LE McAllister Control Engineers’. You may follow the link below to see documentation of efforts so far to restore them to working condition: one was working briefly, but is no longer.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?345748-1-000-Watt-Marconi-Radar-Systems-Military-Short-Arc-Searchlights
Please excuse me if I have submitted this request inappropriately but I would be ever so grateful for any assistance you could provide. I would like to ask if any of the Marconi Veterans remember this prototype project, and if they have any recollections about the history of the lights, their intended use, details of how and when they were manufactured, or any technical data about the project. I believe they may have been made around the late 1980s or the 1990s, but I am not sure.
Thank you kindly for taking time to read this request, and if you have any ideas about sources of information on these wonderful pieces of history, I would be most grateful.
Reply from MVA Secretary Barry Powell, 2 November 2014
These searchlights seem, from the markings, to have been made at the Leicester Factory of Marconi Radar Systems Ltd. From the photographs, I can see a part number SS1573 for the starter – this would translate to a drawing number S-**-1573. If you could find a similar identity label for the entire assembly, it should give the type/drawing number. Otherwise, the drawing for the starter should have a ‘used on’ entry which would enable you to track up to the overall identity.
I would recommend that you contact The Bodleian Library in Oxford who now hold the Marconi Archives – contact is a Mr Michael Hughes – [email protected]
Some information may still be held by BAE Insyte who are the current incarnation of Marconi Radar Systems and I am copying this reply to a member of our committee who works there, and we will post your enquiry on our website and publish it in our newsletter, forwarding any replies to you.
Best wishes for a successful project.
(There are numerous photos showing close-ups of the details of the lights and suggestions concerning possible uses on the referenced forum page. A number of posts suggest a military aircraft application. Ed)
Alan ‘Matty’ Matthews MOGS posting, 27 July 2014
Prompted by recent mention in the forum of the possible origins of Air Commodore Ted ‘Daisy’ Sismore’s nickname (he died on 22 March 2012 – Telegraph obituary at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/9181831/Air-Commodore-Ted-Sismore.html is an excellent resumé of his life and achievements) Alan ‘Matty’ Matthews posted this on the MOGS forum on the 27th July 2014.
Air Commodore Ted Sismore
I have probably told this story before, but sometime in the early seventies I went to the Paris Air Show from Southend in a 12-seater twin light aircraft with a group which included John Crispin (complete with red silk lined cloak), Barry France I think and Ted Sismore, who I did not know very well, but was my boss several levels up. I was in sales at a fairly junior level, but think I was probably taking Fred Kime’s place for some reason.
When we got into the plane Ted asked the young pilot if he would mind if he sat with him up front. “Fine” said the pilot, and off we went. But when we landed at an airfield near Paris, the pilot said to some of us: “Who was the old guy who sat with me on the way here – he seemed to know every church, road, bridge and other feature in France, and knew quite a bit about flying?”
So we said: “He was an RAF Air Commodore and had the reputation of being the best navigator in the RAF during the war and was also a top pilot with multiple DFCs.”
The pilot was horrified that his efforts had been seen by such an eminent flyer and asked if we could make sure Ted travelled in the back on the way home – though I am sure any of Ted’s comments, if any, would have been kind ones.
On the way back, in France, John Crispin stopped the bus and bought many cases of wine to take home and these were packed into the big boot at the front of the aircraft. It must have exceeded our duty free allowance many times over but John with his impressive scarlet lined cloak managed to convince the Customs men that the cargo was legitimate and we later shared ‘the spoils’.
Eric Walker, for all his Marconi career an Airadio man, died on the 19th December 2014. The newsletter has carried two articles by him, one entitled ‘What’s the rate of exchange for kudos’ in the 2007 edition and ‘Life in the 50s and 60s at Writtle’ last year. Two colleagues closely associated with him during his time, Ray Walls and John Rendell, have penned this appreciation of his career.
Eric Walker
Eric Walker joined Marconi’s in September 1950 as a Graduate Apprentice. His apprenticeship involved time at sheet metal, the drawing office school, commercial offices and finally a five month course at the Marconi College in Chelmsford.
With this experience he was posted in September 1951 to the development activity of the Aeronautical Division at Writtle where he joined a section of some nine engineers led by Geoffrey Beck. The task of this section was to take the design of an airborne navigation equipment that had started at Marconi Research at Baddow, and bring it to production. The project, using Doppler principles, enabled an aircraft to determine its speed and thus position without the use of ground aids. It was classified Secret and was given the codename Green Satin. Eric worked on the tracker unit that analysed the returns from microwaves beamed to the ground.
Some later flight trials of the developed equipment were made in a Canberra aircraft at Warton aerodrome in 1955. Eric gave on-site support monitoring the equipment and the results.
In the 1960s he led a team in the development of a transistorised Doppler sensor that was designed specifically for military helicopters. Eric liaised closely with RRE Malvern who was effectively the Design Authority. The requirement was more complex in that the system had to work down to zero altitude and at hover speeds, forwards, backwards and sideways. It was fitted to the Royal Navy Wessex 3 and the German Navy Sea King helicopters.
Then, in 1978, the Airadio business was divided into two divisions: Airadio Products and Airadio Systems. Eric was appointed Manager of the Airadio Systems Division.
This division was established to manage the development, manufacture and procurement of a communications equipments intended for the AEW Nimrod aircraft. The comms system was required to provide the flight crew and onboard tactical systems operators with automated access to intercom facilities and the various radios necessary to fulfil their mission role. A full-scale aircraft cabin simulator was set up at Basildon to test and demonstrate the system. Portable ground stations were supplied to support flight trials of both communications and radar systems. This was a multi-facetted programme with complex contractual and technical working relationships with the customer, other GEC Marconi companies, major US based sub-contractors and BAE, the airframe manufacturer. Eric successfully managed this challenging programme and despite eventual cancellation of the overall project it was acknowledged that the communications system had met its design and performance goals.
Under Eric’s leadership Airadio Systems Division continued to prosper, with a series of contracts awarded for the supply of secure communications systems destined for installation in a wide range of RAF aircraft and Navy helicopters. All of this was accomplished at a time of ever changing government procurement policies and internal company restructuring. Despite these responsibilities Eric always managed to make time for his golfing, badminton and horticultural interests. Many working relationships were enhanced both within the company and with our customers by his enthusiasm for these activities.
Lady Betty Telford
It is with great regret that we announce the death of Lady Telford, better known to all of us as Betty, wife of our late Marconi Company chairman and former MVA President Sir Robert Telford. She died in hospital in early December following a short illness having broken her leg during a fall at home.
Many Marconi personnel attended her funeral at Rettendon Church on 15th December 2014 where many tributes were paid for her achievements and support of Sir Robert, her prowess in sporting activities and her ability in playing bridge.
Betty will be sorely missed as she was a loyal supporter of The Marconi Veterans Association.
We report the death of those Veterans notified to the secretary from the copy date of the last newsletter to the 31st January 2015 We extend our sympathy to the families of those mentioned.
The death of all these Veterans has been reported at various times throughout the year on this website
FH Austin, RL Awcock, Mrs D Bateson, DG Beech, SC Beedie, J Bradley, HM Chandler, SC Church MBE, MJ Coombe, RE Cornhill, AS Dodd, GS Dunn, AV Forwood, PE Foulds, CJ Greenham, JK Gregory, RG Greygoose, DM Griffiths, PW Gurton, DE Hart, TF Heaton, PJ Humphrey, JA Jason, TH Kendall, RE King, AW Lamb, CG Marshall, Mrs FA Marshall, Mrs JR Mason, JW Milligan, JR Moody, PB Moore, J Nicol, CS Owen, E Pearson, ET Perkins, A Peters, Mrs C Pye, A Rayner, JC Ryley, GD Speake OBE, G Stevens, RF Taylor, Lady E Telford, TN Tisdall, RH Vanstone, JE Viles, EG Walker, RC Willis, RA Wood, V Wood, R Wray.
Newsletter 2014
Peter Turrall, MVA Chairman
Please click on the title Newsletter 2014 above to open the full document and on any picture in this newsletter to open a larger version.
Over the last nine months considerable work by the owners Bellway Homes has taken place on the Marconi Communication Systems site at New Street Chelmsford. All of the factory building has been completely demolished as well as Building 720 (the one with the wavy roof) and also the four storey building of Marconi House. The latter was riddled with concrete cancer and there was no real possibility of this remaining without extensive and costly improvements. (The accompanying aerial view was taken on 5 May 2013 by Alan Batchelor, who worked with Ted Pegram on HF Radar during the 1980s. On that date Marconi House was still standing.)
The only remaining buildings are the power house and the water tower, the latter being camouflaged in WW2 to resemble a church. The developers have just submitted plans to Chelmsford City Council for extra windows and doors to be fitted to this building. Its future use is unknown: at one time there was the possibility of an arts centre being established here, but as far as we know this has not been confirmed.
The site where the factory and other buildings were situated is now full of machinery, very high piles of earth and deep holes filled with water. In due course building foundations will be installed but it does appear this is some way off.
The front building, which has a preservation order on it, has been extensively improved, both externally and internally. The external appearance looks excellent and the gardens in front have been planted with miniature trees and other shrubs. This building will become the headquarters of the developers and already flags on our old flagpoles and other boards announcing future houses and buildings have been erected. It is hoped that the Marconi Veterans Association will be able to discuss at some future date the possibility of having some of our manufactured equipment on show within this complex, and also recording the work which was carried out here for over one hundred years.
The blue plaque which announced that Marconi the Father of Wireless had his factory on this site is still in place at the front of the building and small boards with photographs are there to advise the public of the work carried out and the importance of the industry in the City of Chelmsford.
Marconi Veterans’ Association will continue to have discussions with the developers in an effort to keep alive at the site the importance of the Marconi name, the place where the manufacture of some of the worlds finest electronic equipment occurred, and to recognise that this was the site of the first commercial broadcast by Dame Nellie Melba in the 1920s.
Not a lot of new material has come in over the last twelve months, so I’ve needed to call up two backlog items which both occupy two pages each. The backlog is now all but exhausted. Interesting and relevant photos are in also in short supply. Ideally, I should have a better mix of the shorter items, those of around 400 to 500 words in length, to leaven those long pieces, together with some pictures of course, so it’s up to you, fellow veterans.
One of the longer pieces, ‘Essex Clay’, is a beautiful piece of writing by someone who is not a Marconi Veteran. Sir Peter Stothard, a former editor of The Times from 1991 to 2002, is currently editor of the Times Literary Supplement. He is the son of Max Stothard, a well-known Baddow engineer: the family lived on the Rothmans Estate – the ‘Marconi patch’ – in Great Baddow during the 50s and 60s. The article, on page 10, is an extract from Peter Stothard’s memoir ‘On the Spartacus Road’ and describes his boyhood years on the Rothmans estate.
It was first published in Granta Issue 109, Winter 2009: Work. (www.granta.com)
As in previous years, a number of letters are from correspondents seeking information about former colleagues, for research into their family history, or for the preparation of articles, books, etc. If no contact detail appears with the letter then please direct your reply or any correspondence for the enquirer to:
Barry Powell,
[email protected]
or to the editor, Ken Earney, 01245 381235; email [email protected]
Certain items in this issue, particularly on this and the next page, are responses to letters or articles appearing in the 2013 edition which have already been posted during the last eleven months on the website. There is thus an inevitable but necessary duplication catering for those Veterans who have no possibility, or wish, to use the internet.
Note that, to avoid unnecessary repetition of the Association’s name in full, the initials MVA have in places been used.
Finally, apologies to David Emery, VJ Bucknell and Eric Walker whose contributions should have appeared in last year’s edition.
Farnborough Air Show 1952
Eric Walker, 28th February 2012
The photograph on page 13 of the 2012 newsletter reminded Eric Walker of a similar visit two years earlier.
On 6 September 1952 my wife Ann and I boarded a coach full of Marconi people to go the Farnborough Air Show, which was then a yearly event. They were exciting meetings with many new aircraft on display for the first time. It was organized by the SBAC (Society of British Aircraft Constructors) and the RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment). With so many new and experimental aircraft there were bound to be accidents.
In those days there was no ban on sonic booms and aircraft were allowed to fly over the masses of aircraft enthusiasts. To finish his display, John Derry flew his de Havilland DH110, a twin-engined fighter designed at Hatfield, straight and low at the crowd on the hill. The plane broke up into pieces, the fuselage fell onto the runway just short of the crowd barrier and the 2 engines ‘flew’ together, with a cloud of bits dropping off. I shouted out “He’s broken-up!” grabbed Ann and dropped to the ground. The engines flew over and crashed into the crowds behind us. Many were killed and more injured, including some Marconi people. We were unhurt, just shocked, as were many others. John Derry and his colleague Tony Richards perished. These things happen.
East Ham Palais de Danse
From Doug Paynter, 12 August 2013
I first became acquainted with the East Ham Palais de Danse when I started my secondary education at Wakefield Central School at the age of eleven. It was a large building with a magnificent sprung maple floor and ornate balcony. The main use of the building was as a dance hall although other activities took place. Next door to the Palais was the Congregational Church and one of my memories is of those far of days when as a teenage church enthusiast, I was privileged to take an afternoon service from the pulpit. I can remember the vicar finishing his sermon and I had to announce the next hymn. At that moment the band next door (Sydney Anderson?) started to play ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ as sung by Judy Garland in the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’. My foot was tapping to the foxtrot when I found myself initiating the hymn and the organ sprang into life, completely drowning the music next door. At the time I was not sure this was an improvement! Other events that took place at the Palais included marathon dances when couples competed for the longest survival. This was featured in a film starring Jane Fonda called ‘They shoot horses don’t they?’
On the outbreak of war I left the district. In 1956 I was recruited by Sir Eric Eastwood to join Marconi Research at Great Baddow. During my early days at Baddow I had to visit Marconi Marine at East Ham and on arrival I was amazed to find it was situated in the old Palais de Danse which was exactly as I remember it, the dance floor appeared to be unchanged, the balcony still ornate with red velvet pillars but used as a store for marine comms equipment.
The Established Designs Group Xmas Dinner 1964
From VJ Bucknell, March 2012
This letter provides further information about some of the missing names in the caption to the photo on page 11 of the 2011 edition.
Mike Southall is sitting on the left-hand side of the table, and is the 4th person along from the left (ignoring R Rodwell). Sitting next to him is a lady who was a draughtswoman in the DO (sorry, I’ve forgotten her name). Next to her I believe is Les Saunders. Bill Garvey is in the front of the picture next to our secretary Carole. The surname of the person seated to her left was I believe Chowdri. He was attached to Established Designs for a short while. I recognise many of the other faces but their names have left me.
Leonard Whitworth Stephenson
From K Douglas, Montreal Canada, August 2013 and amended January 2014
I was delighted to learn on-line of your association and to see mention of a distant relative, Leonard Whitworth Stephenson (1881-1970), amongst the list of deceased veterans.
As part of my family research, I have been particularly intrigued by LW’s immigration to Canada. A passenger list indicates that an LW Stephenson left Liverpool for Montreal on 14 June 1907, and I do think that this must be Leonard Whitworth, though no age or occupation is given. Information links him first possibly with Marconi in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and then to the West Coast by 1912, and then, working as a government engineer, helping to establish various coastal wireless stations. He apparently retired in 1945. The last record I had found of him in England was his listing in the 1901 Census as a 19-year-old electrician, boarding in Chelmsford.
Do you hold records about individuals? And, if LW Stephenson belonged to your association, might there be any mention of his participation? (Incidentally, he seems to have visited Britain in 1919, marrying in 1922 in Victoria, BC)
The secretary replied:
The 1904 date in our records relates to the date of joining a company within the Marconi family. To qualify as a Veteran at that time, he would have had to serve for 25 years or more so would have been employed up to 1929 or beyond.
The only other information that we have is that his entry in the register was last amended in 1992 – this is usually when we are advised of a Veteran’s passing (it is quite common for this to be several years later).
There may well be service records within the Marconi Archives which are now held by the Bodleian Library under the care of Mr Michael Hughes. I would suggest that you email your request to Mr Hughes at [email protected] – we have generally found him to be very helpful.
Mrs Douglas replied:
Curiously (with reference to the 25 year requirement for Veterans) from my research so far, I have found LW listed as a Canadian Federal government employee in ‘Sessional Papers for the First Session of the Twelfth Parliament of the Dominion of Canada’, 1911-1912 (on-line). He worked for Wireless Stations/Building & Maintenance’, as ‘engineer, salary, 3 m to March 31st at $125’. I’ve also found him mentioned in similar but full-time employment in 1925 and 1926, I hope to consult further such records in our National Archives in Ottawa later this month.
There are, however, gaps for LW in the Victoria Directories and Voter’s lists, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, so perhaps LW, having retired from government work in 1945, left Victoria and did further work for Marconi at that time…
Hopefully I shall learn more as I look at other resources, and look forward to seeing your up coming newsletter.
Marconi Football Club in the 60s
From David Emery, 4 March 2012
I believe I know the identity of one of the unknown men in the second Marconi Football Club photograph (page 15, 2012 newsletter). Standing at the back with jacket and tie, third from the left, is my grandfather Reg Turner.
He joined the company in 1929 and initially worked in stores at New Street. He later worked in planning, progress, at Rivenhall (where he was superintendent), Widford and finally again at New Street as an invoice clerk with E Buck. He left on 21 November 1975. I think he was associated with the Sports and Social Club, which may explain why he appears in the photograph.
Little did I know that many years later I would follow in his footsteps when I started work at what was then Marconi Radar at Eastwood House in 1996.
I also have a question to ask – does anyone know when the fish first appeared in the cooling pond beside Marconi Road in the New Street works? Despite all the sad decay, the fish are still alive – I saw them only last week. They may be the only occupants to celebrate 100 years of the site.
That was nearly two years ago. Now, in January 2014, the cooling pond is no more.
David also sent in an enquiry via the website last March concerning any possible Marconi connection with an ex-RAF comms site on the East Yorkshire coast. The query was largely answered for him by information to be found on the Airfield Information Exchange website, see below, but if any Veteran can throw any more light on the topic he would be pleased to hear from you. (You will need to register with Airfield Information Exchange if you wish to view images or post messages there.)
Lund, East Yorkshire – email 16 March 2013
Do any Veterans know if the Marconi Company had a link with a wireless telegraph station at Lund, East Yorkshire? It is shown on mid-20th century OS maps, but the masts had probably been removed by the 1970s. A single storey building remained until fairly recently. The locals apparently refer to it as the ‘old Marconi station’.
Some Churchillian put-downs
“He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”
“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one.” – George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
“Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second … if there is one.” – Winston Churchill, in response.
And welcome to 2014.
We took it easy in 2013 as my wife was still not 100%. Then at the end of the year, we decided to upgrade our caravan to a newer, larger and better appointed one – so that’s the bulk of our holidays sorted for the next 15 years or so. It’s still at Cromer, luckily clear of the areas that were severely damaged in December last year.
With regard to the subscription, we are pleased to maintain the rate at £6.00 per annum but, regrettably due to increased costs, we must raise the cover price for the reunion to £24.00. I am sure that you will agree that this is still excellent value for a four course meal with tea/coffee and wine.
Please note that the date of the Reunion is Saturday 5th April where our President will be Veteran Mike Thornton who for many years was with Marconi’s Aeronautical Division at Basildon. He retired from the position as Managing Director in 1994 after over 39 years service with the Company. The Guest of Honour will be Mr Ray Hagger who for many years was with Shell Mex and BP, mainly involved with retail marketing. On leaving Shell he joined a specialised training organisation and later became involved as a Pensions Liaison representative.
2014 is the centenary of the start of World War 1 and the involvement by Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company in the manufacture of electronic equipment for the armed forces through the War Department will be commemorated in the design of the coaster.
This will be the second reunion to be held at the new Club premises so there should only be some minor changes to the arrangements in the light of last year.
With regard to the name tags, there were a few problems with sending them to you but otherwise I was pleased with their reception. This year, we will produce the name tags on A4 sheets which will be at the merchandise table so you can collect your label as you enter the hall. When you order your ticket, please indicate in the box provided how you would like your tag to read. The default will be to print your name as it appears on the first line of your address label.
It is probably appropriate to say a few words about the reunion to dispel any concerns that a first time attendee may have. When you complete the application form, just tick the box requesting a ticket and indicate at which company table you would like to sit. If you have special dietary requirements (vegetarian, gluten free, halal etc.) please mention it in the space provided. We can cope with most needs – if you are not sure, please ring me. By return, well almost, you will receive your ticket.
The hall opens at 11.00am when the bar will be open and you can collect your name tag and reserve your seat at a table. We do not allocate actual places at table but only use the information from the application forms to ensure that there are sufficient places for each of the companies. If you wish to sit with a particular person or group, arrange with them to reserve a suitable number of places on a table (there are 10 places at each table) for the appropriate company. I am happy to advise you who is attending/usually attends and help you contact them. You can now relax and enjoy the reunion until lunch is served. On one of the tables there will be books containing messages from Veterans unable to attend and a list of those Veterans who have passed away since the last reunion.
If you have requested a special meal, I would urge you to arrive as early as possible, reserve your place and then let me know where you are sitting – I will be the one with a harassed expression carrying a clipboard – as I have to let the caterers know where to deliver them by 12 noon.
You will be asked to take your seats at around 12.45pm and, shortly after, the top table (including the President and Guest) take their places. On your table, for each person, there will be a commemorative coaster, menu, list of attendees and the papers for the AGM (more later). There will also be an envelope containing a strip of raffle tickets for which we would request £1.00 – someone will be around to collect this during the meal.
After a minute’s silence in memory of our founder, Guglielmo Marconi, and the grace, the meal is served. During the meal, there will be a few toasts as our President celebrates his year with parts of the Marconi organisation that have a special meaning to him.
At the end of the meal Veteran Valerie Cleare will pass on some messages from Veterans unable to attend and then the speeches start. There are only three – an introduction of the President, the President and his Guest. They are usually light-hearted and last around 5 minutes each. We have received a few comments about Veterans carrying on individual conversations during the speeches. Please refrain from this as it is very discourteous to the speaker and distracting for other Veterans. Together with a few toasts this takes us to around 3.45pm when there is a short break.
At 4.00pm the AGM commences. This usually lasts for only a few minutes and is followed by the raffle which concludes the programme for the afternoon and leaves you free to carry on the reunion.
If you have any questions, please give me a ring.
Apologies for the above to the many who regularly attend but we have had quite a few comments from Veterans saying that they would come but feared having to sit on a table with nobody they knew or having to sit through interminable speeches – if you know anyone like this, please put them right and encourage them to attend.
If you know of ex-Marconi employees who do not receive the news-letter please urge them to contact me as soon as possible. It may be that they have moved or not replied to a confirmation request of a few years ago or that they left with 21 to 24 years service and have now become Veterans by virtue of the reduction in service requirement to 21 years.
The ‘Friends of The Marconi Veterans’ Association’ has been set up to cater for anyone who does not qualify as a Veteran but wishes to be kept informed of things Marconi. Numbers are growing slowly with, currently, over 40 members, and any more would be welcome.
The three registers (the Main register, In Memoriam and Friends) are now published on the website so please have a look if you can and let me know of any errors.
Last year at the AGM we voted unanimously to award honorary life membership to Dr Geoff Bowles, curator of the Sandford Mill Industrial Museum, in acknowledgement of his efforts in maintaining the collection of Marconi equipment and memorabilia at Sandford Mill. At the museum open day on Saturday 27th April, International Marconi Day, I presented Geoff with a letter of confirmation, together with the association’s tie, lapel badge and 2013 Reunion coaster – see photo above.
Please note that I may be contacted at the address below. Finally, may I wish you all a very prosperous 2014 and hope to see as many of you as possible either at the reunion on 5th April or the next Open Day at Sandford Mill on Saturday 26th April (10.00am to 5.00pm).
One final note – the 2015 Reunion will be on Saturday 18th April.
Barry Powell,
Canvey Island,
Essex, SS8 7EP
Phone: 01268 696342 (answerphone if we are out, please leave a message and I will ring you back)
Email: [email protected]
In the Tuesday 28 January episode of this popular series, Michael Portillo visited Ransome’s works in Ipswich to hear about the production under licence of the first ever grass mowing machine designed by Edwin Budding, the Colne estuary to meet Graham Larkin of the Colchester Oyster Fishery operation, the Hole in the Wall pub in Colchester, Alderman Mechi’s experimental farm at Tiptree Hall (which is now a Wilkin & Sons farm) and Wilkin’s jam factory, then finally to Chelmsford to investigate some of our Marconi heritage.
In the 1912 New Street building he first met Geoff Bowles who explained how Marconi was the first to successfully transmit and receive over distances of several hundred metres because he, unlike the other experimenters in the field, employed an aerial and an earth connection to his apparatus: the first ever sound broadcast – readings from Bradshaw’s railway timetables and how the celebrated broadcast of Dame Nellie Melba from the Chelmsford works in 1920 sparked off the popular demand for entertainment broadcasting. Clad in the signature salmon pink jacket and green shirt Michael Portillo then went to the Sandford Mill museum to talk about the maritime applications of wireless, in particular its importance for the safety of ships at sea, with Peter Watkins, a former Marconi Marine radio officer who, as a volunteer at the museum, has been actively involved in the recreation of a working ship’s radio room and with the mounting of displays of the Walters collection of ships’ radio equipments. Peter Watkins invited him to try his hand at Morse communication – he had to admit that his keying speed wouldn’t cut the mustard.
The photo shows Peter Watkins in the radio room with, no, not Michael Portillo but the late Charles Shelton, G0GJS, of Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society. (I intended to use a screen shot from the morse-keying sequence from the programme here, but Getty Images’ licence fee said otherwise! Ed)
An appeal from Alan Hartley-Smith in the MOGS forum on 30 August 2012 for a list of supervisors at the Apprentice Training Centre in Chelmsford released a flood of reminiscences. What follows is a sample of them.
David Samways
I can only remember Joe Hillman who was there in 1957 when I started. Every lunchtime he used to have his sandwiches then lie down under his table and go to sleep for 30 minutes. That gave him the energy to berate us in the afternoons.
Jim Butterworth
I couldn’t remember the name, but the ATC supervisor still had his forty winks every lunchtime when I was there in late 1958. It was a steep learning curve for us apprentices – from 12 years at a school desk to workplace. I remember the Colchester lathes took ages to warm up on cold mornings and the smell of the soap water.
John Lancaster
I was in Pottery Lane in 1948/49 and Hillman was the supervisor. Forty winks after lunch sounds about right!
Bob Mountfort
In 1953 Joe Hillman was sleeping on a platform, under his bench, onto which he painstakingly unrolled a length of green felt. As I recall the strange smell was said to be due to a gangrenous wound on one of his legs which was bandaged. Diabetes? Or a war wound?
John L
Yes – I remember the smell, and the explanation!
Mike Plant
Regarding JH, I don’t recall him ever becoming involved in any training in our 5 or 6 months. Instructors included Messrs Whittaker – sheet metal; Lane – wireman assembly; Ted Cordery – ???; Thrift – capstans or lathes. I can’t remember who taught mills. Vertical drills too, though they could have been merged with one of the other disciplines. Others with a working memory will be able to correct me and fill in the gaps!
Colin Drake
Further (hopefully correct!) information to that sent by MP. During May to September 1954, the instructors comprised Joe Hillman – Chief Instructor (not working!); Assistant Chief Instructor – Charlie Sweetman (moved back to Dev Workshops as Chief during this period); Whittaker – sheet metalwork; Wray – wiring; Bob? Frith – lathes; Cordery – assembly; ‘Hondo’ Lane, – instrument making; Eve – milling machines; Westlake – ?
Jim Butterworth
Ye gods – I feel 50+ years younger! But what memories to remember the names of the supervisors. Apart from ‘being there’ and the amazingly fast-moving canteen queues my memories are minimal I’m afraid. I do still have and use some of the tools I made at the time; the centre punch; the scriber and the toolbox. I also still have many tools I bought at the time – the micrometer, calipers and hammer immediately come to mind. And does anyone else remember making the double screw – right hand and left hand threads with nuts to match – never found a use for it though! and the old chap wandering around with clean orange ‘ipers’ when ours got too grimy to use. Those were the days – followed by evenings working on the bikes, motorcycles and cars at Brooklands and Springfield House. Hmmm – you know you are old when you start to reminisce. Back to working out tomorrow’s swimming lessons!
David S
Ted Cordery was there for a few years because he was in Nigeria with me in 1963 and 1964. I have been trying to track him down for 18 months but got nowhere. Anyone know of him?
John Tarrant
In addition to the names already mentioned, I would also like to add the name of Johnny Cooper, who in 1956/57 was in charge of the capstan lathes. Sadly he passed away during that time. I well remember the double-ended screw and nuts with left and right hand threads. I spent a lot of time trying to help salvage some of the disasters that occurred producing them, and re-grinding screw cutting tools, during the time I was seconded for about six months to assist Freddy on the lathe section when, in the absence of Johnny Cooper, the capstan lathes were added to his section. Colin Drake mentions him as Bob Frith, which is probably correct, but I remember him as Freddy Frith. In addition to Joe Hillman, how about adding the names of Frank Wilder and Bob? Hitchins (or Hitchens) who were both involved with apprentice training, and resided in what I remember as the education office on the mezzanine floor above Joe’s office.
For any of you that were ever posted to Waterhouse Lane you will also no doubt remember Ernie, who ran the small sheet metal work section that was supposed to add to the skills gained from Frank Whittaker in the ATC, and whose main objective seemed to be to assist those under his wing to produce what he called a ‘proper’ tool box, that was bigger and better than the standard ATC product. I still have one of these much improved Waterhouse Lane versions, which is in regular use. Hope that this might ring a few bells for some of you. (The toolbox shown is one of the standard ATC variety belonging to Ray Binning.)
Jim Butterworth
This photo, showing Bob Thrift with a trainee in the Apprentice Training Centre, accompanied the article in the 2006 newsletter by Ron Hurrell describing his experiences over 47 years in the company’s employ
As we have moved upstairs – going up to the Education Office usually brought news I didn’t want to hear. However I can remember attending the Workers Educational Association meetings; can’t remember anything about them now, or if I actually learnt anything! But how do you remember all those names so many years on? I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday!
David Samways
I can’t believe you have said that. The only reason apprentices moved upstairs was to view Jackie! Many folks, if they agreed of course, would agree!
Brian Kendon
No one seems to have mentioned Mr Watts who was Mills and Drills in my time at the ATC (1949/50). I have fond memories of being one of the few who managed to operate the tapping machine without breaking 6BA taps in the hard brass work pieces. Not to be forgotten was the reaction of all to the sight and sound of a mill table ploughing into a surrounding newly constructed health and safety cage out of control of a young man not suited to the workshop environment. Those were the days.
John Lancaster
I remember Mr Watts very well – he couldn’t understand why I found it so difficult to sharpen a drill correctly! I can see his face now, when he said – ‘do it again, Lancaster’!
Colin Drake
And yet another memory, the capstan – ‘turrets’ were taught by Johnny Cooper in ‘54
Alan Matthews – ‘Matty’
I went into the Training Centre in 1953. Charlie Sweetman was the chief instructor.
I was making a ‘Home Office’ extractor to pull the flywheel from its taper on my Douglas Motorcycle and needed a large diameter (bigger than half an inch) bolt to go into a tapped hole in the centre of the extractor. So I made out a stores warrant for it and asked Charlie Sweetman to sign it. “What the hell is this for he asked?” – so biting the bullet I told him and received a right *******ing, after which he signed it!!! The tool worked fine by the way and if I still had it I suppose I could donate it to Mike Plant who has a Douglas still.
When working on the Mills section, which was in line with Joe Hillman’s open door, I left a very big shifting spanner on the nut on the end of the mill shaft. Went away and then came back pushed the GO button on the mill which proceeded to start and throw the spanner with one bounce through the door into the office. Another lesson learned the hard way.
I think Mr Watts was a small man who instructed on centre lathes and was always amazed that he could work looking down at the job with a fag in his mouth. My final test with him was to make a spindle with a three start Acme thread at each end – one end left handed and the other right. Then a suitable big knurled nut had to be made to fit each end.
I think I struggled for about a week before I had finished, with much scrap metal created, before I took it to him for inspection. He put the nuts on and shook it. “Well that’s what we used to call a ‘rattling good fit’ in the trade but I suppose it will do” he said. But I think that the skills they taught to us young green lads in a few months were really quite amazing.
Jim Butterworth
The apprentices training was certainly an unforgettable experience for all of us. Many skills were learnt which have stood me in good stead over the years. Coming to the ATC from 12 years of school, 9am-4pm with a long lunch break, ensured we slept well; I can remember going to sleep in the middle of a conversation and waking up 8 hours later in time for a ridiculously early (to me) breakfast at Brooklands. And then Mid-Essex courses in the evening when you were already tired out and really only wanted to sleep.
As well as the machinery already mentioned, remember the test pieces we had to make using waxed thread – every turn equi-spaced and all the knots in a straight line? And repeat assembly of small mechanisms – how many hundred in a day? And then Transmitter Test – real work at last!
I forget the names but I shall never forget the experience – with grateful thanks to Marconi and their long-suffering instructors.
The 77th annual Veterans’ Reunion took place last year on Saturday 20th April. Our President for 2013, in recognition of his tireless efforts on behalf of the Marconi Veterans’ Association and keeping alive the name and memory of Marconi, was our chairman, Peter Turrall. Unfortunately, due to a temporary health problem, he was unable to attend the union.
The toast to the President was proposed by our Patron, Veteran Robbie Robertson, who opened by saying that regardless of any time limit that Peter might have set for his contribution he was going to take the time needed adequately to say what needed to be said.
Peter joined Marconi in 1951, eight years before Robbie. The fourth floor of Marconi House then was hallowed ground belonging largely to Broadcasting Division; humble Communications Division guys could only visit the top floor with permission, to seek knowledge and wisdom on the mysteries of broadcasting. He has lost count of the number of times that Peter, the source for him of all information on TV studios, had pulled him out of the holes he’d dug for himself in the early days of his involvement in broadcasting: through the years it often seemed he was being rescued from someone or something, once notably during a visit to South West TV in Plymouth. Of the many things they did together, one of the most memorable for him of Peters’ many achievements was the MCSL Agents Conference around 1986. Representatives from around 40 countries attended; thanks to Peter’s splendid organisation, none of the expected disasters occurred, or at least only nearly!
Robbie spoke of Peter’s incredible contribution to the Marconi Veterans’ Association. An active member of the committee for around 25 years, most of which was either as vice-chairman, or for the last several years, as Chairman, with many hours spent in committee meetings and countless further hours implementing decisions made at the meetings. Peter has campaigned tirelessly for all things Marconi; Chelmsford owes him a debt of gratitude for his efforts in the public arena, on a mass of activities far too numerous to list, for instance, major contributions to Mencap in Essex; his involvement in the life of Chelmsford Cathedral, and his current efforts regarding the New Street site redevelopment.
Robbie closed by saying that we were all honoured, and grateful, that Peter has agreed to be our president for 2013. We thank him for this, and we wish him all that is good in his presidential year.
In a recording played to the Veterans Peter Turrall apologised for not being able to be present at the reunion. He then went on to talk about the importance of the history of the company, mentioning Bill Baker’s official history which covered the period from the company’s founding until 1950. When he was asked by Sir Robert Telford to clear out his office, he was told that all senior staff had been asked to commit to paper the story of their operations, designs and stories concerning the installation. As a result a large amount of material was gathered up and handed over to the Sandford Mill museum. He appealed for any veteran with memories to contribute to commit them to paper, or tape, and pass them on to the secretary, Barry Powell, or to Alan Hartley-Smith (ref Alan’s appeal on this subject in last year’s newsletter, page 5, also this edition pages 6 and 13).
Regarding Marconi House in Chelmsford, Peter is attempting to maintain good relations with Bellway Homes, the owners and developers of the New Street site with the aim that at some time in the future there will be a room in the building dedicated to Marconi where we might display some of our artefacts. He spoke about the difficulties of getting Chelmsford Borough (now City) Council to recognise the reputation and tangible benefits that Marconi and the other great industrialists brought to Chelmsford, and that those efforts must be maintained.
His final theme was the enjoyment derived from 48 years serving under nine managing directors – he got on very well with eight of them, but under the ninth he felt he qualified for the ‘I survived Glasgow’ badge. He recalled one or two high points in that career. The first, attending an exhibition at the IBC in a London hotel and showing, at lunchtime when only one other colleague was with him on the stand, an unknown gentleman and lady the various equipments on display, only to discover at the end of their visit that he had been speaking to Sir Arnold Weinstock. The second highlight was to win his biggest order ever, much celebrated back in Chelmsford, from the Egyptian broadcasting organisation for OB vehicles, cameras, transmitters telecine equipments etc. He concluded by appealing again for veterans to commit their memories to paper.
Our Guest of Honour this year was Mr Jonathan Douglas Hughes OBE DL who is a senior partner of Gepp & Sons, solicitors in Chelmsford and Under Sheriff for the county of Essex. In his speech he concentrated on his work as Under Sheriff. This is very much a legal role and, in particular, he has on his staff four bailiffs. He is not involved in the day to day collection of small dues but becomes involved in major recoveries.
As an example he recounted the story of a Boeing 707 presidential jet that was flown into Stansted from Africa with the president’s family. The owner of the aircraft (not the president or his government) required payment of the leasing dues, and others required payment for the fuel. As a result the aircraft was seized and the Under Sheriff ultimately disposed of the aircraft to recover as much money as possible.
In a brief address during the AGM, Alan Hartley-Smith, against the background of his article in the 2013 newsletter, outlined the contacts made with the BAE Heritage Committee and Heritage Manager Howard Mason with a view to establishing how Marconi heritage aims can be integrated into BAE Heritage policy. BAE is already involved in providing assistance in transferring a S600 radar at Bushey Hill to the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum at Neatishead in Norfolk. The principal aim is to establish a physical Marconi Heritage Centre in Chelmsford, possibly connected in some way with the redevelopment of the New Street site. He appealed for ideas as to how this centre might be used and funded – meetings, exhibitions, Marconi-related lectures etc. The full transcript this appeal and all the reunion speeches are available on the website. (Please also see below AH-S’s report of the Marconi Heritage Group activities for the past year.)
The editor relayed an appeal from the Essex Record Office for volunteers to be available for assistance with the examination, cataloguing and indexing of the Marconi photographic archive in ERO’s possession, a project that is to be the subject of a Heritage Lottery funding bid by ERO. Owing to the similarity of its aims with those of the Marconi Heritage Group reported below, ERO is to liaise with the group with a view to preparing a combined bid encompassing the aims of both.
A reminder that this year’s reunion is held on Saturday 5th April, and in 2015 it will be on the 18th April.
Alan Hartley-Smith
A lot of activity has been undertaken by the Marconi Heritage Group in the past year leading to very positive outcomes, with the result that we are now seeking to set up a charitable trust to carry forward negotiations.
Following the presentation by BAE at the 2013 Reunion there has been continuing participation in the Heritage Product Committee. This led to a significant action in the form of the donation of an S600 radar to the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum at Neatishead, which is currently being installed ready for public exhibition (photo – right). Also Marconi is featured in the prestigious 2014 Heritage calendar. Ongoing are discussions with the aim of achieving the creation of a physical heritage centre.
Locally we have participated in two major events: the Essex Record Office conference on Essex’s Industrial Archaeology in July, at which Professor Roy Simons gave a presentation ‘Marconi the Father of Wireless’ which roused a lot of interest, and the ‘Changing Chelmsford Ideas Festival’ in November. We took part in three activities: Marconi’s Wireless Telegraphy Workshop hosted by Geoff Bowles from the Sandford Museum, in the Library atrium; ‘Imagining Marconi’s and Hoffman’s industrial past – The Frederick Roberts Archive’ hosted by Anglia Ruskin University; Marconi – Then and Now, a meet-and-greet session hosted by the Marconi Heritage Group in the Library atrium. Display panels covering the company history were provided by the Essex Record Office, where a large number of people with personal and family Marconi connections met our team. We recorded many personal memories and received great support for better recognition of Marconi by the city.
From this latter event there have been follow-up meetings involving other parties interested in preserving and promoting heritage in Chelmsford. One of these relates to the effort to find premises for a heritage centre, which is ongoing, with possibilities including the New Street site and more recently the original Marconi factory in Hall Street. It is as yet too early to make any positive statement but there are hopeful signs of progress.
During the year there have been several associated events of interest, in particular a presentation in Bedford by Professor Francesco Marconi about his grandfather’s early history, at which we made contact and received a promise of support. At the ERO conference the formation of a new Essex Industrial Archaeology Group was announced and we are now working with them.
Much progress has been made with populating the online wikis, in particular those associated with communications, for which there are now extensive entries covering broadcast and line systems, television, marine and avionics.
A major current activity is to have the considerable contribution made by wireless in the operations of all three armed services during the First World War properly recognised during the commemoration activities being mounted over the next four years, to which end we have joined the First World War Centenary partnership being coordinated by the Imperial War Museum. We are seeking input from as many sources as possible and would welcome any information from the members of the MVA.
We will be organising events as part of the 2014 Chelmsford Ideas Festival, which is provisionally timed to run from 20th October to 2nd November. See also Stop Press on page 11
Peter Stothard
Essex clay could be like living flesh or a cold dead wall. We could punch it, climb it, cut it, try to mould it, try not to offend it, but the clay was permanent like nothing else. Half a century ago, behind the back door of a semi-detached house on the Marconi works estate, a mile from Chelmsford, were hundreds of slimy-sided cubes of this clay, newly cut by machines, soft but indestructible, leaden red by day and looming brown by night, an amalgam that at a child’s bedtime might be an Aztec temple or an ancient Roman face or a Russian.
Ours were homes built in a hurry, dug out of a butcher’s farmland below a giant steel aerial mast that had been erected against the Communists as soon as the Nazi threat was past. The mobilization of men and material to watch for Cold War missiles was as demanding as the hot war in which my father and his engineering friends had learned their craft. In the Rothmans fields of Great Baddow village, beside a town that already boasted the title ‘Birthplace of Radio’, we became part of an instant works community of families whose fathers understood klystrons, tweeters and ‘travelling-way tubes’ for the long-distance radar that kept the enemy at bay.
Every man I knew then understood either about the radar that saw things far away in the dark or about the various electric valves that were its eyes. There was a residual wartime spirit, an appreciation of values shared; and also a rising peacetime ambition for new values, new houses, holidays and televisions. As well as helping to defend British prosperity against hostile objects in the sky, we were supposed to share in it, creating a haven of high education, a science park, even an Essex garden community in which the clay cut to make the foundations of 51 Dorset Avenue might one day grow cabbages, fruit trees and flowers.
There were many advantages to life on these company streets. Almost everyone, for example, had a television set. Almost everyone’s father could make his own model if he wished. Ours had no polished cabinet (my mother’s woodworking came only later) and its twinkling diodes were slung along the picture rails and around the back of the sofa. But when we wanted a better picture, the contrast of our black and white could be improved from the first principles of the cathode ray. To make the most of The Billy Cotton Band Show, a massed expertise could be deployed, from as far afield as Noakes Avenue, the outer limit where Marconi-land ended and Essex farming returned.
The houses were so alike, and the food in their cupboards so absolutely alike, that it hardly mattered where on the estate we fed our pet pond creatures or ate our tea. Most boys had the same-shaped box room for their den, an unusual cube that contained within it another cube, not much smaller than itself, in which the inner supports of the staircase were held. A sawn-off end of a radar monitor was so perfect for newt-keeping that every boy who braved the ‘bomb-hole’ pond in the ‘rec’ had one of his own. Break the glass and there was always a replacement the next night. All groceries came from the same dirty-green single-decker coach of ‘Mr Rogers’, a silent ex-soldier who piled his fruit and vegetables on either side of the aisle where the seats had been and twice a week toured the avenues from Dorset to Noakes to sell cereals, sugar, flour – everything that the gardens might one day produce but did not yet.
Books were universally rare. There were five at 51 Dorset, the brightest-coloured being a sky-blue edition of ST Coleridge, the title printed in such a way that for years I thought that the poet was a saint. Next to it sat a collected Tennyson, in a spongy leather cover, half bath accessory, half one of the then new and exciting table-tennis bats from Sweden. There was my Yorkshire grandfather’s copy of the second half of Virgil’s Aeneid, with the name B Stothard, in a firm, faded script, inside the flyleaf. I have that one here with me now. On the shelf below was a cricket scorebook in which someone had once copied improving philosophical precepts, and beside that, The First Test Match, a slim, slate-green hardback which alone looked as if it had been read.
This was a community of algebra and graph paper. Mathematics was the language of choice. Contract bridge was the nightly recreation. My curly-haired, smiling father had a brain for numbers that his fellow engineers described as Rolls-Royce. Notoriously, he did not like to test it beyond a purr. In particular – and this was unusual in a place of intense educational self-help – he did not care to inculcate maths into his son. This was a task which he had recognized early as wholly without reward. Max Stothard would occasionally attack the mountain of clay in his garden but never knock his head against a brick wall. He was nothing if not blissfully relaxed.
Like most of our neighbours, he had learned about radar by chance, in his case while becalmed for the war years off West Africa on a ship called HMS Aberdeen. He had bought red-leather-bound knives for his mates back in the Yorkshire-Lincolnshire borderlands; he had sent postcards of Dakar’s six-domed cathedral to his strictly Methodist mother; he had never fired a hostile shot except at a basking shark. And when he had needed something else to do, he chose to watch the many curious ways that waves behave in the air above the sea, turning solid things into numbers. That was how he spent most of the rest of his life, in the south of England instead of the north because that was where the radars were made, quietly reasoning through his problems on his ‘bench’ in the Marconi laboratory and in an armchair at home, spreading files marked ‘Secret’ like a fisherman’s nets. He earned £340 per year, as my mother and I discovered when he died. Secrecy about earnings was always an obsession, although everyone was paid much the same.
The Rothmans estate was based on a bracing sense of equality and a suffocating appreciation of peace. Although most of our fathers felt they had a part in this great military project of the future, rarely can so massive a martial endeavour, the creation of air defences along the length of Britain’s eastern coast, have been conducted in so eirenic a spirit. Not even the Bournville chocolate workers of Birmingham, the group best known then for living together in a company town, could have demonstrated such a Quaker appreciation of calm. The fighting war was absolutely over. The new business was civil, work carried out with civility above all else, work that would keep us safe and increase our prosperity as the politicians promised. And because everyone was in it, everyone was in it together.
That was the constant message of Miss Leake, our doughty headmistress at Rothmans School, whose doctrine of ‘excellence and equality’, delivered in her severest voice, was adapted only slowly to the gradually advancing evidence of differences around her. There were certain girls with vastly superior proficiency at maths; but certain boys could freely pervert the spirit of Rothmans peace in a greater Rothmans cause, designing missiles and fighter planes to crash Pauline Argent and Anne Spavin back to earth. For our first two years Mrs Sheffield reassured us repeatedly that we were all much the same; but eventually and inexorably, when we were aged seven and in the empire of Mrs Maloney, those of us who counted badly had to be separated from those who counted well. Those who could not sing were called ‘groaners’ and told to wait outside the door; and those who preferred Virgil’s stories to vulgar fractions were reluctantly allowed to write fiction for our homework, as long as it was science fiction.
My father was not at all worried about my being a ‘groaner’ (he listened to no music himself at all and was especially offended by the violin and the soprano voice) but he was faintly sad about my missing number skills. Numbers were the key to advancement. Physics was the first step to a working future, a future in paid employment in a world which itself worked well. Many of my friends with no aptitude at all for figures – who could draw a beautiful anti-Pauline-Argent plane but never match her equations – were pummelled on to numerical paths. How, asked our neighbour on the other side of the clay mountain, could anyone pull themselves up by any other route? It was hard to find anyone who would argue with this doctor of metallurgy from the northern steel lands of Scunthorpe – about that or about anything much else except bidding conventions in hearts and spades and the best way to see things that dared fly low in the sky.
At the same time there grew among us the gradual acceptance of other differences. Ours was only in part a works estate in the tradition of the Birmingham chocolatiers and the Wirral’s Port Sunlight. It was becoming a place for the upwardly mobile at a time of restless mobility. So there were questions. Were the engineers’ families of Rothmans Avenue, Dorset Avenue and Noakes Avenue quite as much the same as first appeared? Did the more brilliant scientists live in Rothmans, the more managerial in Dorset, the more clerical in Noakes? Were they richer in Rothmans and rather poorer in Noakes? Did the ‘Millionaires Row’ houses by the school gates really have four bedrooms? Whose kitchen had less Fablon and more Formica? Should Marley floor tiles be polished? And where exactly did everyone go on holiday?
Summer was the great unequalizer. On the North Sea coast, only thirty or so miles away, the skies were known equally to all masters of air defence. But the beaches beneath were crisply divided. Clacton, Walton and Frinton were never the same. We always went to Walton-on-the-Naze, the middle town of the three, the one which had the widest concrete esplanades where children could ride bikes. Clacton?on?Sea was south of Walton and had slot machines and candyfloss booths where ‘other people’ could waste their money. North of Walton was Frinton-on-Sea, which had no candy-floss, no caravans (we always stayed in a caravan), no fish and chip shops, not even a pub, just Jubilee gardens and what was known, only by warnings not to walk on it, as ‘greensward’. Did Rothmans Avenue families prefer Frinton? By the time of my eleventh birthday in 1962, it sometimes seemed that they did. Our Marconi estate was small, confined and had only one entrance to the world. Once inside it we could always roller-skate through the class lines. On the coast, it was an impossible walk, and even an awkward drive, between three neighbouring towns that seemed built deliberately to show how different from one another we might be.
My father was a typical Rothmans engineer of his time, in every respect except in certainty that his was the right path. That was his grace and glory. He never stopped me preferring stories about science to the understanding of what science actually did. He read the fictions that I wrote about my manufactured hero, Professor Rame, without complaining directly to me that there was no point in any of that. He did not much like the Coleridge and the Tennyson being on hand. But he did not take them away. He himself liked to see people as electro-machinery, as fundamentally capable of simple, selfless working. It was simpler that way. But he never imposed the company line. His own mind was closed to the communications of religion or art. His favourite picture then was a photograph of Great Baddow’s tribute to the Eiffel Tower. But his passions for moving parts, moving balls and jet streams in the skies over air shows did not preclude an acceptance of others’ passions. He was a pleasure-seeking materialist – in a company estate where those were the prevailing values and the predominant aspirations. Materialism in those days was a means of science, which he loved, not of extravagance, which did not exist, nor even of shopping, which he would barely tolerate. It was the successful basis of a contented, comfortable life.
John Wright, ex Electro-Optical Surveillance Division, Basildon
In the early 80s, Baghdad was one of the safest cities on the planet. It was also remarkably civilised considering Saddam Hussein was fighting Iran and had an iron grip on the country, keeping it isolated from external influence. Western dress was acceptable – one rarely saw a burqua – and you could sit by the Tigris and drink beer at the riverside bars. Saddam of course was everywhere. His picture was in every commercial establishment, on huge posters in the street and the evening television programme was one long propaganda show – Saddam the military leader in a tank inspiring the troops, compassionate Saddam in a hospital with the wounded and then his cameo performance in a story. Some poor person gets robbed or beaten when he is rescued by a mysterious stranger who keeps his face hidden until the end when, surprise, surprise, it’s Saddam again!
I first went there with our marketing man on a two-week sales demo trip with one set of airborne surveillance equipment. Waiting for our equipment to come out of customs (sound familiar?) gave us time to acclimatise to a Baghdad with a chronic shortage of electricity. It was three months after the Israelis had flattened the local nuclear power station which meant we only had electricity for an hour a day – bad enough in itself but worse when you don’t know which hour. Torches were the order of the day and try and make sure you are not covered in soap in the shower when everything dies. Without lights, the restaurants resorted to candles and Flambé became the ‘in’ dish – lovely in summer with no air conditioning. Anyhow, eventually we got our equipment and were taken to the helicopter base at a place called Abu Ghraib (we always wondered what the nearby high security building was!). The base housed the VIP squadron and the Colonel in Charge, trained by the RAF, was Saddam’s personal pilot – probably not the safest of jobs.
By this time we had already lost nearly a week from our time schedule so we had to ask to work beyond the normal one o’clock finish to meet our timescales. This caused consternation amongst our hosts as they didn’t do any catering on the base and they were in danger of not being able to provide the traditional Arab hospitality at lunchtime. A man was despatched and he came back with some rather nice meat, salad and bread. A table was laid out in the middle of the hangar and we were invited to eat while all and sundry watched – to refuse would have been an insult. By six o’clock that evening sickness and diarrhoea had brought us down – we later found out that the food had come from a dodgy roadside stall. Eventually however, we got the equipment installed and started flying. The idea was to demonstrate how we could see things miles away etc, but we soon found that the heat haze put paid to all that. So we stooged around and just videoed anything vaguely interesting: this seemed to satisfy the Air Force and they eventually placed a substantial order with Basildon.
The marketing man left and shortly after this, after arranging for the return of the equipment, I returned to UK, the first 1000km by taxi. With only Iraqi and Jordanian planes flying out of Baghdad, flights were hard to come by and the alternative was a ride in a large old American gas guzzling taxi. A price is agreed and off you go across the desert on a largely straight road at 130 km/hour regularly passing the burnt out wrecks of less fortunate high speed taxi trips. Half way between Baghdad and Amman, at a stop in the middle of nowhere, the driver starts talking of extra money for petrol. This is the cue to quickly get back in the taxi, strap yourself in and then tell him the Ts and Cs of the journey do not include extras for petrol.
A year later, the editor went off to Baghdad with three other specialists to start the installation work and I joined them a couple of weeks later We spent the next few weeks fitting out and certifying the first helicopter and our mobile receiving station, a remotely steerable antenna/receiver on top of a 100 foot mast (see right). We had both received instruction on the erection of these masts which required nifty work with winches and some sturdy stakes in the ground for the guy wires. Fine in the UK but a bit iffy in desert sand and once it had been erected at Abu Ghraib, the first thing we did as we arrived for work every day was to look to see if it was still standing.
Having completed the fitting out and certification of the first helicopter, the team apart from me went home. Many of us have grand plans of visiting exotic places whilst returning home but usually when the time comes we are just glad to get on the first, fastest direct flight home. The editor is the exception – he actually does it and on this occasion was last seen disappearing into the Jordanian desert on a camel (the reality was a pony, but camel sounds more appropriate somehow – see picture below) to witness the dawn sun rising on the ancient city of Petra.
Nothing much happened at Abu Ghraib for a couple of weeks and then there was a request for a two-week training course to prepare a team to do some battlefield surveillance. Seven NCOs and a flight lieutenant duly turned up and I started instruction. Cameras, lenses, zoom, focus, transmitter on, transmitter off – it’s not too difficult and operating in the helicopter just needs a bit of practise. Putting 100 foot towers up and aligning them is another matter. The mast was raised up to its full 100 feet and had been lowered back down 20 feet and I was beginning to feel hopeful that the team had mastered it when a winchman started winding one of the guys too hard and pulling the mast to one side. And when he was shouted at to stop he just panicked and winched harder. Racing towards him, I suddenly realised that the mast was doomed, changed direction and dived under a lorry as the mast broke and collapsed around us. Being brainwashed by GEC, all I could think of at the time was ‘who is going to pay for this’. Fortunately, the antenna landed in sand and after some straightening and reassembling it worked again. Some sections of the mast were broken but we were able to use it up to sixty feet – a good job as it was the only one in-country at that time. Anyhow, the course was completed and everybody passed, including the flight lieutenant who always sat facing the opposite direction in the classroom, smoking a cigarette and not listening to a word to show his contempt. I don’t know how he passed but leaving the exam room unattended may have helped.
And so, off we went to Basra. I flew down in the helicopter with the surveillance turret fitted. Flying over the desert requires a different technique due the strong thermals – the helicopter soars and swoops using them as opposed to battering through them, so it is relatively slow. We were forced to land once at a remote radar station to avoid a sandstorm – the officer i/c proudly reciting the names of all the then current Manchester United team to me when he found out I was English. Then off again for the best part of the trip, flying over the southern Iraqi marshes, with spectacular views of the Marsh Arabs who live in ornately woven reed houses on floating reed islands.
As for Basra, we put up our 60 foot mast and the helicopter went off with one of the trainees to video the battle where Iraq lost Khorramshar to the Iranians. The results were pretty useless, the helicopter was keeping its distance, the operator didn’t know where to look and the combatants kept themselves hidden in all the dust which was being stirred up. And so interest was lost, I was despatched back to Baghdad, this time in a Russian MIL8 helicopter – crude but roomy. Then back to UK, this time by air from the brand new Baghdad airport. It hadn’t quite sorted itself out and tended to over issue boarding passes so when you were due to board, you milled about by the departure gate and when this was opened, you raced across the tarmac to the aircraft, found a seat and strapped yourself in – women and children first might be OK for the Titanic but not Baghdad Airport!
Many months later, when all the equipment on the contract had been delivered, the editor and I returned to commission it and complete the contract. This time, everything had moved to a big military establishment at Taji, north of Baghdad. Fortunately, we were able to travel daily from the luxury of the Sheraton Hotel in Central Baghdad. It was at the Sheraton that I discovered the gourmet side of the editor. Nearly every evening a different nationality theme buffet was available where he had to sample every dish, which in total amounted to at least 3 dinner plates full – and he didn’t add a pound to his weight!
Our visit was in February and even on a sunny day we wore woolly-pullies to keep warm. We shared the hangar with Russian built Hind gunships fitted with multiple rocket launchers which were used effectively against the Iranians when they carried out their first world war tactics of charging en masse across open ground. There were no workshop facilities available and we were reduced to carrying out delicate adjustments to cameras, lenses, gyros etc on the helicopter with power coming from a huge, noisy diesel ground power unit belching fumes only six feet away.
Finally it was time for us to leave for the last time. The support team we had trained seemed genuinely sorry to see us go. Ken mentioned taking back some local cake delicacies to UK so they gave us what seemed like the total output of the local bakery. I was not surprised as, apart from the odd hardliner, the Iraqis were very nice people and I feel really very sorry for their troubles since our ill-advised venture with George W.
Alan Hartley-Smith
There is to be an Essex County Council event in Hylands, Chelmsford on 14th September – we plan to be represented, and MHG has been registered in the First World War Centenary partnership being coordinated by the Imperial War Museum – see http://www.1914.org/partner/?id=AM463539 for our entry.
Tim Wander has put together a booklet about Marconi involvement with all three armed services; I will be incorporating copy and pics from this for the events and in a new website www.marconiheritage.org which is still under construction. Veterans who have relevant information about their own or family involvement are invited to make contact with me.
Eric Walker, formerly Airadio, Basildon
In the 2007 newsletter I reproduced an extract from a much longer piece by Eric Walker – for all of his Marconi career an Airadio man – which focused on some of the less serious aspects of the life of the avionics engineers inhabiting the Writtle huts in the 50s. Mike Lawrence, who served in the DO at Writtle and for a while at Basildon, expanded Eric’s original article, written in 1998, with additional material and turned it into a hand-crafted booklet with a very limited production run. Eric and Mike both had copies – Mike is sadly no longer with us – and other copies went to the Writtle village archivist and to the Sandford Mill Museum. It is well worth reading in its entirety, and we are endeavouring to make it accessible on the website.
The photo below shows the Lawford Lane site sometime between 1948 and 1956, the period in which the Lancaster airframe was resident there. The photo at foot of page 17 shows a view of some of the huts.
This extract looks at the day to day life of the Airadio people in their Writtle times – working conditions, getting on with one another, pay, perks – or lack of, and so on. It was written in 1998, but would anyone in work today, looking at Eric’s comments on how it he viewed things in ’98, perhaps raise a wry smile? Do graduates starting to climb the seniority ladder expect to get an office, as was the norm in ’98? All workplaces are much more open plan these days.
Life was made cheerful by the morning and afternoon arrival of Fred Hazel and his tea urn. He was usually accompanied by his mate Stan Porter, a very quiet man. Fred also swept out the huts and could be regarded as an early proponent of recycling as he sprinkled his used tea leaves to keep down the dust! In the early part of the 50s food was provided by Ella Walden in the canteen hut. Later, as the staff numbers grew, we took over her hut and people made their own arrangements for grub.
It might be of interest to today’s new graduates that I joined in 1951 at £350 per year. So my take-home pay was, after ‘Standard Deduction’ about £25 per month. To my surprise and delight I also received £2.5.5d (£2.27) per month supplement! We didn’t have a minimum wage in those days – so I suppose it was a state incentive to encourage firms to provide apprenticeships. When I moved on to staff conditions in March 1952 I received £500 pa. It took me 4 years to double this pay rate. In the whole of my 40 years with the company I never received a single penny for the enormous amount of overtime I worked then, and throughout the rest of my time. Staff salaries managed to increase just ahead of the overtime payment limit! I think the criterion was that overtime was only for hourly paid workers. Staff were expected to work whatever hours were needed to get the job done.
Another point of comparison, then and now, is the working environment. Nowadays as soon as graduates start to climb up the seniority ladder, they hope to get an office or at least a boxed-off cubicle to themselves, with desk, filing cabinet, telephone, a chair, personal computer etc, etc. Our Green Satin team worked in a wooden hut with benches and stools. You didn’t even have a dedicated area of bench although before long the hardware took a fairly static location so a work pattern was formed. The only office was a partitioned-off bit, open at the top where Geoff Beck worked. It was necessary because he had ministry and company visitors. We took the view that it maintained official security and fenced-off management activities from the real work of the laboratory! Beck had the only telephone.
We were issued with one screwdriver large, one screwdriver small, side cutters and round-nosed pliers: wire stripping tools were a later luxury. To prevent tools straying we each bound them with our own colour-coded wire. I still have some today – perhaps I should have handed them in when I retired. We were given a Marconi propelling pencil: lead for the pencil, and writing pads, were negotiable from Dudley Shearman! Most of the engineers were capable of operating machine tools – it depended on the Development Workshop foreman whether we were allowed to or not. It is a characteristic of design engineers to want their own workshop in their own laboratory, to use when and how they please. It is a characteristic of senior management to oppose such a notion!
Clerical services were very limited compared with today. No personal secretaries (except for very senior management); no word processors. We wrote all internal or external letters or reports in longhand and gave them to Dudley’s office, where Barbara Trevor, or Dudley himself, typed them, with carbon copies. If formal documents for a customer, or Internal Technical Memoranda were required in several copies. Stencils had to be typed. Any amendment or error-correction was a messy operation, with Tippex and overtyping (usually misaligned!). The office staff were heroes. By the way, DG Shearman was known as Dudley to us and as Gordon to others. I liked to think we were on first name terms.
The Aeronautical Comms lab in 1960, shortly before the move to Basildon. Pictured from left to right are Brian Ady, Peter Freeman, Ronald Robertson and Dennis Moore. The office beyond the glass panel was occupied by TT Brown, Coms lab leader, and Wilf Rich, Transmitter lab leader
Another difference, then to now, was in personal relationships. We addressed equals by their surnames. Our seniors addressed us by our surnames. We addressed them as Mister -, with many ‘Yes Sirs’ and ‘No Sirs’ in the course of conversation. If there was more than one person of the same name, a descriptor was added.
In the 50s most people smoked, and many affected, pipes. The habit had been encouraged in the HM Forces by the availability of cheap tobacco rations. We smoked over our work, but we did our best to clean out fag ends and ash from equipment to be delivered to our customers!
Rank was not clearly defined as it is today in career progression ladders. We were all Engineers, with some more senior than others; we all knew our relative status. Steps up the ladder were to Section Leader, or Group Leader as one became responsible for guiding the work of others. Nowadays titles have proliferated and become inflated sometimes to a meaningless jargon. In the 1950s Marconi’s top man, F N Sutherland was the General Manager.
Another difference is in ‘parking’. Nowadays all sites need large car parks for employees. In the early 50s very few staff had motor-cars, bicycles were the usual mode of transport. Note the press pictures of employees pouring out of New Street works and blocking the road under the railway bridge. There were bicycle-racks everywhere. George Parker had a car, a Citroën I believe, front wheel-drive of course. A very fast driver was GPP. Beck had a car, DCD 183. So did Tim Tate, EMX 914. How do these number-plates stick in the memory? The most junior engineer to have a car in 1951 was Cliff Harris, with a pre-war Austin 7 Ruby. I bought my first car in 1957! A 3 year old Ford Popular for £300 – then the flood started. Company motor cars? – well, perhaps at Board level.
The first man I knew with a company car was Dr BJ O’Kane who became Manager of Aeronautical Division in 1959 – he had a Humber Hawk, which was passed down to his successor, Les Mullin. When it became beyond economic repair it was replaced by a Ford Escort, Ghia version of course. Times change. I think the USA industry system is best – pay employees enough and let them buy what they need and can afford.
A feature of working at Writtle was that the River Wid overflowed its banks every winter and flooded the site. That was in the days before the local authorities cleaned out and partially lined the three rivers in Chelmsford to improve the flow and thus reduce the flood risk in the town itself. Every winter there was flooding in the Friars area of Moulsham Street. At Writtle we drew up a flood-rota – a list given to the gatekeeper to call out whenever the site was threatened, whatever time of day or night. Their main task was to raise as much equipment as possible above the last recorded flood level.
At the end of each year we held the Writtle dinner. For many years the venue was the Saracen’s Head. They were ‘Stag’ events and started off formally with speeches from the dignitaries at the top table. Then, after the dinner, the proceedings became very relaxed verging on the boisterous. In 1956 the Stag element was dropped and we had mixed dinners and dance, the first at the Odeon. These were very popular and we went on to hold the dinner at Canon’s restaurant, opposite the railway station, where the Nationwide BS office is now located. One year we hired the Shire Hall; another year we went to the hotel at Ingatestone (with the swimming-pool) which has now been built over. In the early years the ‘entertainment’ was home-made, later on we had professional bands, but there were always competitive events between the departments. Happy Days!
Bernard de Neumann
David Speake died peacefully on the 8th of January, aged 94, whilst reading a book. His wife noticed that it had fallen to the floor.
He was Director of Research at Baddow when I first joined there in 1964, and he was still there, but acting as a consultant when I left for City University 25 years later. He was succeeded by Peter Brandon, who eventually became a Professor at Cambridge, and upon Brandon’s departure, David returned to Baddow, and was later succeeded by John Williams.
During Williams’s term of office Sir Eric Eastwood returned to Baddow as a consultant, having retired from being Director of Research for GEC. Directing research at Baddow was a difficult task with all the competing demands for funds, and the limited amount available, together with the necessity of ensuring that all the contributing companies gained from it. David was thus cautious and diplomatic during his time at the helm.
From Peter Turrall
David was seconded to New Street where Marconi Communication Systems Ltd had their operation and for some time he was a General Manager responsible for the technical aspects of the Communications Company.
The photograph of David Speake in conversation with Tom Mayer was taken at the 2011 reunion.
From Don Halstead
Ron (Ronald) Kitchen died peacefully in Broomfield Hospital on the 10th September 2013 at the age of 88. I first encountered Ron in the early 1960s when I believe he headed New Street’s Radar Display Test and oversaw the testing of the first transistorised 12″ displays, including the S3002 reliability trials. Subsequently he moved on to become one of Marconi’s leading experts on radiation safety and the like. His ‘RF and Microwave Safety’ manual is still available today and doubtless many of us encountered him through his work in that and other areas.
Ron always struck me as a true Marconi gentleman, not least when both my parents died within a week of each other. He knew them well through mutual connections with Methodism, and he was quick to enquire how I was coping and whether he could offer any support.
From Bernard de Neumann
I knew Ron when he was manager of quality assurance at Baddow during my last years there. He was a nice guy, whom I met occasionally because of my interest in theoretical reliability prediction and assessment, which resulted in the computerized reliability tools that we developed in Baddow for use throughout GEC. The FMECA tools we developed proved to be much more sophisticated than those specified by DoD and MOD, and quite frequently threw up design faults in nascent system designs thereby enabling pre-hardware modifications to be made before major costs were incurred. Our FMECA methods were in some ways like a design walk-through, and, then rivals, BAE, were interested in buying our software tools, but Marconi blocked the sale. RIP Ron.
Marconi House was demolished in mid-afternoon on the 21st June 2013 – the end of an era.
We report the death of those Veterans notified to the secretary from the copy date of the last newsletter to the 31st January 2014 We extend our sympathy to the families of those mentioned.
DG Argyle, AG Barrett, AC Barton, AHG Bearman, DJ Beer, PW Boorer, JE Brett, M Bull, RE Burrells, DF Candy, RLJ Cave, J Cowling, DC Creed, PE Davidson, Mrs E Drake, F Faulkner, GA Ferrand, CP Freeman, KF Gazi, MT Gordon, CJ Greenham, PJ Hall, RV Hammond MBE, KA Hardy, JS Heward, KS Hewitt, DAR Holdom, DE Hughes, KTD Hughes, GG Hutley, R Kitchen BEM, G Lee, MH Leveridge, BE Lingwood, JK Lonsdale, F Matthews, WJ Meehan, RG Mitchell, DE Money, Mrs JE Oddy, WL Peace, A Pitches, RW Potter, JE Pownall, DG Pudsey, RW Rawlings, PM Ratcliffe, GK Rogers, R Safe, C Samms, GA Sheardown, CD Sinclair, GD Speake OBE, AH Stoneham, Mrs M Sutterby, NTJ Sutterby, AK Thorogood, PJ Treadaway, AJ Wickens, HJ Williams, RT Worricker, AH Wreford.
Newsletter 2013
Marconi New Street building receives a face-lift
Please click on the title Newsletter 2013 above to open the full document and on any picture in this newsletter to open a larger version.
Peter Turrall MVA Chairman
Bellway Homes, whose headquarters are in Rainsford Road Chelmsford, has purchased the Marconi site in New Street. Following two exhibitions at the Anglia Ruskin University where they showed plans of the possible redevelopment of the site, they have now submitted plans to the Chelmsford City Council for modifications to the front building and small demolition immediately behind this which was the old Television Test area. The plans also include retention and updating of the water tower which is along Marconi Road. Detailed plans of the rest of the site which take into consideration comments made at the two exhibitions by members of the public will be submitted in 2013 and will contain requirements for over four hundred houses and other small outlets. It is hoped that recognition of some of the major achievements associated with the Marconi Company will be included in the general layout of the site.
The Marconi Veterans Association has already had preliminary discussions with the owners: in due course it is hoped these will lead to us helping them establish and possibly exhibiting some of the artefacts of the company within the front building.
The whole front area which had been neglected by the previous owners for a number of years was tidied up by the local authority when it was known the Olympic flame was to pass by on its way to the city centre. (The damaged ground floor window apertures were covered by protective panels decorated with images representing the history of the site. The photo on the left was taken as the Olympic torch was passing the building on the 6th July last year. Ed.) Now the building is completely shrouded by plastic sheets and scaffolding whilst repairs are carried out to the leaking roof, and the window sills and front façade are repaired. The owners hope with internal modifications such as exhibition area, offices and new toilets, this building will be open as Bellway Homes new headquarters in the spring of 2013.
Whilst exact details of the rest of the site are unclear at this stage, it is proposed to knock down the five storey concrete building known as Marconi House and also the wavy roof building known as Building 720. Although a number of objections to the removal of these two buildings have been made, it is understood both will not be in line with the modernisation of the rest of the site. In addition Marconi House is suffering from severe concrete cancer.
At least the front building, which celebrated its centenary in 2012, will be preserved and the many memories of staff and the products they produced will still be exhibited within the new complex.
Above, the New Street factory in its youth, circa 1918, from a postcard containing one of Fred Spalding’s splendid photographs of Chelmsford. The reverse carries the following message: “Dear Dorothy, I thought you would like these p.cards of the place where I am working. This one is when we are leaving off. I hope you receive my letter. With love from Dorothy.”
Another Spalding postcard image appears on the back page.
Be sure to read Alan Hartley-Smith on page 5 regarding future preservation of the Marconi Heritage.
Please click on the blue heading above to gain access to the full Newsletter
Why didn’t I start sooner?
The eternal cry of those who work to deadlines, and who doesn’t? Material starts coming in for next year’s edition even before the current year’s has hit the doormat, but by then I’ve moved on to something else. Should I follow up the new emails now, or leave them for later, etc, etc? So here we are in January, with precious little time to get the issue ready for the printer at the end of the month, and I’m running into the late January conflict between this publication and the village newsletter. Both need the same PC and we’re reluctant to lash out on a lap-top to cope with this once a year panic.
In this issue there is an emphasis on the years around 1912, and the company’s maritime heritage. Marconi often said that the aspect of wireless which gave him the greatest satisfaction was its use in saving life and property at sea, and a major part of the company’s early output was ships’ communications equipment. In this issue we feature the loss in mid-Atlantic of the White Star liner SS Titanic, the bravery of her radio officer Jack Phillips, and his connection with the transatlantic telegraph station in Connemara. Perhaps the most significant event in the past year has been the donation to Chelmsford of an historically valuable collection of early marine radio equipment assembled by a former radio officer, Bill Waters, which he bequeathed to the town shortly before his recent death.
Please click on the blue heading above to gain access to the full Newsletter
Should you go back – a further reflection
Pursuing the theme of last year’s editorial, I had to drive from Newbury to Bristol Airport last July to pick up family members returning from SW France. A beautiful sunny afternoon with plenty of time on my hands, so I opted to travel via the A4 – Hungerford, Marlborough, Calne etc – a more pleasant journey than the M4. And so of course I passed by the site of the former No 2 Radio School, RAF Yatesbury. Many fellow veterans will have passed through its portals during the years from the second world war until the end of National Service in 1961: a reduced demand led to its closure in 1965. My time was from April to November 1956 as an air wireless fitter trainee on AWF113, one of the last intakes to be trained on T1154/R1155. I had an early lesson in the perils of even small quantities of West Country scrumpy in the Black Horse in Cherhill!
No sign of the base now save for the road in from the A4 which passes the site of the guardroom – (Chiefy Dunlop?). It has been returned to farmland, but a small portion is occupied by the Wiltshire Microlight Centre. The runway appears to be a section of the main road through the camp running parallel with the A4, and their operations didn’t seem to detract much from the serenity of the surroundings. Had I more time I would have had a short flight: it would have been very pleasant, a few hundred feet up over that part of Wiltshire, close to Avebury. An altogether happier experience than my visit to Watton a year earlier.
The RAF Yatesbury Association http://rafyatesbury.webs.com aims to preserve the memories and history of RAF Station Yatesbury and sister stations in the vicinity. Membership is open to all who have an interest in this area. A book – ‘History of RAF Yatesbury’ by Phil Tomaselli – ISBN 0-9548236-0-5 is available from the Association’s secretary in addition to some of the usual on-line sources.
Newsletter 2010
Number 12, January 2010
Some of the articles included in the annual paper copy of the Newsletter have appeared on this site over the past year. They are repeated here for completeness and so that the two versions of the newsletter are similar. Webmaster.
Should I go back?
Another fourteen page edition this year. At the last committee meeting at the beginning of December I reported that I appeared not to have enough material even for twelve pages due to a lack of contributions. I needn’t have worried. Regrettably though, despite the appeal in the last edition, nothing from lady veterans.
As an ex-Avionics man I’m very pleased to have two or, stretching a point three, items on aeronautically related subjects. And that prompts me to digress a little – I beg your indulgence but the end point probably chimes with many of you.
In the 60s a popular local trio, Talisman, entertained audiences in Essex and beyond with a mix of songs, much of it their own material with folk/jazz/blues/cabaret influences, with purely acoustic guitar and bass accompaniment. I think they appeared before audiences at the MASC on a number of occasions. Who remembers Chessy Harrington’s rendering of Piaf’s ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’? Anyway, one of their numbers, entitled ‘Never try to go back’ told of the likely disappointment for anyone attempting to revisit the fondly remembered places of their earlier years.
I share with a handful of other Veterans the interesting experience of having been stationed at RAF Watton in Norfolk in the 50s. During WW2 it had been the home of RAF and USAAF units, the latter a maintenance unit responsible for repairing battle-damaged Liberators from surrounding operational bases. In my time it was the Central Signals Establishment, involved in cold war signals intelligence and countermeasures activities, flying a motley variety of interesting aircraft.
Regularly holidaying on the North Norfolk coast from the 60s onwards, my wife and I detoured that way to have look whilst returning home in 1993. The old place was there much as I remembered it, but in the guardroom local enthusiasts had set up a very good museum, devoted at that time principally to its WW2 history. They intended later to widen the collection to cover the cold war period. The visit brought back a number of fond memories.
Forward to 2009, again after a holiday in Salthouse, we returned for another look, and to see the museum’s new material. Disaster, the guardroom was no more and whole area was a very sizeable housing development. The former pattern of internal roads had been incorporated into the layout of the estate, bearing names like Mosquito Close and Liberator Avenue, but otherwise it was unrecognisable. It was of course a very appropriate use of what had become a brown-field site. We have to move
on, but it caused me a moment or two of sadness.
The moral is, think carefully before you decide to go back, but if you must, do a little homework first of all – a spur-of-the moment visit might bring disappointment.
Contributions still roll in, but ladies, where are you?
As you will see, there was more than enough material for this year’s edition, since we’ve had to run to fourteen pages, which is very good news, but where are the contributions from you ladies? Only three in the 2006 edition, my first, and none since. And you’ll note that there has been a predominantly engineering bias in all four editions that I’ve edited. Fair enough perhaps, we were an engineering company, but others who were not engineers must have amusing tales, hairy experiences or fond memories to share. So come on folks, let’s provide a bit of counterbalance to the engineers!
At places throughout this issue are references to web addresses where further information about the topic can be found. Apologies to those of you who don’t have access to the internet, but if you can’t get to a library, or have family and friends to help out, then get in touch with me. Subject to negotiation, and so long as I’m not inundated with requests for reams of material, I’m happy to post out hard copies.
May I draw your attention to a special service taking place on the 26th April 2009 in Chelmsford Cathedral. The plaque which commemorates the seventeen employees who died when a bomb fell on the New Street works on the 9th May 1941 has been re-erected in the cathedral and will be unveiled at this service.
Full details can be found in section 18 ‘The Marconi Memorial Plaque’
Number 10, January 2008
Lulled into a false sense of security.
The 2006 edition really wasn’t too much of a problem to deal with, given my background in sharing with my wife the production of our village newsletter. The main difficulties came with setting up my own template, and sifting through the pile of articles that had been submitted to Peter after his appeal in the 2004 edition, prioritising the ones for inclusion in my first issue and those which would ultimately appear in subsequent years’ editions, or on the website. The scanning and editing of lots of sheets of A4 and putting it on the page is all pretty routine stuff.
The 2007 edition was almost a breeze, with a stockpile of backlog items held in readiness against the possibility of insufficient new contributions through the year, then with a number of really good new contributions coming in.
So this time I thought ‘a doddle – no need even to switch on the computer until the New Year’. A bad move. No sooner had I put finger to keyboard than we were plagued with a misbehaving operating system (or hardware?) – repeated crashes, random spontaneous rebooting etc. One day, any number of crashes, the next day none at all. Took it to ‘my man’ who replaced a suspect power supply module – OK for a couple of days, then misbehaving again. We’d got to the time in January when we needed to start preparing the February edition of the village newsletter in parallel, but whilst we were experiencing continual interruptions, we were able to carry on working. If it was handed over to the man for a proper investigation it would be away for an indeterminate period. Therefore soldiering on was the least worst option, which is what we’re doing. As I type this, some light relief from shoehorning the last few items into spaces where they don’t really fit, I’m about a working day away from the press deadline: I might just make it.
Honour for Veterans’ Chairman
The Marconi Veterans’ Association Committee offer congratulations to Charles and wishes him a speedy recovery from his recent illness.
With thanks to Peter Turrall and the Essex FA website for information used in this article.
Charles Rand, Chairman of Marconi Veterans’ Association and this year’s President, has been awarded the MBE in the New Year’s Honours list. The award was made for his services to sport in Essex (specifically football) where he has played, refereed, assessed other referees and been a long serving member of the Essex Olympian League Management Committee.
Charles, who lives in Chelmsford, was for many years Chief Production Engineer of Marconi Radar Systems, Writtle Road, Chelmsford when John Sutherland was Managing Director. His footballing career started at the age of 15 in 1946 when he took part in his first competitive game for the Mid-Essex Technical College, but his involvement in the sport increased once his playing days were over. He was one of the founder Committee Members of the Olympian League when it was formed in 1966, so-called as it was an Olympic year. He started as Fixture Secretary until 1971 and was also Publicity Secretary in 1968/69, refereeing in the League simultaneously.
He was Honorary Secretary from 1971 until 1973 when he was made Vice-Chairman, being elected Chairman in 1978. This was a position he occupied until the end of the 1999/2000 campaign and that year he was named the League’s first ever Patron. Conducting around 270 referee assessments during that time, the culmination of the 2003/04 season saw his efforts recognised on a countywide scale as he received the Essex County Football Association’s Award of Merit. Not intent on stopping there, he continued refereeing under 12s’ matches until the ripe old age of 75!
He said ‘I was overwhelmed when the letter from the Prime Minister’s Office arrived and I am deeply thrilled to receive this in recognition of my long association over many years with Essex football. Within hours of the release of the news I had the press visiting. I needed to keep it a secret from them for the six weeks since I received the news up until the New Year, which was the hardest part’. The presentation will be made at Buckingham Palace mid-February when wife Betty and his two daughters will accompany him.
Mailbag
A number of letters this year are from correspondents seeking information whilst researching their family history, or for the preparation of articles or books. If no contact detail appears with the letter then please direct any information, or your own contact details for the enquirer, to Barry Powell or to the editor.
RAF Aerial Erectors
David Kniveton wrote in September 2007 seeking assistance with a book he is writing about the activities of RAF Aerial Erectors, and asking how he could gain access to the archives. He was given a number of possibly helpful leads – and told the sorry story of the archives. The letter is reproduced here. Although the book is written it has not yet been published and any additional contributions, if helpful, can be incorporated, so if anyone can assist he would welcome the contact.
We have his e-mail and postal address. Ed.
He writes:
About eight years ago I was in touch with Gavin Baxter, Assistant Archivist at the GEC Archives whilst researching for a book I am writing about the Royal Air Force Aerial Erectors. The time delay is due to me suffering various health problems, but now I am fit and well and determined to finish the book.
The letter I have from Gavin Baxter states that I have full permission to use the photographs etc that he was kind enough to send me.
Now that I have picked up my pen again I find that shortly after being in contact with Gavin the archives have disappeared, or at least to me they have. After a lot of searching on the web I came across a GEC newsletter from 2006 where you were taking over as editor.
I understand now that GEC made a gift of the archives to the local council. Can you please shed any light onto the archives now? Are there any contact details available?
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Colwyn Bay College, and ‘The Marconi Scientist Mystery’
Richard Shaw, February 2007
Many thanks for another excellent issue: full of interesting information, much of it vital material for anyone engaged in historical research. Do you deposit a copy with the British Library or any other archive from which it could be made available in the future? (Currently we don’t, but we intend to lodge copies with the Essex Records Office. Ed.)
Of particular interest to me was the article by Felix Mascarenhas whose name is familiar and whose path I crossed more than once without, I think, ever meeting.
The first time was at Colwyn Bay Wireless College, which he left in the year I first went there. The second occasion was the Cardiff depot in Mountstuart Square, which I think he must have left before I started there in 1956. Perhaps we shall finally achieve a sighting at the reunion in April.
The article, ‘The Marconi Scientist Mystery’ I found most intriguing. I had not read Tony Collins’ book, ‘Open Verdict’, but I was immediately reminded of an article that appeared in the News of the World on September 7, 2003. Titled, ‘The Kelly Conspiracy’, it asked, ‘Are the deaths of 25 scientists linked?’, and named 25 ‘of the world’s top scientists – including Dr David Kelly – [who] have died mysteriously in the past two years.’
All, it seems, worked in similar fields. ‘Many of the specialists – some world leaders in the development of weapons grade biological plagues – died within days of each other’, the report continued. ‘Ten were killed in plane crashes, one caused by a ‘stray’ surface-to-air missile.’
‘Five died after apparently being mugged at home and three were shot.’
‘Two, including Dr Kelly, committed suicide while another was stabbed to death. One was gassed in a laboratory’s air-locked rooms, another was mown down while out jogging. And one mysteriously fell off a bridge after suffering a ‘dizzy’ spell.’
There appears to be no direct connection between any of these 25 deaths and those of the 25 Marconi scientists. But although both groups worked in several different fields, all had military, or potentially military, uses.
Consequently, even if one discounts ten per cent of those deaths as possibly accidental, the fact that so many such scientists met unnatural deaths in so short a time tends to challenge a belief in coincidence: a challenge that seems strengthened by the apparent lack of any further news of official investigations.
A letter from Keith Hughes in Dovercourt last March regretted his not being able to attend the reunion, and went on to say:
Thank you for the 12-page news letter – it had some very interesting news. As a Welshman I had a particular interest in the Colwyn Bay story (P2) and also to read the letter from Fred Kenyon on the late Derek Greiss. Both Fred and Derek were good friends of mine years ago and I would like to write to Fred in Australia – would you be able to gave me his present address?
(A further contribution on Derek Griess’ involvement with HF/DF in WW2 appears later in this newsletter)
The wisdom of the Saturday supplements
Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of cheques.
Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.
The Marconi Lancia
This article has been on the website since July 2007. If you wish to re-read it please look at the archive for the month.
The Baddow tower – further thoughts
Bill Fitzgerald, March 2007
Further to your note in the newsletter on the Baddow tower, I am wondering if there is any point in having the tower listed! The only advantage gained might be to delay its destruction. All the owners would need to do would be to declare it ‘unsafe’.
If a listing was given and honoured, who could be persuaded to re-erect it and where? Bawdsey perhaps, but all the listed towers they had are gone. The cost to dismantle the tower, from the top down, to transport it, to re-erect it and paint it would be extremely costly. Perhaps we could get a mobile phone company to erect it at Sandford Mill (God forbid).
Sorry to be an old pessimist but we must consider the facts. Whatever happens the tower cannot stay at Baddow if the site is sold for residential use. A swift charge of explosives at each leg – and goodbye!
Could you get your spies at Baddow to see if the structure is being cared for. The tower is of mild steel and requires care to prevent corrosion. I think I know now why English Heritage is reluctant to list it!
In passing, did you get a copy of the plan of the factory, in colour, from the developers? Has anybody combed the site for any artefacts? I spent hours in that building on top of the white building checking the Marine Radar linearity against the echoes from the avenues. Has anyone been up there since?
Bill Godden’s memory of a ‘Barnacle Buster’ brought memories flooding back. It was developed in Building 38 (by the Marconi Road gate) where Marine Radar and Echo sounders were developed. Johnny Glasgow was the engineer assisted, or should I say that he was frustrated, by the attentions of Captain Round! Is Johnny a veteran, I would like to hear from him? (Yes, John Glasgow is on the Register of Veterans.)
Memories of Marconi Radar
David Ashman
I visited the website of the Marconi Veterans’ Association because of the fond memories and admiration I always held for the Marconi Company. Watching and reading about the demise of the company at the start of the millennium from Asia was extremely painful. An absolute travesty for employees and the Chelmsford community.
I worked for Marconi Radar in Great Baddow for just two and half years in the sixties, holding a relatively junior position in the Air Traffic Control section and then with Systems A team…. or was it Systems B team? During my short time of employment I worked under Don Eastaugh and then, on the Systems team, worked for Roger Woodcock and Ian Donaldson. I greatly admired their technical skills, know-how and man management skills.
My technical interest and work was involved with primary ATC Radar systems. Marconi Company introduced me to digital signal processing. I found an additional challenge in computers as I was drawn into the world of Marconi Myriad Computers and trained as a programmer at the Writtle Training Centre.
I enjoyed happy and satisfying employment at Marconi Radar with good prospects. What more could I want. I had the best job in the world and was, it seemed to me, surrounded by most of the best people. Unfortunately this wasn’t to last. Family problems made it necessary for me to resign and return to working and living in London. Eventually the computer systems skills given to me by Marconi took my career into the financial sector. The Marconi managers also gave me a model upon which to build my own management style. My career prospered as a result.
Since those very happy days I’ve worked in many ‘blue chip’ companies, worked in over 100 countries, encountered a variety of modern managers, survived culture change programmes, participated in ‘customer first’ workshops, endured immersion in the quality management way whilst generally trying to stay up-to-date with modern management methods. I suppose these have made their mark on me and indeed have probably contributed to my career which has taken me all over the world and given me much satisfaction. However when I reflect on the companies I’ve worked for, the managers I’ve served, and the satisfaction I experienced, despite all the advances in ‘methods’ none exceed the personal satisfaction I experienced working for and serving the Marconi Company.
Having visited your website from my desk in Singapore and experiencing the pleasure of linking to one of the very happy periods of my life, I just wanted to express my appreciation to the Marconi community for the contribution they made to my life and career.
Scottish Signal School (Glasgow Wireless College)
Vix Kennedy – [email protected]
I’m wondering if you or any of your members know anything of the Scottish Signal School, also referred to as the Glasgow Wireless College, which was at 15 Newton Place, Glasgow during the war?
My son’s great grandfather is listed as principal there between 1942-1946 and then he moved his family to Rhodesia. This is all I know! Rhodesia at that time was the new world and many people moved there to help build the country, much like Australia and New Zealand. I assume he would have been doing a similar trade there and been involved in wireless communications.
I’m pretty sure he would have left there as it became Zimbabwe, and may have gone to South Africa or more likely USA or even returned to Scotland, but I’m sure he would have remained in the trade.
His name was Charles Theodore Kennedy and he was married to an Annie Elizabeth Gibson. They had a son in 1944 called Raymond. If any of your members know anything about the school or remember him as a principal I’d love to hear from them!
History of ATC and airport radar
L A Thomas, Swansea
I am doing research on the history and development of ATC and Airport radar systems in the UK for the post war years, and write to you in the hope that some of your members may be able to assist me with any trade literature or general technical knowledge of the sets that Marconi designed and manufactured. I am led to understand that the former radar archives are no more, and to date have obtained information from early issues of aeronautical journals, technical magazines eg Marconi Review, and from the official files at the National Archives. The official files refer to the planning and siting of ATC radars, but do not provide any general details of the equipment, and often contain lobe diagrams. If any of your members have any information on the following Marconi radars I would be interested to hear – S232 series, S264, S264A, S264 A/H and the S650 series.
I recently placed a reader’s request letter in an Essex newspaper for information on the above but had a very poor response.
Elsie, the Squigger-Bug
Normally the Squigger-Bug is kept below the threshold on a lead (often a short grid lead). If this lead is lengthened, the creature appears above the threshold and becomes self-excited by continually repeating her curious cry, a kind of variable mew. When fully excited she dives into the nearest closed circuit round which she races, tail in mouth, at incredible speed. The presence in a transmitter of the female of the species attracts the male (in this case, one Mike R O Henry by name). Mike has on several occasions tried to choke Elsie with the grid lead, but the reluctance with which she reacts to his coercive force ensures that there is no change in Elsie’s characteristic curves.
When chased out of a transmitter, the female Squigger-Bug goes immediately to earth by way of the nearest bypass, digging herself in with a circular movement of ever-increasing radius, and finally disappearing with a loud report, leaving behind a characteristic odour of burnt bakelite and a pile of brass filings. Hence the Pyramids.
This, the only specimen of the well-known parasite which has survived captivity, answers to the name of Elsie Ratio. She has a magnetic personality although her head is a perfect vacuum. The female is very voracious and, owing to her self-capacity, is able to eat excessive amounts of grid currants and a little anode feed. The latter is kept in a tank coil and comes out of a tap. The Squigger-Bug eats from a quartz plate (which in wartime was reduced to a pintz plate), and is accustomed to feed from positive to negative. She is much perturbed if fed the other way, a process known as negative feedback.
Her bent-up chassis is inductive (abbrev. infinitely seductive) and her component parts are colour-coded giving an attractive skin-effect. Vanity is responsible for the full-wave in her antennae, although this Hertz antennae unless padding capacities are used.
Squigger-bug – Parasiticus Preposterosus. Germinated, incubated and brought to maturity in the laboratory of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Marine Development Section I.B.
Click here for a larger image
From the first issue of the Marconi Mariner, Vol. 1, No.1, July-August 1947 with thanks to Jimmy Leadbitter.
He was very wrong, but lived…
Tom Gutteridge – a contribution from December 2005
An occasional reader of the Newsletter, I have been interested to read other people’s contributions to this little bit of Marconi history: here are some of mine.
I joined Marconi Test Department from the Chelmsford Tech in 1943 and leaving in 1974, my memory of those times is hazy but I think Mr Robb, who had an office in the front building, was the Chief of Test.
As a junior, I started with the boring job of testing components like capacitors, inductances, Muirhead drives and coils. The area for testing coils was at the end of the girls’ winding shop upstairs. A dangerous place for self-conscious young men! Later I moved on to High Power Test. This was the ‘big bang’ area – before Safety at Work rules and regulations! SWB 8s and SWB 11s for the Admiralty were a fairly steady work load and later, high power Broadcast Transmitters.
High Power Test was run by Mr Whiteman and later by V J Sandy. Among the ‘oldies’ were G C Baker, and Mr Wylie – who I think suffered as a Marine Operator earlier in the war. Then there was Alfie Amos, Tommy Tomlinson, Doug Hills, Ecclestone and many others whose names have slipped my memory. G C Baker would regale us with the excitement and problems of taking his nanny goat(s) on the back seat of his open Riley car to visit Sandy’s goat the previous evening.
We were handling lots of kilowatts but I don’t recall anyone getting seriously hurt: even a young man known as ‘fearless Fearman’ who insisted that power was off at the wall and proceeded to put a screwdriver across the terminals of a SWB 8 transmitter to prove it. Unfortunately he was very wrong, but lived to explain loudly that it was somebody else’s fault!
In the exposed corner by the entry to the High Power Test was a lash-up to provide very high voltages (like lightning!) mainly for testing or proving high voltage insulators. Very, very high voltages were generated (enough to make your hair stand on end!) and it took a bit of know-how to set up the tuned circuits to get the required voltage. Wylie was good at this.
The transmitters were built in the workshop below Marconi House opposite the canteen. I cannot immediately recall the name of the foreman but the chargehand was Charlie Pashley. I think he had been involved in the Altmark event off Norway in the Second World War and survived. I got to know many of the fitters. They were a good and friendly lot, some of whom later worked with me on overseas installations. At the entrance to Marconi House (or just behind) there was an entrance to the lower ground area or cellar where the archives and records were kept in the care of an old RN sailor who took part in the Zeebrugge attack in the First World War. He certainly had several fingers missing. I can’t think what I was doing there but he was always good for an interesting chat. Another link to the First World War was Diggens who was a sort of general helper around Power Test. He would cheerfully relate the most unpleasant experiences of fighting in the trenches.
In due course I went into the services for a spell and on my return became involved on overseas installation work, but that’s another story.
The Marconi Site, New Street, Chelmsford
Peter Turrall
The new owners of the Marconi factory and offices, Messrs Ashwell Developments of Cambridge, have submitted proposals for the redevelopment of the site to Chelmsford Borough Council and right now discussions with the council’s Planning Department are taking place.
The latest date for Messrs Selex (who are at the moment the occupiers) to leave the site is July 1st this year. After this date the developers will, providing planning permission is granted, move in to start the first phase of the redevelopment which probably will be the demolition of the factory and associated buildings. The main front building housing offices will remain as this is already covered by a preservation order.
On behalf of the Veterans’ Committee, I have had negotiations with Chelmsford Borough Council Planning Director as well as the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Arts and Heritage. The council, whilst in favour of a Heritage Centre which the Veterans’ Committee would like in the front building, are unable to offer any finance for this to become reality. The finance, if any, to house archives, memorabilia and other documentation must come from other sources and hopefully from the developer. Already discussions in this direction have taken place, but the developers have other important aspects which must be considered before a Heritage Centre can come to fruition. Therefore it will be sometime before we can take the next steps.
Meanwhile, I am gathering memorabilia, documents and other Marconi related items. Hopefully one day these can be catalogued and held in the Heritage Centre at New Street. Please, whatever you do, make sure anything you possess in this area is made available to the Veterans’ Association and not put into the bin, now or whenever you pass on. Quite recently we have been given a complete set of microphones, some made at New Street, all beautifully mounted on wooden stands.
The initial outlay to get the Heritage Centre under way looks to be in the order of £50K. This is because a considerable amount of work to get toilets, water, electricity, modifications to the building and heating sorted out is necessary. This area has been vacated for a number of years and certainly would have to be sorted out before we could offer the public access to the site. Parking is also a problem but eventually this will be overcome once the site is cleared.
Your committee is considering any shortcuts available to finance even a small area of the site to house documentation and memorabilia and this will be discussed at the reunion.
Meanwhile, it is hoped to record on audio disks the voices of people who worked in the Company and already a list of possible names has been drawn up. If you have some stories to relate of your time with the Company, then please advise the undersigned who will take all details and if appropriate, will make in due course arrangements for a recording to be made. The most modern equipment will be available for this purpose but here again it will cost money to carry this out and funding will have to be sought.
Your Veterans’ Committee has given the go-ahead to a proposal I made to them of preparing a book of memories from people who worked for the Company. More details will be given at the reunion but, if you have any story no matter how small or long, please put this to paper and send either to the undersigned or our secretary Barry Powell. Again, it will cost a lot of money to produce and we are looking for ways to finance this. Timescales dictate that during the next 12 months information will be gathered and edited. Preparation for printing requires a further few months, meaning that the book will be ready for sale in about 18 months time. The anticipated cost will be around £15 each and we will need to sell at least 1,500 to make the project worthwhile. The title of the book is likely to be ‘Memories of Marconi in Chelmsford – Gone But Not Forgotten’.
Sandford Mill Museum
Marconi Day, Saturday 26 April 2008
International Marconi Day commemorates Guglielmo Marconi’s birthday. Your chance to visit the Marconi collections, see the new exhibition in the Marconi broadcasting hut, and explore the mysteries of radio transmission and Morse code with Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society. Entrance free, 10am – 5pm
Summer Sundays – 3, 10, 17, 24 August 2008
The Engine House is open on Sunday afternoons throughout August. See the museum’s industrial collections and visit the Discovery Zone! Entrance free, 2 – 5pm
http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6790
The role of Derek Griess in WW 2
Arriving just at the time that the obituary of Derek Griess appeared in the last newsletter, Bryan Everett passed on to Barry Powell further background to Derek’s WW 2 career which came to him from Fred Kenyon in Australia. He writes:
Herewith copies of information from Fred Kenyon regarding Derek Griess’ wartime work with Marconi installing HF/DF equipment. Fred was most anxious to lay hands on Derek’s passports and I just couldn’t understand why this was so – I now know.
(In the documents received from Bryan Everett was a list of 33 passport entries from April 1940 to June 1945 covering the area of the Atlantic from Liverpool to Portugal, West Africa, South Africa, St Helena, the Caribbean, the USA and Canada, evidence of a number of transatlantic crossings over that period. Ed.)
Fred’s letter to an aunt of Derek’s in York notes that a significant part of Derek’s wartime career was associated with the installation of HF/DF (Huff-Duff) equipment at coastal stations on both sides of the Atlantic in support of the Royal Navy’s North Atlantic convoy escort duties. It played a crucial role in containing the U-boat threat.
The foregoing was a preface to a page from Fred giving more detail of this period, which follows here.
During World War 2 there was a period from the commencement of the conflict in September 1939 when Britain was totally dependent on sea traffic across the Atlantic when supplies from America were vital. This was particularly so after Britain was isolated following the fall of France.
German U-boats were very successful sinking allied shipping, often sinking as many as sixty per cent of the ships in a convoy. Tactics were changed, and convoys were escorted by the Royal Navy using destroyers and frigates fitted with a number of new weapons. One of the most important of these was direction-finding equipment using high frequency radio (HF/DF) nicknamed Huff-Duff. The German U-boats hunted in packs and they communicated with each other and with Berlin when they surfaced every twenty four hours to charge their batteries. They assumed that if they broke radio silence only briefly with encoded signals they could not be traced.
Britain developed Huff-Duff using seaboard and land-based equipment so that even a brief HF signal could be registered and tracked from a number of receivers, allowing an exact location of the transmission to be immediately established and providing a bearing for the escort vessels to locate the enemy. The Marconi Company was involved in installing Huff-Duff stations around the Atlantic in British colonial countries which fortunately bordered the whole Atlantic coast. Derek Griess was the young (26) qualified radio engineer chosen for this urgent mission in May 1940. During the next five years he travelled constantly to many places around the North and South Atlantic coast from Halifax Nova Scotia and the West Indies and British Guiana in South America, across to Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast of Africa and even St Helena, a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The result of all this effort was that in Spring 1941 the escort vessels sailing out of Liverpool suddenly started to be very successful in locating and sinking the enemy U-boats. The German Admiral Dönitz lost some of his best U-boat commanders and the leader of the British Royal Navy escort ships Captain Frederic John Walker (known popularly as Johnnie Walker) became a hero being awarded four DSOs and a knighthood. From this time leading up to the D-Day invasion on 6 June 1945 the Atlantic gateway was open to massive amounts of traffic bringing the armaments that enabled the successful invasion of Europe.
North Atlantic convoy (above) and (below) an HF/DF set
Photos: www.mikekemble.com
(Background to Huff-Duff and the Battle of the Atlantic at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huff-Duff. Google that and Frederic John Walker for a number of other relevant articles)
(I have a copy of the list of Derek Griess’s wartime passport entries, and would be happy to email a copy to any veteran requesting it. Ed).
Report of the 2007 Veterans’ reunion
The 71st annual reunion, at the MASC in Beehive Lane, Chelmsford, took place on Saturday 14th April. The president for the year, Professor Roy W Simons, was introduced by MVA Chairman, Charles Rand. In his introduction Charles touched on their shared past in Marconi Radar, first at Baddow, then later at Writtle Road when he was Chief Production Engineer during Roy’s time as Technical Director.
Roy Simons reviewed the Marconi companies’ involvement in radar systems design and manufacture, from Marconi’s anticipation of the concept of radiolocation, when in 1922 in an address to the American Institution of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) he said’…it should be possible to design apparatus to radiate or project a beam of rays, which rays, if coming across a metallic object such as a ship, would be reflected back to a receiver..’, until the time of his (Roy Simons’) own departure from the Marconi Radar Systems Ltd in 1986.
The company’s first practical involvement in radar came with design of the aerial arrays for the Chain Home system in the mid 1930s, moving then during WW2 into manufacture of many radar systems, particularly for gunnery and naval surveillance, and also notably large-scale manufacture of magnetrons.
His own introduction to radar at the end of the war, under R J Kemp, was involvement in the design of a radar for the Marine Company – the basis of Radiolocator.
Subsequent notable milestones over the following years included a major contract for refurbishment of the wartime air-defence radar system of the United Kingdom during the late 40s/early 50s – a total of 20 sites for the RAF, design and manufacture of the Type S247 radar, the Queen’s Award-winning S600 series, GWS Sea Wolf system for the Royal Navy, the formation of Marconi Radar Systems in 1969, and the last major surface radar that the company produced, another Queen’s Award winner, Martello. Over these years two parallel product lines for radar systems materialised, one for HMG business and the other for private venture (predominantly overseas) business.
He concluded by saying that the Marconi Company was the leading supplier of radar systems to the world and he was proud to have been associated with the work of his colleagues in Marconi Radar Systems as the Technical Director for its first 17 years.
MVA Vice Chairman Peter Turrall then introduced the Guest of Honour, Dr John Williams OBE, FREng, HonFIEE. John Williams was for a number of years Director of the Marconi Research Centre at Great Baddow, and later Secretary and Chief Executive of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
Dr. Williams shared some reminiscences of Lord Weinstock, to whom he had to report for about eight years, and interspersed his speech with various anecdotes about meetings with Lord Weinstock and some of the subterfuges used to prevent him from finding out too much about the particular operating company, and how it was necessary to explain the existence of certain staff who Lord Weinstock might otherwise consider excessive to the business.
Lord Weinstock was obsessed with not wasting money or resources and would take the opportunity at budget meetings to probe into particular areas. He was not interested in details of long term strategy; in fact in a memo to all MDs he said that making money from running businesses that GEC knew something about was the company’s only strategy and we were forbidden to use the word in future monthly reports. Talking about memos from Lord Weinstock, one managing director was surprised to get a response from Lord Weinstock to his monthly report which started ‘your monthly report is not entirely unsatisfactory’. The MD considered this the height of praise and framed the memo for posterity.
Dr Williams offered another anecdote that beautifully illustrated the focus on avoiding waste of money – and how it might be sidestepped. On a visit to Great Baddow, Lord Weinstock asked why it was necessary to employ two gardeners at the site. It was explained that they were necessary to keep the grass down to minimise HF path losses between transmitter and receiver antennae.
He concluded by emphasising his great respect for Lord Weinstock’s management style and his prudent business approach, and wondering how different things might have been for the Company had he not bowed to City pressure and handed over the reins when he did.
Veterans’ reunion 2008
The 2008 reunion will take place on Saturday 12th April at the MASC, Beehive Lane, Chelmsford, commencing at 1.00pm. This year’s President is Veteran Charles Rand MBE, chairman of the MVA Standing Committee and previously Chief Production Engineer, Marconi Radar Systems Ltd, based at the Writtle Road complex. He will be introduced by Professor Roy W Simons OBE, CEng, FIET, CPhys, FInstP, last year’s President. During the AGM, Peter Turrall will give an update on the impending redevelopment of the New Street site, and Robbie Robinson, former Managing Director of Marconi Communications Systems Ltd and a member of the Pensions Consultative Committee will update Veterans on the telent/Stanhope Pensions Trust pension situation and answer any questions that Veterans may wish to ask.
A project anecdote of times past
E J (Ted) Haydon
I’m thinking about the time around the early to mid eighties. Do you remember those days, when we worked hard and when the opportunity arose played hard. It was a time when we looked forward to going to work; it was intellectually challenging and best of all it was fun. I guess around the mid-eighties things changed, but let’s not dwell on that.
An annual event was entertaining our customers to lunch on HMS Belfast. As those of us who were fortunate enough to attend these occasions will remember, the form was pre-lunch drinks, wine with the meal, and there was always plenty of this, and of course when dining with the Navy, the obligatory bottle of port which is passed around at the end of the meal until it is empty. Negotiating your way home after that was quite an art. I understand that some more ‘experienced’ diners would venture out in the evening to a night club but I know nothing of these activities!
On one particular occasion after lunch I was invited to join a naval officer and his wife for dinner that evening. They lived during the week with their dog on a longboat moored on the Regents Canal. We met his wife from work and dined at a Greek restaurant somewhere in Camden Town. Having done justice to a couple more bottles of wine, it was suggested that we adjourn for coffee to the boat. Now, I can vaguely remember arriving, but must have passed out before coffee, as the next thing I remember was the dog licking my face at 6am the next morning. After thanking my ‘hosts’ for the night’s impromptu stay, I hurried home just in time to meet my wife on the doorstep as she left for work. I can still remember her words as she cycled off – ‘Oh! You made it then’.
I reported in around 10am explaining to my boss the reason for my lateness. He, whom shall remain nameless (MVB), then told me he had been woken up that morning by the cleaners in a railway carriage in the sidings at Southend. I think I was slightly peeved that he was at his desk working before me!
But then it was business as usual. Happy days!
Photo – Anders Isaksson www.isazone.com
This contribution injects a Basildon flavour into this issue. We did things differently there – or did we? Ed.
Research – military radio
From Peter R Jensen
I recently came across a copy of the Marconi Veterans’ Newsletter and saw that it contained a wealth of material which could be particularly useful for the book that I am starting to assemble. You may recognize my name from a couple of books that have dealt with the development of telecommunications over the last 100 years. I notice that one of them is referred to in the newsletter, ‘In Marconi’s Footsteps – Early Radio’. The more recent book, ‘From the Wireless to the Web’, was published in 2000.
Needless to say, the newsletter came to my attention courtesy of the internet and the redoubtable search engine Google.
The book that I am working on is provisionally entitled ‘Wireless as War’, and in it I am aiming to explore the development of radio technology from 1901 in South Africa to probably the 1960s when my military service was undertaken as a National Serviceman. As for the earlier books, it is intended to do this through a series of narratives dealing with actual events, and for this reason the Marconi Veterans represent an interesting source of potentially relevant experience.
In addition to Military Radio as used by the conventional fighting forces, I am also particularly interested in clandestine radio communications and its development. This is because the demands for light weight and compactness led to a series of developments that influenced radio design during the years following the war. In this context, I am currently involved with a group of radio amateur historical radio society people to replicate the Paraset of 1943, an interesting early portable transmitter receiver that was used by SOE in its efforts to undermine the Nazis in France.
Given the foregoing, I wonder if you can suggest a means to obtain access to the newsletter. Are you aware of it being provided to any organisation in Australia, which I where I am based? (Peter Jensen has been directed to the website to access back editions of the newsletter, and Barry has sent him hard copies of issues which do not appear on the website. Ed.)
Apropos ‘In Marconi’s Footsteps – Early Radio’, if there are other veterans of the Marconi Company who are interested in obtaining a copy, I have a stock of new books that came from the publisher when they decided to declare the book out of print. The going rate is £35 Sterling which includes postage on an airlifted basis and involves approximately 2 week or less delay from receipt of funds which can be a Sterling cheque as I have an account in the UK.
With kind regards and thanks in anticipation of your response.
The changing times…
Alan Hine, February 2007
As you spoke about hearing any scraps of news, I thought I would put pen to paper.
I worked at Marconi Basildon for 36 years and have been retired for 16. However I met a couple of work mates in town that still worked at the new SELEX building and was asked to pop in and see some of the other lads, and have a cup of tea and a natter. Having just reached my 80th birthday I thought it would be nice to pay them a visit. My son kindly took me by car and I made my way to the reception area. The woman rang a supervisor I had worked with, who arrived on the scene. He made off to make arrangements for a photograph and pass. But when he returned he said the powers that be would not issue one because of security, so I was not allowed to enter. This perhaps is not the sort of letter you would like to print but I was very annoyed and felt like speaking my mind. (So much for 36 years service!)
Aeronautical Memories
Roderick Mackley, February 2007
Thank you for the Newsletter which arrived this morning. I am most impressed by the way you have put this issue in particular together which constituted an absorbing read.
There is something very special about the dear old Marconi Company and its old members – I am still very, very proud to have spent so many years of my working life, firstly in the Company’s Commercial Department and subsequently in the Aeronautical Division and the Radar Company and I just cannot understand those people who have said that work was a bore – I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute of every day.
Eric Walker’s memories of life at Lawford Lane is of particular interest as I really started my Marconi life there, joining Aeronautical Division for two weeks in late 1946 and staying for seventeen years before moving on! Eric’s account broadly confirms mine – he, like me, enjoyed the light-hearted, hard-working regimen there, almost like the RAF in which I had served during WWII but in civilian clothes! I will avoid repeating myself – my very warm memories of those early days were described in the January 2005 Newsletter.
It pleases me to see that Radar is being celebrated this year, and that my old mate, Roy Simons, is this year’s President. It grieves me though that I shall be unable to attend the Annual Reunion because of a health blip which, to date, six specialists have been unable to diagnose. Thankfully it is not life-threatening, just a wretched inconvenience!
I have now been retired for twenty years all but one month – doesn’t time fly?
Alfred H Howarth
John Howarth, Cumbria
This letter appeared in the October/November 2007 of ‘Radio Bygones’ journal, and as the result of an exchange of correspondence with John Howarth it is reproduced here. If anyone can help in his researches, please contact him directly via email on [email protected], or pass any information or your own contact details for the enquirer to Barry Powell or to the editor.
I am researching the career of my father, Alfred H Howarth, as a Marconi-trained ‘Sparks’ or Radio Officer.
What little information I have at present indicates that he served on board the ocean-going tug Flying Breeze during WW1. This would be the first vessel bearing that name, as I understand that the one he served on was replaced by another with the same name at a later date.
From the end of WW1 till the early thirties he served as ‘Sparks’ on board many Merchant ships, mainly of the ‘tramp’ variety, sailing around most of the globe.
Unfortunately, the Marconi Company seems to have fragmented recently and I am unable to ascertain where the records of this company are deposited. In particular I am interested in any records of the Marconi Radio Operator branch, who would have been his employer.
I would appreciate any help that anyone out there can give me in either locating these records, or any other information that would give me a lead in locating further information.
Pat O’Hanlon, Radio Officer
Patrick O’Hanlon, Holden, Massachusetts, USA
I have just read with great interest the latest (April 2007) Marconi Veterans’ Association newsletter, in particular, the recollections of Felix Mascarenhas.
My uncle, Pat O’Hanlon, was also a Marconi Marine Officer during WW2, during which time he received recognition for good work when his vessel was torpedoed. He trained at the Marconi school in Liverpool or North Wales during the 1930s. Unfortunately, I do not know which shipping line he was attached to during peace time, but I do know that he subsequently worked for the British government in some communications capacity.
I am researching my family tree and Pat O’Hanlon was my uncle – he passed away some years ago. I would be extremely grateful if you could point me to any information that would perhaps help me find out a little more about my uncle and his career in radio communications.
Postscript to MIMCO Singapore 1942 to 1945
Extracts from Mr Duncan Robertson’s report to company management following his release from Japanese internment in 1945 were published under this heading in the 2006 newsletter, and the full text, less the missing page, was recently posted on the website entitled Singapore 1942. Scanning recently through the bound volume of the first editions of the Marconi Mariner covering 1947 to 1950 I can add this postscript.
When in 1942 the Japanese armies were forcing their way down the Malayan Peninsular, the work of the depot carried on almost up to the day when Singapore was finally occupied. The Depot Manager, Mr Duncan Robertson, and his Technical Assistant, Mr H Thompson, left Singapore by ship in an endeavour to reach the Dutch East Indies. Unfortunately, their vessel was intercepted by a Japanese warship and sunk after a short but intense bombardment. Mr Thompson was killed and Mr Robertson taken prisoner and carried off into captivity.
Singapore was finally liberated by the British on September 5th, 1945, and the former local staff of the depot, Messrs Andrew B Pinto, W M Wambeck and Ibrahim Shariff, reported for duty on September 7th. Mr Duncan Robertson arrived back from internment on September 18th and thus, after nearly four years’ break, the work of the depot was restarted. Mr Robertson, as a direct result of his internment, was at that time a very sick man, badly in need of a long rest. With the closing of the depot at Mombasa the Company transferred the European staff there to Singapore. Messrs J I Morse and E Dalton arrived in the Colony by air in November 1945, with Mr Morse as Acting Depot Manager.
By March 1949 Mr Robertson is recorded as being back in position as Depot Manager (see photo – Duncan Robertson, seated, is the fourth from the left), and then retiring from the Company on the 30th June 1949.
For a larger picture please click here
Auxiliaries Anonymous
A very brief extract of the chapter in the ‘Book of Chelmsford’ by Gilbert Torrey (publ.1985) mentioned in the 2006 edition, to slot into the last awkward space. Non-Chelmsford Veterans – please forgive the indulgence.
At the start of WW2 the covert British Resistance Organisation was established to become active in the event of a German invasion, organised into local cells or patrols of 6-8 men with good local knowledge who could blend into the landscape and be useful in a tight corner. Underground bunkers were constructed as bases. A local group of cells in Chelmsford, Wickham Bishops, Hatfield Peverel, Terling and Boreham was commanded by Capt Keith Seabrook, a farmer from Little Leighs.
The Chelmsford patrol, whose bunker was in woodland adjoining Hanningfield Reservoir, was led by HC Berry, with the rank of Sergeant, later succeeded by WT Macnab, and comprised R*W Bartle, K*N Carter, BC Ager, AG Taylor and HW Pratley (*some doubt over these initials). With the exception of Pratley and Taylor, and this is really the point of including this item, they were all from the Test Department of MWT in New Street, in their twenties and thirties at the outbreak of war, and were undoubtedly recruited for their knowledge of radio and radar in addition to their other qualities. Pratley was in Marconi Research at Great Baddow, and Taylor was with LNER (as it then was) at Liverpool Street Station.
In Memoriam
The deaths of all Veterans notified to the secretary are published on a regular basis on this website. The latest list is accessed from the front page index and the earlier notifications from the archive index. These publishing dates correspond with the times of the Committee meetings.
The consolidatedl list of the deaths over the past year is published in the paper copy of this newsletter.
Tom Watson – Works Dentist
Peter Turrall
Not a Veteran but Works Dentist from 1957 until he retired, Tom Watson died on 3rd January 2008 aged 95. He used to live in Chelmsford but moved several years ago to Brandon near Thetford. I play golf with his son Alan Watson every Sunday. If you intend to send a letter of condolence please forward it to me and I will hand it to Alan the following Sunday.
Writtle Road
In keeping with a thread running through much of this issue – Marconi Radar – this aerial view of the Writtle Road site was taken in 1994 from a hot air balloon by Ray Strudwick.
For a larger and higher definition version of the image please click here.
To members of the GEC (1972) Plan Pension
Robbie Robertson, January 2008
I know that many of you are concerned about the current state of affairs with regard to your pensions; this note is an attempt to explain the present position.
telent,* the small remaining core of our company, was bought by Pensions Corporation, a major finance and insurance group, in November last year. telent is the owner and sponsor of the company which administers our pension fund, Stanhope Pension Trust (SPT). SPT is a legal UK entity, controlled by a board of trustees (directors); the appointment of trustees is regulated by UK law, and historically we have had a board of 3 trustees appointed by telent, 3 appointed by the Pensions Consultative Committee acting on behalf of Fund members, and three independents, chosen by telent, and appointed with the approval of the Government Pensions Regulator. One of the independents has been chairman of the board.
Your three member nominated directors (MNDs), together with the independent chairman, have been extremely active and effective on your behalf. As soon as news of the possibility of a takeover emerged, they approached the Pensions Regulator (PR), asking that he use his powers to protect our fund. The PR agreed to their request, and three Independent Trustees (ITs) were appointed by the PR as additional trustees of the Plan for six months from 19th October 2007. The primary objective of the ITs is to ensure that future pension benefits continue to be protected, and that this objective receives independent consideration. The appointment of the ITs has had no effect on the day to day operation of the pension fund, which continues unchanged. The ITs are in position until 18th April 2008; if, at that date, the PR is still concerned about ownership/control of the SPT Pension Fund, then their appointment will be extended.
Because of the prompt and effective early action of the independent chairman and the MNDs, your pensions remain secure; I feel that the subject is now so well reported and publicised that this security is assured for some time to come. Your Pensions Consultative Committee has ex-Chelmsford pensioners Mick Elliot and me among its members, and continues to monitor the ongoing position closely; the pensions office will be issuing an update newsletter soon.
*For those Veterans not familiar with this remnant of MCSL, yes, it really does start with a lower case t ! Ed.
Please send articles for next year’s newsletter to:
Ken Earney,
Number 9 January 2007
Ordeal by Readership
I survived! At the 2006 Reunion, Raymond Rowe said very kind things about my first effort with the newsletter, and a number of you have expressed similar sentiments subsequently. Thank you, I must have done something right. I do have a little worry at the moment however. Where no photos are supplied with contributions I like to insert photos or graphics which have some relevance to subject matter of an article to relieve the acres of text and give the publication a less dense feel. You will see what I mean in this issue. However, you might feel that this is an unacceptable use of space which could otherwise have been used to include another contribution or two. Are there too many pictures and too few words? Please let me know what you think, by post, email, or in person at the reunion in April.
Not many contributions came in over the last twelve months, so I have dipped into the backlog going back to ’05. Some of the articles are extracts from much longer pieces. Anyone who has a memories of the company – amusing and lightweight, serious and thoughtful, from the trivial to the technical (but not too technical) – please jot them down and send them in, with pictures if you have them. They don’t need to be lengthy: the longer the article the more the cutting and editing I have to do! And on the subject of the backlog, you will recall that a number of articles were to have been posted on the website: this didn’t happen but I promise that this year it will. The first to appear, barring any technical hitches, will be the MIMCO Manager D Robertson’s report to London following his release from Japanese internment in 1945. Any posted on the website will appear in their entirety.
New Street site – the latest
Peter Turrall, Vice Chairman, Marconi Veterans Association
Messrs Ashwell Developments of Cambridge, the owners of the Marconi Communication Systems site at New Street, now occupied by Selex Communications, are in regular consultation with the Planning Department of Chelmsford Borough Council concerning the proposed development of this valuable nine and a half acre site.
An outline planning proposal has been submitted which covers the removal of several of the large buildings and the complete removal of the factory. The 1912 front building which already has a preservation order on it, will remain, although there will be several modifications to cover possibly an area for exhibition of Marconi products and a few offices. Despite previous rumours this building will not become a hotel.
The large four storey Marconi House and Building 720 with the corrugated roof will also be removed, allowing the site to have shops and residential areas laid out with gardens and a heritage walkway which will depict the history of our company.
Part of the area adjacent to the New Street Security Office and close to the railway line will be removed, allowing a walkway and road which will lead to the railway station. The Power House and the two cottages plus the tower on the opposite side of the railway line will remain. It is hoped in this area some of the company’s artefacts can be on view with possibly modern presentation facilities of voices of past employees and also film footage.
To ensure the history of the company and its employees is preserved, the undersigned has joined with the developers and their heritage and conservation experts in some of the planning and decision making areas. Over the coming months a team of photographers and audio crew will be contacting many ex-employees to obtain stories of life within the company during their employment. If you are interested in this aspect, then please contact the Editor who will be pleased to pass on this information. If you have any artefacts which could be permanently loaned, then these could form part of the heritage trail through the site. Your assistance in this latter respect would be most welcome.
On page 12 of the last issue, Stanley Fisher promised to send a recent photograph of him standing outside the main New Street entrance. It seems appropriate to place it here accompanying Peter Turrall’s news of the proposals for the New Street site.
Mailbag
The Baddow Photo
In the last newsletter, on page 5, we carried a picture of a group of Baddow engineers taken in 1939. The location of the photo was uncertain, and there were gaps in the list of names. I’ve received two letters on the subject, from Ian Butt and Cyril Marshall.
Ian Butt writes:
It shows (on the front row) Percy Beanland and FE Sainsbury as numbers 14 and 15 – I think this should be 12 and 13. I hope with returns from the Veterans you may be able to publish a more complete list of who’s who, since most of the engineers/boffins were really at the forefront of Marconi’s later expertise in new design etc, apart from all the technology that appeared during World War II.
I assume you know that Chick (Mac) Mackenzie died recently.
From Cyril Marshall:
Roy Simons comments on the photo did trigger my memory of those times. I was in the Test Department at New Street in 1934, having joined the company in 1929 as an apprentice. I agree with Roy in that the photo was taken at Writtle, not Baddow. However, I’m certain that Mervyn Morgan is number 10 in the back row. I recognise a few more faces:- second row 5 JF Hatch, 7 VJ Cooper, 8 NW Jenkins, and 15 in the back row is Watts from R&D Workshops. Front row 13 FWJ Sainsbury, I remember him as a tall person and responsible for the Sainsbury design equipment cabinet. Like Roy, there are other faces that I recognise but am unable to remember names.
On Colwyn Bay Wireless College
Richard Shaw
Peter Robinson’s news of Colwyn Bay Wireless College was of particular interest, since I was a student there in 1941-42 before joining the Marconi Marine Company, and I have been able to pass news of its website to another old boy who was there in 1948. We first met in 1982 when I came to live in a village near here and he and his family were next door but one. We both worked for the Marconi Company in its various incarnations until our retirements, and he was delighted to have the news. I had returned to the Wireless College in 1948, just missing my future colleague who left the previous term, and enjoyed another eight years or so at sea and three on the shore staff in Cardiff.
Regarding Marconi’s statue, I find its treatment by the Borough Council (which commissioned it) quite disgraceful. Of course it should stand in the centre of Chelmsford. If it were not for Marconi, Chelmsford would have been neither wealthy nor famous, but just another county town. Its councillors need a damn good talking to!
I was sorry to read of the death of John Sutherland who, as Managing Director of Marconi Radar Systems, presented me with my certificate as a Marconi Veteran. I recall that we could have either a presentation watch or a sum of money worth rather less.
As I already had a watch but was rather short of the other, and my car battery was nearing its end, I asked for a replacement (obtainable at a discount from a local garage) instead of the watch, and the balance in cash! I think he was a little surprised by my unusual request, but granted it nevertheless, thereby making me probably the only Marconi Veteran whose membership presentation included a chit for a lead acid battery.
Pleased the association still exists
Bernard de Neumann
I’m very pleased to see that the Marconi Veterans’ Association still exists, as I thought it had become defunct since I no longer receive any mailings from you. (Prof de Neumann is one of the lost and found referred to at the end of this newsletter. Ed.)
I became a Marconi Veteran in 1986/7 I think: I joined Marconi Research Labs as a mathematician in ‘Mathematical Analysis’ of Mathematical Physics with Jozef Skwirzynski. I left MRL in 1988 to take up an appointment as Professor of Mathematics at The City University, London, and am now retired.
You may care to note for the newsletter that a portrait of me by the noted artist John Wonnacott, won the 2005 Ondaatje Prize (£10,000 plus a gold medal) of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters last May. See for example: http://news.bbc.co.Uk/2/hi/entertainment/4486329.stm Consequentially, as a professional mathematician, I have now added to my cv that I am mathematical model – and am, somewhat uniquely, a living breathing example rather than an idealised representation!
The wisdom of the Saturday supplements
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism – to steal from many is research.
Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
Report of the 2006 Veterans’ reunion
The 70th annual reunion was held, as usual, at the MASC in Beehive Lane Chelmsford. Our president this year, Veteran Raymond Rowe, was introduced by Veteran Ewan Fenn. Raymond’s working life as an engineer from 1946 to 1988 spanned a wide spectrum of technologies from microwave link through space communications and troposcatter to broadcasting. He joined Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company as an engineer in the HDB Group at Writtle in 1955, and save for a very brief interlude at Cossors in the 60s, he remained with the company until his retirement in 1988 whilst acting Divisional Manager of Broadcasting Division.
In his reply, Raymond detailed some of the highlights of his career, and of the Marconi Company. Some quotes from his speech that are worthy of note.
‘If there was a place in the world in trouble then either we (in Marconi) had been there just before or we soon would be.’
‘Who knows what else there is to come. I believe we probably saw the best of it; the work was still very much hands on. The engineers of today, because of the computer interface, are a bit more remote from the end product…’
‘So we were there at a very influential period of Marconi’s, probably the most important time since the beginning of radio. The name Marconi did not need explaining to any one that I met in my travels for the company.’
‘As Marconi Veterans we perhaps do not really understand how important our group is. We are among the relatively few who really knew what Marconi’s meant. I am sure that all of us are proud that we can trace our company back to the beginnings of radio.’
Raymond then introduced the Guest of Honour, Robert Wellbeloved C.Eng, FIEE. Bob was formerly Chief Engineer (Transmitter Operations) for the IBA and latterly an independent consultant for many UK and overseas organisations, mainly on Digital TV transmissions. He joined Marconi Communication Systems in 1956 on a four year Graduate Apprenticeship followed by installation work on behalf of Broadcasting Division before joining the ITA in 1965 as a Transmitter Engineer.
In his speech Bob noted that is was just 50 years since he had joined Marconi-MWT. He used 50 years as his theme and posed three questions – what would he have done differently over the last 50 years, what have been the most significant changes over this time, and would he have preferred a different 50 year period for his working life?
The answer to the first was – very little. In responding to the second question he cast a wry eye over many things that have changed in the last 50 years, some good, some bad, but even some of the goods were not unalloyed.
He would not have wished to change the time slot of his career and noted that the late Victorian era had abysmal living standards and a much lower life expectancy. The early 20th century had two world wars and the depression. And would he like to be leaving University in 2006 with the prospect of working until 2060? Definitely not!
Veterans’ reunion 2007
The 2007 reunion will take place on Saturday 14th April at the MASC, Beehive Lane, Chelmsford, commencing at 1.00pm. This year’s President is Professor Roy W Simons, OBE, CEng. Roy served with the company for 43 years, joining MWT in 1943 with the major part of his career in radar. In 1965, with the restructuring of the Company, he became Technical Manager of Radar Division, and with the subsequent merger with GEC, he was appointed Technical Director of Marconi Radar Systems, a post that he held until just before his very busy retirement in 1986. His leisure time is devoted to a number of musical interests. He will be introduced by Marconi Veterans’ Association Chairman Charles Rand, previously Works Manager at Writtle Road.
The Guest of Honour will be Dr John C Williams OBE, FREng, Hon FIEE who for a number of years was Director of The Marconi Research Centre at Gt Baddow, Chelmsford and later was Secretary and Chief Executive of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) in London.
News from Kwazulu Natal
Barry Powell received the following email from Jack Mayhew last March:
Many thanks for the latest news letter which I have just received. It is very much appreciated. I must give you my latest postal address as we have just moved. (Barry has the address for anyone wishing to contact Jack). We have a magnificent view from our new house and can see the Indian Ocean in the far distance. Unfortunately a few weeks before we moved I had a stroke but I am pleased to say that although I was paralysed down one side I am now able to walk a few steps again. Please pass my congratulations to Ken, the new editor of the newsletter, but please ask him if and when he uses my name again would he please add the last three letters to my surname! Kindest regards.
Jack refers to the item on page 10 of the last issue, under ‘Some more Marconi bibliography’, attributed to Jack May. I was thrown by his email username – jackmay. Many apologies Jack. Ed.
What’s the rate of exchange for kudos?
Eric Walker
This extract from a much longer piece by Eric Walker – for all of his Marconi career an Airadio man – focuses on some of the less serious aspects of the life of the avionics (although I’m not sure that the term was in common parlance then) engineers inhabiting the Writtle huts in the 50s. Mike Lawrence, who served in the DO at Writtle and for a while at Basildon, has expanded Eric’s original article with additional material and turned it into a hand-crafted booklet with a very limited production run – Eric and Mike both have two copies, the Writtle village archivist another and there is a sixth copy at the Sandford Mill Musuem. It is well worth reading in its entirety, and we shall endeavour to make it accessible on the website.
When I arrived at Writtle in 1951 we were housed in wooden huts. The only brick-built facility was the workshop. Historically, Les Mullin’s team occupied the original 2MT (2 Emma Tock) hut of early broadcast fame, in which part of the 1922 installation was still visible. Geoffrey Beck’s Air Navigational Aids team occupied a relatively new wooden Hut A. We later expanded to Hut AK as our team grew in number and parallel projects were undertaken.
Beck’s team was formed to develop Green Satin, a military project funded on a cost-plus basis by the Ministry of Supply. The equipment is well-described in Chapter 42 of W J Baker’s ‘History of the Marconi Company’. Briefly, it was a self-contained airborne navigational aid, which used the Doppler effect to measure the ground speed and drift angle of an aircraft from which present position and other navigational attributes could be deduced. ‘Self-contained’ means independent of ground-based aids. The accuracy of Green Satin depended on high-precision waveguides in its aerial, both in dimensions and in the slotting process which was coped with by Charlie Swanborough in the waveguide section at New Street.
Green Satin was a considerable step forward in the art of air navigation. The project derived from work done at TRE Malvern, a Ministry establishment, by Johnny Clegg and George Thorne. Experimental models had been made by Mervyn Morgan’s team at Baddow and we, at Writtle, had to develop a design into production, just as fast as we could. The programme was classified secret and was urgent, as it was needed for the Canberra aircraft and the V bomber force (Valiant, Victor and Vulcan, although only the latter two were fitted). We handmade eight development models followed by thirty ‘crash-production’ models before full production was undertaken at the New Street works.
Green Satin was a challenging project to a very tight timescale. It was an exciting programme for a team of mainly young engineers to work on, and we worked very hard, with good team spirit.
Starting time was 7.45am in the workshops and 8.15am for design staff; and we clocked-in. Knocking-off time was supposed to be 5pm, but we rarely left until much later. We worked 6 days a week and often on Sundays when the programme required us to. The notion was, if something needed doing you stayed and did it. The only times you left work unfinished was when it was not possible to complete it for one reason or another. This habit of working long hours stayed with many of us even when the pressure finally came off. You felt you were letting the team down if you worked to the clock. Those who did leave on time, for domestic reasons, usually took briefcases of papers home with them.
Jumping ahead a bit, when we had successfully put Green Satin into production, Bernard MacLarty came to thank us and said that our efforts had earned kudos for the company. We were brash enough to ask what the rate of exchange for kudos was and if it would benefit us? He took it in good part. But there seemed not to be such a thing as a bonus in those days. The idea was that if you did a good job you might move up the ladder and take on more responsibility for perhaps more pay. I saw records of staff reviews where senior management debated at length whether Bloggs should receive an increment of £12 or £15 per annum.
Our work, though intense, had plenty of fun in it. On Guy Fawkes day rockets were fired, suspended on a wire strung from near the hut to down the field. Fireworks figured quite a lot at other times. Much skill was put into secreting bundles of bangers in other peoples’ workplaces, which went off when you (or they) operated power switches. The ballistics expert was Ray Walls. But Arthur Adam earned the medal for concealment. One evening we blew up a bundle we had dropped between the walls of his hut (AK). Next morning, when we came to work, we searched our hut for the response we knew must be there. In vain. He waited until mid-morning before activating it. He must have worked half the night to put in the subterranean wiring. Beck put a stop to it after that, for fear of fire, or mayhem.
Our hut was very cold in the winter, the only heat coming from a few hot-water radiators (by courtesy of the stoker Bill Crabb) and of course the heat generated by the concentration of bodies and active high-powered equipment and test gear. In the summer it was too hot, even with open windows. We had a water tap and basin in the hut, so the bright-ideas squad, led again by Ray Walls, ran a suitably punctured hosepipe along the ridge of the hut roof. Water pressure was then adjusted until drips just came off the eaves before evaporating. Much experiment was needed to get the leak wetting pattern just right to cover the roof.
Such activities as these greatly amused EB Greenwood, manager of the newly-erected Basildon Works, who visited us often. He particularly liked our system of warning that our door had been opened, combined with the means of shutting it again. A Heath Robinson device comprising pulleys, angle-iron, a large loose nut and a bell (acoustic). What tickled Greenwood was that it was ridiculous, in such a small hut with so many inhabitants.
No project really ends, even when it is in service. Much remains to be done in the way of support, training and maintenance. A significant time is reached when most work is done by ancillary staff and the key designers move onto new programmes. When this happened, in 1954, we decided to commemorate Green Satin and its design team by placing a brass plaque on the roof-supporting beams of Hut A. I had it engraved in the workshop. It said ‘On this site was designed the world’s first airborne Doppler navigational aid to become a standard service equipment’. Not very inspiring: not even grammatical. But the project was still secret (and remained under wraps for another 3 years) so very little could be said. Besides, it was a small plaque. With the low cunning of a Marconi apprentice, Ray Walls screwed it onto the beam, having filed the screw heads so they could be driven in, but not out. The plaque was there long after we left in 1960. We had intended to reclaim it if and when the hut was no longer in use. But the site, in Lawford Lane, is now a housing estate. I wonder what happened to the plaque? Sad really.
A landmark on the Writtle site was the Lancaster aeroplane. It was used to try out aerial arrangements and various other installations. People wondered how it arrived there – did it fly in? No, it came by road in bits and was reassembled on site. It was dismantled and disposed of in 1956.
Walter Cook
Before work on the previous issue had been started, Martin Cook, a former seagoing Radio Officer based at the East Ham depot and now living in New Zealand, contacted Barry Powell about the death of his father Walter Cook on the 20th July 2005. Walter served with the company from 1939 until 1971, at Hackbridge from ’39 to ’47, Writtle from ’47 to ’52, Chelmsford from ’52 to ’64 and Hackbridge again from ’64 to ’71. When Martin was clearing up his effects, he came across these three items which he thought might be of interest to the Veterans’ Association. Walter appears in the top photo, which seems to be taken at a later period than the lower – he doesn’t appear in that one. The identity card was for his time at Hackbridge. Martin has provided the bones of Walter’s cv, but can anyone throw any light on who any of the individuals are, and where the photos were taken.
A plea for information
Hello, I wonder if you could help me.
My name is Don Simpson, I am an employee (1974 – present) of Marconi Radar/MRCSL/Alenia/Marconi/AMS/Bae Systems Insyte (who next?), but I’m interested in my father’s career. I have a little bit of info, but not much, and I can’t get a clear picture from my mother (Dad is now deceased – December 1983)).
His name was Stanley Simpson, he joined Marconi some time round about 1952/3/4 (confusion about the actual date). At that time he was manager (?) of the Electrical Goods department at Perth Co-op (Scotland) and previous to that had been running his own small business servicing accumulator driven radios. His addresses would have been 111, Mildmay Road, Chelmsford, and, after that, Glenorchy, South Street, Great Waltham. His birthdate was 13 August 1909. My understanding is that he was approached by Marconi, either because of articles that he had written into Wireless World, or possibly through his RAF service (he was a radio technician, spent the entire war in Palestine/Kenya).
Would the Association be able to access any employment records that could confirm his employment dates (he left around 1957 to go back to Scotland), his position (I understand he worked at Writtle) or possibly confirm how and why he was approached? I’m just interested to try to find the real facts about him.
Curious that I should have ended up in the same ‘old’ company as him, in the same town again.
Don Simpson, PDM Team Lead, Chelmsford, BAE Systems Insyte.
Barry has explained that the Association has no access to any employment records, and furthermore that they may have been archived so that even HR Departments have difficulty in accessing them. Don’s only hope therefore appears to be one of you. Does anyone remember a Scot, Stanley Simpson, who appears to have worked at Writtle in the mid 50s. Please send any reply to Barry for forwarding to Don.
The Marconi Scientist mystery
Peter Wyss, an ex-Electro-Optical Advanced Systems Division (Basildon) Veteran, was involved in the Stingray Torpedo project since its inception in the early 70s. Some months ago he was sent by Ted Haydon, also ex-EOASD Veteran, the cutting from the Letters page of the Costa Brava News shown on the right. Peter entered into an exchange of correspondence with Pamela Handford, the writer of the letter, and then emailed a number of former colleagues with the results of this exchange, including your editor because he thought it might be of interest to other Veterans who had worked on Stingray, or with a taste for intrigue, conspiracy theories etc.
Pamela Handford has a number of apparently well-placed contacts all resulting from her group’s involvement with UFO research. The group’s activities have brought them to the attention of US Air Force and Spanish Military Intelligence. Their investigations revealed links to the deaths in suspicious circumstances of 25 Marconi engineers working on the Stingray Torpedo project in the mid/late 80s. An article appeared in Computer News at the time, and a book on the subject was published in 1990, Open Verdict: an account of 25 mysterious deaths in the defence industry, Tony Collins (1990), Sphere Books. Any Veteran with a taste for intrigue, conspiracy theories, ‘spooks’ etc wanting to learn more about this story can contact Peter Wyss through me or Barry Powell.
Fort Perch Rock Museum
Arising from a conversation with Jimmy Leadbitter, Stan McNally sent Barry Powell the web address for a museum on Merseyside with which he is associated. Fort Perch Rock (near New Brighton) on the Mersey is a former fort from the Napoleonic era. The museum houses many interesting exhibits, an important theme running through them being Merseyside’s maritime past. A recent addition, formally opened last October, is the Merchant Navy Wireless Room which contains Marconi equipment and so may be of interest to Marconi Marine Veterans.
The web address is: http://sco493.co.uk/album34.html
March 1944 – Eindhoven, Chelmsford and RAF Bradwell Bay
Chelmsford area veterans may well have been aware of the publicity given last year to the presence at Sandford Mill Museum of the WW II Luftwaffe relief model of the Marconi and Hoffmans complex in Chelmsford. This brought to mind for MVA chairman Charles Rand the copy in his possession of an article that appeared in the county magazine in 1970 (The unknown airfield – RAF Bradwell Bay, Essex Countryside, December 1970). It concerned the history of RAF Bradwell Bay, a wartime base for light bomber and nightfighter operations – Bradwell nuclear power station stands on part of the site of the airfield. Of interest to Marconi Veterans are the paragraphs concerning the Luftwaffe raid on the Marconi works on the night of the 21st March, 1944, involving one of the nightfighter units based at Bradwell, 488 Squadron equipped with Mosquito Mk XII/XIII. (the Mk XII is pictured below – IWM photo).During winter 1943-4 No. 488 Squadron gradually built up a ‘score’ of enemy aircraft, but there is no doubt that the highlight was the night of March 21, 1944, when the Luftwaffe, as a reprisal for the RAF’s attack on Philips’s Eindhoven factories (which the patriotic Dutch had welcomed), decided to wipe out Marconi, Chelmsford, using a picked force of Junkers 88/188 bombers. Not until long afterwards was it released that Chris Vlotman (the only Dutchman flying night fighters) in shooting down two Ju 88s just off the coast had brought down the leader of the formation and that 488 had destroyed all five of the first ‘pathfinder’ force, two to Squadron Leader Nigel Bunting and the fifth to Flight Lieutenant John Hall. A prisoner, literally blown out of his Junkers, was captured by the Southminster police and the writer helped to hold him as 488’s doctor stitched a gash in his face where the jagged fuselage had caught him as the bomber disintegrated in mid-air.
Later, as the allies entered Germany in 1945, an RAF Regiment officer found on a Luftwaffe base a magnificent model of the Marconi works which had apparently been made for briefing pilots for the attack. This is now in the entrance hall at the Chelmsford offices and Chris Vlotman, now captain of a KLM DC8 jet, flew from Alaska some years ago to be the company’s guest and speaker at a charity dinner-dance for the Trueloves school for physically handicapped boys at Ingatestone.
Captain Chris Vlotman, DFC, Netherlands War Cross (left), inspecting the model of the Marconi factories made by the Luftwaffe. With him are Mrs Vlotman, Mr Leslie Hunt, local aviation historian, Mr Neil Sutherland, managing director of Marconi, and ‘Dusty’ Miller, editor of Marconi Magazine. Essex Weekly News photograph.
As indicated in the first paragraph, the model is now of course located at the Sandford Mill Museum in Chelmsford – not all of our heritage disappeared off to Oxford! There is an interesting footnote to this story. Charles Rand didn’t know the source of the article, or the name of the author. In the Essex Chronicle at the beginning of January appeared the report of a local aviation historian, Stephen P Nunn, signing copies in Maldon of his newly published book ‘Maldon, the Dengie and the battle in the skies 1939-1945’. Your editor made contact with him to find out if could throw any light on the source of the article – he could – and it transpired that he is the son of Peter Nunn who was a production engineer with Marconi Communications at Waterhouse Lane until his retirement in the early 90s. Regrettably Peter died in 1995, not long after his retirement, but Charles knew him very well as did no doubt many other Veterans.
The Baddow Tower – update
In response to Roy Simons’ item and my editorial comments about the history of the CH tower at Baddow, Veteran Bill Fitzgerald sent me a copy of an interview with him which appeared in the Miscellany column of the Essex Chronicle in June 2005. It reported that he was launching a solo campaign to persuade English Heritage to put a preservation order on it, on the grounds that it is the last structurally secure WWII CH radar tower in the country. English Heritage at that time took the view that it was not at risk, because it was still in use. In the accompanying letter Bill reiterated that it is the last remaining CH tower in the UK, but the tower would obviously be at risk should the site be closed down and sold off.
My enquiries to establish the current situation prior to typing this item triggered a flurry of telephone calls, which included The Essex Chronicle telephoning me, but at the time of going to press there is nothing to add. Watch this space.
Radio Officers’ memoirs
Bill Godden
The photo below is the installation fitted by Glasgow Depot, at the beginning of 1957 on board the Lyles Shipping Company’s MV Cape Horn. I joined the ship at Greenock for her maiden voyage in June 1957. The equipment consisted of Oceanspan VI main transmitter, Reliance reserve transmitter, Mercury and Electra main receivers, Vigilant AutoAlarm, Autokey and Alert fixed 500kc/s receiver. All powered by batteries. One of the receiver power packs can be seen under the Morse key, I don’t remember the type number. The ship’s broadcast receiver I think was a Dynatron.
Of particular interest was that the ship was fitted with one of the few Ultrasonic Antifouling Devices, (a Barnacle Buster), I think there were only ever three fitted. The idea was to set up ultrasonic vibrations through the ship’s hull to stop marine growth, barnacles and the like attaching to the ship.
We had a good maiden voyage lightship down to Cuba, where we loaded bulk sugar in Boqueron and Cienfuegos and took it to Tokyo.
On passage across the Pacific I experienced my first hurricane, Hurricane Kanoa. We were in it for about a week during which time I was sending weather reports to San Francisco Radio, KFS I think, every four hours. From Japan we were lightship down to McKay in Queensland where we took on another load of bulk sugar for Liverpool and Glasgow.
It was October when we arrived back in the UK after a good trip with a good crew. Most of us signed on for the next trip which was supposed to be a six week run down to South Africa and back. The Third Mate organized to get married on return to the UK, but it turned out to be a long six weeks which took us to South Africa, Mozambique, Texas, Japan, Canada, Ocean Island, Nauru, Australia and New Zealand, in all fourteen months. After spending most of the time in the tropics we signed off in Hull in January 1959. The Third Mate did get married to the same girl.
We had some good fun and, at that time it, was common for ships to disappear over the horizon for two or three years. Some blokes were lucky to get happy ships, a lot were unlucky and the trip was misery from beginning to end. I was lucky in this case.
Felix Mascarenhas
My career in the Marine Company was varied and commenced on the sea staff during the second world war. The Marconi Radio Officer held a unique position on board ship. Although not employed by the shipping company, he came under the direct jurisdiction of the Master and was an integral part of the crew, enjoying the same privileges as the other officers.
I studied to become a Radio Officer at the Wireless College in Colwyn Bay and having passed my ‘ticket’ I joined the Marconi International Marine Communication Company in July 1941. During the war Radio Officers were in short supply. A senior and two juniors were needed to maintain a 24-hour watch on all deep sea merchant ships. The examination for the necessary qualification, which was issued by the Postmaster General, was held at the college under the jurisdiction of a Post Office Marine Wireless Superintendent, whose main duties involved surveying the wireless equipment on merchant vessels. The exam consisted of sending and receiving Morse code in plain language, in code and in figures at various speeds, a written paper on electronic theory, fault finding on the equipment, and a knowledge of Q codes and operating procedures. To indicate the shortage of Radio Officers at that time, a Marconi Personnel Officer from Liverpool depot attended the college after the exam and immediately signed up those who passed. I had a medical examination on the same day and was appointed to my first ship and was at sea within a few days.
Not much is known of the part the Merchant Navy played in the hostilities. One in every five of the 180,000 men who sailed under the Red Ensign were lost, and this figure includes over 1,400 Radio Officers who gave their lives in the fight for freedom. On a percentage basis the losses were higher than any of the armed services with the exception of aircrews. A total of over 2,400 vessels were sunk, or destroyed by enemy action.
For added protection, whenever possible vessels sailed in convoys of possibly twelve vessels across and ten or more deep, covering an area of several square miles. The Commodore ship was positioned in the centre of the front row of vessels. The Commodore, who usually was a retired Vice-Admiral or Captain, controlled the convoy via encoded flag messages which were acknowledged by all the vessels hoisting the same flags. Over twenty Commodores lost their lives in the North Atlantic. Because radio signals could be picked up by submarines and surface raiders strict radio silence was always observed. Convoy protection was provided by several naval vessels made up of destroyers, corvettes and armed merchant trawlers.
Radio traffic was transmitted to ships every four hours from naval coast stations situated in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. To ensure that radio silence was maintained the messages were not acknowledged. Instructions from the ships’ owners and/or the Ministry of War Transport were transmitted in code groups of five numbers. Each vessel had a code book containing pages of groups of five numbers. The first two groups in the message indicated where to commence the operation of subtracting the received groups from the numbers in the book. The resulting groups, after subtraction, were then applied to another code book which translated them into plain language. This work was undertaken by the Radio Officer, whose other duties involved keeping a continuous watch on the international distress frequency, listening on the direction-finder for enemy submarines and assisting on the bridge by hoisting flags and signalling with the Aldis lamp. The only time radio silence was broken was when a vessel was attacked. The SOS distress signal was not used, instead SSS was sent to indicate an attack by submarine, AAA an attack by aircraft and RRR an attack by a surface warship.
Deep sea merchant vessels were reasonably well armed. A 4.7 inch gun was mounted on the stern poop-deck. A naval gun-layer and two or three naval ratings manned this weapon, assisted by crew members. A 12-pound anti-aircraft gun on the stern after-deck was manned by two army gunners. Two Oerlikon quick tracer firing guns were mounted on each side of the bridge and two machine guns were mounted on the boat-deck. These were manned by the ship’s crew.
One of my worst wartime experiences happened during my second trip in December 1941. I had been appointed to a very old Cardiff tramp ship. We joined our convoy at Milford Haven but were unable to keep up through lack of speed, probably due to engine trouble, and were left behind. We were ordered to rendezvous with another convoy but again we were not able to keep up due to our poor speed, so we were instructed to proceed to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada on our own. The weather worsened, and the storm which lasted for several days was one of the worst that I have ever experienced. We lost our lifeboats, which were slung out over the side for easy access, and our rafts, which were fitted as an extra wartime safety measure, were smashed. The vessel’s superstructure was considerably damaged by the heavy seas. The cabin, which I shared with the Deck Apprentice Officer and the gun-layer, was also damaged due to the deck-head having been torn open when a machine gun was ripped off its mooring by the seas. The cabin heating consisted of a cast-iron coal-burning stove called a ‘bogie’. The excessive draft from the storm force winds caused it to over heat and glow red-hot, and as the deck was awash with water swirling backwards and forwards and over the stove the cabin was filled with clouds of steam. Everything was wet including our bunks. We slept fully clothed with our sea-boots on. It took the best part of four weeks to cross the Atlantic.
I experienced my first encounter with a fatality on board that ship. One of the naval ratings, on leaving his post, was hit by the sea coming over the ship and was not found until daylight the next morning, entangled in the rigging. His burial, attended by all the crew was a sad and unforgettable experience. The ship heaved too, and his body, wrapped in canvas, was put over the side after a short service conducted by the Master.
Halifax was very cold that December and January. The sea water in the harbour was frozen over. To add to our discomfort, repairs to our cabin deck-head were carried out while we were still on board. A large canvas awning was our only protection from the elements. One night the apprentice and I came back from ashore only to find the gun-layer in his bunk completely buried in snow which had emptied into the cabin when the canvas awning had given away. He had previously had quite a few drinks and was oblivious to his perilous predicament. To this day I have never been able to understand the reasoning why this dilapidated old vessel was made a Commodore ship. The Commodore with his complement of naval signallers joined our already over-manned vessel and we lead an 8 knot convoy back to the United Kingdom, fortunately in calm seas via the Arctic Circle without a gun being fired.
At the end of hostilities, conditions gradually returned to normal: only one Radio Officer was required on most ships. As additional equipment became available, such as VHF and UHF-RT sets, single sideband HF-RT, telex, radar, television, closed circuit monitoring equipment, etc, etc, the Radio Officer’s duties increased and became a lot more technical.
I sailed on eighteen different ships ranging from cargo ships, troopships, passenger ships, tankers, bulk-carriers, and tramp ships, during the thirteen years I spent at sea. Each voyage was a different experience. Two of my voyages lasted over two years and two lasted over one year without returning to the United Kingdom. It was an enjoyable and a worthwhile career for a young single man. With some regret I hung up my sea boots in 1953 when I joined the Company’s shore staff at Cardiff depot as a temporary Marine Technical Assistant.
Looking back over more than sixty years to those days of my youth when joining a ship for another voyage was always an adventure, I only choose to remember the good times, the parties on board ship, the nights ashore in far flung ports all over the world, the ships on the Indian coast where the officers even had their own butler, and Gordon’s gin was three rupees a bottle. I often reflect on the hours spent on the bridge at night with the Second Mate somewhere in the vast Pacific ocean picking out the constellations in the star filled sky and marvelling at the magnificence of the Universe.
With the demise of the British Merchant Navy, and the introduction of satellite marine communication systems, the Marconi Radio Officer, like the lamp trimmer, is now surplus to requirements. At the end of hostilities the Marine Company, in its prime, employed 5,500 Radio Officers and had depots and bases and agents situated in ports all over the world. Sadly, very little is left of the once largest marine wireless communication company in the world, but we still have our memories.
Felix now lives in retirement in Dover and invites former colleagues who might be in the area to look him up.
Derek Griess
The appreciation of Derek Griess was published on the website in September 2006, shortly after his death. It is repeated in the paper copy of the newsletter.
Baddow Model Shop memories
Rob Wakefield
After reading the latest newsletter I thought I would send you a few lines about the few chaps I work with at Baddow.
I work in the Model Shop with 5 other skilled machinists. I and two others are all Marconi trained and are still very proud to be part of the Marconi history. The news letter transports us back like a time machine as if it were yesterday. The eldest of us came from Pottery Lane, my other colleague from the Radar company and myself from New Street, Bld 29 R&D. Our total service adds up to 104 years. We are all survivors of the collapse of the Marconi company and have ended up together at Baddow. When you think we are the only millers and turners left working on an old Marconi site in Chelmsford – there were hundreds of us with machine shops at Radar, Waterhouse Lane and the largest at New Street – it kind of makes you proud!
You know you’ve had too much of modern living when…
…..you pull up in your drive and use a cellphone to see if anyone is home.
…..you don’t stay in touch with family because they don’t have e-mail.
Military Scout & Wireless Cars
The following is an extract from an article by Harry Edwards which appeared in the Autumn 2004 edition of the Journal of the Morris Register (Harry was a mechanical designer involved in studio design, OB and radar displays and was with Marconi Marine at retirement. He is the editor of the Journal and the Register’s historian). A Marconi connection with the manufacture of the kit may strike a chord with senior Veterans.
A number of wooden huts comprised the Signals Experimental Establishment, under Colonel C J Aston, the Officer Commanding at Woolwich Common in 1926, when the development work began on the No.1 Set transmitter/receiver. This was the first design by the SEE to employ both radiotelephony and wireless telegraphy and also the first to be designed to work on the move. It was battery operated and two years later in 1928, it was severely tested by the Oxford University expedition to Greenland.
Although wireless had proved to be of great value to artillery during World War 1, the production of a postwar artillery set was shelved for several years. An experimental radiotelephone set working on the 10 metre band was given a trial. The use of this band was a bold innovation at the time, but unfortunately a little premature, the set had a communication range of three miles, which was not enough and in any case was insufficiently robust and liable to frequent faults. The artillery was without wireless until the issue of the No.1 set in 1933.
By 1929 considerable experience had been gained in the design of radiotelephone sets and a new series of army wireless sets was formulated. Originally six types were proposed, the No.1 set being for infantry and artillery brigades; the No.2 for divisions; the No.3 for corps; the No.4 for armies; the No.5 for the L of C; and the No.6 for worldwide strategic communications. Subsequently this series was extended to provide for armoured fighting vehicle sets and later for infantry, anti-aircraft and special purposes.
Significant features of the new series were, firstly, the inclusion of radiotelephone facilities in the Nos 1, 2 and 3 sets each covering a relatively narrow frequency band. With an overlap between the Nos.1 and 2, and between the Nos. 2 and 3 respectively the total range of the three sets extended from 6.66 to 1.36 MHz (presumably converted from wavelength – I assume this means 1.36 to 6.66MHz. Ed.). It was not considered in 1929 that the use of reflected waves would be feasible for forward tactical communications owing to the vagaries of the skip distance. All these sets were therefore designed to work by ground waves and their communication ranges were limited accordingly.
With the research work and design completed by the Signals Experimental Establishment, it was left to the electronics industry to produce these sets. Manufacturers known to have built and supplied the No.1 sets include Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, H W Sullivan Ltd, and Aeronautical & General Instruments Ltd.
Around the same time the military began to order small cars for use as scout cars. The first of these appear to have been issued to the 11th Hussars and then other Cavalry regiments, and were the unmilitary-like two seater Austin Seven Gordon England Cup models made at Wembley. An initial order of 65 vehicles was later increased. Early in January 1929 an Austin Seven two-seater with a boxlike boot was made for evaluation by the Army by Page and Hunt. Far more military-like was the Austin Seven two-seater design of 1929 by Mulliners. (Assumed to be Mulliners of Birmingham, a name associated with the Austin Seven.). This two-seater was based on the same lines as the Page & Hunt body with a squared off locker at the rear, within clips were provided for the ubiquitous .303 rifle. In addition to the Austin Seven the overhead camshaft Morris Minor chassis was given the same Mulliner style body in February 1929. So far these vehicles appear to have been used as scout cars. In 1932 a War Department approved design for a two-seater wireless car enters the picture, making use of the No.1 Set.
This same design was used for both Morris Minor and Austin Seven chassis The boxlike area behind the seats accommodated the radio equipment while a fixed support bracket, bolted to the body side, provided the mounting for the aerial insulator. Published figures suggest that some 176 Austin Sevens of this type went into service, and the writer estimates a total of 169 Morris Minors, most, if not all, based on the 1933 model Morris Minor (see photo left). The writer is not aware of any surviving examples of the Morris versions but a completely restored version of the military Austin Seven, owned by Andy Hodge, complete with the No 1 Set, can usually be seen at the Royal Corps of Signals Museum, Blandford.
Obituaries
Obituaries have been posted on the web site at various times over the past year. A full list for the year is published in the paper copy. All deaths can be found under the “In Memoriam” category on this The latest deaths notified are shown in the index bar on the left. To view earlier notifications please go to the Archive.
Nicholas Swarbrick
From Veteran George Cockburn
This contribution was received from George Cockburn, who felt that, although Nicholas Swarbrick was not a Marconi Veteran, he would have been known to some you and so of interest.
I would like to record the death of Nicholas Swarbrick who died on February 2nd aged 107.
Nicholas was a Merchant Navy Radio officer on the Atlantic Convoys during the 1st World War picking up horses in Nova Scotia for shipment to France and later on the Liverpool/New York run ferrying American troops.
He was born in 1898 at Grimsargh near Preston and gained his Certificate of Proficiency in Liverpool. He never married and I would think he would have been the veteran of veterans.
His obituary was in the Daily Telegraph of 8/2/2006 (I have a copy should it be of interest).
Kind regards
(I also have a copy of the obituary. Ed.)
Arthur Adam, 1926 – 2006
Arthur Adam, one of the characters featuring in Eric Walker’s reminiscences on page 4, died on the 2nd March 2006. He was the son of a Professor of Chemistry at Southampton University and a mathematician who worked with Neville Shute Norway on the R100 airship. He joined the company in 1946 after reading engineering at Cambridge.
Francis Faulkner, Eric Walker, Denys Harrison and Ray Walls at the Airadio reunion following Arthur Adam’s funeral service last March. Photo – Brian Ady
He worked throughout the 50s in Geoffrey Beck’s Airborne Navigational Aids Development team at Writtle, and, outside work, pursued his interest in sailing, photography and bird watching. Denys Harrison relates a number of interesting experiences when their perfectly lawful pursuit of these activities brought them to the attention of the law, the maritime authorities and HM Customs and Excise. Perhaps it was that, although legal, these incidents occurred in the hours of darkness!
Arthur judged that the move of all airborne activities from Writtle to Basildon in 1960 would take him too far from his sailing at Maldon, so transferred to Baddow. Writing software for Display and Data Handling Laboratories, he remained there until the mid-70s when because of a slump in contracts and staff reductions at Baddow, he transferred Basildon working in Allan Barrett’s team on the comms system for the AEW Nimrod.
In the 80s he retired early due to ill health, but, with his wife Maggie, remained very active. In his closing years he devoted himself to keeping him and Maggie, who he predeceased by only a few months, living independently at their home in Downs Road Maldon. They had no children.
Many of his former colleagues gathered at Chelmsford Crematorium on the 20th March 2006 to bid him farewell, and then afterwards at the Airadio reunion/wake at the Conservative Club in Chelmsford, at the invitation of his closest relatives.
Veterans lost and found
Throughout the year individual committee members have come across former employees who have either complained that they had had their long service presentation and Veterans tie some years ago and then no contact from the Association, or that communications from the Association had ceased at some time in the past. There are a number of reasons for these unfortunate situations, including failure of HR/Personnel departments to pass on details of the long service employees details to the association, and failure of Veterans to notify the secretary of a change of address. Whatever the reason, if you know of anyone in this sort of situation do urge them to get in touch with Barry Powell, or pass their details on to Barry yourself. The viability of the organisation depends on a healthy membership roll.
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i don't know
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What word from French is a small maneuverable warship and iconic Chevrolet sports car?
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CORVETTE PACE CAR FOR SALE | CORVETTE PACE CAR FOR SALE
CORVETTE PACE CAR FOR SALE
CORVETTE PACE CAR FOR SALE
Corvette Pace Car For Sale
pace car
a high-performance car that leads a parade of competing cars through the pace lap and then pulls off the course
The car that leads the competitors around the course before the race begins.
A car that sets the pace and positions racers for a rolling start in a warm-up lap or laps before a race, or that returns to control the pace in temporarily hazardous conditions
In motorsport, a safety car or pace car is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a caution period such as an obstruction on the track. During a caution period the safety car enters the track ahead of the leader.
for sale
purchasable: available for purchase; “purchasable goods”; “many houses in the area are for sale”
For Sale is the fifth album by German pop band Fool’s Garden, released in 2000.
For Sale is a tour EP by Say Anything. It contains 3 songs from …Is a Real Boy and 2 additional b-sides that were left off the album.
corvette
A small warship designed for convoy escort duty
a highly maneuverable escort warship; smaller than a destroyer
The Chevrolet Corvette is sports car produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The first model was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after the Corvette, a small, maneuverable warship.
A sailing warship with one tier of guns
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate (2000+ tons) and larger than a coastal patrol craft or Fast Attack Craft (500 or fewer tons) , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role.
corvette pace car for sale – Merrell Women's
Merrell Women's Pace Glove Barefoot Running Shoes – Caribbean Sea 8 – Regular
We’ve all heard the phrase less is more, and Merrell delivers just this with the Pace Glove Barefoot Running Shoes for women. Truly designed for a woman’s foot, these minimalist running shoes will rock your world and have you preaching the less is more mantra. Featuring a Vibram sole and a 1-mm forefoot shock absorption plate, these lightweight runners offer the protection, flexibility and traction you need and less of the over-cushioned performance that you don’t. The tough rubber outsoles are mated with ultra-lightweight uppers that feature a unique synthetic leather foot sling for support and glove-like fit. A fused rubber toe bumper adds durability and protection on and off road. Discover the minimalist running shoe movement with the Merrell Pace Glove shoes and set yourself free.
Corvette Indy Pace Car
In 1978 the Corvette was chosen to be the pace car for the Indianapolis 500, and of course a special edition of the car was produced for sale. I do not know if this car is a genuine pace car, but it does have the correct paint job, and frankly it makes for a very attractive racing car.
Chevy Corvette Pace Car
This is a Chevy Corvette Pace car, of course. Its for sale at I think it’s called Holt Auto Sales, in Holt Mi. Well last time I knew it was any way.
corvette pace car for sale
Through hundreds of rare and unpublished photos from GM’s media and design archives and in-depth text by renowned Corvette historian Randy Leffingwell, Corvette Sixty Years celebrates the first six decades of America’s sports car, covering the revolution and evolution of America’s longest continuously produced nameplate, from Harley Earl’s initial concept to the latest 60th anniversary edition built to celebrate the Vette’s 60th year. Created in cooperation with General Motors, the book focuses as much on the Corvette’s place in popular culture as it does on the engineering and design history. This book offers something for everyone who has ever lusted after a Vette. From the inaugural 1953 Corvette to today’s stunning sixth-generation car, Corvette Sixty Years touches on all aspects of Chevrolet’s iconic sports car: history, racing, period ads, posters, memorabilia, key designers like Bill Mitchell, engineers like the fabled Zora Arkus-Duntov, celebrity Vette fans, and more. For Corvette fans, it’s an ultimate celebration of America’s most famous car.
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Corvette
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Hallertauer, Saaz, Cascade, and East Kent Goldings are varieties of what alcoholic drink ingredient?
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Lyon Air Museum to host ‘Cars & Cockpits’ — General Aviation News
Lyon Air Museum to host ‘Cars & Cockpits’
September 27, 2011
by Janice Wood
Lyon Air Museum, a Southern California showcase for vintage military aircraft and automobiles, will host more than 50 classic and late-model Chevrolet Corvette sports cars as part of a “Cars & Cockpits” event scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 2, from 10-11:30 a.m. at the facility, located on the west side of the runway at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
The cars will be driven by members of Corvettes Limited, Los Angeles. Based in Arcadia, Calif., Corvettes Limited is one of the oldest U.S. Corvette car clubs. Viewing the automobiles in the museum parking lot is free of charge.
“The Corvette is one of GM’s most iconic brands – and the museum will be playing host to some of the most beautifully designed sports cars ever made in this country,” said Mark Foster, president of Lyon Air Museum. “The public tends to think of the museum as an aircraft venue, but we also have some of the world’s rarest automobiles — such as Hitler’s Mercedes Benz — on display as well. We enjoy the mix, which is why we call these events our ‘Cars and Cockpits.’”
The Corvette sports car from the Chevrolet division of General Motors has been produced for six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after the type of small, maneuverable warship called the “corvette.” Originally built in Flint, Mich. and St. Louis, Mo., the Corvette is currently being manufactured in Bowling Green, Ken., and is the official sports car of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Corvettes Limited, Los Angeles, became incorporated in December 1957 in the state of California as a non-profit organization and a member of the National Council of Corvette Clubs. Today, the club has more than 100 members.
The 30,000-square-foot Lyon Air Museum opened in December 2009. The museum has on exhibit some of the world’s rarest operational aircraft and vehicles. In addition to military vehicles and motorcycles, on display are an original 1939 Mercedes-Benz Model G4 Offener Touring Wagon used by Adolph Hitler in Germany and Poland until it was seized by the French Army at the war’s end, a 1941 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Sedan (the last four-door convertible produced by Cadillac) formerly owned by New York socialite Princess Diane Eristavi, and a 1947 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet featuring a long front “bonnet” that conceals a potent V12 engine.
For more information: 714-210-4585, LyonAirMuseum.org
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i don't know
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What island nation began modernizing reforms in the early 2000s when leadership passed from brother to brother?
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The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency
Afghanistan
Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist countercoup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahidin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Usama BIN LADIN.
A UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan, and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. KARZAI was reelected in August 2009 for a second term. The 2014 presidential election was the country's first to include a runoff, which featured the top two vote-getters from the first round, Abdullah ABDULLAH and Ashraf GHANI. Throughout the summer of 2014, their campaigns disputed the results and traded accusations of fraud, leading to a US-led diplomatic intervention that included a full vote audit as well as political negotiations between the two camps. In September 2014, GHANI and ABDULLAH agreed to form the Government of National Unity, with GHANI inaugurated as president and ABDULLAH elevated to the newly-created position of chief executive officer. The day after the inauguration, the GHANI administration signed the US-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement and NATO Status of Forces Agreement, which provide the legal basis for the post-2014 international military presence in Afghanistan.
Despite gains toward building a stable central government, the Taliban remains a serious challenge for the Afghan Government in almost every province. The Taliban still considers itself the rightful government of Afghanistan, and it remains a capable and confident insurgent force despite its last two spiritual leaders being killed; it continues to declare that it will pursue a peace deal with Kabul only after foreign military forces depart.
Akrotiri
By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
Albania
Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939 and occupied by Germany in 1943. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents.
Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. Most of Albania's post-communist elections were marred by claims of electoral fraud; however, international observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and in June 2014 became a candidate for EU accession. Albania in November 2016 received a European Commission recommendation to open EU accession negotiations conditioned upon implementation of a judicial reform package passed the same year. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, it has slowed, and the country is still one of the poorest in Europe. A large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure remain obstacles.
Algeria
After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has since largely dominated politics. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but the surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting led the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. Fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence from 1992-98, resulting in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s, and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000.
Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, with the backing of the military, won the presidency in 1999 in an election widely viewed as fraudulent and won subsequent elections in 2004, 2009, and 2014. The government in 2011 introduced some political reforms in response to the Arab Spring, including lifting the 19-year-old state of emergency restrictions and increasing women's quotas for elected assemblies, while also increasing subsidies to the populace. Since 2014, Algeria’s reliance on hydrocarbon revenues to fund the government and finance the large subsidies for the population has fallen under stress because of declining oil prices.
American Samoa
Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was not reached by European explorers until the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year.
Andorra
The landlocked Principality of Andorra is one of the smallest states in Europe, nestled high in the Pyrenees between the French and Spanish borders. For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans lived under a unique coprincipality, ruled by French and Spanish leaders (from 1607 onward, the French chief of state and the Bishop of Urgell). In 1993, this feudal system was modified with the introduction of a modern, constitution; the co-princes remained as titular heads of state, but the government transformed into a parliamentary democracy.
Andorra has become a popular tourist destination visited by approximately 10 million people each year drawn by the winter sports, summer climate, and duty-free shopping. Andorra has also become a wealthy international commercial center because of its mature banking sector and low taxes. As part of its effort to modernize its economy, Andorra has opened to foreign investment, and engaged in other reforms, such as advancing tax initiatives aimed at supporting a broader infrastructure. Although not a member of the EU, Andorra enjoys a special relationship with the organization and uses the euro as its national currency.
Angola
Angola is still rebuilding its country since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but fighting picked up again in 1993. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - during the more than a quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and cemented the MPLA's hold on power. President DOS SANTOS pushed through a new constitution in 2010 and elections held in 2012 saw him installed as president. Angola assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2015-16 term.
Anguilla
Colonized by English settlers from Saint Kitts in 1650, Anguilla was administered by Great Britain until the early 19th century, when the island - against the wishes of the inhabitants - was incorporated into a single British dependency along with Saint Kitts and Nevis. Several attempts at separation failed. In 1971, two years after a revolt, Anguilla was finally allowed to secede; this arrangement was formally recognized in 1980, with Anguilla becoming a separate British dependency.
Antarctica
Speculation over the existence of a "southern land" was not confirmed until the early 1820s when British and American commercial operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring the Antarctic Peninsula region and other areas south of the Antarctic Circle. Not until 1840 was it established that Antarctica was indeed a continent and not merely a group of islands or an area of ocean. Several exploration "firsts" were achieved in the early 20th century, but generally the area saw little human activity. Following World War II, however, the continent experienced an upsurge in scientific research. A number of countries have set up a range of year-round and seasonal stations, camps, and refuges to support scientific research in Antarctica. Seven have made territorial claims, but not all countries recognize these claims. In order to form a legal framework for the activities of nations on the continent, an Antarctic Treaty was negotiated that neither denies nor gives recognition to existing territorial claims; signed in 1959, it entered into force in 1961.
Antigua and Barbuda
The Siboney were the first people to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak Indians populated the islands when COLUMBUS landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early Spanish and French settlements were succeeded by an English colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981.
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. In recent years the polar ice pack has receded in the summer allowing for increased navigation and raising the possibility of future sovereignty and shipping disputes among the six countries bordering the Arctic Ocean (Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Russia, US).
Argentina
In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio Plata declared their independence from Spain. After Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay went their separate ways, the area that remained became Argentina. The country's population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, with Italy and Spain providing the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina's history was dominated by periods of internal political conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions.
After World War II, an era of Peronist populism and direct and indirect military interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983 after a failed bid to seize the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) by force, and has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the successive resignations of several presidents.
Armenia
Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. During World War I in the western portion of Armenia, the Ottoman Empire instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh practices that resulted in at least 1 million Armenian deaths. The eastern area of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in 1828; this portion declared its independence in 1918, but was conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920.
Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, ethnic Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also seven surrounding regions, approximately 14 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution.
Turkey closed the common border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, further hampering Armenian economic growth. In 2009, senior Armenian leaders began pursuing rapprochement with Turkey, aiming to secure an opening of the border, but Turkey has not yet ratified the Protocols normalizing relations between the two countries. In January 2015, Armenia joined Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union.
Aruba
Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, became a marine reserve in 2000.
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude.
Australia
Prehistoric settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia at least 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession of the east coast in the name of Great Britain (all of Australia was claimed as British territory in 1829 with the creation of the colony of Western Australia). Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the Allied effort in World Wars I and II.
In recent decades, Australia has become an internationally competitive, advanced market economy due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s and its location in one of the fastest growing regions of the world economy. Long-term concerns include an aging population, pressure on infrastructure, and environmental issues such as floods, droughts, and bushfires. Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, making it particularly vulnerable to the challenges of climate change. Australia is home to 10 per cent of the world's biodiversity, and a great number of its flora and fauna exist nowhere else in the world.
Austria
Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the EU in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan - a nation with a majority-Turkic and majority-Shia Muslim population - was briefly independent (from 1918 to 1920) following the collapse of the Russian Empire; it was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet Union for seven decades. Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily ethnic Armenian-populated region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous republic within Soviet Azerbaijan after Armenia and Azerbaijan disputed the territory's status. Armenia and Azerbaijan reignited their dispute over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated militarily after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, ethnic Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also seven surrounding provinces in the territory of Azerbaijan. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the US, France, and Russia, is the framework established to mediate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Corruption in the country is widespread, and the government, which eliminated presidential term limits in a 2009 referendum and approved extending presidential terms from 5 to 7 years in 2016, has been accused of authoritarianism. Although the poverty rate has been reduced and infrastructure investment has increased substantially in recent years due to revenue from oil and gas production, reforms have not adequately addressed weaknesses in most government institutions, particularly in the education and health sectors, as well as the court system.
Bahamas, The
Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas has prospered through tourism, international banking, and investment management. Because of its location, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Bahrain
In 1783, the Sunni Al-Khalifa family took power in Bahrain. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. A steady decline in oil production and reserves since 1970 prompted Bahrain to take steps to diversify its economy, in the process developing successful petroleum processing and refining, aluminum production, and hospitality and retail sectors, and also to become a leading regional banking center, especially with respect to Islamic finance. Bahrain's small size and central location among Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors.
The Sunni-led government has long struggled to manage relations with its large Shia-majority population. In early 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government confronted similar pro-democracy and reform protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces to Bahrain. Political talks throughout 2014 between the government and opposition and loyalist political groups failed to reach an agreement, prompting opposition political societies to boycott parliamentary and municipal council elections in late 2014. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo continues to factor into sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
Bangladesh
Muslim conversions and settlement in the region now referred to as Bangladesh began in the 10th century, primarily from Arab and Persian traders and preachers. Europeans established trading posts in the area in the 16th century. Eventually the area known as Bengal, primarily Hindu in the western section and mostly Muslim in the eastern half, became part of British India. Partition in 1947 resulted in an eastern wing of Pakistan in the Muslim-majority area, which became East Pakistan. Calls for greater autonomy and animosity between the eastern and western wings of Pakistan led to a Bengali independence movement. That movement, led by the Awami League (AL) and supported by India, won the independence war for Bangladesh in 1971, during which at least 300,000 civilians died.
The post-independence AL government faced daunting challenges and in 1975 was overthrown by the military, triggering a series of military coups that resulted in a military-backed government and subsequent creation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978. That government also ended in a coup in 1981, followed by military-backed rule until democratic elections occurred in 1991. The BNP and AL alternated in power between 1991 and 2013, with the exception of a military-backed, emergency caretaker regime that suspended parliamentary elections planned for January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption. That government returned the country to fully democratic rule in December 2008 with the election of the AL and Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA. In January 2014, the incumbent AL won the national election by an overwhelming majority after the BNP boycotted, extending HASINA's term as prime minister. With the help of international development assistance, Bangladesh has reduced the poverty rate from over half of the population to less than a third, achieved Millennium Development Goals for maternal and child health, and made great progress in food security since independence. The economy has grown at an annual average of about 6% over the last two decades and the country reached World Bank lower-middle income status in 2015.
Barbados
The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. African slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.
Belarus
After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than have any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first and only directly elected president, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on political and civil freedoms, freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion have remained in place. The situation was somewhat aggravated after security services cracked down on mass protests challenging election results in the capital, Minsk, following the 2010 presidential election, but little protest occurred after the 2015 election.
Belgium
Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Political divisions between the Dutch-speaking Flemish of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy. Its capital, Brussels, is home to numerous international organizations including the EU and NATO.
Belize
Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992 and the two countries are involved in an ongoing border dispute. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include the country's heavy foreign debt burden, high unemployment, growing involvement in the Mexican and South American drug trade, high crime rates, and one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Central America.
Benin
Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a West African kingdom that rose to prominence in about 1600 and over the next two and a half centuries became a regional power, largely based on its slave trade. Coastal areas of Dahomey began to be controlled by the French in the second half of the 19th century; the entire kingdom was conquered by 1894. French Dahomey achieved independence in 1960; it changed its name to the Republic of Benin in 1975.
A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent, who won a second five-year term in March 2011. Patrice TALON, a wealthy businessman, took office in 2016 after campaigning to restore public confidence in the government.
Bermuda
Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists heading for Virginia. Self-governing since 1620, Bermuda is the oldest and most populous of the British overseas territories. Vacationing to the island to escape North American winters first developed in Victorian times. Tourism continues to be important to the island's economy, although international business has overtaken it in recent years. Bermuda has also developed into a highly successful offshore financial center. A referendum on independence from the UK was soundly defeated in 1995.
Bhutan
Following Britain’s victory in the 1865 Duar War, Britain and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Sinchulu, under which Bhutan would receive an annual subsidy in exchange for ceding land to British India. Ugyen WANGCHUCK - who had served as the de facto ruler of an increasingly unified Bhutan and had improved relations with the British toward the end of the 19th century - was named king in 1907. Three years later, a treaty was signed whereby the British agreed not to interfere in Bhutanese internal affairs, and Bhutan allowed Britain to direct its foreign affairs. Bhutan negotiated a similar arrangement with independent India after 1947. Two years later, a formal Indo-Bhutanese accord returned to Bhutan a small piece of the territory annexed by the British, formalized the annual subsidies the country received, and defined India's responsibilities in defense and foreign relations. Under a succession of modernizing monarchs beginning in the 1950s, Bhutan joined the UN in 1971 and slowly continued its engagement beyond its borders.
In March 2005, King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK unveiled the government's draft constitution - which introduced major democratic reforms - and held a national referendum for its approval. In December 2006, the King abdicated the throne in favor of his son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel WANGCHUCK. In early 2007, India and Bhutan renegotiated their treaty, eliminating the clause that stated that Bhutan would be "guided by" India in conducting its foreign policy, although Thimphu continues to coordinate closely with New Delhi. Elections for seating the country's first parliament were completed in March 2008; the king ratified the country's first constitution in July 2008. Bhutan experienced a peaceful turnover of power following parliamentary elections in 2013, which resulted in the defeat of the incumbent party. The disposition of some 18,000 refugees of the roughly 100,000 who fled or were forced out of Bhutan in the 1990s - and who are housed in two UN refugee camps in Nepal - remains unresolved.
Bolivia
Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production.
In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor, indigenous majority. In December 2009 and October 2014, President MORALES easily won reelection. His party maintained control of the legislative branch of the government, which has allowed him to continue his process of change. In October 2011, the country held its first judicial elections to select judges for the four highest courts. MORALES has publicly described the elected judiciary as a failed experiment that has not resolved judicial backlogs or extended pre-trial detention. He has called for a public referendum on the judicial system.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignty in October 1991 and independence from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "Greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement that ended three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995).
The Dayton Peace Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a multiethnic and democratic government charged with conducting foreign, diplomatic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government composed of two entities roughly equal in size: the predominantly Bosniak-Bosnian Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the predominantly Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments are responsible for overseeing most government functions. Additionally, the Dayton Accords established the Office of the High Representative to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. The Peace Implementation Council at its conference in Bonn in 1997 also gave the High Representative the authority to impose legislation and remove officials, the so-called "Bonn Powers." An original NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops assembled in 1995 was succeeded over time by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR). In 2004, European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR. Currently, EUFOR deploys around 600 troops in theater in a security assistance and training capacity.
Botswana
Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name at independence in 1966. More than four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created one of the most stable economies in Africa. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party has won every election since independence; President Ian KHAMA was reelected for a second term in 2014. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, though tourism is a growing sector due to the country's conservation practices and extensive nature preserves. Botswana has one of the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection, but also one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease.
Bouvet Island
This uninhabited, volcanic, Antarctic island is almost entirely covered by glaciers making it difficult to approach; it is recognized as the most remote island on Earth. Bouvet Island was discovered in 1739 by a French naval officer after whom it is named. No claim was made until 1825, when the British flag was raised. In 1928, the UK waived its claim in favor of Norway, which had occupied the island the previous year. In 1971, Norway designated Bouvet Island and the adjacent territorial waters a nature reserve. Since 1977, Norway has run an automated meteorological station and studied foraging strategies and distribution of fur seals and penguins on the island. In February 2006, an earthquake weakened the station's foundation causing it to be blown out to sea in a winter storm. Norway erected a new research station in 2014 that can hold six people for periods of two to four months.
Brazil
Following more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil gained its independence in 1822, maintaining a monarchical system of government until the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the subsequent proclamation of a republic by the military in 1889. Brazilian coffee exporters politically dominated the country until populist leader Getulio VARGAS rose to power in 1930. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil underwent more than a half century of populist and military government until 1985, when the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers. Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Having successfully weathered a period of global financial difficulty in the late 20th century, Brazil was seen as one of the world’s strongest emerging markets and a contributor to global growth. The awarding of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the first ever to be held in South America, was seen as symbolic of the country’s rise. However, since about 2013, Brazil has been plagued by a shrinking economy, growing unemployment, and rising inflation. Political scandal resulted in the impeachment of President Dilma ROUSSEFF in May 2016, a conviction that was upheld by the Senate in August 2016; her vice president, Michel TEMER, will serve as president until 2018, completing her second term.
British Indian Ocean Territory
Formerly administered as part of the British Crown Colony of Mauritius, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was established as an overseas territory of the UK in 1965. A number of the islands of the territory were later transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. Only Diego Garcia, the largest and most southerly of the islands, is inhabited. It contains a joint UK-US naval support facility and hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas (the others are on Ascension (Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha), Kwajalein (Marshall Islands), and at Cape Canaveral, Florida (US)) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system. The US Air Force also operates a telescope array on Diego Garcia as part of the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System (GEODSS) for tracking orbital debris, which can be a hazard to spacecraft and astronauts.
Between 1967 and 1973, former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius, but also to the Seychelles. Negotiations between 1971 and 1982 resulted in the establishment of a trust fund by the British Government as compensation for the displaced islanders, known as Chagossians. Beginning in 1998, the islanders pursued a series of lawsuits against the British Government seeking further compensation and the right to return to the territory. In 2006 and 2007, British court rulings invalidated the immigration policies contained in the 2004 BIOT Constitution Order that had excluded the islanders from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. In 2008, the House of Lords, as the final court of appeal in the UK, ruled in favor of the British Government by overturning the lower court rulings and finding no right of return for the Chagossians.
British Virgin Islands
First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
Brunei
The Sultanate of Brunei's influence peaked between the 15th and 17th centuries when its control extended over coastal areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines. Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by internal strife over royal succession, colonial expansion of European powers, and piracy. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate; independence was achieved in 1984. The same family has ruled Brunei for over six centuries. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world.
Bulgaria
The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Former President Blaise COMPAORE (1987-2014) resigned in late October 2014 following popular protests against his efforts to amend the Constitution's two-term presidential limit. By mid-November, a framework for an interim government was adopted under the terms of the National Transition Charter. An interim administration, led by President Michel KAFANDO and Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac ZIDA, began organizing presidential and legislative elections planned for October 2015, but these were postponed during a weeklong failed coup in September. The rescheduled elections were held on 29 November, and Roch Marc Christian KABORE was elected president in the first round. Burkina Faso's high population growth and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens.
Burma
Various ethnic Burmese and ethnic minority city-states or kingdoms occupied the present borders through the 19th century. Over a period of 62 years (1824-1886), Britain conquered Burma and incorporated the country into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; in 1948, Burma attained independence from the British Commonwealth. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. In response to widespread civil unrest, NE WIN resigned in 1988, but within months the military crushed student-led protests and took power.
Multiparty legislative elections in 1990 resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory. Instead of handing over power, the junta placed NLD leader (and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient) AUNG SAN SUU KYI under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, 2000 to 2002, and from May 2003 to November 2010. In late September 2007, the ruling junta brutally suppressed protests over increased fuel prices led by prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks, killing an unknown number of people and arresting thousands for participating in the demonstrations. In early May 2008, Burma was struck by Cyclone Nargis, which left over 138,000 dead and tens of thousands injured and homeless. Despite this tragedy, the junta proceeded with its May constitutional referendum, the first vote in Burma since 1990. Legislative elections held in November 2010, which the NLD boycotted and were considered flawed by many in the international community, saw the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party garner over 75% of the contested seats.
The national legislature convened in January 2011 and selected former Prime Minister THEIN SEIN as president. Although the vast majority of national-level appointees named by THEIN SEIN were former or current military officers, the government initiated a series of political and economic reforms leading to a substantial opening of the long-isolated country. These reforms included releasing hundreds of political prisoners, signing a nationwide cease-fire with several of the country's ethnic armed groups, pursuing legal reform, and gradually reducing restrictions on freedom of the press, association, and civil society. At least due in part to these reforms, AUNG SAN SUU KYI was elected to the national legislature in April 2012 and became chair of the Committee for Rule of Law and Tranquility. Burma served as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2014. In a flawed but largely credible national legislative election in November 2015 featuring more than 90 political parties, the NLD again won a landslide victory. Using its overwhelming majority in both houses of parliament, the NLD elected HTIN KYAW, AUNG SAN SUU KYI’s confidant and long-time NLD supporter, as president. Burma's first credibly elected civilian government after more than five decades of military dictatorship was sworn into office on 30 March 2016.
Burundi
Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that integrated defense forces, and established a new constitution and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The government of President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, who was reelected in 2010 and again in a disputed election in 2015, continues to face many political and economic challenges.
Cabo Verde
The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cabo Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. The fusing of European and various African cultural traditions is reflected in Cabo Verde’s Crioulo language, music, and pano textiles. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cabo Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa's most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cabo Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cabo Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents. Cabo Verde’s population descends from its first permanent inhabitants in the late 15th-century – a preponderance of West African slaves, a small share of Portuguese colonists, and even fewer Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese Jews. The fusing of European and various African cultural traditions is reflected in Cabo Verde’s Crioulo language, music, and pano textiles. Among the nine inhabited islands, population distribution is variable. Islands in the east are very dry and are only sparsely settled to exploit their extensive salt deposits. The more southerly islands receive more precipitation and support larger populations, but agriculture and livestock grazing have damaged their soil fertility and vegetation. For centuries, the country’s overall population size has fluctuated significantly, as recurring periods of famine and epidemics have caused high death tolls and emigration.
Cambodia
Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire, ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863, and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. In April 1975, after a seven-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns. At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off almost 13 years of civil war.
The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a cease-fire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy under a coalition government. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The remaining elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders have been tried or are awaiting trial for crimes against humanity by a hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal supported by international assistance. Elections in July 2003 were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. In October 2004, King Norodom SIHANOUK abdicated the throne and his son, Prince Norodom SIHAMONI, was selected to succeed him. The most recent local (Commune Council) elections were held in Cambodia in 2012, with little of the preelection violence that preceded prior elections. National elections in July 2013 were disputed, with the opposition - the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) - boycotting the National Assembly. The political impasse was ended nearly a year later, with the CNRP agreeing to enter parliament in exchange for ruling party commitments to electoral and legislative reforms.
Cameroon
French Cameroon became independent in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the southern portion of neighboring British Cameroon voted to merge with the new country to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon. The country has generally enjoyed stability, which has enabled the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite slow movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of President Paul BIYA.
Canada
A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867, while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically, the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across the world's longest international border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries and were administered by Jamaica after 1863. In 1959, the islands became a territory within the Federation of the West Indies. When the Federation dissolved in 1962, the Cayman Islands chose to remain a British dependency. The territory has transformed itself into a significant offshore financial center.
Central African Republic
The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 but lasted only a decade. In March 2003, President Ange-Felix PATASSE was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government. Elections held in 2005 affirmed General BOZIZE as president; he was reelected in 2011 in voting widely viewed as flawed. The government still lacks full control of the countryside, where lawlessness persists. The militant group, Lord's Resistance Army, continues to destabilize southeastern Central African Republic, and several rebel groups joined together in early December 2012 to launch a series of attacks that left them in control of numerous towns in the northern and central parts of the country. The rebels - unhappy with BOZIZE's government - participated in peace talks in early January 2013 which resulted in a coalition government including the rebellion's leadership. In March 2013, the coalition government dissolved, rebels seized the capital, and President BOZIZE fled the country. Rebel leader Michel DJOTODIA assumed the presidency and the following month established a National Transitional Council (CNT). In January 2014, the CNT elected Catherine SAMBA-PANZA as interim president. Elections completed in March 2016 installed independent candidate Faustin-Archange TOUADERA as president.
Chad
Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare, as well as invasions by Libya, before peace was restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which has sporadically flared up despite several peace agreements between the government and insurgents. In June 2005, President Idriss DEBY held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits and won another controversial election in 2006. Sporadic rebel campaigns continued throughout 2006 and 2007. The capital experienced a significant insurrection in early 2008, but has had no significant rebel threats since then, in part due to Chad's 2010 rapprochement with Sudan, which previously used Chadian rebels as proxies. In late 2015, the government imposed a state of emergency in the Lake Chad region following multiple attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram throughout the year; Boko Haram also launched several bombings in N'Djamena in mid-2015. DEBY in 2011 was reelected to his fourth term in an election that international observers described as proceeding without incident. In January 2014, Chad began a two-year rotation on the UN Security Council.
Chile
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the Inca ruled northern Chile while the Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche were brought under central government control. After a series of elected governments, the three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup led by General Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was inaugurated in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.
China
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.
Christmas Island
Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888 with the discovery of the island's phosphate deposits. Following the Second World War, Christmas Island came under the jurisdiction of the new British Colony of Singapore. The island existed as a separate Crown colony from 1 January 1958 to 1 October 1958 when its transfer to Australian jurisdiction was finalized. That date is still celebrated on the first Monday in October as Territory Day. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
Clipperton Island
This isolated atoll was named for John CLIPPERTON, an English pirate who was rumored to have made it his hideout early in the 18th century. Annexed by France in 1855 and claimed by the US, it was seized by Mexico in 1897. Arbitration eventually awarded the island to France in 1931, which took possession in 1935.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William KEELING discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. From the 1820s to 1978, members of the CLUNIE-ROSS family controlled the islands and the copra produced from local coconuts. Annexed by the UK in 1857, the Cocos Islands were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955. Apart from North Keeling Island, which lies 30 kilometers north of the main group, the islands form a horseshoe-shaped atoll surrounding a lagoon. North Keeling Island was declared a national park in 1995 and is administered by Parks Australia. The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on Home Island.
Colombia
Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A five-decade-long conflict between government forces and antigovernment insurgent groups, principally the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) heavily funded by the drug trade, escalated during the 1990s. More than 31,000 former paramilitaries had demobilized by the end of 2006 and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia as a formal organization had ceased to function. In the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, emerging criminal groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. The insurgents lacked the military or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. Large areas of the countryside were under guerrilla influence or contested by security forces. After four years of formal peace negotiations, the Colombian Government signed a peace deal with the FARC in November 2016, which was subsequently endorsed by the Colombian Congress. The agreement calls for members of the FARC to demobilize and be incorporated into mainstream society and politics. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its administrative departments. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties.
Comoros
The archipelago of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean, composed of the islands of Mayotte, Anjouan, Moheli, and Grand Comore declared independence from France on 6 July 1975. France did not recognize the independence of Mayotte, which remains under French administration. Since independence, Comoros has endured political instability through realized and attempted coups. In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared independence from Comoros. In 1999, military chief Col. AZALI Assoumani seized power of the entire government in a bloodless coup; he initiated the 2000 Fomboni Accords, a power-sharing agreement in which the federal presidency rotates among the three islands, and each island maintains its local government. AZALI won the 2002 federal presidential election as president from Grand Comore Island, and each island in the archipelago elected its president. AZALI stepped down in 2006 and President SAMBI was elected to office as president from Anjouan. In 2007, Mohamed BACAR effected Anjouan's de-facto secession from the Union of Comoros, refusing to step down when Comoros' other islands held legitimate elections in July. The African Union (AU) initially attempted to resolve the political crisis by applying sanctions and a naval blockade to Anjouan, but in March 2008 the AU and Comoran soldiers seized the island. The island's inhabitants generally welcomed the move. In May 2011, Ikililou DHOININE won the presidency in peaceful elections widely deemed to be free and fair. Former President AZALI Assoumani was declared the winner of the closely contested 2016 presidential election.
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Established as an official Belgian colony in 1908, the then-Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several sham elections, as well as through brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda and fronted by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by a second insurrection again backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe intervened to support KABILA's regime. In January 2001, KABILA was assassinated and his son, Joseph KABILA, was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying the eastern DRC; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003; it held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures took place in 2006.
In 2009, following a resurgence of conflict in the eastern DRC, the government signed a peace agreement with the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a primarily Tutsi rebel group. An attempt to integrate CNDP members into the Congolese military failed, prompting their defection in 2012 and the formation of the M23 armed group - named after the 23 March 2009 peace agreements. Renewed conflict led to large population displacements and significant human rights abuses before the M23 was pushed out of DRC to Uganda and Rwanda in late 2013 by a joint DRC and UN offensive. In addition, the DRC continues to experience violence committed by other armed groups including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, the Allied Democratic Forces, and assorted Mai Mai militias. In the most recent national elections, held in November 2011, disputed results allowed Joseph KABILA to be reelected to the presidency; the next presidential election is scheduled for late 2016.
Congo, Republic of the
Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term.
Cook Islands
Named after Captain COOK, who sighted them in 1770, the islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, administrative control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965, residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand. The emigration of skilled workers to New Zealand, government deficits, and limited natural resources are of continuing concern.
Coral Sea Islands
Scattered over more than three-quarters of a million square kilometers of ocean, the Coral Sea Islands were declared a territory of Australia in 1969. They are uninhabited except for a small meteorological staff on the Willis Islets. Automated weather stations, beacons, and a lighthouse occupy many other islands and reefs. The Coral Sea Islands Act 1969 was amended in 1997 to extend the boundaries of the Coral Sea Islands Territory around Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs.
Costa Rica
Although explored by the Spanish early in the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including disease from mosquito-infested swamps, brutal heat, resistance by natives, and pirate raids. It was not until 1563 that a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler, fertile central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries. In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain. Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred the country's democratic development. In 1949, Costa Rica dissolved its armed forces. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread.
Cote d'Ivoire
Close ties to France following independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment all made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the West African states but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert GUEI blatantly rigged elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and an election brought Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivoirian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002 that developed into a rebellion and then a civil war. In 2003, a cease-fire resulted in the country being divided with the rebels holding the north, the government the south, and peacekeeping forces a buffer zone between the two. In March 2007, President GBAGBO and former New Forces rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed an agreement in which SORO joined GBAGBO's government as prime minister and the two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the buffer zone, integrating rebel forces into the national armed forces, and holding elections. Difficulties in preparing electoral registers delayed balloting until 2010. In November 2010, Alassane Dramane OUATTARA won the presidential election over GBAGBO, but GBAGBO refused to hand over power, resulting in a five-month resumption of violent conflict. In April 2011, after widespread fighting, GBAGBO was formally forced from office by armed OUATTARA supporters with the help of UN and French forces. The UN peacekeeping mission is drawing down and is scheduled to depart in June 2017. OUATTARA is focused on rebuilding the country's economy and infrastructure while rebuilding the security forces. GBAGBO is in The Hague on trial for crimes against humanity.
Croatia
The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands, along with a majority of Croatia's ethnic Serb population. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. The country joined NATO in April 2009 and the EU in July 2013.
Cuba
The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule eventually provoked an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 assisted the Cubans in overthrowing Spanish rule. The Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence from Spain in 1898 and, following three-and-a-half years of subsequent US military rule, Cuba became an independent republic in 1902 after which the island experienced a string of governments mostly dominated by the military and corrupt politicians. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his authoritarian rule held the subsequent regime together for nearly five decades. He stepped down as president in February 2008 in favor of his younger brother Raul CASTRO. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
The country faced a severe economic downturn in 1990 following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies worth $4-6 billion annually. Cuba at times portrays the US embargo, in place since 1961, as the source of its difficulties. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the US's southern border - is a continuing problem. In FY 2014, the US Coast Guard interdicted 2,111 Cuban nationals at sea, the highest number since FY 2008. Also in FY 2014, 24,289 Cuban migrants presented themselves at various land border ports of entry throughout the US. As a result of efforts begun in December 2014 by President OBAMA to re-establishment diplomatic relations with the Cuban government, which were severed in January 1961, the US and Cuba reopened embassies in their respective countries on 20 July 2015. Over the past decade, there has been growing communication with the Cuban Government to address national interests.
Curacao
Originally settled by Arawak Indians, Curacao was seized by the Dutch in 1634 along with the neighboring island of Bonaire. Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, Curacao was hard hit economically by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of the Isla Refineria to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. In 1954, Curacao and several other Dutch Caribbean possessions were reorganized as the Netherlands Antilles, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In referenda in 2005 and 2009, the citizens of Curacao voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The change in status became effective in October 2010 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Cyprus
A former British colony, Cyprus became independent in 1960 following years of resistance to British rule. Tensions between the Greek Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority came to a head in December 1963, when violence broke out in the capital of Nicosia. Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic intercommunal violence continued, forcing most Turkish Cypriots into enclaves throughout the island. In 1974, a Greek Government-sponsored attempt to overthrow the elected president of Cyprus was met by military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled more than a third of the island. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot administered area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC"), but it is recognized only by Turkey. A UN-mediated agreement, the Annan Plan, failed to win approval by both communities in 2004. In February 2014, after a hiatus of nearly two years, the leaders of the two communities resumed formal discussions under UN auspices aimed at reuniting the divided island. Talks were suspended in October 2014, but resumed in earnest in May 2015 following the election of a new Turkish Cypriot "president." The entire island entered the EU on 1 May 2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and obligations - applies only to the areas under the internationally recognized government, and is suspended in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. However, individual Turkish Cypriots able to document their eligibility for Republic of Cyprus citizenship legally enjoy the same rights accorded to other citizens of EU states.
Czechia
At the close of World War I, the Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, having rejected a federal system, the new country's predominantly Czech leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the increasingly strident demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Slovaks, the Sudeten Germans, and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). On the eve of World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the territory that today comprises Czechia, and Slovakia became an independent state allied with Germany. After the war, a reunited but truncated Czechoslovakia (less Ruthenia) fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize communist rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. The country changed its short-form name to Czechia in 2016.
Denmark
Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the EU's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union, European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs.
Dhekelia
By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The larger of these is the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Eastern Sovereign Base Area.
Djibouti
The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian one-party state and proceeded to serve as president until 1999. Unrest among the Afar minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in 2001 with a peace accord between Afar rebels and the Somali Issa-dominated government. In 1999, Djibouti's first multiparty presidential election resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH as president; he was reelected to a second term in 2005 and extended his tenure in office via a constitutional amendment, which allowed him to serve a third term in 2011 and begin a fourth term in 2016. Djibouti occupies a strategic geographic location at the intersection of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and serves as an important shipping portal for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands and transshipments between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The government holds longstanding ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, and has strong ties with the US. Djibouti hosts several thousand members of US armed services at US-run Camp Lemonnier.
Dominica
Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which colonized the island in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still living on Dominica are the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean.
Dominican Republic
The Taino - indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of the Europeans - divided the island into five chiefdoms and territories. Christopher COLUMBUS explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821 but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930 to 1961. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the US led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in the presidential election. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (first term 1996-2000) won election to a new term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term, and was later reelected to a second consecutive term. In 2012, Danilo MEDINA Sanchez became president; he was reelected in 2016.
Ecuador
What is now Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533. Quito became a seat of Spanish colonial government in 1563 and part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717. The territories of the Viceroyalty - New Granada (Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito - gained their independence between 1819 and 1822 and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. When Quito withdrew in 1830, the traditional name was changed in favor of the "Republic of the Equator." Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 30 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period was marred by political instability. Protests in Quito contributed to the mid-term ouster of three of Ecuador's last four democratically elected presidents. In late 2008, voters approved a new constitution, Ecuador's 20th since gaining independence. General elections were held in February 2013, and voters reelected President Rafael CORREA.
Egypt
The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 elevated Egypt as an important world transportation hub. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty from Britain in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.
Inspired by the 2010 Tunisian revolution, Egyptian opposition groups led demonstrations and labor strikes countrywide, culminating in President Hosni MUBARAK's ouster. Egypt's military assumed national leadership until a new parliament was in place in early 2012; later that same year, Mohammed MORSI won the presidential election. Following often violent protests throughout the spring of 2013 against MORSI's government and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Armed Forces intervened and removed MORSI from power in July 2013 and replaced him with interim president Adly MANSOUR. In January 2014, voters approved a new constitution by referendum and in May 2014 elected Abdel Fattah EL SISI president. Egypt elected a new legislature in December 2015, the first parliament since 2012.
El Salvador
El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms.
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule; it is one of the smallest countries in Africa consisting of a mainland territory and five inhabited islands. The capital of Malabo is located on the island of Bioko, approximately 25 km from the Cameroonian coastline in the Gulf of Guinea. Between 1968 and 1979, autocratic President Francisco MACIAS NGUEMA virtually destroyed all of the country's political, economic, and social institutions before being deposed by his nephew Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO in a coup. President OBIANG has ruled since October 1979 and was reelected in 2016. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, presidential and legislative elections since 1996 have generally been labeled as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has placed legal and bureaucratic barriers that prevent political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production, resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, the drop in global oil prices has placed significant strain on the state budget. Equatorial Guinea continues to seek to diversify its economy and to increase foreign investment despite limited improvements in the population's living standards. Equatorial Guinea is the host of major regional and international conferences and continues to seek a greater role in regional affairs.
Eritrea
After independence from Italian colonial control in 1941 and 10 years of British administrative control, the UN established Eritrea as an autonomous region within the Ethiopian federation in 1952. Ethiopia's full annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a violent 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating government forces. Eritreans overwhelmingly approved independence in a 1993 referendum. ISAIAS Afworki has been Eritrea's only president since independence; his rule, particularly since 2001, has been highly autocratic and repressive. His government has created a highly militarized society by pursuing an unpopular program of mandatory conscription into national service, sometimes of indefinite length. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. A UN peacekeeping operation was established that monitored a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) created in April 2003 was tasked "to delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty border based on pertinent colonial treaties (1900, 1902, and 1908) and applicable international law." The EEBC on 30 November 2007 remotely demarcated the border, assigning the town of Badme to Eritrea, despite Ethiopia's maintaining forces there from the time of the 1998-2000 war. Eritrea insisted that the UN terminate its peacekeeping mission on 31 July 2008. Eritrea has accepted the EEBC's "virtual demarcation" decision and repeatedly called on Ethiopia to remove its troops. Ethiopia has not accepted the demarcation decision, and neither party has entered into meaningful dialogue to resolve the impasse. Eritrea is subject to several UN Security Council Resolutions (from 2009, 2011, and 2012) imposing various military and economic sanctions, in view of evidence that it has supported armed opposition groups in the region.
Estonia
After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011.
Ethiopia
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades.
European Union
Following the two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century, a number of far-sighted European leaders in the late 1940s sought a response to the overwhelming desire for peace and reconciliation on the continent. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed pooling the production of coal and steel in Western Europe and setting up an organization for that purpose that would bring France and the Federal Republic of Germany together and would be open to other countries as well. The following year, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members - Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands - signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other elements of the countries' economies. In 1957, envisioning an "ever closer union," the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the body known today as the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and have been held every five years since.
In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU), at the time standing alongside the EC. In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU/EC, raising the membership total to 15.
A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all EU member states except Denmark, Sweden, and the UK. In 2002, citizens of those 12 countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007 and Croatia in 2013, bringing the current membership to 28. (Seven of these new countries - Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, and Slovenia - have now adopted the euro, bringing total euro-zone membership to 19.)
In an effort to ensure that the EU could function efficiently with an expanded membership, the Treaty of Nice (concluded in 2000; entered into force in 2003) set forth rules to streamline the size and procedures of EU institutions. An effort to establish a "Constitution for Europe," growing out of a Convention held in 2002-2003, foundered when it was rejected in referenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005. A subsequent effort in 2007 incorporated many of the features of the rejected draft Constitutional Treaty while also making a number of substantive and symbolic changes. The new treaty, referred to as the Treaty of Lisbon, sought to amend existing treaties rather than replace them. The treaty was approved at the EU intergovernmental conference of the then 27 member states held in Lisbon in December 2007, after which the process of national ratifications began. In October 2009, an Irish referendum approved the Lisbon Treaty (overturning a previous rejection) and cleared the way for an ultimate unanimous endorsement. Poland and the Czech Republic ratified soon after. The Lisbon Treaty came into force on 1 December 2009 and the EU officially replaced and succeeded the EC. The Treaty's provisions are part of the basic consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) now governing what remains a very specific integration project.
Frustrated by a remote bureaucracy in Brussels and massive migration into the country, UK citizens on 23 June 2016 narrowly voted to leave the EU. The so-called “Brexit” will take years to carry out, but could embolden skeptics of EU membership in other member states.
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Although first sighted by an English navigator in 1592, the first landing (English) did not occur until almost a century later in 1690, and the first settlement (French) was not established until 1764. The colony was turned over to Spain two years later and the islands have since been the subject of a territorial dispute, first between Britain and Spain, then between Britain and Argentina. The UK asserted its claim to the islands by establishing a naval garrison there in 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. The British responded with an expeditionary force that landed seven weeks later and after fierce fighting forced an Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982. With hostilities ended and Argentine forces withdrawn, UK administration resumed. In response to renewed calls from Argentina for Britain to relinquish control of the islands, a referendum was held in March 2013, which resulted in 99.8% of the population voting to remain a part of the UK.
Faroe Islands
The population of the Faroe Islands is largely descended from Viking settlers who arrived in the 9th century. The islands have been connected politically to Denmark since the 14th century. A high degree of self-government was granted the Faroese in 1948, who have autonomy over most internal affairs while Denmark is responsible for justice, defense, and foreign affairs. The Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union.
Fiji
Fiji became independent in 1970 after nearly a century as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987 caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century). The coups and a 1990 constitution that cemented native Melanesian control of Fiji led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. A new constitution enacted in 1997 was more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a civilian-led coup in 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE. Reelected in May 2006, QARASE was ousted in a December 2006 military coup led by Commodore Voreqe BAINIMARAMA, who initially appointed himself acting president but in January 2007 became interim prime minister. Following years of political turmoil, long-delayed legislative elections were held in September 2014 that were deemed "credible" by international observers and that resulted in BAINIMARAMA being reelected.
Finland
Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It gained complete independence in 1917. During World War II, Finland successfully defended its independence through cooperation with Germany and resisted subsequent invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, Finland transformed from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the EU since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro single currency at its initiation in January 1999. In the 21st century, the key features of Finland's modern welfare state are high quality education, promotion of equality, and a national social welfare system - currently challenged by an aging population and the fluctuations of an export-driven economy.
France
France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. It plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-8, the G-20, the EU, and other multilateral organizations. France rejoined NATO's integrated military command structure in 2009, reversing DE GAULLE's 1966 decision to withdraw French forces from NATO. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier, more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent decades, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common currency, the euro, in January 1999. In the early 21st century, five French overseas entities - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion - became French regions and were made part of France proper.
French Polynesia
The French annexed various Polynesian island groups during the 19th century. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing on the Mururoa Atoll after a three-year moratorium. The tests were halted in January 1996. In recent years, French Polynesia's autonomy has been considerably expanded.
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
In February 2007, the Iles Eparses became an integral part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF). The Southern Lands are now divided into five administrative districts, two of which are archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; the third is a district composed of two volcanic islands, Ile Saint-Paul and Ile Amsterdam; the fourth, Iles Eparses, consists of five scattered tropical islands around Madagascar. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna, scientists at the various scientific stations, fishermen, and military personnel. The fifth district is the Antarctic portion, which consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840.
Ile Amsterdam: Discovered but not named in 1522 by the Spanish, the island subsequently received the appellation of Nieuw Amsterdam from a Dutchman; it was claimed by France in 1843. A short-lived attempt at cattle farming began in 1871. A French meteorological station established on the island in 1949 is still in use.
Ile Saint Paul: Claimed by France since 1893, the island was a fishing industry center from 1843 to 1914. In 1928, a spiny lobster cannery was established, but when the company went bankrupt in 1931, seven workers were abandoned. Only two survived until 1934 when rescue finally arrived.
Iles Crozet: A large archipelago formed from the Crozet Plateau, Iles Crozet is divided into two main groups: L'Occidental (the West), which includes Ile aux Cochons, Ilots des Apotres, Ile des Pingouins, and the reefs Brisants de l'Heroine; and L'Oriental (the East), which includes Ile d'Est and Ile de la Possession (the largest island of the Crozets). Discovered and claimed by France in 1772, the islands were used for seal hunting and as a base for whaling. Originally administered as a dependency of Madagascar, they became part of the TAAF in 1955.
Iles Kerguelen: This island group, discovered in 1772, consists of one large island (Ile Kerguelen) and about 300 smaller islands. A permanent group of 50 to 100 scientists resides at the main base at Port-aux-Francais.
Adelie Land: The only non-insular district of the TAAF is the Antarctic claim known as "Adelie Land." The US Government does not recognize it as a French dependency.
Bassas da India: A French possession since 1897, this atoll is a volcanic rock surrounded by reefs and is awash at high tide.
Europa Island: This heavily wooded island has been a French possession since 1897; it is the site of a small military garrison that staffs a weather station.
Glorioso Islands: A French possession since 1892, the Glorioso Islands are composed of two lushly vegetated coral islands (Ile Glorieuse and Ile du Lys) and three rock islets. A military garrison operates a weather and radio station on Ile Glorieuse.
Juan de Nova Island: Named after a famous 15th-century Spanish navigator and explorer, the island has been a French possession since 1897. It has been exploited for its guano and phosphate. Presently a small military garrison oversees a meteorological station.
Tromelin Island: First explored by the French in 1776, the island came under the jurisdiction of Reunion in 1814. At present, it serves as a sea turtle sanctuary and is the site of an important meteorological station.
Gabon
El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world - dominated the country's political scene for four decades (1967-2009) following independence from France in 1960. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, allegations of electoral fraud during local elections in December 2002 and the presidential election in 2005 exposed the weaknesses of formal political structures in Gabon. Following President BONGO's death in 2009, a new election brought Ali BONGO Ondimba, son of the former president, to power. Despite constrained political conditions, Gabon's small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make it one of the more stable African countries.
Gambia, The
The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965. Geographically surrounded by Senegal, it formed a short-lived Confederation of Senegambia between 1982 and 1989. In 1991 the two nations signed a friendship and cooperation treaty, but tensions have flared up intermittently since then. Yahya JAMMEH led a military coup in 1994 that overthrew the president and banned political activity. A new constitution and presidential election in 1996, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997, completed a nominal return to civilian rule. JAMMEH was elected president in all subsequent elections including most recently in late 2011. A presidential election is scheduled for December 2016.
Gaza Strip
Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., Gaza has been dominated by many different peoples and empires throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip; it was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements known as the Oslo accords signed between 1994 and 1999, Israel transferred to the newly-created Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled in 2001, after which the area witnessed a violent intifada or uprising.
In early 2003, the "Quartet" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states. Following PA President Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political faction) as the PA president in 2005, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel by late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, but it continues to control the Gaza Strip’s land and maritime borders and airspace. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council election. Attempts to form a unity government between Fatah and HAMAS failed and violent clashes between their respective supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Since HAMAS’s takeover, Israel and Egypt have enforced tight restrictions on movement and access of goods and individuals into and out of the territory. Fatah and HAMAS have since reached a series of agreements aimed at restoring political unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but have struggled to implement them. In April 2014, the two factions signed an agreement and two months later President ABBAS formed an interim government of independent technocrats, none of whom were affiliated with HAMAS. The factions have since met periodically for further negotiations, but they continue to disagree over how to implement the deal and HAMAS remains in de facto control of the Gaza Strip.
In July 2014, HAMAS and other Gaza-based militant groups engaged in a 51-day conflict with Israel — the third conflict since HAMAS’s takeover in 2007 — culminating in late August with an open-ended truce that continues to hold despite the absence of a negotiated cease-fire and occasional violations by both sides. Reconstruction efforts since the end of the conflict have been hampered by Israeli restrictions on goods entering the Gaza Strip and inadequate donor aid. The UN in 2015 published a study assessing that the Gaza Strip could become uninhabitable by 2020 absent a substantial easing on border restrictions. In an attempt to reenergize peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, France in June 2016 hosted a ministerial meeting that included participants from 29 countries, although not Israel or the Palestinians, to lay the groundwork for an envisioned "multilateral peace conference" later in the year.
Georgia
The region of present day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D., and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1921 and regained its independence when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.
Mounting public discontent over rampant corruption and ineffective government services, followed by an attempt by the incumbent Georgian Government to manipulate parliamentary elections in November 2003, touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. In the aftermath of that popular movement, which became known as the "Rose Revolution," new elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his United National Movement (UNM) party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Periodic flare-ups in tension and violence culminated in a five-day conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia, including the invasion of large portions of undisputed Georgian territory. Russian troops pledged to pull back from most occupied Georgian territory, but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russian military forces remain in those regions.
Billionaire philanthropist Bidzina IVANISHVILI's unexpected entry into politics in October 2011 brought the divided opposition together under his Georgian Dream coalition, which won a majority of seats in the October 2012 parliamentary elections and removed UNM from power. Conceding defeat, SAAKASHVILI named IVANISHVILI as prime minister and allowed Georgian Dream to create a new government. Georgian Dream's Giorgi MARGVELASHVILI was inaugurated as president on 17 November 2013, ending a tense year of power-sharing between SAAKASHVILI and IVANISHVILI. IVANISHVILI voluntarily resigned from office after the presidential succession, and Georgia's legislature on 20 November 2013 confirmed Irakli GARIBASHVILI as his replacement. GARIBASHVILI was replaced by Giorgi KVIRIKASHVILI in December 2015. KVIRIKASHVILI will remain Prime Minister following Georgian Dream’s success in the October 2016 parliamentary elections, where the party won a constitutional majority. These changes in leadership represent unique examples of a former Soviet state that emerged to conduct democratic and peaceful government transitions of power. Popular and government support for integration with the West is high in Georgia. Joining the EU and NATO are among the country's top foreign policy goals.
Germany
As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
Ghana
Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta MILLS won the 2008 presidential election and took over as head of state, but he died in July 2012 and was constitutionally succeeded by his vice president, John Dramani MAHAMA, who subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election.
Gibraltar
Strategically important, Gibraltar was reluctantly ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In a referendum held in 1967, Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. The subsequent granting of autonomy in 1969 by the UK led Spain to close the border and sever all communication links. Between 1997 and 2002, the UK and Spain held a series of talks on establishing temporary joint sovereignty over Gibraltar. In response to these talks, the Gibraltar Government called a referendum in late 2002 in which the majority of citizens voted overwhelmingly against any sharing of sovereignty with Spain. Since late 2004, Spain, the UK, and Gibraltar have held tripartite talks with the aim of cooperatively resolving problems that affect the local population, and work continues on cooperation agreements in areas such as taxation and financial services; communications and maritime security; policy, legal and customs services; environmental protection; and education and visa services. Throughout 2009, a dispute over Gibraltar's claim to territorial waters extending out three miles gave rise to periodic non-violent maritime confrontations between Spanish and UK naval patrols and in 2013, the British reported a record number of entries by Spanish vessels into waters claimed by Gibraltar following a dispute over Gibraltar's creation of an artificial reef in those waters. A new noncolonial constitution came into effect in 2007, and the European Court of First Instance recognized Gibraltar's right to regulate its own tax regime in December 2008. The UK retains responsibility for defense, foreign relations, internal security, and financial stability.
Greece
Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between supporters of the king and other anti-communist and communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. In 1967, a group of military officers seized power, establishing a military dictatorship that suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country. In 1974 following the collapse of the dictatorship, democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. In 1981, Greece joined the EC (now the EU); it became the 12th member of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 2001. Greece has suffered a severe economic crisis since late 2009, due to nearly a decade of chronic overspending and structural rigidities. Since 2010, Greece has entered three bailout agreements with the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB), the IMF, and with the third, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The Greek Government agreed to its current, $96 billion bailout in August 2015, which will conclude in August 2018.
Greenland
Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice-capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland became an integral part of the Danish Realm in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland remains a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association of the EU. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Greenland voted in favor of increased self-rule in November 2008 and acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs when the Act on Greenland Self-Government was signed into law in June 2009. Denmark, however, continues to exercise control over several policy areas on behalf of Greenland, including foreign affairs, security, and financial policy in consultation with Greenland's Self-Rule Government.
Grenada
Carib Indians inhabited Grenada when Christopher COLUMBUS discovered the island in 1498, but it remained uncolonized for more than a century. The French settled Grenada in the 17th century, established sugar estates, and imported large numbers of African slaves. Britain took the island in 1762 and vigorously expanded sugar production. In the 19th century, cacao eventually surpassed sugar as the main export crop; in the 20th century, nutmeg became the leading export. In 1967, Britain gave Grenada autonomy over its internal affairs. Full independence was attained in 1974 making Grenada one of the smallest independent countries in the Western Hemisphere. Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year and have continued since then.
Guam
Spain ceded Guam to the US in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installations on the island are some of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific.
Guatemala
The Maya civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the internal conflict, which had left more than 200,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, about 1 million refugees.
Guernsey
Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency but is not part of the UK or of the EU. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation.
Guinea-Bissau
Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established authoritarian dictator Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA as president. Despite setting a path to a market economy and multiparty system, VIEIRA's regime was characterized by the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him. In 1994 VIEIRA was elected president in the country's first free, multiparty election. A military mutiny and resulting civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in May 1999. In February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba YALA after he was elected president in transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in office, YALA was overthrown in a bloodless military coup, and businessman Henrique ROSA was sworn in as interim president. In 2005, former President VIEIRA was reelected, pledging to pursue economic development and national reconciliation; he was assassinated in March 2009. Malam Bacai SANHA was elected in an emergency election held in June 2009, but he passed away in January 2012 from a long-term illness. A military coup in April 2012 prevented Guinea-Bissau's second-round presidential election - to determine SANHA's successor - from taking place. Following mediation by the Economic Community of Western African States, a civilian transitional government assumed power in 2012 and remained until Jose Mario VAZ won a free and fair election in 2014. A long-running dispute between factions in the ruling PAIGC party has brought the government to a political impasse; there have been five prime ministers since August 2015.
Guinea
Guinea is at a turning point after decades of authoritarian rule since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Guinea held its first free and competitive democratic presidential and legislative elections in 2010 and 2013 respectively, and in October 2015 held a second consecutive presidential election. Alpha CONDE was reelected to a second five-year term as president in 2015, and the National Assembly was seated in January 2014. CONDE's first cabinet is the first all-civilian government in Guinea. Previously, Sekou TOURE ruled the country as president from independence to his death in 1984. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984 when the military seized the government after TOURE's death. Gen. CONTE organized and won presidential elections in 1993, 1998, and 2003, though all the polls were rigged. Upon CONTE's death in December 2008, Capt. Moussa Dadis CAMARA led a military coup, seizing power and suspending the constitution. His unwillingness to yield to domestic and international pressure to step down led to heightened political tensions that culminated in September 2009 when presidential guards opened fire on an opposition rally killing more than 150 people, and in early December 2009 when CAMARA was wounded in an assassination attempt and exiled to Burkina Faso. A transitional government led by Gen. Sekouba KONATE paved the way for Guinea's transition to a fledgling democracy.
Guyana
Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to settlement of urban areas by former slaves and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. The resulting ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, and since then it has been ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was elected president in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. After his death five years later, his wife, Janet JAGAN, became president but resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001 and again in 2006. Early elections held in May 2015 resulted in the replacement of President Donald RAMOTAR by David GRANGER.
Haiti
The native Taino - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first post-colonial black-led nation in the world, declaring its independence in 1804. Currently the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has experienced political instability for most of its history. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 25 km (15 mi) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Estimates are that over 300,000 people were killed and some 1.5 million left homeless. The earthquake was assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew struck southwestern Haiti causing widespread and devastating destruction, with an estimated 2.1 million people affected. President Michel MARTELLY completed his term in February 2016 with no successor in place. The National Assembly elected Interim President Jocelerme PRIVERT to lead until new elections take place in 2017.
Holy See (Vatican City)
Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid-19th century, when many of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion. Present concerns of the Holy See include religious freedom, threats against minority Christian communities in Africa and the Middle East, sexual misconduct by clergy, international development, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and the application of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1.2 billion people worldwide profess Catholicism - the world's largest Christian faith.
Honduras
Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded.
Hong Kong
Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the subsequent 50 years.
Howland Island
Discovered by the US early in the 19th century, the island was officially claimed by the US in 1857. Both US and British companies mined for guano until about 1890. Earhart Light, a day beacon near the middle of the west coast, was partially destroyed during World War II, but subsequently rebuilt; it is named in memory of the famed aviatrix Amelia EARHART. The island is administered by the US Department of the Interior as a National Wildlife Refuge.
Hungary
Hungary became a Christian kingdom in A.D. 1000 and for many centuries served as a bulwark against Ottoman Turkish expansion in Europe. The kingdom eventually became part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed during World War I. The country fell under communist rule following World War II. In 1956, a revolt and an announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. Under the leadership of Janos KADAR in 1968, Hungary began liberalizing its economy, introducing so-called "Goulash Communism." Hungary held its first multiparty elections in 1990 and initiated a free market economy. It joined NATO in 1999 and the EU five years later.
Iceland
Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althingi, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Denmark granted limited home rule in 1874 and complete independence in 1944. The second half of the 20th century saw substantial economic growth driven primarily by the fishing industry. The economy diversified greatly after the country joined the European Economic Area in 1994, but Iceland was especially hard hit by the global financial crisis in the years following 2008. Literacy, longevity, and social cohesion are first rate by world standards.
India
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century.
By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence, which was granted in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring nations have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991 and a massive youthful population are driving India's emergence as a regional and global power.
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude.
Indonesia
The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence shortly before Japan's surrender, but it required four years of sometimes brutal fighting, intermittent negotiations, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty in 1949. A period of sometimes unruly parliamentary democracy ended in 1957 when President SOEKARNO declared martial law and instituted "Guided Democracy." After an abortive coup in 1965 by alleged communist sympathizers, SOEKARNO was gradually eased from power. From 1967 until 1988, President SUHARTO ruled Indonesia with his "New Order" government. After rioting toppled SUHARTO in 1998, free and fair legislative elections took place in 1999. Indonesia is now the world's third most populous democracy, the world's largest archipelagic state, and the world's largest Muslim-majority nation. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, improving education, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing economic and financial reforms, stemming corruption, reforming the criminal justice system, holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations, addressing climate change, and controlling infectious diseases, particularly those of global and regional importance. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, which led to democratic elections in Aceh in December 2006. Indonesia continues to face low intensity armed resistance in Papua by the separatist Free Papua Movement.
Iran
Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza PAHLAVI was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah KHOMEINI established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a learned religious scholar referred to commonly as the Supreme Leader who, according to the constitution, is accountable only to the Assembly of Experts - a popularly elected 86-member body of clerics. US-Iranian relations became strained when a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held embassy personnel hostages until mid-January 1981. The US cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in April 1980. During the period 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US, UN, and EU economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement in terrorism and concerns over possible military dimensions of its nuclear program. Following the election of reformer Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohammad KHATAMI as president in 1997 and a reformist Majles (legislature) in 2000, a campaign to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction was initiated. The movement floundered as conservative politicians, supported by the Supreme Leader, unelected institutions of authority like the Council of Guardians, and the security services reversed and blocked reform measures while increasing security repression.
Starting with nationwide municipal elections in 2003 and continuing through Majles elections in 2004, conservatives reestablished control over Iran's elected government institutions, which culminated with the August 2005 inauguration of hardliner Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD as president. His controversial reelection in June 2009 sparked nationwide protests over allegations of electoral fraud. These protests were quickly suppressed, and the political opposition that arose as a consequence of AHMADI-NEJAD's election was repressed. Deteriorating economic conditions due primarily to government mismanagement and international sanctions prompted at least two major economically based protests in July and October 2012, but Iran's internal security situation remained stable. President AHMADI-NEJAD's independent streak angered regime establishment figures, including the Supreme Leader, leading to conservative opposition to his agenda for the last year of his presidency, and an alienation of his political supporters. In June 2013 Iranians elected a moderate conservative cleric Dr. Hasan Fereidun RUHANI to the presidency. He is a longtime senior member in the regime, but has made promises of reforming society and Iran's foreign policy. The UN Security Council has passed a number of resolutions calling for Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and comply with its IAEA obligations and responsibilities, and in July 2015 Iran and the five permanent members, plus Germany (P5+1) signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) under which Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran held elections in 2016 for the Assembly of Experts (AOE) and Majles, resulting in a conservative-controlled AOE and a Majles that many Iranians perceive as more supportive of the RUHANI administration than the previous, conservative-dominated body.
Iraq
Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. US forces remained in Iraq under a UNSC mandate through 2009 and under a bilateral security agreement thereafter, helping to provide security and to train and mentor Iraqi security forces.
In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (COR) in December 2005. The COR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. Nearly nine years after the start of the Second Gulf War in Iraq, US military operations there ended in mid-December 2011. In January 2009 and April 2013, Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all governorates except for the three comprising the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kirkuk Governorate. Iraq held a national legislative election in March 2010 - choosing 325 legislators in an expanded COR - and, after nine months of deadlock the COR approved the new government in December 2010. In April 2014, Iraq held a national legislative election and expanded the COR to 328 legislators. Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI dropped his bid for a third term in office, enabling new Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI, a Shia Muslim from Baghdad, to win legislative approval of his new cabinet in September 2014. Since 2014, Iraq has been engaged in a military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to recapture territory lost in the western and northern portion of the country.
Ireland
Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600 and 150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. Norman invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. The Irish famine of the mid-19th century saw the population of the island drop by one third through starvation and emigration. For more than a century after that the population of the island continued to fall only to begin growing again in the 1960s. Over the last 50 years, Ireland's high birthrate has made it demographically one of the youngest populations in the EU. The modern Irish state traces its origins to the failed 1916 Easter Monday Uprising that touched off several years of guerrilla warfare resulting in independence from the UK in 1921 for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the UK. Unresolved issues in Northern Ireland erupted into years of violence known as the "Troubles" that began in the 1960s. The Government of Ireland was part of a process along with the UK and US Governments that helped broker what is known as The Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland in 1998. This initiated a new phase of cooperation between the Irish and British Governments. Ireland was neutral in World War II and continues its policy of military neutrality. Ireland joined the European Community in 1973 and the euro-zone currency union in 1999. The economic boom years of the Celtic Tiger (1995-2007) saw rapid economic growth, which came to an abrupt end in 2008 with the meltdown of the Irish banking system. Today the economy is recovering, fueled by large and growing foreign direct investment, especially from US multi-nationals.
Isle of Man
Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British Crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Gaelic language. Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency but is not part of the UK or of the EU. However, the UK Government remains constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation.
Israel
Following World War II, Britain withdrew from its mandate of Palestine, and the UN proposed partitioning the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Nonetheless, an Israeli state was declared in 1948, and Israel subsequently defeated the Arab armies in a series of wars that did not end deep tensions between the two sides. (The territories Israel has occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted.) On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, Israel conducted bilateral negotiations with Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement with each. Israel and Palestinian officials on 13 September 1993 signed a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords"), enshrining the idea of a two-state solution to their conflict and guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. The parties achieved six additional significant interim agreements between 1994 and 1999 aimed at creating the conditions for a two-state solution, but most were never fully realized. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty.
Progress toward a final status agreement with the Palestinians was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between 2001 and February 2005. Israel in 2005 unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS to head the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 temporarily froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel engaged in a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon from July-August 2006 and a 23-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip from December 2008-January 2009. In November 2012, Israel engaged in a seven-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip. Direct talks with the Palestinians most recently launched in July 2013 but were suspended in April 2014. The talks represented the fourth concerted effort to resolve final status issues between the sides since they were first discussed at Camp David in 2000. Three months later HAMAS and other militant groups launched rockets into Israel, which led to a 51-day conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza.
Italy
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy is a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include sluggish economic growth, high youth and female unemployment, organized crime, corruption, and economic disparities between southern Italy and the more prosperous north.
Jamaica
The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually increased its independence from Britain. In 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.
Jan Mayen
This desolate, arctic, mountainous island was named after a Dutch whaling captain who indisputably discovered it in 1614 (earlier claims are inconclusive). Visited only occasionally by seal hunters and trappers over the following centuries, the island came under Norwegian sovereignty in 1929. The long dormant Beerenberg volcano, the northernmost active volcano on earth, resumed activity in 1970 and the most recent eruption occurred in 1985.
Japan
In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and an ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold actual decision-making power. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains an economic power. In March 2011, Japan's strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying tsunami, devastated the northeast part of Honshu island, killed thousands, and damaged several nuclear power plants. The catastrophe hobbled the country's economy and its energy infrastructure, and tested its ability to deal with humanitarian disasters. Prime Minister Shinzo ABE was reelected to office in December 2012, and has since embarked on ambitious economic and security reforms to improve Japan's economy and bolster the country's international standing.
Jarvis Island
First discovered by the British in 1821, the uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858 but abandoned in 1879 after tons of guano deposits had been removed for use in producing fertilizer. The UK annexed the island in 1889 but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The US occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935. Abandoned after World War II, the island is currently a National Wildlife Refuge administered by the US Department of the Interior.
Jersey
Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Jersey is a British Crown dependency but is not part of the UK or of the EU. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation.
Johnston Atoll
Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston Island and Sand Island were designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll in 1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. Cleanup and closure of the weapons facility ended in May 2005.
Jordan
Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s. The area gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, King HUSSEIN's eldest son, assumed the throne following his father's death in 1999. He has implemented modest political and economic reforms, including the passage of a new electoral law in early 2016 ahead of legislative elections held in September. The Islamic Action Front, which is the political arm of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, returned to parliament with 15 seats after boycotting the previous two elections in 2010 and 2013.
Kazakhstan
Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated to the region by the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. Soviet policies reduced the number of ethnic Kazakhs in the 1930s and enabled non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) further skewed the ethnic mixture. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs back to Kazakhstan. These trends have allowed Kazakhs to become the titular majority again. This dramatic demographic shift has also undermined the previous religious diversity and made the country more than 70% Muslim. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states largely due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity, expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets, diversifying the economy, enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness, and strengthening relations with neighboring states and foreign powers.
Kingman Reef
The US annexed the reef in 1922. Its sheltered lagoon served as a way station for flying boats on Hawaii-to-American Samoa flights during the late 1930s. There are no terrestrial plants on the reef, which is frequently awash, but it does support abundant and diverse marine fauna and flora. In 2001, the waters surrounding the reef out to 12 nm were designated a US National Wildlife Refuge.
Kiribati
The Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate in 1892 and a colony in 1915; they were captured by the Japanese in the Pacific War in 1941. The islands of Makin and Tarawa were the sites of major US amphibious victories over entrenched Japanese garrisons in 1943. The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.
Korea, North
An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored communist control. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against outside influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM Il Sung's son, KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. KIM Jong Un was publicly unveiled as his father's successor in 2010.
Following KIM Jong Il's death in 2011, KIM Jong Un quickly assumed power and has now taken on most of his father's former titles and duties. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has faced chronic food shortages. In recent years, the North’s domestic agricultural production has increased, but still falls far short of producing sufficient food to provide for its entire population. The DPRK began to ease restrictions to allow semi-private markets, starting in 2002, but has made few other efforts to meet its goal of improving the overall standard of living. North Korea's history of regional military provocations; proliferation of military-related items; long-range missile development; WMD programs including tests of nuclear devices in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2016; and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community and have limited the DPRK’s international engagement, particularly economically. The regime abides by a policy calling for the simultaneous development of its nuclear weapons program and its economy.
Korea, South
An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. In 1910, Tokyo formally annexed the entire Peninsula. Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the US in 1945. After World War II, a democratic-based government (Republic of Korea, ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a communist-style government was installed in the north (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside ROK soldiers to defend South Korea from a DPRK invasion supported by China and the Soviet Union. A 1953 armistice split the Peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. PARK Chung-hee took over leadership of the country in a 1961 coup. During his regime, from 1961 to 1979, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to roughly 17 times the level of North Korea.
South Korea held its first free presidential election under a revised democratic constitution in 1987, with former ROK Army general ROH Tae-woo winning a close race. In 1993, KIM Young-sam (1993-98) became the first civilian president of South Korea's new democratic era. President KIM Dae-jung (1998-2003) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his contributions to South Korean democracy and his "Sunshine" policy of engagement with North Korea. President PARK Geun-hye, daughter of former ROK President PARK Chung-hee, took office in February 2013 as South Korea's first female leader. In December 2016, the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against President PARK over her alleged involvement in a corruption and influence-peddling scandal, immediately suspending her presidential authorities and establishing Prime Minister HWANG Kyo-ahn as Acting President. The Constitutional Court is currently adjudicating the impeachment case. South Korea will host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Discord with North Korea has permeated inter-Korean relations for much of the past decade, highlighted by the North's attacks on a South Korean ship and island in 2010, the exchange of artillery fire across the DMZ, and multiple nuclear and missile tests in 2016.
Kosovo
The central Balkans were part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires before ethnic Serbs migrated to the territories of modern Kosovo in the 7th century. During the medieval period, Kosovo became the center of a Serbian Empire and saw the construction of many important Serb religious sites, including many architecturally significant Serbian Orthodox monasteries. The defeat of Serbian forces at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to five centuries of Ottoman rule during which large numbers of Turks and Albanians moved to Kosovo. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians replaced Serbs as the dominant ethnic group in Kosovo. Serbia reacquired control over the region from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War of 1912. After World War II, Kosovo's present-day boundaries were established when Kosovo became an autonomous province of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (S.F.R.Y.). Despite legislative concessions, Albanian nationalism increased in the 1980s, which led to riots and calls for Kosovo's independence. The Serbs - many of whom viewed Kosovo as their cultural heartland - instituted a new constitution in 1989 revoking Kosovo's autonomous status. Kosovo's Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by organizing a referendum declaring Kosovo independent. Serbia undertook repressive measures against the Kosovar Albanians in the 1990s, provoking a Kosovar Albanian insurgency.
Beginning in 1998, Serbia conducted a brutal counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians (some 800,000 ethnic Albanians were forced from their homes in Kosovo). After international attempts to mediate the conflict failed, a three-month NATO military operation against Serbia beginning in March 1999 forced the Serbs to agree to withdraw their military and police forces from Kosovo. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) placed Kosovo under a transitional administration, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), pending a determination of Kosovo's future status. A UN-led process began in late 2005 to determine Kosovo's final status. The 2006-07 negotiations ended without agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, though the UN issued a comprehensive report on Kosovo's final status that endorsed independence. On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared Kosovo independent. Since then, over 100 countries have recognized Kosovo, and it has joined numerous international organizations. In October 2008, Serbia sought an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality under international law of Kosovo's declaration of independence. The ICJ released the advisory opinion in July 2010 affirming that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate general principles of international law, UN Security Council Resolution 1244, or the Constitutive Framework. The opinion was closely tailored to Kosovo's unique history and circumstances.
Serbia continues to reject Kosovo's independence, but the two countries reached an agreement to normalize their relations in April 2013 through EU-facilitated talks and are currently engaged in the implementation process. Kosovo seeks full integration into the international community, and has pursued bilateral recognitions and eventual membership in international organizations, such as the UN, EU, and NATO.
Kuwait
Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain, ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961, when the country attained its independence. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family returned to power in 1991 and established one of the most independent legislatures in the Arab World. The country witnessed the historic election in 2009 of four women to its National Assembly. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as bidoon, staged small protests in early 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Youth activist groups' repeated rallies in 2011 for the dismissal of a prime minister seen as being corrupt, ultimately led to his resignation in late 2011. Demonstrations renewed in late 2012 in response to an Amiri decree amending the electoral law. The opposition, led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribalists, some liberals, and myriad youth groups, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. However, the opposition, expressing strong opposition to the government’s fiscal reforms, participated in the November 2016 National Assembly and won almost half of the positions. Since coming to power in 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on seven occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.
Kyrgyzstan
A Central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions, most of the territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan was formally annexed to the Russian Empire in 1876. The Kyrgyz staged a major revolt against the Tsarist Empire in 1916 in which almost one-sixth of the Kyrgyz population was killed. Kyrgyzstan became a Soviet republic in 1936 and achieved independence in 1991 when the USSR dissolved. Nationwide demonstrations in the spring of 2005 resulted in the ouster of President Askar AKAEV, who had run the country since 1990. Former Prime Minister Kurmanbek BAKIEV overwhelmingly won the presidential election in the summer of 2005. Over the next few years, he manipulated the parliament to accrue new powers for the presidency. In July 2009, after months of harassment against his opponents and media critics, BAKIEV won reelection in a presidential campaign that the international community deemed flawed. In April 2010, violent protests in Bishkek led to the collapse of the BAKIEV regime and his eventual flight to Minsk, Belarus. His successor, Roza OTUNBAEVA, served as transitional president until Almazbek ATAMBAEV was inaugurated in December 2011, marking the first peaceful transfer of presidential power in independent Kyrgyzstan's history. Continuing concerns include: the trajectory of democratization, endemic corruption, poor interethnic relations, border security vulnerabilities, and potential terrorist threats.
Under the 2010 Constitution, ATAMBAEV is limited to one term, which will end in 2017. Constitutional amendments passed in a referendum in December 2016 include language that transfers some presidential powers to the prime minister. Disagreement over the constitutional amendments compelled ATAMBAEV’s ruling Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan to dissolve and create a new majority coalition in the Jogorku Kengesh that excluded opposition parties critical of the amendments.
Laos
Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th century under King FA NGUM. For 300 years Lan Xang had influence reaching into present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as over all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the domination of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual, limited return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1988. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997 and the WTO in 2013.
Latvia
Several eastern Baltic tribes merged in medieval times to form the ethnic core of the Latvian people (ca. 8th-12th centuries A.D.). The region subsequently came under the control of Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally, Russians. A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 26% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone in 2014.
Lebanon
Following World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French demarcated the region of Lebanon in 1920 and granted this area independence in 1943. Since independence the country has been marked by periods of political turmoil interspersed with prosperity built on its position as a regional center for finance and trade. The country's 1975-90 civil war that resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities, was followed by years of social and political instability. Sectarianism is a key element of Lebanese political life. Neighboring Syria has historically influenced Lebanon's foreign policy and internal policies, and its military occupied Lebanon from 1976 until 2005. The Lebanon-based Hizballah militia and Israel continued attacks and counterattacks against each other after Syria's withdrawal, and fought a brief war in 2006. Lebanon's borders with Syria and Israel remain unresolved.
Lesotho
Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled the country during its first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and was reinstated in 1995 and subsequently succeeded by his son, King LETSIE III, in 1996. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Batswana military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections of February 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties disputed how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly. In May 2012, competitive elections involving 18 parties saw Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas THABANE form a coalition government - the first in the country's history - that ousted the 14-year incumbent, Pakalitha MOSISILI, who peacefully transferred power the following month. MOSISILI returned to power in snap elections in February 2015 after the collapse of THABANE’s coalition government and an alleged attempted military coup.
Liberia
Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendants of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for an election that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003 peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who was convicted by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague for his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. She subsequently won reelection in 2011 and remains challenged to rebuild Liberia's economy, particularly following the 2014-15 Ebola epidemic, and to reconcile a nation still recovering from 14 years of fighting. The UN Security Council in September 2015 passed Resolution 2239, which renewed the mandate for the UN Mission in Liberia for another year. In July 2016, the UN handed over peacekeeping responsibility to Liberia and reduced the UN troop presence, which now serves a support role.
Libya
The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when they were defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar al-QADHAFI assumed leadership and began to espouse his political system at home, which was a combination of socialism and Islam. During the 1970s, QADHAFI used oil revenues to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversive and terrorist activities that included the downing of two airliners - one over Scotland, another in Northern Africa - and a discotheque bombing in Berlin. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically and economically following the attacks; sanctions were lifted in 2003 following Libyan acceptance of responsibility for the bombings and agreement to claimant compensation. QADHAFI also agreed to end Libya's program to develop weapons of mass destruction, and he made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations.
Unrest that began in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in late 2010 erupted in Libyan cities in early 2011. QADHAFI's brutal crackdown on protesters spawned a civil war that triggered UN authorization of air and naval intervention by the international community. After months of seesaw fighting between government and opposition forces, the QADHAFI regime was toppled in mid-2011 and replaced by a transitional government. Libya in 2012 formed a new parliament and elected a new prime minister. The country subsequently elected the House of Representatives in 2014, but remnants of the outgoing legislature refused to leave office and created a rival, Islamist-led government, the General National Congress. In October 2015, UN envoy to Libya, Bernardino LEON, proposed a power-sharing arrangement - known as the Libyan Political Agreement, which was signed by the rival governments two months later and subsequently endorsed by the UN. The agreement called for the formation of an interim Government of National Accord or GNA and the holding of general elections within two years. However, as of December 2016, the GNA had not secured House approval and several elements of the Libyan Political Agreement remained stalled, resulting in rival governments continuing to operate independently.
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein was established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1719. Occupied by both French and Russian troops during the Napoleonic Wars, it became a sovereign state in 1806 and joined the Germanic Confederation in 1815. Liechtenstein became fully independent in 1866 when the Confederation dissolved. Until the end of World War I, it was closely tied to Austria, but the economic devastation caused by that conflict forced Liechtenstein to enter into a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. Since World War II (in which Liechtenstein remained neutral), the country's low taxes have spurred outstanding economic growth. In 2000, shortcomings in banking regulatory oversight resulted in concerns about the use of financial institutions for money laundering. However, Liechtenstein implemented anti-money laundering legislation and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the US that went into effect in 2003.
Lithuania
Lithuanian lands were united under MINDAUGAS in 1236; over the next century, through alliances and conquest, Lithuania extended its territory to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 led the two countries into a union through the person of a common ruler. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until 1795 when its remnants were partitioned by surrounding countries. Lithuania regained its independence following World War I but was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into Western European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. In January 2014, Lithuania assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term; in January 2015, Lithuania joined the euro zone.
Luxembourg
Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839 but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both world wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the EEC (later the EU), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.
Macau
Colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987, Macau became the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China on 20 December 1999. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's political and economic system would not be imposed on Macau, and that Macau would enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign affairs and defense for the subsequent 50 years.
Macedonia
Macedonia gained its independence peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991. Greek objection to Macedonia’s name, insisting it implies territorial pretensions to the northern Greek province of the same name, and democratic backsliding have stalled the country’s movement toward Euro-Atlantic integration. Immediately after Macedonia declared independence, Greece sought to block Macedonian efforts to gain UN membership if the name “Macedonia” was used. Macedonia was eventually admitted to the UN in 1993 as “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,” and at the same time it agreed to UN-sponsored negotiations on the name dispute. In 1995, Greece lifted a 20-month trade embargo and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, but the issue of the name remained unresolved and negotiations for a solution are ongoing. Since 2004, the US and over 130 other nations have recognized Macedonia by its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia. Ethnic Albanian grievances over perceived political and economic inequities escalated into an insurgency in 2001 that eventually led to the internationally brokered Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA), which ended the fighting and established guidelines for constitutional amendments and the creation of new laws that enhanced the rights of minorities. Relations between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians remain fragile, however.
Macedonia has been engulfed in a political crisis that began after the 2014 legislative and presidential election, and which escalated in 2015 when opposition party began releasing wiretap content that it alleged showed widespread government corruption. Although Macedonia became an EU candidate in 2005, the country still faces challenges, including overcoming the political crisis, fully implementing OFA, resolving the outstanding name dispute with Greece, improving relations with Bulgaria, halting democratic backsliding, and stimulating economic growth and development. At the 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest, Romania, the Allies agreed that Macedonia would be invited to join the Alliance as soon as a mutually acceptable resolution to the name dispute was reached with Greece.
Madagascar
Madagascar was one of the last major landmasses on earth to be colonized by humans. The earliest settlers from present-day Indonesia arrived between A.D. 350 and 550. The island attracted Arab and Persian traders as early as the 7th century, and migrants from Africa arrived around A.D. 1000. Madagascar was a pirate stronghold during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and served as a slave trading center into the 19th century. From the 16th to the late 19th century, a native Merina Kingdom dominated much of Madagascar. The island was conquered by the French in 1896 who made it a colony; independence was regained in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. RAVALOMANANA won a second term in 2006 but, following protests in 2009, handed over power to the military, which then conferred the presidency on the mayor of Antananarivo, Andry RAJOELINA, in what amounted to a coup d'etat. Following a lengthy mediation process led by the Southern African Development Community, Madagascar held UN-supported presidential and parliamentary elections in 2013. Former de facto finance minister Hery RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA won a runoff election in December 2013 and was inaugurated in January 2014.
Malawi
Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA, the country held multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution that came into full effect the following year. President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor and subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party in 2005. MUTHARIKA was reelected to a second term in 2009. He oversaw some economic improvement in his first term, but was accused of economic mismanagement and poor governance in his second term. He died abruptly in 2012 and was succeeded by vice president, Joyce BANDA, who had earlier started her own party, the People's Party. MUTHARIKA's brother, Peter MUTHARIKA, defeated BANDA in the 2014 election. Population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and the scourge of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for Malawi.
Malaysia
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula except Singapore formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore, as well as Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo, joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's independence were marred by a communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's withdrawal in 1965. During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to the development of manufacturing, services, and tourism. Prime Minister Mohamed NAJIB bin Abdul Razak (in office since April 2009) has continued these pro-business policies.
Maldives
A sultanate since the 12th century, the Maldives became a British protectorate in 1887. It became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM dominated the islands' political scene for 30 years, elected to six successive terms by single-party referendums. Following political demonstrations in the capital Male in August 2003, the president and his government pledged to embark upon a process of liberalization and democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Progress was sluggish, however, and many promised reforms were slow to be realized. Nonetheless, political parties were legalized in 2005.
In June 2008, a constituent assembly - termed the "Special Majlis" - finalized a new constitution, which was ratified by the president in August. The first-ever presidential elections under a multi-candidate, multi-party system were held in October 2008. GAYOOM was defeated in a runoff poll by Mohamed NASHEED, a political activist who had been jailed several years earlier by the former regime. President NASHEED faced a number of challenges including strengthening democracy and combating poverty and drug abuse. In early February 2012, after several weeks of street protests following his sacking of a top judge, NASHEED resigned the presidency and handed over power to Vice President Mohammed WAHEED Hassan Maniku. In mid-2012, a Commission of National Inquiry was set by the government to probe events leading up to NASHEED's resignation. Though the commission found no evidence of a coup, the report recommended the need to strengthen the country's democratic institutions to avert similar events in the future, and to further investigate alleged police misconduct during the crisis. Maldivian officials have played a prominent role in international climate change discussions (due to the islands' vulnerability to rising sea-level) on the UN Human Rights Council and in other international forums, as well as in encouraging regional cooperation, especially between India and Pakistan.
Mali
The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup that ushered in a period of democratic rule. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first two democratic presidential elections in 1992 and 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou Toumani TOURE, who was elected to a second term in a 2007 election that was widely judged to be free and fair. Malian returnees from Libya in 2011 exacerbated tensions in northern Mali, and Tuareg ethnic militias rebelled in January 2012. Low- and mid-level soldiers, frustrated with the poor handling of the rebellion, overthrew TOURE on 22 March. Intensive mediation efforts led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) returned power to a civilian administration in April with the appointment of Interim President Dioncounda TRAORE. The post-coup chaos led to rebels expelling the Malian military from the country's three northern regions and allowed Islamic militants to set up strongholds. Hundreds of thousands of northern Malians fled the violence to southern Mali and neighboring countries, exacerbating regional food shortages in host communities. An international military intervention to retake the three northern regions began in January 2013 and within a month most of the north had been retaken. In a democratic presidential election conducted in July and August of 2013, Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA was elected president. The Malian Government and northern armed groups signed an internationally-mediated peace accord in June 2015.
Malta
Great Britain formally acquired Malta in 1814. The island staunchly supported the UK through both world wars and remained in the Commonwealth when it became independent in 1964; a decade later it declared itself a republic. Since about the mid-1980s, the island has transformed itself into a freight transshipment point, a financial center, and a tourist destination while its key industries moved toward more service-oriented activities. Malta became an EU member in May 2004 and began using the euro as currency in 2008.
Marshall Islands
After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the atolls between 1947 and 1962. The Marshall Islands hosts the US Army Kwajalein Atoll Reagan Missile Test Site, a key installation in the US missile defense network. Kwajalein also hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas (the others are on Ascension (Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha), Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory), and at Cape Canaveral, Florida (US)) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system.
Mauritania
Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976 but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for more than two decades. A series of presidential elections that he held were widely seen as flawed. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ deposed him and installed a military council government. AZIZ was subsequently elected president in July 2009 and sworn in the following month. AZIZ sustained injuries from an accidental shooting by his own troops in October 2012 but has continued to maintain his authority. He was reelected in 2014 to a second and final term as president (according to the present constitution). The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among three major groups: Arabic-speaking descendants of slaves (Haratines), Arabic-speaking "White Moors" (Bidhan), and members of Sub-Saharan ethnic groups mostly originating in the Senegal River valley (Halpulaar, Soninke, and Wolof). Mauritania confronts a terrorism threat by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb, which launched successful attacks between 2005 and 2010.
Mauritius
Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently settled by the Dutch - who named it in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU - in the 17th century. The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing Indian Ocean trade, and establishing a plantation economy of sugar cane. The British captured the island in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base, and later an air station, playing an important role during World War II for anti-submarine and convoy operations, as well as the collection of signals intelligence. Independence from the UK was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has one of Africa's highest per capita incomes.
Mexico
The site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations - including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec - Mexico was conquered and colonized by Spain in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved independence early in the 19th century. Elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON, but Enrique PENA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. The global financial crisis in late 2008 caused a massive economic downturn in Mexico the following year, although growth returned quickly in 2010. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, high underemployment, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Since 2007, Mexico's powerful drug-trafficking organizations have engaged in bloody feuding, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides.
Micronesia, Federated States of
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean; they became part of a UN Trust Territory under US administration following World War II. The eastern four island groups adopted a constitution in 1979 and chose to become the Federated States of Micronesia. (The westernmost island group became Palau.) Independence came in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association with the US, which was amended and renewed in 2004. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, overdependence on US foreign aid, and state perception of inequitable allocation of US aid.
Midway Islands
The US took formal possession of the islands in 1867. The laying of the trans-Pacific cable, which passed through the islands, brought the first residents in 1903. Between 1935 and 1947, Midway was used as a refueling stop for trans-Pacific flights. The US naval victory over a Japanese fleet off Midway in 1942 was one of the turning points of World War II. The islands continued to serve as a naval station until closed in 1993. Today the islands are a US National Wildlife Refuge. From 1996 to 2002 and 2008 to 2012 the refuge was open to the public, but it is now closed.
Moldova
Part of Romania during the interwar period, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although the country has been independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River supporting the breakaway region of Transnistria, composed of a Slavic majority population (mostly Ukrainians and Russians), but with a sizable ethnic Moldovan minority. Europe's poorest economy, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist, Vladimir VORONIN, as its president in 2001. VORONIN served as Moldova's president until he resigned in September 2009. Four Moldovan opposition parties then formed a new coalition, the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), iterations of which acted as Moldova's governing coalitions over the next several years. In May 2013, two of the original AEI parties and a splinter group from a third re-formed a ruling coalition called the Pro-European Coalition. The Moldovan Government in summer 2014 signed and ratified an Association Agreement with the EU, advancing the Coalition's policy priority of EU integration. Following the country's most recent legislative election in November 2014, the three pro-European parties that entered Parliament won a total of 55 of the body's 101 seats. Infighting among coalition members led to prolonged legislative gridlock and political instability, as well as the collapse of two governments, all ruled by pro-European coalitions centered around the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) and the Democratic Party (PDM). A political impasse ended in January 2016 when a new parliamentary majority led by PDM, joined by defectors from the Communists and PLDM, supported Pavel FILIP as prime minister.
Monaco
The Genoese built a fortress on the site of present day Monaco in 1215. The current ruling GRIMALDI family first seized temporary control in 1297, and again in 1331, but was not able to permanently secure its holding until 1419. Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railroad linkup to France and the opening of a casino. Since then, the principality's mild climate, splendid scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world famous as a tourist and recreation center.
Mongolia
The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAAN they established a huge Eurasian empire through conquest. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and in the late 17th century came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing and a communist regime was installed in 1924. The modern country of Mongolia, however, represents only part of the Mongols' historical homeland; today, more ethnic Mongolians live in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China than in Mongolia. Following a peaceful democratic revolution in 1990, the ex-communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) - which took the name Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) in 2010 - has competed for political power with the Democratic Party (DP), the main opposition party, and several other smaller parties, including a new party formed by former President ENKHBAYAR, which confusingly adopted for itself the MPRP name. In its most recent Parliamentary elections in June 2016, Mongolians handed the MPP overwhelming control of Parliament, largely pushing out the DP, which had overseen a sharp decline in Mongolia’s economy during its control of Parliament in the preceding years. President ELBEGDORJ, a DP member, will finish his second term as president in 2017, and is not eligible to run for reelection.
Montenegro
The use of the name Crna Gora or Black Mountain (Montenegro) began in the 13th century in reference to a highland region in the Serbian province of Zeta. The later medieval state of Zeta maintained its existence until 1496 when Montenegro finally fell under Ottoman rule. Over subsequent centuries, Montenegro managed to maintain a level of autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro was a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it transformed into a secular principality. Montenegro was recognized as an independent sovereign principality at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. After World War I, during which Montenegro fought on the side of the Allies, Montenegro was absorbed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929; at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, creating the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, shifting to a looser State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. In May 2006, Montenegro invoked its right under the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro to hold a referendum on independence from the state union. The vote for severing ties with Serbia barely exceeded 55% - the threshold set by the EU - allowing Montenegro to formally restore its independence on 3 June 2006.
Montserrat
English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades later. The British and French fought for possession of the island for most of the 18th century, but it finally was confirmed as a British possession in 1783. The island's sugar plantation economy was converted to small farm landholdings in the mid-19th century. Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003.
Morocco
In 788, about a century after the Arab conquest of North Africa, a series of Moroccan Muslim dynasties began to rule in Morocco. In the 16th century, the Sa'adi monarchy, particularly under Ahmad al-MANSUR (1578-1603), repelled foreign invaders and inaugurated a golden age. The Alaouite Dynasty, to which the current Moroccan royal family belongs, dates from the 17th century. In 1860, Spain occupied northern Morocco and ushered in a half century of trade rivalry among European powers that saw Morocco's sovereignty steadily erode; in 1912, the French imposed a protectorate over the country. A protracted independence struggle with France ended successfully in 1956. The internationalized city of Tangier and most Spanish possessions were turned over to the new country that same year. Sultan MOHAMMED V, the current monarch's grandfather, organized the new state as a constitutional monarchy and in 1957 assumed the title of king. Since Spain's 1976 withdrawal from what is today called Western Sahara, Morocco has extended its de facto administrative control to roughly 80% of this territory; however, the UN does not recognize Morocco as the administering power for Western Sahara. The UN since 1991 has monitored a cease-fire between Morocco and the Polisario Front - Western Sahara's liberation movement - and leads ongoing negotiations over the status of the territory.
King MOHAMMED VI in early 2011 responded to the spread of pro-democracy protests in the region by implementing a reform program that included a new constitution, passed by popular referendum in July 2011, under which some new powers were extended to parliament and the prime minister but ultimate authority remains in the hands of the monarch. In November 2011, the Justice and Development Party (PJD) - a moderate Islamist party - won the largest number of seats in parliamentary elections, becoming the first Islamist party to lead the Moroccan Government. In September 2015, Morocco held its first ever direct elections for regional councils, one of the reforms included in the 2011 constitution. The PJD again won the largest number of seats in nationwide parliamentary elections in October 2016.
Mozambique
Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development until the mid-1990s. The ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement between FRELIMO and rebel Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) forces ended the fighting in 1992. In December 2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transition as Joaquim CHISSANO stepped down after 18 years in office. His elected successor, Armando GUEBUZA, served two terms and then passed executive power to Filipe NYUSI in October 2014. RENAMO’s residual armed forces engaged in a low-level insurgency from 2012 to 2014.
Namibia
South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after World War II, when it annexed the territory. In 1966, the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that became Namibia, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. Namibia has been governed by SWAPO since the country won independence in 1990, though the party has dropped much of its Marxist ideology. Prime Minister Hage GEINGOB was elected president in November 2014 in a landslide victory, replacing Hifikepunye POHAMBA who stepped down after serving two terms. SWAPO retained its parliamentary super majority in the November 2014 elections and established a system of gender parity in parliamentary positions.
Nauru
The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific region. Germany annexed the island in 1888. A German-British consortium began mining the island's phosphate deposits early in the 20th century. Australian forces occupied Nauru in World War I; it subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic.
Navassa Island
This uninhabited island was claimed by the US in 1857 for its guano. Mining took place between 1865 and 1898. The lighthouse, built in 1917, was shut down in 1996 and administration of Navassa Island transferred from the US Coast Guard to the Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs. A 1998 scientific expedition to the island described it as a "unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity." The following year it became a National Wildlife Refuge and annual scientific expeditions have continued.
Nepal
During the late 18th-early 19th centuries, the principality of Gorkha united many of the other principalities and states of the sub-Himalayan region into a Nepalese Kingdom. Nepal retained its independence following the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 and the subsequent peace treaty laid the foundations for two centuries of amicable relations between Britain and Nepal. (The Brigade of Gurkas continues to serve in the British Army to the present day.) In 1951, the Nepali monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system that brought political parties into the government. That arrangement lasted until 1960, when political parties were again banned, but was reinstated in 1990 with the establishment of a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy.
An insurgency led by Maoists broke out in 1996. The ensuing 10-year civil war between Maoist and government forces witnessed the dissolution of the cabinet and parliament and the re-assumption of absolute power by the king in 2002. A peace accord in 2006 led to the promulgation of an interim constitution in 2007. Following a nationwide Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, the newly formed CA declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolished the monarchy, and elected the country's first president. After the CA failed to draft a constitution by a May 2012 deadline set by the Supreme Court, then-Prime Minister Baburam BHATTARAI dissolved the CA. Months of negotiations ensued until March 2013 when the major political parties agreed to create an interim government headed by then-Chief Justice Khil Raj REGMI with a mandate to hold elections for a new CA. Elections were held in November 2013, in which the Nepali Congress won the largest share of seats in the CA and in February 2014 formed a coalition government with the second place Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist and with Nepali Congress President Sushil KOIRALA as prime minister. Nepal's new constitution came into effect in September 2015.
Netherlands
The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830, Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered German invasion and occupation in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU) and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. In October 2010, the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the three smallest islands - Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba - became special municipalities in the Netherlands administrative structure. The larger islands of Sint Maarten and Curacao joined the Netherlands and Aruba as constituent countries forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
New Caledonia
Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island became a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct a referendum between 2014 and 2018 to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
New Zealand
The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. That same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both world wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. New Zealand assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2015-16 term.
Nicaragua
The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador prompted the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra was elected president in 2006 and reelected in 2011. The 2008 municipal elections, 2010 regional elections, 2011 presidential election, 2012 municipal elections, and 2013 regional elections were marred by widespread irregularities. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions have been weakened under the ORTEGA administration.
Nigeria
British influence and control over what would become Nigeria and Africa's most populous country grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy. After independence in 1960, politics were marked by coups and mostly military rule, until the death of a military head of state in 1998 allowed for a political transition. In 1999, a new constitution was adopted and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government continues to face the daunting task of institutionalizing democracy and reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant irregularities and violence, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. The general elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history and the elections of 2011 were generally regarded as credible. The 2015 election is considered the most well run in Nigeria since the return to civilian rule, with the umbrella opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, defeating the long-ruling People's Democratic Party that had governed since 1999.
Niger
Niger became independent from France in 1960 and experienced single-party and military rule until 1991, when Gen. Ali SAIBOU was forced by public pressure to allow multiparty elections, which resulted in a democratic government in 1993. Political infighting brought the government to a standstill and in 1996 led to a coup by Col. Ibrahim BARE. In 1999, BARE was killed in a counter coup by military officers who restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year. TANDJA was reelected in 2004 and in 2009 spearheaded a constitutional amendment allowing him to extend his term as president. In February 2010, military officers led a coup that deposed TANDJA and suspended the constitution. ISSOUFOU Mahamadou was elected in April 2011 following the coup and reelected to a second term in early 2016. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. A Tuareg rebellion emerged in 2007 and ended in 2009. Niger is facing increased security concerns on its borders from various external threats including insecurity in Libya, spillover from the conflict in Mali, and violent extremism in northeastern Nigeria.
Niue
Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the adjacent Cook Islands, has caused it to be separately administered by New Zealand. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to an estimated 1,190 in 2014) with substantial emigration to New Zealand 2,400 km to the southwest.
Northern Mariana Islands
Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975, and came into force on 24 March 1976. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978.
Norway
Two centuries of Viking raids into Europe tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav TRYGGVASON in 994; conversion of the Norwegian kingdom occurred over the next several decades. In 1397, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany (1940-45). In 1949, Norway abandoned neutrality and became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. Key domestic issues include immigration and integration of ethnic minorities, maintaining the country's extensive social safety net with an aging population, and preserving economic competitiveness.
Oman
The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered from Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, the nascent sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, although the Sultanate never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al-Said overthrew his father, and has since ruled as sultan, but he has not designated a successor. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world, while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK and US. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with its neighbors and to avoid external entanglements. Inspired by the popular uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa beginning in January 2011, some Omanis staged demonstrations, calling for more jobs and economic benefits and an end to corruption. In response to those protester demands, QABOOS in 2011 pledged to implement economic and political reforms, such as granting legislative and regulatory powers to the Majlis al-Shura and increasing unemployment benefits. Additionally, in August 2012, the Sultan announced a royal directive mandating the speedy implementation of a national job creation plan for thousands of public and private sector Omani jobs. As part of the government's efforts to decentralize authority and allow greater citizen participation in local governance, Oman successfully conducted its first municipal council elections in December 2012. Announced by the Sultan in 2011, the municipal councils have the power to advise the Royal Court on the needs of local districts across Oman's 11 governorates. The Sultan returned to Oman in March 2015 after eight months in Germany, where he received medical treatment. He has since appeared publicly on a few occasions.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.
Pakistan
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars and a limited conflict - in 1947-48, 1965, and 1999 respectively - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in mid-1998. India-Pakistan relations improved in the mid-2000s but have been rocky since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and have been further strained by attacks in India by militants suspected of being backed by Pakistan. Nawaz SHARIF took office as prime minister in 2013, marking the first time in Pakistani history that a democratically elected government completed a full term and transitioned to a successive democratically elected government. Following a series of bomb and suicide attacks by the Tehrik-e Pakistan Taliban (TTP) begun in 2007, the Pakistan Government and TTP representatives agreed to a cease-fire in early 2014. However, by mid-year 2014 the talks collapsed and the TTP resumed attack plotting against Pakistani targets.
Palau
After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986 but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year when the islands gained independence.
Palmyra Atoll
The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include Palmyra Atoll, which is now part privately owned by the Nature Conservancy and part US Government-owned and administered as a nature preserve. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12-nautical-mile US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and were designated a National Wildlife Refuge in January 2001.
Panama
Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the latter dissolved in 1830, Panama remained part of Colombia. With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of the century. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the subsequent decades. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were transferred to Panama by the end of 1999. An ambitious expansion project to more than double the Canal's capacity - by allowing for more Canal transits and larger ships - was carried out between 2007 and 2016.
Papua New Guinea
The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives. Since 2001, Bougainville has experienced autonomy. Under the terms of a peace accord, 2015 is the year that a five-year window opens for a referendum on the question of independence.
Paracel Islands
The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied all the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. China built a military installation on Woody Island with an airfield and artificial harbor. The islands also are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
Paraguay
Paraguay achieved its independence from Spain in 1811. In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70) - between Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay - Paraguay lost two-thirds of its adult males and much of its territory. The country stagnated economically for the next half century. Following the Chaco War of 1932-35 with Bolivia, Paraguay gained a large part of the Chaco lowland region. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER ended in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, Paraguay has held relatively free and regular presidential elections since the country's return to democracy.
Peru
Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peru declared its independence in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces were defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures and an economic slump in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime, which led to his resignation in 2000. A caretaker government oversaw a new election in the spring of 2001, which installed Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique as the new head of government - Peru's first democratically elected president of indigenous ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan GARCIA Perez who, after a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, oversaw a robust economic rebound. Former army officer Ollanta HUMALA Tasso was elected president in June 2011, and carried on the sound, market-oriented economic policies of the three preceding administrations. Poverty and unemployment levels have fallen dramatically in the last decade, and today Peru boasts one of the best performing economies in Latin America. Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard won a very narrow presidential runoff election in June 2016.
Philippines
The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected president and was tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during World War II, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. A 20-year rule by Ferdinand MARCOS ended in 1986, when a "people power" movement in Manila ("EDSA 1") forced him into exile and installed Corazon AQUINO as president. Her presidency was hampered by several coup attempts that prevented a return to full political stability and economic development. Fidel RAMOS was elected president in 1992. His administration was marked by increased stability and by progress on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands. Joseph ESTRADA was elected president in 1998. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, in January 2001 after ESTRADA's stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and another "people power" movement ("EDSA 2") demanded his resignation. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2004. Her presidency was marred by several corruption allegations but the Philippine economy was one of the few to avoid contraction following the 2008 global financial crisis, expanding each year of her administration. Benigno AQUINO III was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2010 and was succeeded by Rodrigo DUTERTE in May 2016.
The Philippine Government faces threats from several groups, some of which are on the US Government's Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Manila has waged a decades-long struggle against ethnic Moro insurgencies in the southern Philippines, which has led to a peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front and ongoing peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The decades-long Maoist-inspired New People's Army insurgency also operates through much of the country. The Philippines faces increased tension with China over disputed territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Pitcairn Islands
Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 by the British and settled in 1790 by the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. Pitcairn was the first Pacific island to become a British colony (in 1838) and today remains the last vestige of that empire in the South Pacific. Outmigration, primarily to New Zealand, has thinned the population from a peak of 233 in 1937 to less than 50 today.
Poland
Poland's history as a state began near the middle of the 10th century. By the mid-16th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled a vast tract of land in Central and Eastern Europe. During the 18th century, internal disorders weakened the nation, and in a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland among themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force with over 10 million members. Free elections in 1989 and 1990 won Solidarity control of the parliament and the presidency, bringing the communist era to a close. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country largely completed and with large investments in defense, energy, and other infrastructure, Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations.
Portugal
Following its heyday as a global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of Brazil, its wealthiest colony, in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.
Puerto Rico
Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following Christopher COLUMBUS' second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule that saw the indigenous population nearly exterminated and African slave labor introduced, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917. Popularly elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self-government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose not to alter the existing political status with the US, but the results of a 2012 vote left open the possibility of American statehood. Economic recession on the island has led to a net population loss since about 2005, as large numbers of residents moved to the US mainland. The trend has accelerated since 2010; in 2014, Puerto Rico experienced a net population loss to the mainland of 64,000, more than double the net loss of 26,000 in 2010.
Qatar
Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar within the last 60 years transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues. The continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenue through the mid-1990s by Qatari amirs permanently residing in Europe had stunted Qatar’s economic growth. Former amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, who overthrew his father in a bloodless coup in 1995, ushered in wide-sweeping political and media reforms, unprecedented economic investment, and a growing Qatari regional leadership role, in part through the creation of the pan-Arab satellite news network Al-Jazeera and Qatar's mediation of some regional conflicts. In the 2000s, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and by 2007 had attained the highest per capita income in the world. Qatar did not experience domestic unrest or violence like that seen in other Near Eastern and North African countries in 2010-11, due in part to its immense wealth. Since the outbreak of regional unrest, however, Doha has prided itself on its support for many of these popular revolutions, particularly in Libya and Syria, although to the detriment of Qatar’s relations with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which temporarily recalled their respective ambassadors from Qatar. In mid-2013, HAMAD transferred power to his 33 year-old son, the current Amir TAMIM bin Hamad - a peaceful abdication rare in the history of Arab Gulf states. TAMIM oversaw a warming of Qatar’s relations with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE by later in 2014 and prioritized improving the domestic welfare of Qataris, including establishing advanced healthcare and education systems and expanding the country's infrastructure in anticipation of Doha's hosting of the 2022 World Cup.
Romania
The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they were de facto linked in 1859 and formally united in 1862 under the new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of its independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories - most notably Transylvania - following the conflict. In 1940, Romania allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Romania joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.
Russia
Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new ROMANOV Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. After defeating Germany in World War II as part of an alliance with the US (1939-1945), the USSR expanded its territory and influence in Eastern Europe and emerged as a global power. The USSR was the principal adversary of the US during the Cold War (1947-1991). The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the decades following Stalin’s rule, until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics.
Following economic and political turmoil during President Boris YELTSIN's term (1991-99), Russia shifted toward a centralized authoritarian state under the leadership of President Vladimir PUTIN (2000-2008, 2012-present) in which the regime seeks to legitimize its rule through managed elections, populist appeals, a foreign policy focused on enhancing the country's geopolitical influence, and commodity-based economic growth. Russia faces a largely subdued rebel movement in Chechnya and some other surrounding regions, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.
Rwanda
In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in a state-orchestrated genocide, in which Rwandans killed up to a million of their fellow citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias, and established an RPF-led government of national unity. Approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remained in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, the former Zaire) and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF did in 1990. Rwanda held its first local elections in 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in 2003. Rwanda in 2009 staged a joint military operation with the Congolese Army in DRC to rout out the Hutu extremist insurgency there, and Kigali and Kinshasa restored diplomatic relations. Rwanda also joined the Commonwealth in late 2009 and assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term.
Saint Barthelemy
Discovered in 1493 by Christopher COLUMBUS who named it for his brother Bartolomeo, Saint Barthelemy was first settled by the French in 1648. In 1784, the French sold the island to Sweden, which renamed the largest town Gustavia, after the Swedish King GUSTAV III, and made it a free port; the island prospered as a trade and supply center during the colonial wars of the 18th century. France repurchased the island in 1877 and took control the following year. It was placed under the administration of Guadeloupe. Saint Barthelemy retained its free port status along with various Swedish appellations such as Swedish street and town names, and the three-crown symbol on the coat of arms. In 2003 the islanders voted to secede from Guadeloupe, and in 2007 the island became a French overseas collectivity. In 2012, it became an overseas territory of the EU, allowing it to exert local control over the permanent and temporary immigration of foreign workers including non-French European citizens.
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha.
Saint Helena: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903.
Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena. It served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena. During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an airfield on Ascension in support of transatlantic flights to Africa and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War. It remains a critical refueling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. The island hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas (the others are on Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory), Kwajalein (Marshall Islands), and at Cape Canaveral, Florida (US)) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system. NASA and the US Air Force also operate a Meter-Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) on Ascension as part of the deep space surveillance system for tracking orbital debris, which can be a hazard to spacecraft and astronauts.
Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough Islands. Tristan da Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases a site for a meteorological station on Gough Island.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Carib Indians occupied the islands of the West Indies for hundreds of years before the British began settlement in 1623. In 1967, the island territory of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla became an associated state of the UK with full internal autonomy. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. The remaining islands achieved independence in 1983 as Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 1998, a referendum on Nevis to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority vote needed. Nevis continues in its efforts to separate from Saint Kitts.
Saint Lucia
The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Even after the abolition of slavery on its plantations in 1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island, dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979.
Saint Martin
Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished Saint Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it between themselves in 1648. Friction between the two sides caused the border to frequently fluctuate over the next two centuries, with the French eventually holding the greater portion of the island (about 57%). The cultivation of sugar cane introduced African slavery to the island in the late 18th century; the practice was not abolished until 1848. The island became a free port in 1939; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, the populace of Saint Martin voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the northern portion of the island became a French overseas collectivity. In 2010, the southern Dutch portion of the island became the independent nation of Sint Maarten within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on Saint Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France and the UK for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.
Samoa
New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
San Marino
Geographically the third smallest state in Europe (after the Holy See and Monaco), San Marino also claims to be the world's oldest republic. According to tradition, it was founded by a Christian stonemason named MARINUS in A.D. 301. San Marino's foreign policy is aligned with that of the EU, although it is not a member; social and political trends in the republic track closely with those of its larger neighbor, Italy.
Sao Tome and Principe
Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with African plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. While independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991, but frequent internal wrangling between the various political parties precipitated repeated changes in leadership and four failed, non-violent coup attempts in 1995, 1998, 2003, and 2009. In 2012, three opposition parties combined in a no confidence vote to bring down the majority government of former Prime Minister Patrice TROVOADA, but in 2014, legislative elections returned him to the office. New oil discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea may attract increased attention to the small island nation.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. One of his male descendants rules the country today, as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the public until all operational US troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong ongoing campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism.
From 2005 to 2015, King ABDALLAH incrementally modernized the Kingdom. Driven by personal ideology and political pragmatism, he introduced a series of social and economic initiatives, including expanding employment and social opportunities for women, attracting foreign investment, increasing the role of the private sector in the economy, and discouraging businesses from hiring foreign workers. Saudi Arabia saw protests during the 2011 Arab Spring among Shia Muslims in the Eastern Province, who protested primarily against the detention of political prisoners, endemic discrimination, and Bahraini and Saudi Government actions in Bahrain. Riyadh took a cautious but firm approach by arresting some protesters but releasing most of them quickly and by using its state-sponsored clerics to counter political and Islamist activism. In addition, protests were met by a strong police presence, with some arrests, but not the level of bloodshed seen in protests elsewhere in the region.
The government held its first-ever elections in 2005 and 2011, when Saudis went to the polls to elect municipal councilors. In December 2015, women were allowed to vote and stand as candidates for the first time in municipal council elections, with 21 women winning seats. King SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud ascended to the throne in 2015 and placed the first next-generation prince, MUHAMMAD BIN NAIF bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, in the line of succession as Crown Prince. He designated his son, MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, as the Deputy Crown Prince. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of 10 countries in a military campaign to restore the government of Yemen, which had been ousted by Huthi forces allied with former president ALI ABDULLAH al-Salih. The war in Yemen has led to civilian casualties and shortages of basic supplies, which has drawn considerable international criticism. In December 2015, Deputy Crown Prince MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN announced Saudi Arabia would lead a 34-nation Islamic Coalition to fight terrorism. In January 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on charges of terrorism, including Shia Muslim cleric NIMR al-Nimr. Iranian protesters overran Saudi diplomatic facilities in Iran to protest al-NIMR’s execution and the Saudi government responded by cutting off diplomatic ties with Iran.
Senegal
The French colonies of Senegal and French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never implemented, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff with Macky SALL, whose term runs until 2019. A 2016 constitutional referendum reduced the term to five years with a maximum of two consecutive terms for future presidents.
Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Communist Partisans resisted the Axis occupation and division of Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1945 and fought nationalist opponents and collaborators as well. The military and political movement headed by Josip Broz "TITO" (Partisans) took full control of Yugoslavia when their domestic rivals and the occupiers were defeated in 1945. Although communists, TITO and his successors (Tito died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In 1989, Slobodan MILOSEVIC became president of the Republic of Serbia and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia led various military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." These actions ultimately failed and, after international intervention, led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995.
MILOSEVIC retained control over Serbia and eventually became president of the FRY in 1997. In 1998, an ethnic Albanian insurgency in the formerly autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo provoked a Serbian counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo. The MILOSEVIC government's rejection of a proposed international settlement led to NATO's bombing of Serbia in the spring of 1999. Serbian military and police forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999, and the UN Security Council authorized an interim UN administration and a NATO-led security force in Kosovo. FRY elections in late 2000 led to the ouster of MILOSEVIC and the installation of democratic government. In 2003, the FRY became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics. Widespread violence predominantly targeting ethnic Serbs in Kosovo in March 2004 led to more intense calls to address Kosovo's status, and the UN began facilitating status talks in 2006. In June 2006, Montenegro seceded from the federation and declared itself an independent nation. Serbia subsequently gave notice that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro.
In February 2008, after nearly two years of inconclusive negotiations, Kosovo declared itself independent of Serbia - an action Serbia refuses to recognize. At Serbia's request, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in October 2008 sought an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on whether Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence was in accordance with international law. In a ruling considered unfavorable to Serbia, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion in July 2010 stating that international law did not prohibit declarations of independence. In late 2010, Serbia agreed to an EU-drafted UNGA Resolution acknowledging the ICJ's decision and calling for a new round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo, this time on practical issues rather than Kosovo's status. Serbia and Kosovo signed the first agreement of principles governing the normalization of relations between the two countries in April 2013 and are in the process of implementing its provisions. Prime Minister Aleksandar VUCIC, has promoted an ambitious goal of Serbia joining the EU by 2020. Under his leadership, in January 2014 Serbia opened formal negotiations for accession.
Seychelles
A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Single-party rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. President France-Albert RENE, who had served since 1977, was reelected in 2001, but stepped down in 2004. Vice President James Alix MICHEL took over the presidency and in July 2006 was elected to a new five-year term; he was reelected in May 2011 and again in December 2015.
Sierra Leone
The British set up a trading post near present-day Freetown in the 17th century. Originally the trade involved timber and ivory, but later it expanded into slaves. Following the American Revolution, a colony was established in 1787 and Sierra Leone became a destination for resettling black loyalists who had originally been resettled in Nova Scotia. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, British crews delivered thousands of Africans liberated from illegal slave ships to Sierra Leone, particularly Freetown. The colony gradually expanded inland during the course of the 19th century; independence was attained in 1961. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war (1991-2002) that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, has developed as a guarantor of the country's stability; the armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections. In March 2014, the closure of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone marked the end of more than 15 years of peacekeeping and political operations in Sierra Leone. The government's stated priorities include furthering development - including recovering from the Ebola epidemic - creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
Singapore
Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but was ousted two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Sint Maarten
Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and began exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished the island of Saint Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it amongst themselves in 1648. The establishment of cotton, tobacco, and sugar plantations dramatically expanded African slavery on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries; the practice was not abolished in the Dutch half until 1863. The island's economy declined until 1939 when it became a free port; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded beginning in the 1950s. In 1954, Sint Maarten and several other Dutch Caribbean possessions became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as the Netherlands Antilles. In a 2000 referendum, the citizens of Sint Maarten voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The change in status became effective in October of 2010 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Slovakia
Slovakia's roots can be traced to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. Subsequently, the Slovaks became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Following the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (Magyarization) resulted in a strengthening of Slovak nationalism and a cultivation of cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who were under Austrian rule. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar period, Slovak nationalist leaders pushed for autonomy within Czechoslovakia, and in 1939 Slovakia became an independent state allied with Nazi Germany. Following World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and came under communist rule within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize communist rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent "velvet divorce" into its two national components, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004 and the euro zone on 1 January 2009.
Slovenia
The Slovene lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the latter's dissolution at the end of World War I. In 1918, the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new multinational state, which was named Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though communist, distanced itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power by the majority Serbs, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991 after a short 10-day war. Historical ties to Western Europe, a strong economy, and a stable democracy have assisted in Slovenia's transformation to a modern state. Slovenia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone and the Schengen zone in 2007.
Solomon Islands
The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on this archipelago. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, endemic crime, and a narrow economic base have undermined stability and civil society. In June 2003, then Prime Minister Sir Allan KEMAKEZA sought the assistance of Australia in reestablishing law and order; the following month, an Australian-led multinational force arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has generally been effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions.
Somalia
Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule characterized by the persecution, jailing, and torture of political opponents and dissidents. After the regime's collapse early in 1991, Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy. In May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including holding municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. The regions of Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug comprise a neighboring semi-autonomous state of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998 but does not aim at independence; it has also made strides toward reconstructing a legitimate, representative government but has suffered some civil strife. Puntland disputes its border with Somaliland as it also claims the regions of Sool and Sanaag, and portions of Togdheer. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in south-central Somalia) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored. In 2000, the Somalia National Peace Conference (SNPC) held in Djibouti resulted in the formation of an interim government, known as the Transitional National Government (TNG). When the TNG failed to establish adequate security or governing institutions, the Government of Kenya, under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), led a subsequent peace process that concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as President of a second interim government, known as the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Somali Republic. The TFG included a 275-member parliamentary body, known as the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP). President YUSUF resigned late in 2008 while United Nations-sponsored talks between the TFG and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) were underway in Djibouti. In January 2009, following the creation of a TFG-ARS unity government, Ethiopian military forces, which had entered Somalia in December 2006 to support the TFG in the face of advances by the opposition Islamic Courts Union (ICU), withdrew from the country. The TFP was doubled in size to 550 seats with the addition of 200 ARS and 75 civil society members of parliament. The expanded parliament elected Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed, the former ICU and ARS chairman as president in January 2009. The creation of the TFG was based on the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC), which outlined a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. In 2009, the TFP amended the TFC to extend TFG's mandate until 2011 and in 2011 Somali principals agreed to institute political transition by August 2012. The transition process ended in September 2012 when clan elders replaced the TFP by appointing 275 members to a new parliament who subsequently elected a new president.
South Africa
Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (Afrikaners, called "Boers" (farmers) by the British) trekked north to found their own republics in lands taken from the indigenous black inhabitants. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Afrikaners resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Second South African War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum. In 1948, the Afrikaner-dominated National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority. The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 following the end of apartheid ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa has since struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in decent housing, education, and health care. ANC infighting came to a head in 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI was recalled by Parliament, and Deputy President Kgalema MOTLANTHE, succeeded him as interim president. Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in 2009; he was reelected in 2014.
Southern Ocean
A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which, in turn, allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization delimited the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty region and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
The islands, with large bird and seal populations, lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 - except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. Recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island.
South Sudan
Egypt attempted to colonize the region of southern Sudan by establishing the province of Equatoria in the 1870s. Islamic Mahdist revolutionaries overran the region in 1885, but in 1898 a British force was able to overthrow the Mahdist regime. An Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established the following year with Equatoria being the southernmost of its eight provinces. The isolated region was largely left to itself over the following decades, but Christian missionaries converted much of the population and facilitated the spread of English. When Sudan gained its independence in 1956, it was with the understanding that the southerners would be able to participate fully in the political system. When the Arab Khartoum government reneged on its promises, a mutiny began that led to two prolonged periods of conflict (1955-1972 and 1983-2005) in which perhaps 2.5 million people died - mostly civilians - due to starvation and drought. Ongoing peace talks finally resulted in a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed in January 2005. As part of this agreement, the south was granted a six-year period of autonomy to be followed by a referendum on final status. The result of this referendum, held in January 2011, was a vote of 98% in favor of secession. Since independence on 9 July 2011, South Sudan has struggled with good governance and nation building and has attempted to control rebel militia groups operating in its territory. Economic conditions have deteriorated since January 2012 when the government decided to shut down oil production following bilateral disagreements with Sudan. In December 2013, conflict between government and opposition forces led to a humanitarian crisis with millions of South Sudanese displaced and food insecure. The warring parties signed a peace agreement in August 2015, which calls for a transitional government of national unity, but its formation has been delayed as of late 2016.
Spain
Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World War I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. More recently the government has focused on measures to reverse a severe economic recession that began in mid-2008. Austerity measures implemented to reduce a large budget deficit and reassure foreign investors have led to one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. Spain assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2015-16 term.
Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs surrounded by rich fishing grounds - and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Since 1985 Brunei has claimed a continental shelf that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim to the reef. Brunei claims an exclusive economic zone over this area.
Sri Lanka
The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced circa 250 B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The Portuguese controlled the coastal areas of the island in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was formally united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007 and by May 2009, the remnants of the LTTE had been defeated. Since the end of the conflict, the government has enacted an ambitious program of economic development projects, many of which are financed by loans from the Government of China. In addition to efforts at reconstructing its economy, the government has resettled more than 95% of those civilians displaced during the final phase of the conflict and released the vast majority of former LTTE combatants captured by Government Security Forces. At the same time, there has been little progress on more contentious and politically difficult issues such as reaching a political settlement with Tamil elected representatives and holding accountable those alleged to have been involved in human rights violations and other abuses during the conflict.
Sudan
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. The referendum was held in January 2011 and indicated overwhelming support for independence. South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011. Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements signed in September 2012 relating to the normalization of relations between the two countries. The final disposition of the contested Abyei region has also to be decided.
Since South Sudan's independence, conflict has broken out between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which has resulted in 1.2 million internally displaced persons or severely affected persons needing humanitarian assistance. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. Violence in Darfur in 2013 resulted in an additional estimated 6,000 civilians killed and 500,000 displaced. The UN and the African Union have jointly commanded a Darfur peacekeeping operation known as the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) since 2007. Peacekeeping troops have struggled to stabilize the situation and have increasingly become targets for attacks by armed groups. Sudan also has faced refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and government denial of access have impeded the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.
Suriname
First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of African slavery in 1863, workers were brought in from India and Java. The Netherlands granted the colony independence in 1975. Five years later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In 1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a democratically elected government - a four-party coalition - returned to power in 1991. The coalition expanded to eight parties in 2005 and ruled until August 2010, when voters returned former military leader Desire BOUTERSE and his opposition coalition to power. President BOUTERSE was reelected unopposed in 2015.
Svalbard
The archipelago may have been first discovered by Norse explorers in the 12th century; the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was internationally recognized by treaty in 1920, and five years later it officially took over the territory. In the 20th century coal mining started and today a Norwegian and a Russian company are still functioning. Travel between the settlements is accomplished with snowmobiles, aircraft, and boats.
Swaziland
Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King MSWATI III, Africa's last absolute monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. A constitution came into effect in 2006, but the legal status of political parties was not defined and their status remains unclear. Swaziland has surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.
Sweden
A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war for two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both world wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system intermixed with substantial welfare elements was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 and 2009 by the global economic downturns, but fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum.
Switzerland
The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. A constitution of 1848, subsequently modified in 1874, replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two world wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.
Syria
Following World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area as Syria until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability and experienced a series of military coups. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights region to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional, albeit unsuccessful, peace talks over its return. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawi sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. Following the death of President Hafiz al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. In May 2007, Bashar al-ASAD's second term as president was approved by popular referendum.
Influenced by major uprisings that began elsewhere in the region, and compounded by additional social and economic factors, antigovernment protests broke out first in the southern province of Dar'a in March 2011 with protesters calling for the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge, the legalization of political parties, and the removal of corrupt local officials. Demonstrations and violent unrest spread across Syria with the size and intensity of protests fluctuating. The government responded to unrest with a mix of concessions - including the repeal of the Emergency Law, new laws permitting new political parties, and liberalizing local and national elections - and military force. However, the government's response has failed to meet opposition demands for ASAD's resignation, and the government's ongoing violence to quell unrest and widespread armed opposition activity has led to extended clashes between government forces and oppositionists. International pressure on the ASAD regime has intensified since late 2011, as the Arab League, EU, Turkey, and the US expanded economic sanctions against the regime. In December 2012, the Syrian National Coalition, was recognized by more than 130 countries as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Peace talks between the Coalition and Syrian regime at the UN-sponsored Geneva II conference in 2014 and the UN-sponsored Geneva III talks in 2016 failed to produce a resolution of the conflict. Unrest continues in Syria, and according to an April 2016 UN estimate, the death toll among Syrian Government forces, opposition forces, and civilians had reached 400,000. As of December 2016, approximately 13.5 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria, with 6.3 million people displaced internally, and an additional 4.8 million Syrian refugees, making the Syrian situation the largest humanitarian crisis worldwide.
Taiwan
First inhabited by Austronesian people, Taiwan became home to Han immigrants beginning in the late Ming Dynasty (17th century). In 1895, military defeat forced China's Qing Dynasty to cede Taiwan to Japan, which governed Taiwan for 50 years. Taiwan came under Chinese Nationalist control after World War II. In the four years leading to the communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government under the 1947 constitution drawn up for all of China. The Nationalist government established authoritarian rule under martial law in 1948. Beginning in the late 1970s, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. This process expanded rapidly in the 1980s, with the founding of the first opposition party (the Democratic Progressive Party or DPP) in 1986 and the lifting of martial law in 1987. Taiwan held its first direct presidential election in 1996. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) to the DPP. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be management of sensitive relations between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of Taiwan's sovereignty - as well as domestic priorities for economic reform and growth.
Tajikistan
The Tajik people came under Russian rule in the 1860s and 1870s, but Russia's hold on Central Asia weakened following the Revolution of 1917. Bands of indigenous guerrillas (called "basmachi") fiercely contested Bolshevik control of the area, which was not fully reestablished until 1925. Tajikistan was first created as an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan in 1924, but the USSR designated Tajikistan a separate republic in 1929 and transferred to it much of present-day Sughd province. Ethnic Uzbeks form a substantial minority in Tajikistan, and ethnic Tajiks an even larger minority in Uzbekistan. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and experienced a civil war between regional factions from 1992 to 1997. Tajikistan has endured several domestic security incidents since 2010, including armed conflict between government forces and local strongmen in the Rasht Valley and between government forces and criminal groups in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. In September 2015, government security forces rebuffed attacks led by a former high-ranking official in the Ministry of Defense. President Emomali RAHMON, who came to power during the civil war, used the attacks to ban the main opposition political party in Tajikistan. RAHMON further strengthened his position by having himself designated “Leader ofthe Nation” and removing term limits on himself through constitutional amendments in a referendum on May 2016. The country remains the poorest in the former Soviet sphere. Tajikistan became a member of the World Trade Organization in March 2013. However, its economy continues to face major challenges, including dependence on remittances from Tajikistanis working in Russia, pervasive corruption, and the opiate trade in neighboring Afghanistan.
Tanzania
Shortly after achieving independence from Britain in the early 1960s, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the United Republic of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule ended in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s. Zanzibar's semi-autonomous status and popular opposition led to two contentious elections since 1995, which the ruling party won despite international observers' claims of voting irregularities. The formation of a government of national unity between Zanzibar's two leading parties succeeded in minimizing electoral tension in 2010.
Thailand
A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been colonized by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US treaty ally in 1954 after sending troops to Korea and later fighting alongside the US in Vietnam. Thailand since 2005 has experienced several rounds of political turmoil including a military coup in 2006 that ousted then Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat, followed by large-scale street protests by competing political factions in 2008, 2009, and 2010. THAKSIN's youngest sister, YINGLAK Chinnawat, in 2011 led the Puea Thai Party to an electoral win and assumed control of the government. A blanket amnesty bill for individuals involved in street protests, altered at the last minute to include all political crimes - including all convictions against THAKSIN - triggered months of large-scale anti-government protests in Bangkok beginning in November 2013. In early May 2014 YINGLAK was removed from office by the Constitutional Court and in late May 2014 the Royal Thai Army staged a coup against the caretaker government. Then head of the Royal Thai Army, Gen. PRAYUT Chan-ocha, was appointed prime minister in August 2014. The interim military government created several interim institutions to promote reform and draft a new constitution. Elections are tentatively set for mid-2017. King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet passed away in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne; his only son, WACHIRALONGKON Bodinthrathepphayawarangkun, ascended the throne in December 2016. Thailand has also experienced violence associated with the ethno-nationalist insurgency in its southern Malay-Muslim majority provinces. Since January 2004, thousands have been killed and wounded in the insurgency.
Timor-Leste
The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor in the early 16th century and colonized it in mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty in which Portugal ceded the western portion of the island. Imperial Japan occupied Portuguese Timor from 1942 to 1945, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World War II. East Timor declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975 and was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine days later. It was incorporated into Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of Timor Timur (East Timor). An unsuccessful campaign of pacification followed over the next two decades, during which an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 people died. In an August 1999 UN-supervised popular referendum, an overwhelming majority of the people of Timor-Leste voted for independence from Indonesia. However, in the next three weeks, anti-independence Timorese militias - organized and supported by the Indonesian military - commenced a large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution. The militias killed approximately 1,400 Timorese and forced 300,000 people into western Timor as refugees. Most of the country's infrastructure, including homes, irrigation systems, water supply systems, and schools, and nearly all of the country's electrical grid were destroyed. On 20 September 1999, Australian-led peacekeeping troops deployed to the country and brought the violence to an end. On 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste was internationally recognized as an independent state.
In 2006, internal tensions threatened the new nation's security when a military strike led to violence and a breakdown of law and order. At Dili's request, an Australian-led International Stabilization Force (ISF) deployed to Timor-Leste, and the UN Security Council established the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), which included an authorized police presence of over 1,600 personnel. The ISF and UNMIT restored stability, allowing for presidential and parliamentary elections in 2007 in a largely peaceful atmosphere. In February 2008, a rebel group staged an unsuccessful attack against the president and prime minister. The ringleader was killed in the attack, and most of the rebels surrendered in April 2008. Since the attack, the government has enjoyed one of its longest periods of post-independence stability, including successful 2012 elections for both the parliament and president and a successful transition of power in February 2015. In late 2012, the UN Security Council ended its peacekeeping mission in Timor-Leste and both the ISF and UNMIT departed the country.
Togo
French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades. Despite the facade of multi-party elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was largely dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has been in power almost continually since 1967 and its successor, the Union for the Republic, maintains a majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon EYADEMA's death in February 2005, the military installed the president's son, Faure GNASSINGBE, and then engineered his formal election two months later. Democratic gains since then allowed Togo to hold its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in October 2007. After years of political unrest and condemnation from international organizations for human rights abuses, Togo is finally being re-welcomed into the international community.
Tokelau
Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. Referenda held in 2006 and 2007 to change the status of the islands from that of a New Zealand territory to one of free association with New Zealand did not meet the needed threshold for approval.
Tonga
Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.
Trinidad and Tobago
First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Independence was attained in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime.
Tunisia
Rivalry between French and Italian interests in Tunisia culminated in a French invasion in 1881 and the creation of a protectorate. Agitation for independence in the decades following World War I was finally successful in convincing the French to recognize Tunisia as an independent state in 1956. The country's first president, Habib BOURGUIBA, established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. In November 1987, BOURGUIBA was removed from office and replaced by Zine el Abidine BEN ALI in a bloodless coup. Street protests that began in Tunis in December 2010 over high unemployment, corruption, widespread poverty, and high food prices escalated in January 2011, culminating in rioting that led to hundreds of deaths. On 14 January 2011, the same day BEN ALI dismissed the government, he fled the country, and by late January 2011, a "national unity government" was formed. Elections for the new Constituent Assembly were held in late October 2011, and in December, it elected human rights activist Moncef MARZOUKI as interim president. The Assembly began drafting a new constitution in February 2012 and, after several iterations and a months-long political crisis that stalled the transition, ratified the document in January 2014. Parliamentary and presidential elections for a permanent government were held at the end of 2014. Beji CAID ESSEBSI was elected as the first president under the country's new constitution. In 2016, the new unity government continued to seek to balance political cohesion with economic and social pressures.
Turkey
Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." Under his leadership, the country adopted radical social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democrat Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of formal political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. A coup attempt was made in July 2016 by a faction of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has long dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 40,000 lives. In 2013, the PKK and the Turkish Government agreed to a cease-fire, but fighting resumed in 2015. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1963, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; it began accession membership talks with the EU in 2005. Over the past decade, economic reforms have contributed to a growing economy, although economic growth slowed in recent years.
From 2015 and continuing in 2016, Turkey witnessed an uptick in terrorist violence. The attacks have included bombings in Ankara, Istanbul, and throughout the predominantly Kurdish southeastern region of Turkey. On 15 July 2016, elements of the Turkish Armed forces attempted a coup at key government and infrastructure locations in Ankara and Istanbul. An estimated 300 people were killed and over 2,000 injured when Turkish citizens took to the streets en masse to confront the coup forces. In response, Turkish Government authorities arrested and/or dismissed thousands of military personnel, journalists, and civil servants, including judges and educators, over their alleged connection with the attempted coup. The government accused followers of an Islamic transnational religious and social movement for allegedly instigating the failed coup and designates the followers as terrorists. Following the failed coup, the Turkish Government instituted a three-month State of Emergency in July 2016 that was extended in October 2016. The Turkish Government is considering changing Turkey to an executive presidency.
Turkmenistan
Present-day Turkmenistan covers territory that has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. The area was ruled in antiquity by various Persian empires, and was conquered by Alexander the Great, Muslim armies, the Mongols, Turkic warriors, and eventually the Russians. In medieval times, Merv (located in present-day Mary province) was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by Russia in the late 1800s, Turkmenistan later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1924, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic; it achieved independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves, which have yet to be fully exploited, have begun to transform the country. The Government of Turkmenistan is moving to expand its extraction and delivery projects and has attempted to diversify its gas export routes beyond Russia's pipeline network. In 2010, new gas export pipelines that carry Turkmen gas to China and to northern Iran began operating, effectively ending the Russian monopoly on Turkmen gas exports. Subsequently, decreased Russian purchases, as well as limited purchases by Iran, have made China the dominant buyer of Turkmen gas. President for Life Saparmurat NYYAZOW died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential election in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a deputy cabinet chairman under NYYAZOW, emerged as the country's new president; he was reelected in February 2012 with 97% of the vote, in an election widely regarded as undemocratic.
Turks and Caicos Islands
The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands remain a British overseas territory.
Tuvalu
In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period. The agreement was subsequently renegotiated but details were not disclosed.
Uganda
The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences complicated the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. A constitutional referendum in 2005 cancelled a 19-year ban on multi-party politics and lifted presidential term limits.
Ukraine
Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine achieved final independence in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties.
A peaceful mass protest referred to as the "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary (Rada) elections, become prime minister in August 2006, and be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - and subsequent use of force against civil society activists in favor of the agreement led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, and the president's abrupt departure to Russia. New elections in the spring allowed pro-West president Petro POROSHENKO to assume office on 7 June 2014.
Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in late February 2014, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. Two weeks later, a "referendum" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The "referendum" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). Although Russia illegally annexed Crimea after the "referendum," the Ukrainian Government, backed by UNGA resolution 68/262, asserts that Crimea remains part of Ukraine and fully under Ukrainian sovereignty. Russia also continues to supply separatists in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces with manpower, funding, and materiel resulting in an armed conflict with the Ukrainian Government. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the unrecognized separatist republics signed a ceasefire agreement in September 2014. However, this ceasefire failed to stop the fighting. In a renewed attempt to alleviate ongoing clashes, leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany negotiated a follow-on peace deal in February 2015 known as the Minsk Agreements. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also meet regularly to facilitate implementation of the peace deal. Scattered fighting between Ukrainian and Russian-backed separatist forces is still ongoing in eastern Ukraine.
United Arab Emirates
The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971, six of these states - Abu Dhabi, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. For more than three decades, oil and global finance drove the UAE's economy. However, in 2008-09, the confluence of falling oil prices, collapsing real estate prices, and the international banking crisis hit the UAE especially hard. The UAE essentially avoided the "Arab Spring" unrest seen elsewhere in the Middle East in 2010-11 and in an effort to stem potential unrest, the government announced a multi-year, $1.6-billion infrastructure investment plan for the poorer northern emirates and aggressively pursued advocates of political reform. The UAE in recent years has played a vital role in regional affairs. In addition to donating billions of dollars in economic aid to help stabilize Egypt, the UAE is a member of a US-led global coalition to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and a coalition partner in a Saudi-led military campaign to restore the government of Yemen.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two world wars and the Irish Republic's withdrawal from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999. The latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process, but devolution was fully completed in March 2010.
The UK was an active member of the EU from 1973 to 2016, although it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union. However, frustrated by a remote bureaucracy in Brussels and massive migration into the country, UK citizens on 23 June 2016 narrowly voted to leave the EU. The so-called “Brexit” will take years to carry out but could be the signal for referenda in other EU countries where skepticism of EU membership benefits is strong.
United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
All of the following US Pacific island territories except Midway Atoll constitute the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex and as such are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior. Midway Atoll NWR has been included in a Refuge Complex with the Hawaiian Islands NWR and also designated as part of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. These remote refuges are the most widespread collection of marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction. They sustain many endemic species including corals, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, water birds, land birds, insects, and vegetation not found elsewhere.
Baker Island: The US took possession of the island in 1857. Its guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization began on this island but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. The island was established as a NWR in 1974.
Howland Island: Discovered by the US early in the 19th century, the uninhabited atoll was officially claimed by the US in 1857. Both US and British companies mined for guano deposits until about 1890. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization began on this island, similar to the effort on nearby Baker Island, but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. The famed American aviatrix Amelia EARHART disappeared while seeking out Howland Island as a refueling stop during her 1937 round-the-world flight; Earhart Light, a day beacon near the middle of the west coast, was named in her memory. The island was established as a NWR in 1974.
Jarvis Island: First discovered by the British in 1821, the uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858 but abandoned in 1879 after tons of guano had been removed. The UK annexed the island in 1889 but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The US occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935. It was abandoned in 1942 during World War II. The island was established as a NWR in 1974.
Johnston Atoll: Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston and Sand Islands were designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll in 1934. Subsequently, the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s. Until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. Munitions destruction, cleanup, and closure of the facility were completed by May 2005. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Air Force are currently discussing future management options; in the interim, Johnston Atoll and the three-mile Naval Defensive Sea around it remain under the jurisdiction and administrative control of the US Air Force.
Kingman Reef: The US annexed the reef in 1922. Its sheltered lagoon served as a way station for flying boats on Hawaii-to-American Samoa flights during the late 1930s. There are no terrestrial plants on the reef, which is frequently awash, but it does support abundant and diverse marine fauna and flora. In 2001, the waters surrounding the reef out to 12 nm were designated a NWR.
Midway Islands: The US took formal possession of the islands in 1867. The laying of the transpacific cable, which passed through the islands, brought the first residents in 1903. Between 1935 and 1947, Midway was used as a refueling stop for transpacific flights. The US naval victory over a Japanese fleet off Midway in 1942 was one of the turning points of World War II. The islands continued to serve as a naval station until closed in 1993. Today the islands are a NWR and are the site of the world's largest Laysan albatross colony.
Palmyra Atoll: The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not include Palmyra Atoll, which is now partly privately owned by the Nature Conservancy with the rest owned by the Federal government and managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These organizations are managing the atoll as a wildlife refuge. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12-nm US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and designated a NWR in January 2001.
United States
Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
Uruguay
Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century launched widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.
Uzbekistan
Russia conquered the territory of present-day Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after the Bolshevik Revolution was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic established in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land degraded and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991 upon the dissolution of the USSR, the country has gradually lessened its dependence on the cotton monoculture by diversifying agricultural production while developing its mineral and petroleum export capacity and increasing its manufacturing base. Uzbekistan’s first president, Islom KARIMOV, led Uzbekistan for 25 years until his death in August 2016. The political transition to his successor, then-Prime Minister Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV was peaceful, but sidelined the constitutional process where the chairman of the Senate would have served as the acting president. MIRZIYOYEV, who won the presidential election in December 2016, has sought to improve relations with Uzbekistan’s neighbors and proposed wide-ranging economic and judicial reforms.
Vanuatu
Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day. The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980, when the new name of Vanuatu was adopted.
Venezuela
Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Under Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, and his hand-picked successor, President Nicolas MADURO, the executive branch has exercised increasingly authoritarian control over other branches of government. At the same time, democratic institutions have deteriorated, threats to freedom of expression have increased, and political polarization has grown. The ruling party's economic policies have expanded the state's role in the economy through expropriations of major enterprises, strict currency exchange and price controls that discourage private sector investment and production, and overdependence on the petroleum industry for revenues, among others. Current concerns include: an increasingly politicized military, rampant violent crime, high inflation, and widespread shortages of basic consumer goods, medicine, and medical supplies.
Vietnam
The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the communist North and anti-communist South. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South reuniting the country under communist rule. Despite the return of peace, for over a decade the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies, the persecution and mass exodus of individuals - many of them successful South Vietnamese merchants - and growing international isolation. However, since the enactment of Vietnam's "doi moi" (renovation) policy in 1986, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The communist leaders maintain tight control on political expression but have demonstrated some modest steps toward better protection of human rights. The country continues to experience small-scale protests, the vast majority connected to either land-use issues, calls for increased political space, or the lack of equitable mechanisms for resolving disputes. The small-scale protests in the urban areas are often organized by human rights activists, but many occur in rural areas and involve various ethnic minorities such as the Montagnards of the Central Highlands, H'mong in the Northwest Highlands, and the Khmer Krom in the southern delta region.
Virgin Islands
The Danes secured control over the southern Virgin Islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix during the 17th and early 18th centuries. Sugarcane, produced by African slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish holdings, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848.
Wake Island
The US annexed Wake Island in 1899 for a cable station. An important air and naval base was constructed in 1940-41. In December 1941, the island was captured by the Japanese and held until the end of World War II. In subsequent years, Wake became a stopover and refueling site for military and commercial aircraft transiting the Pacific. Since 1974, the island's airstrip has been used by the US military, as well as for emergency landings. Operations on the island were temporarily suspended and all personnel evacuated in 2006 with the approach of super typhoon IOKE (category 5), but resultant damage was comparatively minor. A US Air Force repair team restored full capability to the airfield and facilities, and the island remains a vital strategic link in the Pacific region.
Wallis and Futuna
The Futuna island group was discovered by the Dutch in 1616 and Wallis by the British in 1767, but it was the French who declared a protectorate over the islands in 1842, and took official control of them between 1886 and 1888. Notably, Wallis and Futuna was the only French colony to side with the Vichy regime during World War II, a phase that ended in May of 1942 with the arrival of 2,000 American troops. In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a French overseas territory and officially assumed this status in July 1961.
West Bank
From the early 16th century through 1917, the area now known as the West Bank fell under Ottoman rule. Following World War I, the Allied powers (France, UK, Russia) allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine. After World War II, the UN passed a resolution to establish two states within the Mandate, and designated a territory including what is now known as the West Bank as part of the proposed Arab state. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the area was captured by Transjordan (later renamed Jordan). Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. In June 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem, roughly 60% of the West Bank remains under Israeli military control. Israel transferred security and civilian responsibility for a number of Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority (PA) under a series of agreements signed between 1993 and 1999, the so-called “Oslo Accords.” Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled after the outbreak of an intifada in mid-2000. In early 2003, the "Quartet" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states - Israel and a democratic Palestine.
Following Palestinian leader Yassir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political faction) as PA president, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers, dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, and redeployed its military from several West Bank settlements, but it continues to control maritime, airspace, and other access. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won the Palestinian Legislative Council election and took control of the PA government. Attempts to form a unity government failed, and violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. Fatah and HAMAS have made several attempts at reconciliation, but the factions have been unable to implement details on governance and security. In an attempt to reenergize peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, France in June 2016 hosted a ministerial meeting that included participants from 29 countries, although not Israel or the Palestinians, to lay the groundwork for an envisioned "multilateral peace conference" later in the year.
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa bordered by Morocco, Mauritania, and Algeria. After Spain withdrew from its former colony of Spanish Sahara in 1976, Morocco annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara and claimed the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Morocco's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire and the establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation. As part of this effort, the UN sought to offer a choice to the peoples of Western Sahara between independence (favored by the Polisario Front) or integration into Morocco. A proposed referendum never took place due to lack of agreement on voter eligibility. The 2,700 km- (1,700 mi-) long defensive sand berm, built by the Moroccans from 1980 to 1987 and running the length of the territory, continues to separate the opposing forces with Morocco controlling the roughly 80 percent of the territory west of the berm. Local demonstrations criticizing the Moroccan authorities occur regularly, and there are periodic ethnic tensions between the native Sahrawi population and Moroccan immigrants. Morocco maintains a heavy security presence in the territory.
World
Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about environmental degradation including deforestation, energy and water shortages, declining biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820 to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1987, 6 billion in 1999, and 7 billion in 2012. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine and agriculture) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Yemen
North Yemen became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement and brief civil war in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to delineate their border. Fighting in the northwest between the government and the Huthis, a Zaydi Shia Muslim minority, began in 2004 and has since resulted in six rounds of fighting that ended in early 2010 with a cease-fire. The southern secessionist movement was revitalized in 2008. Public rallies in Sana'a against then President SALIH - inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt - slowly built momentum starting in late January 2011 fueled by complaints over high unemployment, poor economic conditions, and corruption. By the following month, some protests had resulted in violence, and the demonstrations had spread to other major cities. By March the opposition had hardened its demands and was unifying behind calls for SALIH's immediate ouster. In April 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in an attempt to mediate the crisis in Yemen, proposed the GGC Initiative, an agreement in which the president would step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. SALIH's refusal to sign an agreement led to further violence.
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2014 in October 2011 calling for an end to the violence and completing a power transfer deal. In November 2011, SALIH signed the GCC Initiative to step down and to transfer some of his powers to Vice President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI. Following HADI's election victory in February 2012, SALIH formally transferred his powers. In accordance with the GCC initiative, Yemen launched a National Dialogue Conference (NDC) in March 2013 to discuss key constitutional, political, and social issues. HADI concluded the NDC in January 2014. Subsequent steps in the transition process include constitutional drafting, a constitutional referendum, and national elections. Since the Arab Awakening in 2011, the Huthis have expanded their influence, culminating in a major offensive against military units and tribes affiliated with their Yemeni rivals and enabling their forces to overrun the capital, Sana'a, in September 2014. In January 2015, the Huthis attacked the presidential palace and President HADI's residence and surrounded key government facilities, prompting HADI and the cabinet to submit their resignations. HADI fled to Aden, and in February 2015 rescinded his resignation. He subsequently escaped to Saudi Arabia and asked the GCC to intervene militarily in Yemen to protect the legitimate government from the Huthis. In March, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched Operation Decisive Storm, a series of airstrikes against Huthi and Huthi-affiliated forces. In April 2015, the Saudi Government announced completion of the operation and initiated Operation Restoring Hope, which focuses on humanitarian aid and a return to political dialogue. However, fighting continued through the remainder of 2015 and into early 2016. In April, the UN brokered a "cessation of hostilities" among the warring parties and initiated peace talks in Kuwait.
Zambia
The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the former British South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices, economic mismanagement, and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule and propelled the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) to government. The subsequent vote in 1996, however, saw increasing harassment of opposition parties and abuse of state media and other resources. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems, with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his vice president, Rupiah BANDA, who won a special presidential byelection later that year. The MMD and BANDA lost to the Patriotic Front (PF) and Michael SATA in the 2011 general elections. SATA, however, presided over a period of haphazard economic management and attempted to silence opposition to PF policies. SATA died in October 2014 and was succeeded by his vice president, Guy SCOTT, who served as interim president until special elections were held in January 2015. Edgar LUNGU won the presidential by election and will complete SATA's term, which expires in August 2016 when new presidential, as well as parliamentary and local elections, will be held.
Zimbabwe
The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the former British South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign, which began in 1997 and intensified after 2000, caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection.
In April 2005, the capital city of Harare embarked on Operation Restore Order, ostensibly an urban rationalization program, which resulted in the destruction of the homes or businesses of 700,000 mostly poor supporters of the opposition. MUGABE in June 2007 instituted price controls on all basic commodities causing panic buying and leaving store shelves empty for months. General elections held in March 2008 contained irregularities but still amounted to a censure of the ZANU-PF-led government with the opposition winning a majority of seats in parliament. Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai opposition leader Morgan TSVANGIRAI won the most votes in the presidential poll, but not enough to win outright. In the lead up to a run-off election in June 2008, considerable violence against opposition party members led to the withdrawal of TSVANGIRAI from the ballot. Extensive evidence of violence and intimidation resulted in international condemnation of the process. Difficult negotiations over a power-sharing "government of national unity," in which MUGABE remained president and TSVANGIRAI became prime minister, were finally settled in February 2009, although the leaders failed to agree upon many key outstanding governmental issues. MUGABE was reelected president in June 2013 in balloting that was severely flawed and internationally condemned. As a prerequisite to holding the election, Zimbabwe enacted a new constitution by referendum, although many provisions in the new constitution have yet to be codified in law.
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Cuba
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What element did Marie Curie name after her native land?
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Whether it is a caudillo�a charismatic boss, usually with an armed following�or a general leading a golpe de estado (a military seizure of state power), or an authoritarian government using force to repress its opponents, we conceive of Latin America as a region ruled by force. Along with violence , we have also focused on the region�s reputation for political instability (actually a consequence of it)�its endless rounds of musical governments as coup followed coup and general followed general to become supreme leader for an undetermined but not infrequently short length of time. Governments were more often changed by force than electoral results. Although the description presented above is now showing signs of passing into history, and perhaps has even already made the journey in a few countries, we should neither ignore these long-standing habits of rule nor assume that they are gone forever. Take, for example, patrimonial or personalist politics, which are leader-centered, often to the extent of placing the leader above the law. This characterized caudillo politics. Contemporary Latin America still has a number of high-profile, personalist presidents, such as Venezuela�s Hugo Ch�vez, who embody much of the caudillo tradition. And although political violence has played a diminishing role in Latin America since 1990, it has not vanished. Because of this, we need to see how caudillo rule and political violence came to be policy instruments and what let them keep their usefulness for so long. How, that is, did they become political institutions? This is a way to try to understand why political actors, institutions, and instruments have such long lives in Latin America. In this chapter, we treat the politics of caudillos, coups, and revolutions as parts of a model of rule, a political tradition. Doing this means placing these phenomena in a broader theoretical framework. Two perspectives offer the best possibilities. One treats personal rule and high levels of political violence, as well as the political instability that often accompanies them, as political institutions: well-established, rule-bound structures and processes of governing. The other sees them as manifestations of political culture: the values and attitudes people hold about politics. Using these tools will enable you to understand how these instruments of rule developed, how they have persisted, and how they are changing. [A] Introduction: Modes and Models of Governing In 1952, political scientist William Stokes published an article titled �Violence as a Power Factor in Latin American Politics,� in which he wrote that [v]iolence seems to be institutionalized in the organization, maintenance, and changing of government in Latin America. The methodology of force is found in advanced and in backward countries, in Indian, mestizo, and white republics, in large states and in small ones, in urban and in rural areas, in agricultural and in industrial organization, in the beginning of the twentieth century, in the present period, and in the early, middle, and late nineteenth century�in a word, wherever and whenever Hispanic culture is to be found in the Western Hemisphere. A half-century later, historian Robert H. Holden published Armies without Nations: Public Violence and State Formation in Central America, in which he speaks of �public violence�: The boundaries of � state power, constituted not so much by structural boundaries but by fluid social relationships, vary over time and space. The killing, maiming, and destruction that take place in this field is �public violence,� owing to this compatibility with all the conventional senses of the word �public� � its wide visibility, potential to affect great numbers of people, and connections with government. Plainly, violence has been an important political commodity in Latin America. Therefore, those who are skilled in the use of violence�sometimes called �specialists in violence��have been well placed to gain the power to rule. It also means that other political instruments, such as building electoral political parties to mobilize voters, were long underdeveloped. One can also ask whether the conditions noted by Stokes and Holden also point toward a particular mode of organizing government, namely personal rule. This question arises partly because personal, one-man rule has long been common in Latin America and partly because specialists in violence come mostly from extremely hierarchical institutions, where leadership is called command. In short, one has to consider whether the correlation of these factors points to them reinforcing each other, giving both rule by violence and one-person rule special institutional viability. [B] Political Institutions and Their Relation to Modes of Governing Politics works in and through political institutions. On hearing �political institutions� what generally comes to mind is the formal machinery of government: executives (presidents or prime ministers and their cabinets), legislatures, courts, and bureaucracies. These are clearly political institutions, but they are not the only ones. We also include parties, groups and movements, the media�especially when they treat political affairs�and even well-established practices that may not have any legal status (for example, how patronage is used). To understand political institutions we need more than a list. We need to know what characteristics define them. Although there is no universally accepted definition, there are components that appear repeatedly. A common way to identify institutions is by searching for repeated patterns of interaction among people. �Repeated� implies both that the interactions happen over a period of time (hence that an institution is long-lived), and that they are not random but rather intentional or systematic, implying that they reflect rules. Indeed, some argue that institutions are rules, but it is more prudent to say that they lay down rules that shape the behavior of individuals who work with them. This makes institutions �deliberate attempts to channel and constrain human behavior.� In the case of political institutions, the rules will establish who gets to make decisions, about which issues, limited by what restraints, and with what penalties for breaking the rules. Seen in this light, the link between political institutions and modes of governing becomes clear. How rulers govern will shape political institutions, even start them, but the institutions will also affect how rulers rule. Institutions offer a selection of mechanisms with which to govern, but also set some limits on their use. But how are these institutions formed? One view suggests that they began as instruments that people devised to achieve some objective. Over time, an instrument�a combination of rules and processes�can metamorphose into an institution by becoming more autonomous, setting more rules to govern people associated with it, and being valued in its own right instead of simply as a tool to do a job. Alternatively, people can set out to establish organizations that will direct human activity in given directions. In either case, institutions begin with a conscious decision by someone to find a way to do something. [B] Historical Institutionalism and Informal Institutions There are other questions that arise in connection with political institutions. How do they change? Is formal, legal recognition necessary for a political institution to exist? How should we study them? To examine the question of institutional stability and change, many political scientists, along with sociologists and historians, use the theory of historical institutionalism. Central to this theory is the concept of path dependence. Path dependence refers to why institutions tend to adhere to established ways of doing things, or paths. How an institution works often reflects previous outcomes rather than current conditions, unless a significant off-path change has shifted the direction of an institution�s evolution. Applied to the central question of this chapter�how caudillo rule, violence, and military insurrection remained instruments of rule in Latin America for so long�path dependence suggests two answers. One is that an outcome at a �critical juncture� can significantly shape the future evolution of an institution. For example, Robert Holden argues in another context that �[t]he core event in the Central American state formation process was the gradual knitting together of dispersed power centers into coherent organs of coercion.� Thus, some action produces results that literally change the course of history. So if using violence as a method of rule works by bringing some desired end when first employed, this raises the chances that violence will become a normal, institutionalized instrument in a ruler�s toolbox. The other point is that once a path is embarked upon, it becomes progressively harder to shift direction, as a form of institutional inertia comes into play. In terms of violent politics in Latin America, path dependence would suggest that rulers would see that their predecessors used violence to take and keep power, note that violence worked, and continue with this successful strategy. But does any form of institutional analysis really apply to caudillos, military rule, and political violence? If being an institution demanded having formal rules and publicly known structures, the answer is no. However, historical institutionalists argue that formal, legally defined organizations are not the only institutions. There are informal institutions (see Text Box 4.1) that cover phenomena ranging from legislative folkways to how bureaucratic corruption operates. They, too, have rules than can be enforced (think of any mob movie), persist over time, and shape the behavior of people associated with them. What informal institutions do not have is published rules that are legally enforceable, official tables of organization, or the ability to trace their origins to legislation. Political science has always known that informal institutions exist and affect how politics works, and has studied them over the years. Text Box 4.1. Formal and Informal Political Institutions Formal political institutions are easy to define. They are official state organizations, with publicly known rules and regulations, and a legally, sometimes constitutionally, specified place in the political process. Examples include constitutions, bureaucracies, legislatures, electoral systems, and security agencies, but also political parties and interest groups, as these also have formal legal structures. Since the advent of the New Institutionalism in the 1980s, political science has emphasized how institutions, and their design and operation, affect political actors and outcomes. Informal institutions are harder to pin down. Helmke and Levitsky define them as �socially shared rules, usually unwritten, that are created, communicated, and enforced outside of officially sanctioned channels.� Yet like their formal counterparts, informal institutions are durable and influence official political actors and the actions of government. An example of an informal institution that is often given is the dedazo, literally �pointing a finger,� which is how Mexican presidents were chosen from the 1930s to the 1990s. The incumbent president, always a member of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI)or its lineal predecessors from 1929 to 2000, selected his successor from the party�s ranks. As the PRI, the official party of the Mexican Revolution, controlled the electoral apparatus, the designated heir always won. Never enshrined in law, the dedazo was nevertheless very real and unchallengeable in practice. It was dropped in the late 1990s as the PRI moved to more open and conventional methods of candidate selection to adjust to the increasingly open and honest Mexican electoral system. [B] Political Culture If we treat caudillos, coups, and violence as institutions, it means that we see them as well-established, widely accepted instruments of government whose use is governed by informal but enforceable rules. This reminds us that the three mechanisms became standard ways to take and hold power. As a result, those who became governors accepted these institutions as normal parts of the political process. There is, however, another way to account for the same phenomena: political culture. Political culture is conventionally defined as a people�s political values, attitudes, and beliefs. It is thus more about preferences than rules, although in many cases the line dividing preferences from informal rules is faint and shifting. The concept of political culture has been part of political science for some 50 years; but it has come to be seen as having limited explanatory power. Nevertheless, there is a significant school of Latin Americanists who use political culture as their central analytical variable. Their argument is that Latin America possesses a distinct political tradition that is best understood through the prism of political culture. One of central figures of this school is Howard Wiarda. He argues that understanding why Latin American politics does not work like those of the historic democracies requires understanding the region�s political culture. This culture is organic, corporatist, Catholic, and authoritarian. Thus it is dramatically different than the political culture of the United States and Canada. The work of Glen Caudil Dealy, another forceful advocate of the centrality of political culture, puts the matter more starkly. Whereas North America and northwestern Europe share a tradition of pluralist politics, a tradition encouraging the existence of centers of power independent of the state, Latin America�s tradition is monist, thus favoring the concentration of power in the state. Certainly, Dealy�s view helps explain the longevity of highly centralized, presidentialist political systems in Latin America. Looking at the institutional and political culture schools of interpreting Latin American politics lets us see their complementarity. There can be no political tradition without both institutions�long-lived sets of rules, processes, and organizations�and a political culture whose values and preferences are congruent with those institutions. To grasp the lasting power of personal rule and the pervasiveness of violence as an implement for governing we need to take both institutions and culture into account. [A] Personal Rule or Patrimonialism Personal rule is most easily defined as a government of men, not of laws. It is a political system in which the will of the ruler�whether a monarch, dictator, or president�counts for more than do laws and institutions. In fact, personal rule is almost anti-institutional, because there is no way to turn an individual�s preferences into long-standing processes and organizations. However, personal rule as a political system can become institutionalized if it comes to be seen as the natural way to govern. Although personal rule demands executive-centered government, not all executive-centered government is the product of personal rule. As long as there are institutions that countervail an executive�s power and enforce accountability on a nation�s chief political executive, constitutional government prevails. So if an exceptionally strong president or prime minister still has to struggle with the legislature, obey the courts, tolerate the critical media, and, if in a federation, deal with the provinces or states, he or she will remain under the ultimate control of the rule of law. Under these conditions, the next leader may not be able or willing to push the limits of executive rule so far, and the interinstitutional balance of government will re-equilibrate itself. To distinguish cases like the above, which are what we have always found in Canada and the United States, from instances where the individual ruler really does escape the control of both state institutions and the law itself, we need another term. The obvious candidate is patrimonialism (see Text Box 4.2). It and its near relation, neopatrimonialism, are used in formal social-science discourse as synonyms for personal rule. Text Box 4.2. Patrimonial and Neopatrimonial Politics Patrimonial refers to an inheritance. The early twentieth-century German sociologist Max Weber adopted that term to indicate that the state apparatus is the personal property of the ruler�thus the whole machinery of government is the ruler�s to use as he or she sees fit. This is personal rule in the strictest sense, for the levers of state power are solely in the ruler�s hands. Neopatrimonial politics entered the political science vocabulary in the 1960s to describe political systems evolving in newly independent African states. It refers to the ruler using public resources to win or hold the loyalty of citizens. It is a large-scale edition of the patron�client relationship examined in Chapter 3. As with patrimonialism, the ruler uses the state for personal ends; it differs in its focus on patron�client ties. Both, however, are forms of personal rule, because an individual is able to use public resources and state power to secure personal objectives, untouched by institutional or constitutional restraints. [B] Personal and Patrimonial Rule in Latin America: Caudillos and Caudillismo Rule by one person who controls the state and uses it as a private resource is not unique to Latin America. Absolute monarchies epitomize personal rule and they have existed for thousands of years. Personal dictatorships are equally ancient�one of the six forms of rule identified by Aristotle was tyranny: a state in which a single ruler governs in his or her own interest. Both forms of government still exist. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States are absolute monarchies; and although one-person dictatorships are far rarer than before 1990, they are found in some post-Soviet states (for example, Belarus). How does personal rule become institutionalized? Obviously an absolute monarchy will invest its ruler with a legal mandate, and thus personal rule will be a formal institution. Personal dictatorships may also have formal institutions recognizing the leader�s rights and privileges. For example, it is common to declare a dictator president for life. Prior to the 1990s, it would have been normal to find at least one or two personal dictatorships in Latin America, and up to the 1970s they were rather common. However, when Fidel Castro passed control to his brother in 2008, the last personal dictatorship in Latin American may have ended. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that constitutions in Latin America give great power to the executive. So the question becomes whether an informal institution�or tradition or cultural predisposition�favoring the politics of strong leaders exists in Latin America. Whatever we decide, we have to begin our analysis with the figure of the caudillo. Independence brought personal rule and the caudillo to all Latin America except monarchical Brazil. Interestingly, independence also brought personal rule to almost all of sub-Saharan Africa and to a number of Asian states. We have alluded to this in Chapter 3 but need a closer look. Generally speaking, when a colony becomes independent it experiences a form of revolution. Even if many of the former governing structures are held over, they will be run be different people with different agendas. The nature of the state itself changes. It no longer seeks to control the population for the benefit of foreigners: at best it will seek the welfare of its citizens; at worst the population will be controlled by and for a domestic ruler. What is most closely related to the emergence of personalist, caudillo, rule is the breakdown of consensus among domestic political elites that existed when everyone worked to oust the colonizers. With no foreigners to fight, the elites turn on each other. The newly independent state is often weak, and thus not able to apply the law effectively, and frequently deemed illegitimate, as it is seen by some significant part of society as not deserving to govern. Law and order break down, the economy falters, and society seems on the brink of disintegrating. It is at this juncture that personalist, patrimonial, strongman leaders enter the picture. After a period of turmoil, people want stability. They want to see order imposed to make them more secure physically and psychologically. This is what Hobbes said in Leviathan. To leave behind the state of nature, where life was �solitary, poor, brutish, nasty, and short,� people cede even their right to defend themselves to Leviathan, an omnipotent ruler. They quite reasonably trade liberty for security. And this applied in early nineteenth-century Latin America or mid-twentieth-century Africa, just as Hobbes thought it would in seventeenth-century England (see Text Box 4.3). Text Box 4.3 Caudillos, Coroneis, and Big Men Our focus is the caudillo, but there are other strongmen who have governed with little regard to law. Brazil contributed the coronel (pl. coroneis) and coronelismo. The coroneis were fazendeiros (latifundistas) with huge expanses of land who, after independence, held commissions in the National Guard. They combined the social prestige and wealth of landowners with the right to command military forces. They controlled Brazil�s vast rural areas and were a potent force in national politics until the 1930s. Unlike their Spanish American counterparts, the coroneis did not emerge from political chaos but from the empire�s inability or unwillingness to extend its rule to the country�s remotest corners. Much closer to the caudillo in terms of his origin is the African Big Man. These figures emerged as leaders in post-independence Africa, because they, too, filled power vacuums left when other elites could not agree how best to govern their countries. Practically every country in sub-Saharan Africa has had at least one Big Man as its ruler, with South Africa, Botswana, and for some years the Gambia as the only exceptions. Like the early caudillos, Big Men are tyrants, ruling by force and fraud, and who often saw their political careers end by the same violence that first brought them power. Among the more recognizable of these rulers are Idi Amin (Uganda), Jean Bedel Bokassa (Central African Republic, Omar Bongo, Gabon), and Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe). The original caudillo was a military figure who gained prominence in the wars for independence. Military skill would remain essential to a caudillo�s success for many years. The state was weak and could not enforce the law in large parts of even small countries. A caudillo would have a regional base where he would build his initial support. He would also be a charismatic leader who exuded personal magnetism. Further, the caudillo looked after the material needs of his followers and their families, acting as a patron to his clients (see Text Box 4.4). Having seized power, the caudillo staffed the state with his loyalists and used government to preserve his power. However, the same weaknesses at the center that let one caudillo take power would let others rebel and eventually depose him. Thus government did not settle into established routines or develop structures that could function independently of the desires of the ruler. Caudillo rule prevented the building of stable government institutions. This is why, as time passed, opposition to caudillo government arose and support for stronger, centralized authority grew. Nevertheless, traditional caudillos could still be found in Latin America�s smaller, poorer countries, such as Nicaragua or the Dominican Republic, until the second half of the twentieth century. Text Box 4.4. Famous Caudillos The best-known Latin American caudillo is Juan Facundo Quiroga (1788�1835), who ruled northwestern Argentina from 1825 to his death in 1835. His fame comes mainly from being the central figure in Domingo Sarmiento�s Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants, or Civilization and Barbarism. For Sarmiento, a teacher who was president of Argentina from 1868 to 1874, Facundo was the barbaric tyrant who, along with others of his sort, kept Argentina poor and backward. But if Facundo Quiroga has literary cachet, it was Juan Manuel de Rosas (1793�1877) who was the most significant Argentine caudillo. Governor of the province of Buenos Aires from 1835 to 1852, Rosas led the Federales, who favored decentralized government, and opposed the Unitarios, who, as the name implies, wanted a strong central administration. A ruthless dictator with an efficient secret police force, the Mazorca (�ear of corn� because its members were as united as kernels on an ear of corn), Rosas brought law and order through force and coercion. Overthrown in 1852, Rosas spent the rest of his life in exile in England. There are many others who merit mention. Antonio P�ez of Venezuela (1790�1873) was a leader in Venezuela�s struggle for independence, first from Spain and then from Gran Colombia�Sim�n Bol�var�s ill-fated attempt to sustain the Viceroyalty of New Granada (now Colombia), Venezuela, Panama, and Ecuador. Like Rosas, P�ez died in exile. Equally interesting was Mexican Jos� Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana (1794�1876), known as Santa Ana. He was president of Mexico on 11 different occasions, retaining office for 22 years. Although caudillos and caudillo rule began disappearing from Latin America�s political scene in the 1850s, the label caudillo still is widely applied to charismatic, patrimonial political leaders, even elected ones. In part, this just pins a well-established name on what political science calls a patrimonial, personalistic ruler. But it also draws our attention to what has changed since the 1820s in how caudillos rule. Contemporary caudillos do not employ force to gain power and use violence sparingly to keep power. The coercive mechanisms of choice are now bureaucratic and legal measures (inspections, licensing, or court cases) when governing and strikes and demonstrations if in opposition. Nicaragua offers an example. Nicaragua�s 1996 elections pitted Arnoldo Alem�n of the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC) against Daniel Ortega of the Frente Sandinista de Liberaci�n Nacional (FSLN) , with the Liberal winning. Both dominated their parties, raised money, distributed their resources to gain support, and knew how to pressure and manipulate to maximize their power. Ortega used his party�s presence in university politics to direct protests against the government�s funding of postsecondary education and influenced Sandinista-aligned judges to render decisions unfavorable to the government. For his part, Alem�n used tax inspectors to harass non-governmental organizations (NGOs) he felt were aligned with his opponents. The main difference between them and old-time caudillos, however, is that these two leaders recognized that power could be taken legitimately only through elections. Therefore, they can be called electoral caudillos, the modern Latin American version of the US city bosses of 100 years ago. Caudillo-style personal rule is thus still possible in Latin America, albeit in a renewed form. There are several plausible reasons to explain its persistence. First, most countries in the region still have many people who count on government-controlled handouts; thus patronage politics, or clientelism, dominates. Although patronage can be handled by an impersonal party apparatus, it is traditionally the leader who decides who gets what. Second, political culture plays a role to the extent that people expect to need a leader�s personal good will to get benefits. Many political scientists and journalists who work in Latin America have seen poor people in party offices waving party membership cards at officials as they sought jobs, pensions, or help with some other problem. Third, political professionals may believe that only a caudillo-like figure can win elections and manage government. Their national histories will have provided many examples of successful strongmen but relatively few cases of low-profile institution builders who rank among the nation�s greats. [B] Personal and Patrimonial Rule in Latin America: Dictators and Dictatorship Dictators are individual rulers who are not constrained by law. They differ from absolute monarchs in that the latter are legitimated by descent from a ruling family whereas dictators base their legitimacy on a revolution, winning a civil war, or providing stability. Like any unaccountable ruler, dictators generally rely more on force and coercion than do democratic governments. Thirty years ago, there would have dozens of examples from around the globe. In 2009, we have a far shorter list: Ra�l Castro of Cuba, Muammar Gadaffi of Libya, Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Kim Jong-Il of North Korea, and a few others. Caudillos and dictators are not identical. John Lynch, a historian who has written extensively about caudillos, said this about Sim�n Bol�var, the Liberator of South America: �Bol�var was a dictator (but) � Bolivarian dictatorship was not caudillismo. It was less personal and more institutional; it dealt in policies as well as patronage � and restored law as well as order.� Obviously, some dictators were caudillos and many caudillos were dictators. What matters is that dictators have also been extremely common throughout Latin American history. The best way to understand what dictators and their governments do is to examine several cases. There are three types of dictatorships: personal, institutional, and mix of the two that sees a powerful individual dominate an institutional dictatorship. A personal dictatorship is one-man government, and it is usually a man who runs it. This does not mean that there is not a bureaucracy, political party, and security apparatus but rather that these and all other parts of government respond in the final analysis to the leader�s will. It is a patrimonial regime. An institutional dictatorship is different. It is usually run by the military or a ruling party, although one can imagine a religion or an ideologically driven group at the helm. The institution could be represented by a committee (the familiar military junta�the Spanish word for board or committee�is the easiest example), or it could have an individual as presiding officer. Institutional dictatorships differ from personal ones in that the institution that set up the dictatorship normally makes the government accountable to it. Should an especially strong figure emerge to control the government and escape to some degree institutional control, the third or hybrid form of dictatorship emerges. All dictatorships are unaccountable to the general public. They place themselves above the law. Dictatorships use coercion freely. Individual rights and liberties are defined by government and enforced or ignored as it sees fit. Such regimes may enrich itself at the people�s expense or they may provide citizens reasonable public services and fairly efficient government. Finally, dictatorships commonly end in collapse, although there are cases where a dictatorship scripted its departure with some success. [C] Personal Dictatorships Latin American history offers many examples of personal dictators, three of whom we will examine closely: Francia of Paraguay, the Somozas of Nicaragua, and Cuba�s Fidel Castro. Francia is a classical personal dictator, but the Somozas managed to sustain a personal dictatorship for two generations. In addition, Francia represents the first generation of dictators, coming to power with his country�s independence. The Somozas, whose rule ended only 1979, are one of the most recent personal dictatorships to fall. Castro could also be placed with either institutional or hybrid systems, for although he took power as a charismatic individual leading a guerrilla movement, he soon added the Communist Party to the framework of his regime. Jos� Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia (1766�1840) ruled Paraguay from 1814 to 1840 with as tight a hand as any imaginable. The man who styled himself �El Supremo� came from a comfortable background and was extremely well educated. Yet he was to persecute the old colonial elites and cut his country off from the rest of world. In fact, Francia was one of the harshest dictators in Latin American history. Despite his cruelty and isolationism, Francia made Paraguay self-sufficient and took radical steps to overcome the country�s grave inequality (for example, through a miscegenation law that demanded that whites marry nonwhites and vice versa). The Somozas, Anastasio (Tacho) and his sons Luis and Anastasio, Jr. (Tachito), ruled Nicaragua from 1936 to 1979. They, along with Carlos Antonio and Francisco Solano L�pez of Paraguay (1844�1870) and Fran�ois and Jean-Claude Duvalier of Haiti (1957�1986), are Latin American examples of the rare phenomenon of intergenerational dictatorships. The Somozas got started when Tacho overthrew the sitting president, who happened to be his wife�s uncle. Then, through a combination of force, fraud, co-optation, and absolute control of the National Guard (Nicaragua�s military), he ruled his country and built the family�s fortunes. Tacho also cultivated a relationship with the United States, and Franklin Roosevelt supposedly said of the first Somoza that �he�s a son of a bitch, but he�s our son of a bitch!� An assassin�s bullet ended Tacho�s rule in 1956, but the dynasty continued for another 23 years. Luis, the elder son, was as ruthless as his father and as shrewd a politician. He hoped to take the family out of the spotlight by retiring from active politics and retaining indirect command through the family�s party, the Nationalist Liberals. However, Luis died of a heart attack and his younger brother Tachito assumed control. More vicious and less politically adept than either his father or brother, the last Somoza alienated even Nicaragua�s upper class and was overthrown by the FSLN in 1979. He died in exile in Paraguay at the hands of a team of assassins in 1980. Before handing control to his brother in 2006, Fidel Castro was the last classical dictator in Latin America. He took power in Cuba in 1959, ousting another dictator, Fulgencio Batista, after a three-year guerrilla insurgency. Proclaiming his nationalist and anti-imperialist credentials, Fidel moved quickly to expropriate American property, thereby earning the enmity of the US government, which imposed an economic embargo on the island nation in 1961. In that same year, Cuban exiles living in the United States and supported by Washington mounted an unsuccessful invasion of the Bay of Pigs. By then, Castro had declared himself a Communist and established a one-party state. In his 47 years in power, Castro built a reputation as an extremely able international politician. He has survived some 600 attempts by the CIA to assassinate him, and also (more figuratively) the collapse of the Soviet Union, which heavily subsidized his rule. Cuba has only one party and many political prisoners, but although Castro is seen by his enemies as a bloodthirsty tyrant, he is seen by his supporters as the first Cuban ruler to look out for the nation�s poor and marginalized. He is also an icon among the Latin American and international left, due to his defiance of Washington and his long-standing assistance to revolutionary movements. Although Castro was the last personal dictator in Latin America, it would be premature to think that there will never be others. One-man rule emerges in times of conflict, especially in countries with weak political institutions. And we have the example of Hitler to remind ourselves that dictators can arise even in developed countries. Although Latin American politics is now reasonably stable, a serious economic recession, such as that which began in 2008, or even just a very powerful ruler who declines to leave office could bump a country back into the ranks of dictatorial rule. [C] Institutional Dictatorships Institutional dictatorships are built around a well-established organization, such as the military or a political party. Whereas individual dictatorships die with the dictator, or with his son in rare cases such as the Somozas, an institutional dictatorship can theoretically last forever. It can certainly outlive the individuals who founded it. And that is often the objective. Why would an institution, military or party, want to govern? There are two usual reasons. One is to get rid of a bad government, where bad can mean corrupt, feckless, or prejudiced against the institution in question. This is what underlays most institutional military governments in Latin America. The other is to seize and hold power for a long time in order to change society. Communist parties are the best-known practitioners of institutional dictatorships. Militaries, however, can also act this way, and from 1964 to 1989 there were four such regimes in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. We consider Brazil here and then all of them together below in the section on coups. Brazil was the first of these institutional dictatorships. When military rule began in 1964, after the overthrow of Jo�o Goulart, it was not a long-term project�it was originally to last for just the term of the president who was ousted�but hardliners in the military demanded more and settled in until 1985. Two things about this dictatorship catch the eye. First, leadership circulated among various general and admirals; it really was the military institution that ruled. Second, the regime created two political parties to channel political activity. There was a government party, Alianza Renevadora Nacional (ARENA), and an opposition party, Movimento Democr�tico Brasileiro (MDB) . These two organizations ran in elections (at first with predetermined results) and existed until 1979. At that time, they were abolished, in line with a policy of gradual liberalization (disten��o) and political opening (abertura) implemented by the military government of the day. The military regime, that is, sought to create conditions that would let it leave power with state and leave society relatively stable. It did so in 1985, after indirect but freely competitive presidential elections. [C] Hybrids Some dictatorships that begin as institutional regimes change into personalistic ones as a dominant figure emerges and monopolizes power. Soviet dictator Josef Stalin (who ruled 1927�1953) may be the best example produced in the twentieth century. Latin America�s best-known recent contribution to this sub-class of dictators is Augusto Pinochet, who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1989. When Chile�s military toppled the government of Salvador Allende, a Marxist whose Popular Unity Alliance won a narrow victory three years earlier (see Chapters 5 and 7), it was evident that the military would be in power for some time. As in Brazil, the governing junta that ruled the country after the coup contained representatives from the three military services, as well as the national police. However, one figure soon emerged on top: General Augusto Pinochet. In his 16 years governing Chile, Pinochet was involved in multiple human rights abuses. He expected never to have to face charges, however. First, the 1980 constitution, drafted by and for the dictatorship, appeared to offer the general the chance to govern until 1996. However, a referendum in 1988 rejected the dictator�s bid for another eight years in power. Then competitive elections in 1989 were won by Pinochet�s opponents. Yet things still looked good for the general, since the 1980 constitution made him a lifetime senator with parliamentary immunity from prosecution. Obviously, Pinochet did not foresee being arrested in 1998 while in England for medical treatment and charged with torture, murder, forced disappearances, and illegal detention. Although he did not stand trial in England, the House of Lords found that an ex-head of state was not immune to arrest and extradition for acts committed while a head of state. He returned to Chile, where in 2000 the courts stripped the ex-dictator of his immunity from prosecution. Pinochet never stood trial, though, because the Chilean Supreme Court dismissed the indictments on the grounds that he was mentally unfit to stand trial. The court battles continued until the dictator�s death in 2006. One of the proceedings saw him charged with tax evasion after a US Senate investigation of money laundering found that Pinochet had $11 million secreted in foreign bank accounts, some under assumed names. The retired general�s reputation for probity was in tatters. Then in 2006, shortly before his death, most of the 1980 constitution was amended, leaving another part of Pinochet�s legacy in ruins. Although Augusto Pinochet died in 2006 never having been convicted of any of the crimes with which he was charged, he had lived to see much of his life�s work undone. [B] Personal Rule: An Overview We shall never see an end to personal rule. Neither should we expect to see an end to presidents and prime ministers, even in democracies, doing all they can to avoid the limits the law places on them. Nevertheless, the world�s historic democracies have an advantage because there are both well-designed legal limitations on the executive and a substantial array of individuals and institutions ready to assert their rights to constrain the activities of the nation�s top political leader. In other nations, including most of Latin America, the restraints are weaker and the predisposition to accept an untrammeled executive as natural is stronger. Many of those democracies, though, were governed by absolute monarchs in the not-too-distant past. Over time, newly powerful actors and interests emerged to curb executive power while carving a niche for themselves in the political system. We have suggested that the extremely powerful executive has achieved institutional status in Latin America. Both constitutions and citizens� expectations reinforce the president�s hand. Yet as we discuss in Chapter 6, other institutions and actors�legislatures, civil society, media, courts�are growing in power, which should make personal, patrimonial rule increasingly harder to implement. [A] Violence and Politics in Latin America English political scientist Bernard Crick speaks of the �political method of rule.� Politics is built around negotiations and the reconciliation of differences. It is about conflict resolution. Violence has no place as an instrument of governing in the political method of rule. People who live in one of the world�s historic democracies would accept Crick�s observation as self-evidently true. When political violence occurs in democracies, we think it aberrant. Yet our concurrence with Crick�s dictum does not alter the fact that violence is commonly used for political ends. Governments use it, and so do those who challenge government. One characteristic of a state is that it possesses a monopoly on legitimate violence. That is, states should be the only organization in society that is permitted to use violence when necessary, and then only in prescribed and well-known ways. National defense and policing are the obvious examples. Yet states regularly use violence to suppress dissent and opposition, and some states do this far more than others. Further, it is not only states that use violence and claim to do so legitimately. Citizens may argue that they need to resort to force to protect themselves from an abusive state or to remove a tyrannical regime. Violence has long been and will long be a useful political tool. It can defend, influence, or overthrow governments. Governments use violence to establish and maintain order, at home and abroad. The question is not whether violence has a place in politics but rather what that place actually is in particular cases. But why use political violence? Why does the political method of rule sometimes not work? Perhaps a minority feels threatened and uses violence to repress a majority. Or state violence is the only way to restore order that has broken down. And there are the obvious cases of forceful overthrows of government, from coups to popular insurrections. Each of those instances will spin off numerous variations, and thus there are plenty of plausible reasons for using political violence. This variety of reasons becomes evident when looking at Latin America, which has long had an unenviable reputation for violent politics. Dictatorial governments have employed violence to keep themselves in power. Revolutionaries and insurrectionists have used violence to get themselves into power. Militaries stage coups for the same reason. There is not one country in the region without a significant degree of violent politics in its history. One part of this section describes the part violence has played in Latin America�s politics. Another suggests why it has had a larger role there than in the United States and Canada. Finally, it asks about the consequences of relatively high levels of violence, from instability to the institutionalization of violence as a political instrument. [B] Political Violence at Work Countries can go through long periods of turmoil when violence reigns and the ordinary institutions of government function badly if at all. England was like that from the fifteenth through to the seventeenth centuries, somewhat more time than Latin America has been independent, Between 1455 and 1689, the country knew two lengthy and bloody civil wars; saw two monarchs executed and a third exiled; lived through at least four far reaching constitutional transformations; and experienced religious changes that sundered the country for 150 years. Now that is a record of instability and violence! England�more accurately the United Kingdom�has known violent politics since then, too, most recently in the form of terrorism. But now it has a governing formula acceptable to the vast majority of its population and has developed institutions that channel most of society�s conflicts into paths leading to peaceful resolution. History is not fate and institutions do change and develop along new paths. What brought the English two and a half centuries of instability, conflict, and violence was a simple but deadly combination of questions: Who should rule? How should the ruler govern? And in whose interests should the ruler govern? Being unable to answer those questions to the satisfaction of a significant proportion of a country�s political elite (and their followers) means that there is no generally accepted governing formula, hence no political method of rule. That makes violence an attractive option. A look at Nicaraguan and Colombian political history shows how this has worked in two especially difficult Latin American cases. [C] Nicaragua Although all of Central America has known turmoil and violence since independence in 1821 (1903 for Panama), Nicaragua seems especially cursed. From independence until 1855, the country knew near-continuous civil war, waged not by professional armies but by peasants following their landlords into battle. Liberals from Le�n and Conservatives from Granada fought to control the state and impose their vision of the politically good. There were ideological divisions in play, but there were also personal rivalries and ambitions. This tumultuous period ended not because the warring factions struck a peace, but because William Walker, a mercenary from New Orleans who was hired by the Liberals, captured the country. He wanted to introduce slavery and have Nicaragua become a slave state. The combined armies of Central America defeated Walker in 1857, and Nicaragua entered what remains its longest period of peaceful, constitutional rule: 1858 to 1893. That period of Conservative dominance was based on interregional elite pacts. Things were fine until a new region emerged as an economic power and wanted commensurate political force. When that was not forthcoming, a Liberal caudillo, Jos� Santos Zelaya, led a successful revolution and built a dictatorship that would last until 1909. Although Zelaya introduced many much-needed modernizing reforms and brought Nicaragua�s Atlantic Coast (until then a British protectorate) under Managua�s rule, he was not a democrat. Finally, in 1909 a US-backed Conservative revolution sent Zelaya into exile and Nicaragua hurtling toward 18 years of civil war. Conservatives and Liberals confronted each other once again from 1909 to 1927. However, unlike a century earlier, this time Washington sent the US Marines to be peacekeepers, to �protect American lives and property,� and to train a nonpartisan Nicaraguan army, the National Guard. Although the United States brokered a peace in 1927, one that led to Nicaragua�s first honest elections in 1928 and another free vote in 1932, one combatant did not recognize the deal. Augusto C�sar Sandino, a Liberal general during the wars with Conservatives, began a seven-year guerrilla struggle against the Marines and the National Guard. The Marines withdrew in 1934, but Sandino was dead within two months, assassinated by the Guard�s commander, Anastasio Somoza Garc�a. By 1936, Tacho Somoza had set up his own dictatorship. His would endure until 1979, passed down to his two sons, Luis and Tacho, Jr. Although the Somozas gave Nicaragua political stability, they also restricted freedom and repressed opponents. There were several attempts to overthrow the dictators. Tacho was assassinated in 1956, but it was a revolutionary movement that took Sandino�s name that finally toppled the dynasty: the Frente Sandinista de Liberaci�n Nacional (FSLN). Founded in 1961, the Marxist-oriented but later surprisingly pluralistic FSLN gained power in 1979. The new regime, and basically all Nicaraguans who had not been directly linked to the Somozas, were looking forward to peace, recovery, and putting the country on a new road. That did not happen. In 1981, the US government began waging what it called �low-intensity conflict� against the Sandinista government. This Contra (for �counterrevolutionary�) war ended only after the FSLN lost the 1990 elections and became a democratic opposition. By then, however, some 31,000 Nicaraguans on both sides of the conflict had lost their lives. Since 1990, Nicaragua has been spared large-scale violence. Indeed, it has even had a measure of political stability, as there have been five straight open and free elections to determine who governs until the next vote. In 2006, the FSLN itself won, coming back after 16 years out of power. There is still considerable disagreement among Nicaraguans about how those three perniciously dangerous questions�who governs, how, and for whom�should be answered but for now electoral results provide satisfactory responses. [C] Colombia Colombia�s past has been even more tragically violent than Nicaragua�s. Though it has had fewer dictatorships than the Central American country and likely the fewest military coups of any country in region, Colombia has known great and bloody civil wars, eight of them in the nineteenth century alone. Worse, the country is still gripped by violence today. The origins of political violence in Colombia lie in political ideas and the organizations founded to mobilize those ideas and turn them into policies: political parties. As in Nicaragua, ideological differences were compounded by personal ambitions and animus. But in Colombia, both the Liberals and the Conservatives were able to capture the state and dominate it for long periods, leading the other party to rebel and plunge the country in civil wars. First was the War of the Supremes, from 1839 to 1842, so called because the local caudillos who led the revolt always referred to themselves as the supreme leaders of their respective localities. They rebelled against the central government�s increasing concentration of power. The Supremes foreshadowed the Liberals, and the central government the Conservatives. Civil wars were fought from 1859 to 1862, in 1876, and again in 1885, all with the aim of one party, whether Liberal or Conservative, excluding the other from having a real chance of taking power by elections. But the most serious nineteenth-century civil war in Colombia was the Thousand Day War, from 1899 to 1902, which took some 100,000 lives�about 2.5 per cent of the population. After that war, the Liberals and Conservatives sought to reduce friction between them. And they succeeded until 1948 when the last of Colombia�s partisan wars erupted. La Violencia (The Violence), from 1948 to 1953, began after the assassination of Liberal leader Jorge Eli�cer Gait�n. A riot broke out in Bogot� and quickly spread to the rural areas. There, the fighting took place, as it always had, between peasants who followed their landlords. Before Colombia�s only military coup of the twentieth century brought the bloodshed under control, an estimated 200,000 people had died. As in 1902, Colombia�s political elites sought to put a permanent end to civil wars. This time they devised the National Front, from 1958 to 1974, an ingenious plan which saw Liberals and Conservatives alternate the presidency every four years and share equally between them all elected offices. Although this did end Liberal-Conservative violence, the failure of the National Front to solve the problems of the rural poor saw the emergence of the guerrilla groups that still operate in the country. Since 1974, the nature of political violence in Colombia has changed. First, there are the guerrilla groups. Once, there were four but now only two remain: the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) and the Ej�rcito de Liberaci�n Nacional (ELN). Emerging to fight the guerrillas are paramilitaries, the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). And then there are the drug lords, the cocaleros. Colombian governments have tried various approaches to deal with those forces, insurgents, counterinsurgents, and plain criminals. They have tried repression, they have set up demilitarized zones, and they have even placed co-optation on the table. Further, there was an attempt to bring the leftist guerrillas into the political process, beginning in 1985, but it failed as the right assassinated more than 3,000 candidates and elected officials from the radical parties. Despite continuing high levels of violence, Colombia nonetheless maintains a functioning electoral democracy. [B] The Instruments of Political Violence Political violence takes many forms. These range from breaking windows to assassination, insurgency, terrorism, coups, armed overthrow, and social revolution. There is enough material here for several books, so we will only consider two that have been prominent in Latin America�s history: military coups and social revolutions. [C] Coups In military coups, the military, acting as an institution, overthrows a government. This distinguishes the coup, golpe de estado, from a caudillo-led armed revolt. The distinction is important, because Latin American political elites believed that establishing a professional military, one that saw itself as an independent state institution, would end political violence and instability. Starting about 1870, as caudillo politics waned in the larger and more developed countries, professional militaries began to appear. Their models were the most sophisticated armies of Europe, namely those of Prussia and France. Not only were those forces well trained and armed, but they also stayed clear of overt politics. Yet what worked in Europe did not work in Latin America. Why? In developed European countries professional, well-equipped militaries were part of a generalized modernity. In Latin America, even in relatively wealthy nations such as Brazil or Argentina, they were the country�s most advanced institution. Officers commanded sophisticated machinery and had the most up-to-date technical training, often at European military academies. They were the technological elite of their countries. Faced with low levels of economic and social development, not to mention politics built on patronage, spoils, and corruption, the military professionals were repelled. They could not see why bumblers who were so unpatriotic as to tolerate their nation�s underdevelopment should remain in office. All that was needed was a spark�prolonged disorder, a fraudulent election, or some real or imagined insult to the military itself�and a coup would ensue. Most golpes de estado were carried off with relatively little violence. There would be a pronunciamento (a declaration of military�s intention to act), followed by the mobilization of troops. Then the presidential palace or the congress would be surrounded and left incommunicado. Next, the president and whatever other officials the military found culpable would be offered the chance to go into exile. With luck, they accepted this offer and the coup would be bloodless. A military government would then be formed, govern for two or three years, and then, convinced that the original problem had been solved, hand power back to a different set of civilians. Although events did not always follow the above script, it was the general model for Latin American golpes de estado until the mid-twentieth century. Things changed with the Brazilian coup of 1964, which set the pattern for similar takeovers in Uruguay (1973), Chile (1973), and Argentina (1976). The militaries of these four countries felt compelled to act to save their countries from the threat of communist takeover. They set up what were called bureaucratic authoritarian (BA) regimes and committed themselves to retaining power until the danger they perceived had been extirpated. Unlike earlier military governments, these governed with exceptional brutality. During the 1970s, when those military dictatorships were strongest, it was feared that they were the wave of the future. However, not only had all four passed from the scene by 1989, but their disappearance also coincided with at least the temporary end of military rule in Latin America. Since 1976, there have been only three golpes in Latin America: in Ecuador (2000), which did not result in a military government; in Venezuela (2002), which failed; and in Haiti (2004), where the coup did oust the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Although that is a good sign, it is too soon to declare Latin America freed from the threat of coups. [C] Revolutions Students of revolutions distinguish between social and political revolutions. That is, beyond defining a revolution as violence used to bring down a ruling elite, they ask whether the result was to expel just the governors�a political revolution�or whether it changed social and economic relations and structures as well. To consider political revolutions in Latin America would be a daunting task. However, there have been only three social revolutions in Latin America, all in the twentieth century: Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua. In all three cases, there were high levels of violence and, after the revolutionary seizure of power, a total overhaul of the political system and serious attempts to restructure economic and social hierarchies. The Mexican Revolution is the most complex of the three. It began in 1910 as a consequence of the last of many rigged elections by Porfirio D�az, the country�s dictator since 1876. Soon, agrarian reform was added to the agenda, which would eventually embrace the wide range of socialist and liberal reforms found in the 1917 Constitution. Though the worst of the fighting ended by 1920, sporadic violence continued until 1929. Often called the last bourgeois revolution because it attacked absolutist rule and inherited privilege, the Mexican Revolution entered a new phase in 1929 with the founding of the Partido Revolucionario Nacional (PRN) as the official party of the Revolution. The party was renamed the Partido de la Revoluci�n Mexicana (PRM) in 1938 and became the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in 1946. It governed Mexico from 1929 until 2000. Over time, the official party became corrupt, bureaucratic, and coercive. Nevertheless, the Mexican revolution set Mexico on a new path that saw the country assert its independence. Nicaragua�s Sandinista Revolution (1979) was the only fidelista (inspired by Fidel Castro) revolution to take power outside of Cuba. The revolutionary movement, the Frente Sandinista de Liberaci�n Nacional (FSLN), was founded in 1961, split into three factions or tendencies in 1975 and reunited, thanks to Castro�s mediation, only five months before taking power on July 19, 1979. Although the FSLN tried rural guerrilla warfare and organizing a proletarian rising to overthrow the Somoza dictatorship, it was a strategy built around a multiclass alliance of the dictatorship�s opponents that carried the Sandinistas to power. As a result, the Sandinista Revolution was more pluralistic, politically and economically, than Castro�s, even though the FSLN was a self-declared, revolutionary vanguard party with distinct Marxist leanings. Nicaragua�s pluralism, however, did not keep Washington from trying to overthrow the revolutionary government. Although the United States did not invade Nicaragua as it had Mexico in 1914 and 1916, Washington did raise and arm a proxy insurgent force, the Contras or counterrevolutionaries, to do the same work. The insurgents could not topple the Sandinista government, however. That was achieved by the Uni�n Nacional Opositora (UNO), a broad electoral alliance of anti-FSLN parties (including some to the revolutionaries� left) in 1990, in the second national elections held under the revolutionary government. Even though the FSLN regained Nicaragua�s presidency in 2006, it is tempting to class Nicaragua among the world�s failed revolutions. Its social, economic, and political reforms did not long survive the defeat of the revolutionary government. Though the Sandinistas attempted a social revolution, they were able to take only a few steps in that direction. Fidel Castro�s Cuban Revolution, though, is a different story. Its longevity, its transformation of Cuban society, and Castro�s own unswerving dedication to his revolution�s goals clearly mark it as a social revolution. After only three years of guerrilla operations, Castro�s Movimiento 26 de Julio (July 26 Movement) became Cuba�s government on New Year�s Day 1959. Whether the revolutionaries were committed Marxists or just radically democratic Cuban nationalists, the fidelistas� systematic nationalization without compensation of US-owned properties in Cuba�everything from sugar plantations to mob-run casinos�earned Washington�s wrath. An economic embargo that still exists, an attempted invasion of the island by Cuban exiles in 1961, and numerous attempts by the United States to assassinate Castro are the fruits of that displeasure. For nearly half a century, Castro kept power in his hands and those of the Communist Party. While Castro occasionally permitted some limited market reforms in Cuba, he steadfastly refused to let them take root or to compromise his monopoly on power. However, in 2006, Castro fell seriously ill and handed power to his brother Ra�l, making the transfer official in 2008. In the long run, after Fidel Castro�s death, there may be political openings and further economic experiments. One thing is certain, though, and that is that Latin America still lives in a revolutionary age. In the first decade of the twenty-first century there are nonviolent revolutions underway in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Because they are nonviolent, they are not treated here but rather in Chapters 5 and 7. If Latin Americans are able to discover how to produce profound and lasting social, economic, and political change without violence, they will truly make history. [C] Other Forms of Violence Governments are not only permitted to use violence, but they are also expected to employ violence to maintain order and protect citizens from threats external and domestic. Yet governments can rely too much on violence, and those who challenge government can turn too easily to violence. People living where Crick�s political method of rule is the only legitimate way to govern are intolerant of political violence and unlikely to condone its use. Looking beyond our borders and outside our own times, however, we see that others have a different perspective. This different viewpoint may come from having to confront more violence. Why there is more violence is the question to address first. If the cause is crime (see Text Box 4.5), what are authorities using besides violence to lower crime rates? If a government uses violence to repress an insurgency, we need to ask why an insurgency exists. An insurgency that grows from misgovernment, which includes too much reliance on violence, is different from one sponsored by another state to get its favorite into power. Text Box 4.5. Cops and Drug Traffickers in Rio: The Movie Elite Squad is a Brazilian cop movie that is a little edgier than what we usually see in North America. Premiered at the 2007 Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, the film focuses on the operations of a special unit of the Rio police that deals mainly with drug trafficking. The drug dealers are bad guys, killing people with impunity. But the police are not much better, since they regularly use torture to get information from prisoners. Rio�s poor neighborhoods, the favelas, are awash in crime and drug-related violence. Shoot-outs between gangs and between criminals and the police take many innocent victims who are literally caught in the crossfire. The drug traffickers terrorize the people to keep them under control and have to be stopped. But a shooting war between the traffickers and the cops is a bloody, costly process. Worse, when the police act with impunity�the belief that they can get away with whatever they do�the line between good guys and bad guys is hard to find. Regarding the last point, the 1980s saw a profusion of death squads in Latin America. These are unofficial hit squads, usually with links to government that are sufficiently vague to be deniable, who assassinate those assumed to be enemies of the state. In general, the enemies came from the political left, those who propose diluting the power of current elites. More recently, the phenomenon of extra-judicial killings has become prominent. In these cases, teams not unlike death squads, often formed by off-duty police or soldiers, go around eliminating �undesirables�: street kids, drug addicts, or petty crooks. At a more obviously political level, the three questions that bedeviled the English for two and a half centuries remain key: Who gets to rule? Who is seen as a legitimate, rightful governor? What makes a governor legitimate? What does he or she have to do to be legitimate? How does the ruler rule? Violence? Rule of law? Does he or she rule effectively and maintain order? Or ineffectively, with chaos reigning? On whose behalf is the country ruled? An elite? A religious group? A class or social sector? A party? The ruler�s family and cronies? The community as a whole, in as far as possible? Where there is no consensus on these points, at least among those who count�people who control lots of resources�conflict ensues. Where whatever political institutions exist to channel conflict toward peaceful resolutions are weak, corrupt, biased, or nonexistent, violence can erupt. Throughout much of Latin America�s history, there has been neither consensus on the basic questions or rule nor state institutions capable of keeping conflict in bounds. [A] Conclusion: Personalism, Violence, and Democracy Personalisitic politics and historically high levels of political violence are important, because in Latin America�s past they have impeded democracy and favored authoritarian rule. Personalized rule produces strong executives and weak legislatures and courts. In turn, this encourages a politics that discounts popular opinion and opposition, while turning law into a simple instrument of rule and politicizing justice. A history of personal rule can also lead a country�s people to look for strongman saviors instead of forming lasting political organizations, and to view concentrating power in one person�s unaccountable hands as normal. Finally, as the executive controls the forces of order, the military and police, personalistic rule privileges recourse to violence to take and keep power. And this of course stifles the development of other methods of conflict resolution and discourages seeking bargained, negotiated settlements to disputes. To the extent that these practices are institutionalized, formally through constitutions that vest enormous powers in a president or informally through a predisposition to think first of coercion as the way to solve political disputes, they condition contemporary politics. These patterns can and do change but generally do so slowly and unpredictably. [A] Further Readings Honderich, Ted. Three Essays on Political Violence. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1976. Lewis, Paul. Guerrillas and Generals: The Dirty War in Argentina. Westport, CT: Praeger Press, 2002. Linz, Juan, and H.E. Chelabi, eds. Sultanistic Regimes. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. White, Richard. Paraguay�s Autonomous Revolution: 1810�1840. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1978. [A] Discussion Questions On the one hand, most citizens in most countries, regardless of how democratic those nations are, want strong leadership, which means strong leaders. On the other, especially in historic democracies such as Canada and the United States, those same citizens fear the excessive concentration of power in a leader�s hands. Is it possible to resolve this contradiction? This text hypothesizes that violence is likely to become a viable governing instrument when political elites disagree about basic questions of governing. What could cause such profound splits? Is there any means to resolve such profound differences short of violence? PAGE PAGE 159 PAGE [A] Notes Western Political Quarterly 5: 3 (September 1952): 445. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005) 11. Harold Lasswell, �The Garrison State,� American Journal of Sociology 46 (1941): 455�468. For instance, Douglass North, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (Cambridge,UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990). Michael Atkinson, �Governing Canada,� Governing Canada: Institutions and Public Policy, ed. M. Atkinson (Toronto, ON: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich Canada, 1993) 6. Carroll Quigley, The Evolution of Civilizations: An Introduction to Historical Analysis (New York, NY: Macmillan, 1961). This is called �rational choice institutionalism.� We discuss it in greater length in Chapter 7. There are two good introductions to historical institutionalism: Sven Steinmo, Kathleen Thelen, and Frank Longstreth, eds., Structuring Politics: Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Analysis (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1992) and Kathleen Thelen, �Historical Institutionalism and Comparative Politics,� Annual Review of Political Science 2 (1999): 369�404. See Paul Pierson, �Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics,� American Political Science Review 92:4 (2000): 251�267. In Chapter 3 we encountered this problem in a different guise when examining the relative continuity of actors constituting Latin America�s political elites. Holden, 47. There is a danger that historical institutionalism can become historical determinism. Current debates among historical institutionalists increasingly focus on how much political processes and structures change, thus de-emphasizing institutional stability. Gretchen Helmke and Steven Levitsky, �Informal Institutions and Comparative Politics: A Research Agenda,� Perspectives on Politics 2:4 (2004): 725�740. James G. March and Johan P. Olsen, �The New Institutionalism: Organizational Factors in Political Life,� American Political Science Review 78:3 (1984): 734�749. Helmke and Levitsky, 727. Howard Wiarda and M. MacLeish Mott, �Introduction: Interpreting Latin America�s Politics on Its Own Terms,� Politics and Social Change in Latin America: Still a Distinct Tradition? 4th ed. eds. Howard Wiarda and Margaret MacLeish Mott (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2003) 1�2. Glen Dealy, �The Tradition of Monistic Democracy in Latin America,� Journal of the History of Ideas 35 (1974): 616�630. On caudillos, see John Lynch, Caudillos in Spanish America, 1800�1850 (Oxford, UJ: Clarendon Press, 1992); Hugh M. Hamill, ed., Dictatorship in Spanish America (New York, NY: Knopf, 1966); Hugh M. Hamill ed., Caudillos: Dictators in Spanish America (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992). Domingo F. Sarmiento, Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants, or, Civilization and Barbarism, tr. Mary Mann, 1868 (New York, NY: Haffner Publishing, 1960). A splendid biography of Rosas is John Lynch�s Argentine Dictator: Juan Manuel de Rosas, 1829�1852 (Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1981). David Close, �Undoing Democracy,� Undoing Democracy: The Politics of Electoral Caudillismo, eds. David Close and Kalowatie Deonandan (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2004) 1�16, cf. Kalowatie Deonandan, �The Caudillo Is Dead: Long Live the Caudillo,� eds. Close and Deonandan, 183�198. We return to Sandinista control of the Nicaraguan judiciary in Chapter 6. Lynch, Caudillos, 60. Some will object to labeling Castro a dictator. However, Cuba does not permit competition for power and any Marxist knows that all states are dictatorships. On Francia, see Paul H. Lewis, Authoritarian Regimes in Latin America: Dictators, Despots, and Tyrants (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006) 31�39 and Richard Alan White, Paraguay�s Autonomous Revolution: 1810�1840 (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1978). For a fictional account of the dictator, see Augusto Roa Bastos, I, the Supreme, tr. Helen Lane (New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1987). On the Somozas, see Bernard Diederich, Somoza (New York, NY: New York Press, 1981). There is a huge body of literature on Castro and Cuba. Some useful sources are Hugh S. Thomas, The Cuban Revolution (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1977); Sheldon B. Liss, Fidel: Castro�s Social and Political Thought (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994); and Isaac Saney, Cuba: A Revolution in Motion (Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing, 2004). See Thomas E. Skidmore, The Politics of Military Rule in Brazil, 1964�85 (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1988). The best work on Pinochet is Carlos Huneeus, The Pinochet Regime (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2007). Regina v. Bartle and the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and others EX Parte Pinochet (on appeal from a Divisional Court of the Queen's Bench Division). Regina v. Evans and another and the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and others EX Parte Pinochet (on appeal from a Divisional Court of the Queen's Bench Division), 1998. HYPERLINK "http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/ldjudgmt/jd981125/pino01.htm" www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/ldjudgmt/jd981125/pino01.htm (accessed 29 January 2008). Live link Bernard R. Crick, In Defence of Politics (London: Weidenfield and Nicholson, 1962). Walker receives further treatment in Chapter 10. A good place to start is Michael T. Klare and Peter Kornbuth, eds., Low Intensity Warfare: Counterinsurgency, Proinsurgency, and Antiterrorism in the Eighties (New York, NY: Pantheon, 1988) cf. Ivan Molloy, Rolling Back Revolution: The Emergence of Low-Intensity Conflict (Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 2001). The section on Colombia is based on David Bushnell, The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1993). Suzanne Wilson and Leah A. Carroll, �The Colombian Contradiction: Lessons Drawn from Guerrilla Experiments in Demobilization and Electoralism,� From Revolutionary Movements to Political Parties: Cases from Latin America and Africa, eds. Kalowatie Deonandan, David Close, and Gary Prevost (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) 81�106. See Guillermo O�Donnell, Modernization and Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism: Studies in South American Politics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972); David Collier, ed., The New Authoritarianism in Latin America (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979). The four South American military dictatorships are described more fully in Chapter 3. Some argue for adding the Bolivian Revolution of 1952 and the independence struggle in Haiti. Experts on revolution who do not study Latin America can exclude Mexico and Nicaragua, leaving only Cuba as a social revolution; see Stephen K. Sanderson, Revolutions: A Worldwide Introduction to Political and Social Change (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2005). In fact, beyond the French (1789), Russian (1917), Chinese (1949), and Cuban (1959) revolutions, there is no consensus about who belongs in this category. The name comes from the date in 1953 of Castro�s failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Isabel Vincent, �Where Even the Good Are Bad,� Maclean�s 121:4�5 (February 4�18, 2008) 33�35. Jeffrey A. Sluka, ed., Death Squad: The Anthropology of State Terror (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000) cf. Bruce B. Campbell and Arthur D. Bremmer, eds., Death Squads in Global Perspective: Murder with Deniability (New York: St. Martin�s Press, 2000). 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Origins of Phlebotomy – Phlebotomy Certification
Phlebotomy training and certification information
Origins of Phlebotomy
Phlebotomy is translated from the Greek work Phlebos, vein, and the word tome, incision into. While many believe the origins of phlebotomy were developed by Hippocrates in the 400’s B.C., some references point as far back as the Stone Age, when veins were punctured by crude tools to allow for bloodletting.The act of bloodletting is one of the oldest medical practices in the world, used for over 2000 years until the evolution of modern medicine. One of the first Greek physicians to use bloodletting frequently was Archagathus, after which it became quite popular. Bloodletting was practiced in ancient Greece and Egypt, continued down through the Renaissance period, when bloodletting calendars were available to remind people to frequently ‘breathe a vein’. Used in both Indian and Arabic medicine, the practice of bloodletting continued until after the second Industrial Revolution.
The body was believed to contain four humors, or fluids: black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood. The four humors, responsible for a persons’ health, were modeled after the four classic Greek elements – earth, air, fire, and water. If one or more of the ‘humors’ became imbalanced, that person would become ill or diseased. The treatment was to purge the body of these humor imbalances by bloodletting, vomiting and purging. Additionally, if there was too much blood in the patient’s body, called plethoras or an overabundance, the treatment prescribed included bloodletting, sweating, vomiting and dieting. Hippocrates also believed that women had menstruation to automatically ‘purge’ them of harmful humors. A student of his, Galen, further examined the four humors and determined of the four, blood was the most dominant and in need of control. In addition to purging by bloodletting and vomiting, Galen recommended diarrhetics to induce urination.
Bloodletting or ‘breathing a vein,’ was believed to cure stroke, infections, inflammation and even mental disorders such as psychosis. Patients were bled for fevers, arthritis and depression. There is even evidence that bloodletting was used to cure broken bones. Physicians advised people of the best astrological charts for which to ‘let blood.’ Strict and complex laws were written by the Talmudic authors for the practice of bloodletting. Monks performed bloodletting every few months to maintain their good health. Draining the body of blood could frequently lead to syncope, a patient fainting. This was considered a good sign, that the bloodletting was successful, and typically signaled the end of the bloodletting session.
Bloodletting was a cure-all, heavily advertised and recommended for a myriad of symptoms. Perhaps the most positive benefit of bloodletting was never advertised – its ability to offer patients hope. As a panacea, bleeding the patient was something that could be done by a physician, rather than leave the patient in hopeless despair. In an age when medicine offered little hope or understanding of serious disease and illness, bloodletting allowed the patient to focus on returning to health. For some, bloodletting was inadvertently able to help their symptoms. Very little was understood about the human body at that time. For a patient with frequent headaches and dizziness, bloodletting most like would have been ordered. While actually suffering from high blood pressure, the bloodletting may have actually cured the symptoms by creating anemia, which can lower pressure. For most, however, bloodletting either did not help or was harmful. For those debilitated and ill, regular bloodletting further weakening them, resulting in death.George Washington was repeatedly exposed to cold weather, giving him a rather serious throat infection. He then requested bloodletting. Unfortunately, an astounding four pounds of blood, totaling 1.7 liters, was bled from his body. He died of the throat infection in 1799.
There were several techniques for bloodletting. The first was for the Phlebotomist to simply open a vein using a knife called a lancet, a small steel blade with an ivory or ebony handle. Nicking a vein diagonally or lengthwise in the arm, leg or even neck of the patient, blood was then drained and collected. A perpendicular cut into the vein was not chosen so the vein could not accidentally be severed. Thumb lancets were also developed, designed to be attractive as well as functional. Many were made using tortoise shell, pearl or ivory. Thumb lancet cases were made in mother of pearl, tortoise shell and even gold engraved cases, for the physician of stature who performed house calls.
Another technique was called the fleam. Containing one or more blades that are placed at right angles to the handle, fleams were used on humans, as well as the jugular vein of animals such as horses. The phlebotomist had their choice of two or three steel blades of various sizes to perform the bloodletting. As with lancets, fleams were decorative and frequently had the family crest engraved on them. The scarificator was used as a bloodletting device in the 17th century. Containing many blades, these bleeders were usually octagon shaped with steel blades. On top of the case, an adjuster allowed the Phlebotomist to change the blade depth. Blades were cocked using a lever, released by a switch on the side of the case. As time progressed, many small design changes were made to the scarificator such as size, v-shaped blades and rounded shape. The mechanisms allowed the blades to swing around, and make multiple cuts at the same time.
Perhaps one of the most well known tools that Phlebotomists used to bleed patients was leeches. During bloodletting, one or several leeches, depending on the need, were placed on the patient’s body. The leech, sensing blood, attach to the patient with three teeth. Once the leech has attached, an anticoagulant contained in its blood is injected into the site much as a mosquito does. This blood thinner prevents coagulation, clotting, and allows the leech to continue draining blood. Otherwise, the body would begin to coagulate, slowing the rate of bleeding until it stopped. There are several types of leech that were used for bleeding. Te Macrobetta decora was used in the United States, while a favored European type was Hirudinea Annelida, which could drain several times the amount of an American leech.
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Leech
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A sophomore is typically a student in which year of university?
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Antique Bloodletting and Leeching Instruments
BLOODLETTING ANTIQUES
DOUGLAS ARBITTIER, M.D.
The practice of bloodletting, or phlebotomy, dates back to antiquity. The followers of Hippocrates in the fifth century B.C. strongly believed in bleeding patients, and it is likely that this was done in Egyptian times and probably even before that. Early civilizations may have been inspired by seeing bats remove blood from animals, hippos scratching on trees until they bled, and other animals scratching at diseased body parts for relief. Additionally, there were many human examples of bleeding such as spontaneous nosebleeds and menstruation that had to be explained. It is perhaps these signs in nature that led early civilizations to put it all together: bleeding must have some beneficial value!
From these simple observations came increasingly complex theories as to why bloodletting was necessary and how it worked. An early theory was that there were four main bodily humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. An imbalance in these humors was postulated as the need for bloodletting, purging, vomiting, etc. Virtually every known medical condition at one time or another was treated by these methods. Bloodletting was used to treat everything from fever and madness to anemia and debility. As one can imagine, treating an anemic patient by removing even more blood was not the best of ideas. The popular belief that George Washington was bled to death proves that even "nobility" was not spared.
Through the Middle Ages and into the 18th and 19th century there were many strides in medical knowledge with regards to disease states, and anatomy. However, there was not much that could be done in terms of treatment. There were no antibiotics and surgery was in its infancy (in large part due to the lack of quality anesthesia). One of the only therapeutic modalities was to get out the old lancet and let some blood. It can safely be said that this almost never benefited the patient. Perhaps the biggest benefit was to the physician and family, who felt that at least they were doing something, and if the patient died anyway, it was meant to be.
Much detail is known about the history of bloodletting but an in depth study is beyond the scope of this summary. Instead, I will look at some of the artifacts that help to demonstrate how phlebotomy was carried out, both on humans and animals. Some of these items are still readily available on the antique market. Others are harder to find but do turn up from time to time. Most of these items are from the 18th and 19th centuries. Earlier items are essentially known only from illustrations.
THE LANCET
The earliest bloodletters probably used sharpened pieces of wood and stone to "breath a vein." There are many steel lancets with flat ebony or ivory handles that exist today (figure 1). There is some controversy surrounding these items. Firstly, though they are called lancets, they are thought by some to be ink erasers. Indeed, many have the signatures of stationers or cutlers that did not make surgical instruments. Some are unsigned. There are those who think that they were used for both purposes. Some feel that as bloodletting went out of favor in the late 19th and early 20th century the many leftover lancets were sold as "leftover stock" to stationary stores and sold as ink erasers. While Im not sure of the truth, I feel that the commonly seen ebony-handled steel pointed instruments with clover leaf shaped blades were not used for phlebotomy. I just havent seen much evidence for their use in bloodletting.
Fig. 1
Fig. 4
A lancet that no doubt was used for bloodletting is seen in (figure 2). This is a standard 19th century thumb lancet in tortoise shell covers, or scales. These must have been made by the millions, mainly in England, but also in France, the US, and other countries. Some are signed with the makers name but many are either unsigned or just have a cutlers stamp. These items were standard equipment for physicians who made house calls. More decorative covers, in ivory and mother of pearl, can be seen in figure 3.
Thumb lancets were no doubt sometimes carried individually, but more commonly in a lancet case. These varied in form from simple leather boxes (figure 4) to beautiful engraved cases made of silver, mother of pearl, tortoise shell, and even gold (figure 5-7).
Fig. 5
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Figure 7 shows three unusual cases made in the orient for export to England around 1800. They have oriental scenes in relief, one made of silver, the others tortoise shell and mother of pearl. Often these cases had elaborate dedications from one physician to another, or perhaps from a patient who enjoyed being bled!
THE FLEAM
The fleam is perhaps easiest-to-find bloodletting antique. These devices have one or more blades at right angles to the handle. The most common form is a brass case containing 2 or 3 steel blades, often stamped with a makers name (figure 8). The blades were usually of various sizes to offer a selection to the phlebotomist. Many of these fleams were likely used on animals but the ones with small blades no doubt were used at times on humans as well. Imagine the farming family that used their fleam for both purposes! Figure 9 shows several fleams in horn casing. Some of these came with a removable thumb lancet inserted into the horn case.
Fig. 9
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Figure 10 shows 3 multi-bladed fleams in silver casing. These are unusual. One pictures a man walking over a bridge to a millhouse. This is French. The one on the left has the initials and family crest of Roger Manwaring of England and dates to the 1730s. Figure 11 shows some crude fleams, probably of American manufacture and dating to the18th century.
The fleams used for veterinary purposes were placed over the jugular vein of the neck most commonly and inserted with the help of a fleam stick. This was a heavy wooden club used to drive the blade in with a quick motion (so the horse didnt know what hit him). Figure 12 shows a variety of fleam sticks. Often the bleeder would place a sheet over the animals head so they didnt see what was coming. Its a good thing they didnt bleed humans this way!
THE SPRING LANCET
A much more elegant bloodletting method was used for humans. While fleams were sometimes used it was more common to use a spring loaded device in the 18th and 19th centuries. This is when the spring lancet was developed (though its origins go back earlier than this). Figure 13 shows a spring lancet in its simplest form. The case is brass and the blade is steel. The blade was cocked by the hook at end and released with the button on the side. Note the small size of the blade (for human use). Single blade spring lancets came in many sizes and shapes (figures 14-17). Most were brass and steel but some were made of iron or silver. Devices with larger blades were probably for veterinary use. Note the one with the depth adjuster. Figure 18 shows an unusual American hand-forged spring lancet that is signed "P.I.V. 1775." One wonders if the bleeder was anxious over the politics of the time as he bled his patients, whether human or animal!
Fig. 13
Fig. 18
THE SCARIFICATOR
Why bleed with one spring-loaded blade when you could have 4, 12, or even 20?! As long ago as the 17th century there were multi-bladed bleeders called scarificators. These became very popular in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Like spring lancets, they came in every size and description. Figures 19 and 20 show a basic octagonal English scarificator. The case is brass and the mechanism and blades are steel. There is a depth adjuster for the blades on the top and the blades are cocked by the lever on top. The release switch is on the side. This allowed the blades to swing around, making multiple cuts at once. Scarificators with pointed V-shaped blades are probably pre-1820. Those with slightly rounded blades are later. Round scarificators are usually French in design and post-1860 (often around 1900!) Scarificators that have a mechanism allowing the blades to stay in the half-cocked position are probably post-1830. Figures 21-24 show a variety of scarificators. Note the example of Tiemanns patent 1846 scarificator with unusual horn handle in figure 23. This figure also show a rare solid silver scarificator made in England. Figure 24 shows the tremendous variation in sizes between these devices.
Fig. 19
Fig. 24
CUPPING
Once a scarificator was used to slice and dice the patient, a cup was often placed over the wound as a receptacle for the blood. Cups were made of tin, brass, rubber, horn, and most commonly glass. Figure 25 shows a selection of cups of various materials. There were often suction devices attached to the cup to allow the removal of blood. Human lips, rubber bulbs, and brass syringes were all used as sources for suction.
Fig. 25
Fig. 26
The above methods were for "wet cupping." At times "dry cupping" was used. This technique entailed creating suction in a cup placed over the skin without cutting the skin. Often a wad of burning material or the end of a heat lamp (figure 26) was placed in the cup to heat it. The cup was placed on the skin and a suction was created as it cooled. The skin then became engorged, presumably with evil humors that could improve health by coming to the surface.
Fig. 27
Fig. 29
Fig. 30
All of the elements of wet and/or dry cupping were often placed in a complete kit, or cupping set. Figures 27, 28, and 29 show English (ca. 1860), American (ca. 1880), and French (ca. 1900) cupping sets respectively. These sets often had multiple cups, suction devices, scarificators, spare blades, etc. Figure 30 shows a very rare cupping set consisting of two matching scarificators and a heat lamp all in solid silver. Each is inscribed with the makers mark and owners initials. The pieces are hallmarked for 1832 and were obviously used by an important bloodletter!
BLEEDING BOWLS
From antiquity through the 19th century, there have been a large variety of vessels used to catch blood. These must originally have been made of stone or pottery. In the 18th and 19th centuries they were more commonly tin or pewter, though some rare silver examples are known. Figure 31 shows a variety of pewter bleeding bowls dating from about 1770 to 1850. These are of English manufacture. All of these bowls have inner concentric rings in ounce increments to measure the amount of blood. One must be very careful in collecting these antiques as often they are confused with porringers. These are pewter and often have two handles instead of one. Unscrupulous individuals have been known to add inner rings to porringers. While this is usually obvious upon close inspection, let the buyer beware!
Fig. 31
LEECHES
A long-used alternative to the lancet or scarificator is the leech. Since antiquity in Greece, Rome and Syria, leeches have been used to suck blood from many sites on the body. Hirudinea Annelida was the favored European "strain" and Macrobetta decora was used in the US. Leeches have both male and female sex organs (fun fact of the day). They attach to the skin via 3 sharp teeth, inject an anticoagulant so the blood wont clot, and then "fill up." A European leech could ingest several times the amount of blood as an American leech, so the colonists often imported them.
Leeches were carried in a variety of containers that are now sought after by collectors. Figure 32 shows two glass containers. The small one was for several leeches while the bigger bowl may have been used to dish out the leeches in a pharmacy. Note the everted lip of both containers. These were used to attach a cloth to prevent escapees. Of note, there is some controversy as to whether the larger type of container was actually used as a fish bowl. Some were on pedestals and there is evidence for both types of use. Seeing as one cant be sure of its use, a safe approach in collecting is simply to not pay too much for a large glass leech container.
Fig. 32
Fig. 33
Fig. 34
The two small pewter containers pictured in figure 33 are portable leech carriers. I call them "leech mailboxes" as the front door flips down to gain access to the leech. Note the holes in this door. This allowed the leeches to get enough air. Physicians may have put a few leeches in this pocket-sized container for house calls.
Perhaps the most beautiful leech containers are the large decorative ceramic containers with multi-colored floral and other motifs. These often are inscribed "leeches" in decorative lettering. They date to the mid-19th century for the most part. Figure 34 shows a fine example. Once again, one must be cautious in purchasing these as reproductions are now commonplace. The thousands of dollars that an original costs have made these repros very well done!
Fig. 35
A variety of unusual "mechanical leeches" were made in the 19th century. These were spring loaded devices made to simulate a leechs bite in order to bleed a patient. Figure 35 shows a rare patent model for an artificial leech made by Frederick Wolf in 1866. The spring was tightened and by a turning motion the cuts were made just as a leech would. The top of the device is then pulled back to evacuate the blood by suction. Ingenious! These devices were cumbersome to use and not popular for very long.
COLLECTING
As with all antiques over the last 20 years, bloodletting antiques have become harder to find. They can range in price from $20 for a lancet/ink eraser up to many thousands for a fine leech jar or rare cupping set. As mentioned several times, one must be very careful to avoid reproductions, which are becoming more commonplace. Some English dealers have gutted wooden boxes, relined them with old looking velvet, and made a "custom" cupping set which looks genuine and original. Its scary, when one realizes the costs of these items.
There are specialty medical antique dealers and auction houses that have medical sales in the US and Europe. One can pay top dollar buying this way. A more reasonable way to get started is to scour country sales and local estate auctions. Cupping sets do appear from time to time as do spring lancets and scarificators. Often no one knows what these were used for and the price is quite low. There is nothing more exciting than finding a $200 item for $20 and this still can happen!!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANTIQUE MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS ANTIQUE MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS by C Keith Wilbur, MD., 1987.
ANTIQUE MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS ANTIQUE MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS by Elisabeth Bennion, 1979. by Elisabeth Bennion, 1979.
BLOODLETTING INSTRUMENTS in the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HISTORY
AND TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY by Audrey Davis and Toby Appel, 1979. by Audrey Davis and Toby Appel, 1979.
!!!!!!! IMPORTANT NOTE !!!!!!!
I am a very active collector of all sorts of pre-1900 bloodletting antiques in excellent condition. Over the years I have acquired most of the more common examples of the types things I reviewed in this paper. However, I am very seriously looking for unusual bloodletting devices, leeching items, and cased cupping sets. I purchase items individually or by the collection and am always eager to hear from other collectors. I do have some items for trade as well. If you have or know of any of these items for sale (I do pay finders fees) please contact me personally at any time via email . Thank you very much!
Doug Arbittier, M.D.
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i don't know
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The Starbucks coffee corporation took its name from what classic novel?
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How Starbucks got its name - Seattle's Big Blog
Seattle's Big Blog
How Starbucks got its name
By Amy Rolph on June 29, 2012 at 4:49 PM
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Well, you learn something new every day. A lot of folks out there probably already know how Seattle got its name — but I was not one of them.
Then today I stumbled across an old interview The Seattle Times conducted with Starbucks co-founder Gordon Bowker. If you already know the story, you can stop reading here.
You might remember from a high school English class that Starbuck was the first mate in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick.” That’s not a coincidence. Depending on who’s telling the story, the Starbucks founders arrived at the moniker after considering naming the company after the whaling ship in the novel or after an old town near Mount Rainier.
From The Seattle Times interview with (a very frank) Bowker :
Q: How did you come up with the name “Starbucks”?
A: It’s sort of like writing the Council of Nicaea, choosing which Gospels to include in the New Testament. Some are apocryphal and some are factual.
My recollection is this: We were thinking of all kinds of names and came desperately close to calling it Cargo House, which would have been a terrible, terrible mistake. Terry Heckler [with whom Bowker owned an advertising agency] mentioned in an offhand way that he thought words that begin with “st” were powerful words. I thought about that and I said, yeah, that’s right, so I did a list of “st” words.
Somebody somehow came up with an old mining map of the Cascades and Mount Rainier, and there was an old mining town called Starbo. As soon as I saw Starbo, I, of course, jumped to Melville’s first mate [named Starbuck] in Moby-Dick. But Moby-Dick didn’t have anything to do with Starbucks directly; it was only coincidental that the sound seemed to make sense. A lot of times you’ll see references to the coffee-loving first mate of the Pequod. And then somebody said to me, well no, it wasn’t that he loved coffee in the book, it was that he loved coffee in the movie. I don’t think even Scarecrow Video has a copy of that movie. Moby-Dick has nothing to do with coffee as far as I know.
I haven’t seen a film adaptation of “Moby-Dick,” but I’m with Bowker on this one — I don’t recall Starbuck guzzling coffee in the book. And he’s sure not drinking coffee in this movie scene with Gregory Peck from 1956.
Starbuck was also the name of a well-known family of whalers in Nantucket, possibly where Melville got the name for his character.
Howard Schultz noted in his 2011 book “Pour Your Heart Into It” that Bowker and other investors discussed naming the company Pequod after the ship in “Moby-Dick.” Then they decided no one would want to drink a cup of ” Pee-quod.”
Agreed.
Visit seattlepi.com’s home page for more Seattle news . Contact Amy Rolph at [email protected] . Find more of her stories on Twitter via @amyrolph and @bigblog or subscribe to her updates on Facebook .
amyrolph
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Moby-Dick
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Google's prior name while under development was 'Back(what?)'?
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10 Things You Don't Know About Starbucks (But Should!) | Mental Floss
10 Things You Don't Know About Starbucks (But Should!)
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Starbucks is the coffee icon people either love or love to hate. The Seattle company opened its first shop in 1971, and all these years later, the coffee giant is still brewing up addictive drinks and venti-sized controversy across the globe. Here are 10 things you might not have known about Starbucks.
1. It Could Have Been "˜Pequods'
Nothing says marketing genius like an extremely vague literary reference. At least that was the logic of Starbucks' original founders — two teachers and a writer — who chose to name their fledgling coffee bean business after a minor character in Moby-Dick.
When the first Starbucks opened in Seattle's Pike Place Market in 1971, it didn't sell coffee drinks, just beans. The founders wanted to name the place after Captain Ahab's first mate Starbuck. Right"¦ that guy. Before that, they considered naming it after Ahab's boat, the Pequod, but changed their mind — according to a Starbucks spokesperson — when a friend tried out the tagline "Have a cup of Pequod."
2. About That Logo...
At close inspection, the Starbucks logo makes no sense. At closer inspection, it makes even less sense, plus you risk dipping your nose in frap foam.
There's some lady with long hair wearing a crown and holding what appears to be two"¦ giant salmon? Decapitated palm trees? Miniature sand worms from Beetlejuice?
Conspiracy theorists have had a field day with the cryptic image. Anti-Semitic groups have claimed that the crowned maiden is the biblical Queen Esther, proving that Starbucks is behind various Zionist plots. Others see parallels to Illuminati imagery. The real story is less about evil conspiracies than prudish graphic design.
Since Starbucks was named after a nautical character, the original Starbucks logo was designed to reflect the seductive imagery of the sea. An early creative partner dug through old marine archives until he found an image of a siren from a 16th century Nordic woodcut. She was bare-breasted, twin-tailed and simply screamed, "Buy coffee!"
In the ensuing years, Starbucks marketing types decided to tastefully cover up the mer-boobs with long hair, drop the suggestive spread-eagle tail and give the 500-year-old sea witch a youthful facelift. The result? Queen Esther at Sea World.
3. "˜Want a Kidney With That?'
For three years, Annamarie Ausnes was just another Sharpie-scrawled name on a paper cup. She would stop by the same Tacoma, Washington, Starbucks a few times a week for a morning lift and make small talk with barista Sandie Andersen. No one would have called them friends. And no one could have guessed what would happen next.
For 20 years, Ausnes had suffered from polycystic kidney disease, a rare condition that invariably ends in kidney failure. In the fall of 2007, the 55-year-old started feeling weak and her doctor confirmed that her kidneys were only operating at 15%. Any lower and she'd have to go on dialysis. Much like a barroom regular spilling his soul to the bartender, Ausnes shared her sad tale with the friendly barista Andersen, who went above and beyond the call of customer service. Andersen immediately got a blood test, and when she found out she was a match, told Ausnes that she wanted to donate her kidney. A few months later, the two women -- barista and casual professional acquaintance -- entered the Virginia Mason Medical Center to swap internal organs. The transplant was a success, leaving the only remaining question: how much of a tip do you leave for a kidney?
4. A Starbucks on Every Corner
There are over 16,700 Starbucks locations in more than 50 countries, including Wales, which we're pretty sure isn't a country (update: it is a country). During a particularly heady period in the late 1990s and early aughts, Starbucks was opening a new store every workday.
In 2008 and 2009, as millions of Starbucks customers lost their latte money — and their homes, cars and first born children — to the recession, the coffee giant was forced to shrink just a tad. It closed 771 stores worldwide and has plans to close a couple hundred more. Australia was particularly hard-hit, losing 61 of its 84 Starbucks in July 2008. At least they still have giant beer and koalas.
But before you start feeling sorry for the Seattle-based mega-company, consider this statistic gathered by Harper's magazine in 2002, confirming the nagging suspicion that Starbucks is stalking you: 68 of Manhattan's 124 Starbucks are located within two blocks (!) of another Starbucks. [Image credit: Starbucks Everywhere ]
5. Hand in the Tip Jar
Back in 2008, a San Diego judge ordered Starbucks to pay back $86 million in tips (plus interest) to over 100,000 of its California baristas. For years, Starbucks had a policy of spreading the tip jar love among all employees, even shift supervisors. The cash and coins (and occasional Skittles) were pooled weekly and divvied out according to how many hours the employee had clocked, adding up to an extra $1.71 an hour.
An ex-barista filed a class-action suit in 2006 citing that supervisors aren't entitled to tips under California law. The Super Court judge agreed, and dropped the $105 million bomb on Starbucks in a curt four-paragraph ruling. Starbucks called the suit "fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason," citing the fact that supervisors also make coffee and serve customers.
In a rare win for corporate American (ahem), the judge's ruling was reversed a year later by the Court of Appeals, who agreed that supervisors "essentially perform the same job as baristas." Just don't tell that to their girlfriends.
6. Who's "˜So Vain' Now?
Carly Simon is famous for her transparently personal "you-done-me-wrong" ballads in which unnamed exes like Cat Stevens and James Taylor drag her heart through the dirt. But few people expected the 64-year-old crooner to lavish the same overwrought emotion on Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks.
In 2009, Simon filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, claiming the coffee chain had failed to adequately promote her album This Kind of Love, produced and distributed by Starbucks' house label, Hear Music. But before she called her lawyer, Simon sent a series of handwritten notes to CEO Schultz, including the following quasi-Haiku quoted in the New York Times: "Howard, Fraud is the creation of Faith/ And then the betrayal. Carly."
For its part, Starbucks said it stocked Simon's CD at over 7,000 stores, put it on heavy rotation in the droning Starbucks soundtrack and even kept the slow-selling album on the shelves way past its expiration date just to be "nice." In the end, it was Starbucks' vice president of brand content Chris Bruzzo who ended up sounding like a Carly Simon song:
"We're very disappointed that Carly has decided to file this suit because we worked very hard and put a lot of time, and energy, and effort from the music team and thousands of stores behind giving this album its best shot in finding its audience," Bruzzo said. Put a samba beat to that and he's got something.
7. "˜Forbidden' Latte
When a Starbucks affiliate opened a 200-square-foot coffee stand inside the walls of China's Forbidden City in 2000, the proud nation of 1.3 billion reacted as if someone had spilled a Venti Caramel Macchiato on its collective crotch.
A nationwide survey found that 70% of Chinese thought that a coffee shop had no business in the 600-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site. A news anchor on China's state-run television even led an online protest to the caffeinated intruder, saying that Starbucks "undermined the Forbidden City's solemnity and trampled over Chinese culture."
Turns out that Starbucks only opened the mini-outpost at the invitation of Forbidden City Museum officials who were "testing the waters" for more commercial interests in the 178-acre site. The test concluded that the waters were teeming with coffee-hating Chinese sharks. In 2007, the Forbidden City Starbucks (OK, that does sound a little funny) closed its tiny bamboo doors.
8. Undercover Bux
The owner of Victrola Coffee Roasters in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle knew something was brewing when a team of known Starbucks employees started hanging out at his shop and scribbling notes into a conspicuous folder labeled "OBSERVATIONS."
A few months later, the Starbucks outlet down the street closed up for renovations. The "slutty mermaid" sign came down and a new one went up: 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea. Did someone actually buy out a Starbucks in Seattle? Was this a rare victory for little coffee? What do you think?
This was Starbucks being Starbucks without being Starbucks. The hope is that brand-averse hipsters will ignore the obvious Starbuckiness of the new store and concentrate on the new wine and beer selection (inspired by Victrola). Plans are in the works for additional stealth Starbucks in Seattle.
9. Reading Material
Back in the '90s, Starbucks tried to sell a paper version of Microsoft's online magazine Slate, which nobody read. In 1997, it started stocking selections from Oprah's Book Club, which nobody bought. And in 1999, it tried to publish its very own literary magazine called Joe, a convincingly high-brow, well-written, stylish rag that only lasted three issues.
10. The Starbucks-Peet's Connection
Remember the first time you saw The Empire Strikes Back? Luke's right hand goes hurdling down that bottomless vent thingy, he's holding on for his life, and Vader is going on about the power of the Dark Side. Then he drops the shocker-to-end-all-shockers: "I am your father." NOOOOOOOOOOO!
All you Peet's Coffee & Tea fans are about to have your own one-hand Luke moment. Back in 1970, Starbucks co-founder Jerry Baldwin worked at the original Berkeley location of Peet's, the creator of the American specialty coffee concept. When Baldwin and his buddies Zev Siegel and Gordon Bowker decided to open their own coffee shop in Seattle in 1971, they bought all their raw beans from Alfred Peet.
But here's the kicker. Baldwin actually bought Peet's in 1984, then he sold Starbucks in 1987. He was the chairman of Peet's until 2001 when the store went public and he became the director. In other words, "Peet's, I am your father!"
So if you're one of those people who hates Starbucks and loves Peet's Coffee & Tea or one of those people who hates Peet's and loves the bux, it turns out you're only hating yourself.
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i don't know
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What, related etymologically to the Chinese Yuan and the Japanese Yen, is the currency of North and South Korea?
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North Korea (조선) - Mark Your Coin
North Korea (조선)
Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 (Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk)
Other names: Korea DPR, DPRK
100 chon (single: chon) = 1 North Korean won (single: won) [KPW]
Symbols: ₩ (won)
National identification and other marks
National emblem
The emblem of North Korea shows a radiating five-pointed star (symbol of communism) above the Paektu Mountain and the Sup'ung Dam. The whole is flanked by ears of rice. On the bottom is a banner with the text "조선민주주의인민공화국의 국" in Chosongul characters, which means: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Drawing of the national emblem of North Korea as it appears on coins
Photograph of the national emblem of North Korea as it appears on coins
Currency
Won in Korean: "원"
The won is the national currency of North Korea. The name of the currency is closely related to the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen.
Chon in Korean: "전"
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Won
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Former butler Paolo Gabriele was convicted in 2012 of stealing documents, and subsequently leaking secrets, of what major international leadership headquarters?
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North Korea (조선) - Mark Your Coin
North Korea (조선)
Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 (Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk)
Other names: Korea DPR, DPRK
100 chon (single: chon) = 1 North Korean won (single: won) [KPW]
Symbols: ₩ (won)
National identification and other marks
National emblem
The emblem of North Korea shows a radiating five-pointed star (symbol of communism) above the Paektu Mountain and the Sup'ung Dam. The whole is flanked by ears of rice. On the bottom is a banner with the text "조선민주주의인민공화국의 국" in Chosongul characters, which means: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Drawing of the national emblem of North Korea as it appears on coins
Photograph of the national emblem of North Korea as it appears on coins
Currency
Won in Korean: "원"
The won is the national currency of North Korea. The name of the currency is closely related to the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen.
Chon in Korean: "전"
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i don't know
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A costermonger was/is a traditional street-seller of?
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What does costermonger mean?
Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:
Costermonger(noun)
an apple seller; a hawker of, or dealer in, any kind of fruit or vegetables; a fruiterer
Origin: [See Costard.]
Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:
Costermonger
Costermonger, Coster or Costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention. Their cart might be stationary at a market stall, or mobile. The term is derived from the words costard and monger; i.e., seller. Costers met a need for rapid food distribution from the central markets. Their membership as a coster was signalled by their large neckerchief, known as a kingsman, tied round their necks. Their hostility towards the police was legendary. The term is now often used to describe hawkers in general; sometimes a distinction is made between the two: a costermonger sells from a handcart or animal-drawn cart, while a hawker carries his wares in a basket.
Numerology
The numerical value of costermonger in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
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fruit and vegetables
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Who is (at 2012) the only person to have won a Nobel Prize for physics and chemistry?
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What does costermonger mean?
Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:
Costermonger(noun)
an apple seller; a hawker of, or dealer in, any kind of fruit or vegetables; a fruiterer
Origin: [See Costard.]
Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:
Costermonger
Costermonger, Coster or Costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention. Their cart might be stationary at a market stall, or mobile. The term is derived from the words costard and monger; i.e., seller. Costers met a need for rapid food distribution from the central markets. Their membership as a coster was signalled by their large neckerchief, known as a kingsman, tied round their necks. Their hostility towards the police was legendary. The term is now often used to describe hawkers in general; sometimes a distinction is made between the two: a costermonger sells from a handcart or animal-drawn cart, while a hawker carries his wares in a basket.
Numerology
The numerical value of costermonger in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
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i don't know
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What colour/color is the Swiss cheese Gruyère?
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Gruyere - Cheese.com
Find over 1750 specialty cheeses from 74 countries in the world's greatest cheese resource
Gruyere
Gruyere is named after a Swiss village. It is traditional, creamery, unpasteurised, semi-soft cheese. The natural, rusty brown rind is hard, dry and pitted with tiny holes. The cheese is darker yellow than Emmental but the texture is more dense and compact. Slightly grainy, the cheese has a wonderful complexity of flavours - at first fruity, later becomes more earthy and nutty. To make Gruyere, raw milk is heated to 93 degrees F and liquid rennet is added for curdling. The resulting curd is cut into small pieces which release whey while being stirred. Curd is cooked at 110 degrees F and raised quickly to 130 degrees F. The pieces become shriveled which is the cue to place the curd in molds for pressing. The cheese is salted in brine for 8 days and ripened for two months at room temperature or a quick method: 10 days at 50 degrees F. Curing lasts from 3 to 10 months (the longer the curing period the better the cheese).
Made from cow 's milk
Country of origin: Switzerland
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Yellow
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Approximately what is the surface temperature of the Sun, in degrees centigrade?
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Gruyère Cheese - Emmentaler Cheese - Raclette - Comté
Gruyère Cheese - Emmentaler Cheese - Raclette - Comté
Gruyère Cheese - Emmentaler Cheese - Raclette - Comté
Gruyère Cheese - Emmentaler Cheese - Raclette - Comté
In addition to our range of Dutch cheese we also offer various foreign cheeses. Of course, can Swiss Gruyère cheese and Swiss Emmentaler cheese, here not be missed. We also offer the French Comte Cheese and Swiss raclette.
Raclette is a delicious way to enjoy the taste of cheese in an original way. If you are looking for really good raclette cheese then the Gouda Cheese Shop is a great choice. Here you can order the tastiest raclette cheese online for a very friendly prince, and you can let them deliver it straight to your home.
For real Raclette fans among us, we also offer various types of raclette devices. Click here to go to the category raclette devices.
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€5.75
With a product like raclette cheese you can enjoy it in a different way than you used to. The taste is described as full and creamy. The structure and the flavours make it perfect for melting. So you can also make a delicious fondue or use it for gourmet or garnish. But you can also melt it on your bread.
Price From:
€9.60
Gruyère cheese has a delicious sweet nutty flavor. The Gruyere cheese can be delicious if eaten with your fingers, but can also be processed into delicious cheese dishes.
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€8.10
‘The king of the mountain cheese’, also known as the Comté cheese originally from the French region Jura. The taste can be very different and is therefore really unique. Reason for this, are the herbs and grasses in the area where the cows live.
Price From:
€9.25
Do you know the cheese named Appenzeller? The name is reminiscent of those dreamy Swiss Alps topped with lush white snow, of happy men in lederhosen, and people eating delicious foods. That’s because this cheese is one of the finest Swiss cheeses on offer! Appenzeller is a hard yellow cheese made from cow’s milk from Swiss cows exclusively. The cheese is made from raw milk, which gives it its delicate flavour. The cheese is ripened for at least four weeks, and bathed daily in a salt and herbed briny solution. Often the cheese is bathed in wine of cider as well for an extra special addition to the taste. The mixture of herbs that is used is a carefully kept secret, known only to the Swiss cheese makers.
Price From:
€6.60
The Emmentaler cheese is known for its nutty and sweet flavours. Therefore it’s suitable to eat on your bread or cracker, but also as a nice snack. Unless the sweetness it is also used often for a fondue. It can be combined with other cheeses and you can create a wonderful dinner evening with family or friends. This product is produced in the Switzerland in a region near a river called Emme.
Tasty cheese package of delicious Gruyère, Emmental and Comté cheese.
The cheese package consists of:
1 x 500 grammes - 1.1 lbs Gruyère
1 x 500 grammes - 1.1 lbs Emmental
1 x 500 grammes - 1.1 lbs Comté
Tasty cheese package of delicious Gruyère, Emmental and Comté cheese.
The cheese package consists of:
1 x 1 kilo - 2.2 lbs Gruyère
1 x 1 kilo - 2.2 lbs Emmental
1 x 1 kilo - 2.2 lbs Comté
Tasty cheese package of delicious Gruyère and Emmental cheese.
The cheese package consists of:
1 x 1 kilo - 2.2 lbs Gruyère
1 x 1 kilo - 2.2 lbs Emmental
Tasty cheese package of delicious Gruyère and Emmental cheese.
The cheese package consists of:
1 x 500 grammes - 1.1 lbs Gruyère
1 x 500 grammes - 1.1 lbs Emmental
The famous Geska sprinkle cheese Learn More
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1. We cut your cheese fresh from the blade, wrap the cheese neatly in vacuum and your order will be sent cooled. Once the cheese is in vacuum, you can store the cheese for about 5 to 6 weeks. The hard structure of Dutch cheese makes it perfectly suitable for sending by post!
2. Download our free App and order your cheese easily on your mobile phone or tablet.
3.Energy Neutral
With the installation of 100 solar panels on our cheese warehouse, we are 100% energy neutral.
Working towards a green future!
4. We sell both to individuals and businesses;
5. We only sell Gouda Holland Cheese from the Netherlands with the quality seal;
6. FOR FREE! You'll receive cheese wrapping paper by each piece of cheese that you order;
7. SHOP TAX FREE! Do you live/work outside the European Union? You can shop tax free here;
8. For companies in the EU (outside NL) you can shop tax free here. Click here for more info .
9. We ship worldwide.
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20121017_ca_toronto by Metro Canada - issuu
issuu
they’re at it again
Friday’s Jackpot
A feistier Barack Obama emerges in second debate against Mitt Romney toronto
page 13
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 News worth sharing.
25
metronews.ca | twitter.com/metrotoronto | facebook.com/metrotoronto
Did Hudak miss the subway vs. LRT debate? He doesn’t think so. Ontario Conservative leader says he would still try to divert LRT funds in order to build subways
Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak has thrust Toronto’s political hot potato — the transit file — to the forefront of an eventual Ontario election. On Tuesday, only hours after Premier Dalton McGuinty announced his resignation, Hudak was at Nathan Phillips Square, inserting his foot firmly in the door of yet another debate over the merits of subways versus LRTs. He promised to dedicate as much as possible of the $8.4 billion the province has long promised for Toronto transit expansion (including $330 million from Ottawa) toward building underground transit — potentially diverting some
Contracts on the way
“There’s no decision by council to revisit what we’ve approved. We were asked to make a decision on our transit future. We made it.” TTC chair Karen Stintz
money from the LRT program recently firmed up and already underway. Accompanied by council allies of the pro-subway mayor, Rob Ford, Hudak also repeated his pledge of last week to build subways, upload the TTC’s current subway lines and new LRTs to provincial control, and supersize the transportation agency Metrolinx. But there’s a catch: Building more subways will have to wait until the $14.4-billion provincial deficit has been eliminated, said Hudak, suggesting it might be years be-
fore he’s able to expand transit even if an election were held this year or in early 2013. He conceded that he doesn’t know how feasible redirecting funds will be if he becomes premier and the LRT projects are already well underway. “We’ll be practical about this.… Whatever dollars are in the existing pool, I’ll maximize those to go underground,” said Hudak, who also echoed Ford’s repudiation of streetcars. While acknowledging that the province can spend its transit funds as it chooses, TTC chair Karen Stintz said the LRT lines planned for Eglinton, Finch, Sheppard and the Scarborough RT have already left the station. The master agreement spelling out how the $8.4 billion will be spent is close to being signed by the city manager. Council will be officially informed of that agreement in November, she said. torstar news service
Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak scrums with the media Tuesday at Nathan Phillips Square. Hudak discussed breaking the gridlock in the GTA and Hamilton area, while several Toronto city councillors stood nearby, showing their support. TARA WALTON/TORstar news service
The price of autism
Condo sales Someone else see 20.5% drop takes the lead
Parents of an autistic child tell Metro why they chose therapy that’s a financial burden page 8
Prices also expected to remain flat through 2013, thanks to the condo boom: TREB page 10
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New film Alex Cross features character popularized by the one and only Morgan Freeman page 24
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Police standoff
Alleged abductor in Durham hostage taking is former Oshawa councillor
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Early-morning incident
T.O. councillor charged with impaired driving City councillor Ana Bailão has been arrested on drunkdriving charges, after a police officer spotted the politician driving Coun. Ana Bailão withTORSTAR NEWS out her headlights SERVICE FILE on early Tuesday morning, a police source said. The officer first noticed Bailão, 36, at 1:43 a.m., heading north on Bathurst Street. “The officer attempted to pull her over. The vehicle didn’t stop and then they finally stopped at Harbord and Bathurst streets,” said the source. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
In wake of sex assaults, T.O. yoga studio teaches street self-defence Bloor-Christie area. Tula Yoga Spa brings in instructors to help its members ‘feel more empowered’ in rattled west-end neighbourhood A Toronto yoga studio has traded downward dogs for groin kicks to help its members feel safer in a neighbourhood shaken by a rash of recent sexual assaults. In a break from yoga’s peace-loving tradition, a team of black belt instructors took charge at Tula Yoga Spa in Toronto’s west end Sunday evening to launch a six-week street self-defence course. “To hear about (sexual assaults) in your area, it’s a little bit scary,” said Samantha Marchese, a 21-year-old hairdresser whose own safety concerns prompted her to sign up. “A lot of people don’t think it would happen to them ... but I think it’s good to be educated.” Since July, police have received more than 10 reports of sexual assault incidents in the west downtown area. On Thanksgiving weekend, police got three similar reports of a man assaulting women from behind in the Christie Pits area, prompting officers to urge residents to use more caution, especially when walking at night. In response, Tula owner Isabel Lambert said she decided to partner with Toronto police and self-defence instructors to create a course to help her studio members “feel more empowered” on the street. On Sunday, nearly 20 people joined two Toronto
Sasha Mrvic kicks Alfie Della-Terza as they put the students of Tula Yoga through a crash self-defence course on Sunday in response to the latest sex assaults in the Bloor-Christie area. RENE JOHNSTON/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
police officers and a group of self-defence instructors at the Tula studio to learn the best ways to avoid trouble on the street and, if necessary, fight off an assailant. They learned how to escape chokeholds, wrist grabs and, perhaps most importantly given the recent trend, how to respond when approached from behind. It’s called a “coward grab,” said Alfie Della-Terza, a retired correctional officer who led the class, and the best way to escape is with the “tall become small approach” — crouch and bend at the waist, then push back before twisting around to escape the grab.
Quoted
“Hopefully this will teach us how to act, not to get scared and freeze, and just to stand your guard.” Samantha Marchese, a 21-year-old hairdresser who for weeks has felt nervous walking home from work at night
The yogis also learned how to escape a “ponytail grab,” how to twist out of a “chicken wing” where both arms are trapped, and how to best target kicks to the kneecap, upper thigh and groin.
“It’s important to fight back ... (these people) do not want to become a stat,” said Della-Terza, adding that participants are being trained to know how to respond in panic situations. For Marchese, who said she often walks home from her hairdressing job late at night, the classes come at the right time. For weeks, she said, she has felt nervous walking through her westend neighbourhood alone at night. “Hopefully this will teach us how to act, not to get scared and freeze, and just to stand your guard,” she said. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
NEWS
The man who has barricaded himself inside a Whitby auto shop is former Oshawa city councillor Robert Lutczyk, who allegedly abducted a city solicitor Monday night, Torstar News Service has learned. A lengthy standoff continued in Whitby Tuesday night after city solicitor David Potts was abducted from his home Monday evening and escaped shortly after. Former Oshawa mayor John Grey told Torstar News Service, in news confirmed by Durham Region police sources, that Lutczyk allegedly abducted Potts at his Courtice home following a city council meeting that ended at 10:30 p.m. Monday. Oshawa Mayor John Henry said Potts was taken against his will but escaped unharmed just before 2 a.m. Tuesday.
03
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Naqvi to mull possible leadership bid with family
Ontario party president Yasir Naqvi. Graham LANKTREE/METRO in ottawa
Yasir Naqvi is doing more than “not ruling out” a bid for the leadership of the provincial Liberals. The Ottawa Centre MPP and Ontario Liberal Party president said he looks forward to discussing throwing his name in the ring with his family — as soon as he has a chance to actually see them. “I’ve not even gone home yet to connect with my family, so obviously I’m looking for-
ward to that opportunity,” Naqvi said Tuesday. “You never say never in life, and it is a very exciting time in our party. Right now there’s great opportunity for renewal.” “Renewal” seems to be the watchword for provincial and federal Liberals of late. It was used a number of times by outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty, who announced Monday night that he’ll be stepping down as leader just as soon as
the party selects another. There is no timeline set for the selection of a new leader as of yet, Naqvi said. Normally, the party is required to select a new leader within six months. But because McGuinty remains leader, that doesn’t come into affect. If he considers tossing his name in the ring, Naqvi said he will recuse himself from his role as party president.
Other possible contenders
Speculation abounds as to who will put in a bid for the leadership. • Finance Minister
Dwight Duncan’s name has been mentioned, as has embattled Energy Minister Chris Bentley.
• Ministers Eric Hoskins
(Youth Services), Deb Matthews (Health), Glen Murray (College and Universities), Charles Sousa (Immigration), and Kathleen Wynne (Municipal Affairs) are also rumoured candidates.
ALEX BOUTILIER In Metro Ottawa
Prorogation changes channel for McGuinty, expert says Shuttered house. Clears the decks ALEX BOUTILIER
Metro in Ottawa
Closing Queen’s Park gives the provincial Liberals a chance to regain control of the message, according to an expert on parliamentary governance. Dr. Lori Turnbull, who coauthored a 2011 book on prorogation and constitutional reform, said Dalton McGuinty’s decision to prorogue the legislature speaks to the government’s ability to control the message. Rather than step down as premier and have the party select an interim leader, McGuinty promised to stay on until a leadership convention is called at the “earliest possible opportunity.”
“If there was an interim leader appointed, well then today we’d be back at the house and we’d be dealing with the same issues, just a different guy,” said Turnbull on Tuesday. “Whereas now, nobody is talking about the issues we were talking about yesterday. Now the big issue is why McGuinty resigned, whether he’s going to run against Trudeau (for leadership).” McGuinty announced late Monday evening he would prorogue parliament and ask the party to select a new leader. That means all bills and committees from this short session — such as the committee investigating Energy Minister Chris Bentley for withholding documents on cancelled power plants — die on the vine. “It’s a purging of what the house has been doing,” Turnbull said. “Taxpayers dollars went to all that work, and now it’s flushed down the toilet.”
Time to establish some rules around prorogation?
Errol Mendes, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa, drew parallels to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue the House of Commons in 2009 amid the Afghan detainee controversy and the threat of a non-confidence vote. “Harper did the same thing,” Mendes said. “I think it’s about time both at the federal level and the provincial level for clear rules (about) when these type of actions can and cannot be done.” Dalton McGuinty speaks to media after announcing he’s stepping down as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party at Queens Park on Monday. TORSTAR news service
Trudeau welcomes idea of a strong, robust leadership race with McGuinty
Federal Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau addresses students at Citadel High School in Halifax on Tuesday. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian press
Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau says he would welcome the entrance of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty into the race to lead the federal party. The perceived front-runner said Tuesday in Halifax that he didn’t want to speculate on McGuinty’s
plans, one day after the Ontario leader announced his resignation. Trudeau says McGuinty has served his province and country well and would add to what he insisted will be “a strong and robust leadership race.” Trudeau, who addressed students at a packed high
school auditorium, says he hasn’t spoken to McGuinty but added that there will be strong candidates running even if he decides not to enter the race. McGuinty, who was first elected premier in 2003, has left the door open to the leadership bid and sources say a campaign road map
has already been sketched out. A movement to draft McGuinty has been fuelled by a sense that the race needs a heavyweight contender to challenge Trudeau, the eldest son of former prime minister and Liberal icon Pierre Trudeau. THE CANADIAN PRESS
06
news
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
2nd BRA Day hopes to lift breast cancer survivors into comfort zone Breast reconstruction. Event shines light on option women have after a mastectomy Phoebe Ho
[email protected]
Anna Borenstein relied on Google to help make the decision whether to go through with a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction to treat her breast cancer. Not knowing what to expect, she spent hours surfing the web trying to find images of women who had undergone the same treatment. “The reality is never like pictures, and the pictures don’t tell you a whole lot about the process, and what I know now compared to what I knew going in is monumental,” she said. “Had I actually seen reconstructions in the flesh, to actually be able to see up close and to handle them, it would’ve taken away a lot of the anxiety and unexpectedness.” Borenstein, 52, said she came across plenty of information when it came to treatment, chemotherapy and radiation, but when it came to dealing with the aftermath of a mastectomy or breast reconstruction, she found nothing. “I felt so isolated in going through this,” she said. “Online communities talk about anything but reconstruction. Canadian online support groups again deal with treat-
Need to know
Things to know about breast reconstruction: • A reconstructed breast will not have the same sensation it had before the procedure • Incision lines will be visible, whether it’s from reconstruction or mastectomy
Anna Borenstein searched the web for answers to treat her breast cancer. supplied
The options for reconstruction include:
Quoted
• Using a donor’s tissue or a woman’s own muscle, fat and skin to reconstruct a complete breast or to support a breast implant.
“It saddens me to see patients who cannot get appropriate access, who have felt uncomfortable, sad, depressed, or had difficulties dealing with the consequences of their mastectomy when there were other options to try to manage them.”
• The tissue expansion method, which stretches healthy skin to cover the breast implant.
ment and to a certain extent depression, but not survival.” The second annual Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day is looking to change that. At a Show and Tell Lounge hosted by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada in Toronto on Wednesday at the Toronto Reference Library, a number of women who have undergone the procedure will be baring their breasts in a “comfortable, private and professionally put-together lounge,” so that women mulling over their options can see firsthand what
BRA Day founder Dr. Mitchell Brown
Singer-songwriter Jewel, a spokesperson of BRA Day in the U.S., penned a new song called Flower to help raise awareness about the importance of breast-reconstruction options for survivors. Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press
it’s really like. “It’s different because there are many ways to do it. You can do it with breast implants, you can use your own bodies’ tissues or a combination of both,” said BRA Day founder Dr. Mitchell Brown. “So the best way to understand and ap-
preciate that is to see and feel it herself.” Brown, who’s been practising plastic and reconstructive surgery for more than 17 years, says he was stunned by the number of women who’d come to him years after a mastectomy saying they never knew
they could get a breast reconstruction or just couldn’t get access to it in their area. The event is only in its second year, but it’s already spread to more than 25 countries. In the U.S., singer-songwriter Jewel, a spokesperson of the event there, even penned
a new song, called Flower, to help raise awareness about the importance of breast-reconstruction options for survivors. “Reconstruction is a huge part of the healing process,” Jewel told The Associated Press. “It’s not just vanity. It’s part of what makes us women. It’s part of our identity as women. Patients should at least be informed about their options.”
T.O. seeks to license hookah lounges
10 exclusive designs to chew on Greta Constantine designers Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill, both with backs turned, make some lastminute touches to the models at the 5 Black Collection look-book photoshoot at Roy Thomson Hall on Tuesday. Wong and Pickersgill partnered with 5 Gum to create 10 exclusive designs to bring to life their sleek, bold, black style. contributed
City licensing officials are trying to clamp down on Toronto’s hookah establishments through a series of health and cleanliness regulations, citing medical concerns over nontobacco water-pipe use. The proposed guidelines, recommended in a report going before the licensing committee on Friday, would require hookah cafés to maintain adequate air ventilation, properly sanitize pipe equipment before use and ban minors from entry. Businesses would also have to hold a water pipe establishment licence. “There should be some regulation,” said Ilan Kritzer, owner of Sheesha Lounge and Coffee House on Bloor Street West at Ossington Avenue, adding that his business already follows the proposed rules. “Because there’s no regulation at all, there’s potential for abuse — these bars should be regulated and enforcement should be done.”
Quoted
“There is some indication that whether you’re smoking non-tobacco hookah or tobacco hookah, they produce similar amounts of toxins, such as carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (also found in cigarettes).” Suzanne Thibault, Toronto Public Health
Hookah — also known as shisha, narghila or water pipe — is sold in tobacco form or as a composite of dried plants, herbs, tea leaves, preservatives and flavouring. Hookah establishments have so far avoided regulation by offering nontobacco shisha, which does not fall under the provincial Smoke-Free Ontario Act. The 2006 legislation prohibits businesses from offering tobaccobased hookah. The report stops short of proposing an outright ban of hookah lounges, noting research into the ill effects of non-tobacco shisha use is
spotty. But after consultation with Toronto Public Health officials and anti-smoking advocates, city staff believe the health concerns are significant enough to warrant regulation. Public-health officials argue that the social element of hookah cafés, where a group of friends can lounge for hours, and mainstream use among youth create a misperception that tobacco-less shisha is benign. About 80 cafés, restaurants and bars in Toronto offer hookah, according to a Toronto Public Health study conducted this year. Torstar News Service
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Autism: ‘We know the little boy that’s in there’ Diagnosis
What is autism spectrum disorder? • One in 100 Canadians
has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is one of the most prevalent developmental disabilities.
• ASD affects develop-
ment of the brain in the area of social interactions and communication skills.
• The disorder manifests
in different ways in a spectrum that runs from mild to severe. Autism Ontario says it can result in repeated body movements, unusual responses to people, attachments to objects or resistance to changes in routine.
• On the severe end, it
can also lead to aggressive or self-injurious behaviour.
• Autism Ontario
estimates that 100,000 Ontarians have ASD.
Anne Rahming credits intensive behavioural intervention with the steady progress made by her son, Mića Jovanović. Mića, who turns five next month, has a severe form of autism. Mike Carroccetto/for Metro
Part 1 of a 3-part series. 1,417 children are receiving intensive behavioural intervention in Ontario, while 1,702 wait for therapy
Treatment
Coming to terms with autism
“We had all the same preconceived notions that everybody else has about autism. We were like, well, he’s really smart and he’s figuring out ways to get his point across. Well, you know there are a lot of kids that have autism that are actually really smart.”
What is intensive behavioural intervention? • Intensive behavioural
intervention (IBI) is a therapy for children with autism. Its aim is to help them develop a connection to the outside world.
Anne Rahming on her son, Mića, who has severe autism spectrum disorder
ALEX BOUTILIER
Metro in Ottawa
“Duck.” Mića extends his hand as his therapist, Kristina Dunbar, presents him with a small plastic duck, which promptly joins others in the toy pond at their feet. It’s a simple, one-syllable request. But for Mića, that would not have been possible only a year and a half ago. This kind of therapy — intensive behavioural intervention, or IBI — was how he learned to talk. Four-year-old Mića Jovanović was diagnosed with severe autism spectrum disorder at the age of three. Before that, he had difficulties with his hearing, which led his family to seek a diagnosis. “We weren’t expecting a severe diagnosis. We were expecting him to be sort of
middle of the spectrum,” Mića’s mother, Anne Rahming, said. “When (the doctor) explained to us that it was severe, we were bowled over. It was a very quiet drive home.” At the time, Mića was assessed as having the understanding of a six-month-old. He turns five next month, and is now assessed at a three-year-old’s level. Rahming credits IBI for his progress. But the therapy is expensive, and the regional waiting lists for provincial subsidies are long. If Rahming and her family waited the average two years for funding before getting treatment, Mića would have missed the crucial window when IBI is most effective. So, while waiting, they paid out-of-pocket from
March 2011 to August 2012. The bill was $80,000. In August, they ran out of money for Mića’s therapy. In frustration, Rahming turned to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, which grants IBI funding to regional providers, who in turn deliver it to parents. She also went to the media. “After I decided to get the minister’s office and reporters involved, surprisingly money emerged,” she said. That money — which still doesn’t cover the full cost of the therapy — means Mića can remain at the Portia Learning Centre, a private clinic in Kanata, just southwest of Ottawa. For Rahming, it’s the difference between Mića interacting with the people in his life or living inside his head. “We know the little boy that’s in there,” she said.
• In one-on-one therapy,
or in a small-group setting, children work with therapists to learn words and their use — to ask for things, and to verbally interact with the people and things around them.
• The treatment is typically
Mića Jovanović plays with therapist Kristina Dunbar at the Portia Learning Centre in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa. Mike Carroccetto/for Metro Next up • Part 2 (Thursday): The
politics of autism, including the funding process and long wait list for treatment.
• Part 3 (Weekend): Public-
service providers and their role in providing funding for treatment of autism. • On the web: Follow
the series online at metronews.ca.
most effective between the ages of three and five.
• According to the Ontario
Ministry of Children and Youth Services, funding for IBI reached $115.8 million in 2011-12.
• Across Ontario, 1,417
children are receiving the therapy, while 1,702 are on the waiting list for funding.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Hormonal Breakouts?
Not Just a Teenage Problem! Hormonal breakouts, such as acne that is marked by pimples, whiteheads, blackheads and cysts affect many teenagers today. But teenagers are not the only ones; acne can strike adults too - more than half of all adult women and about a quarter of adult men. As the largest organ in the body, the skin is one of the best indicators of how healthy we are on the inside. Acne can have many underlying causes including: poor digestion and dietary intake (vitamin and mineral deficiencies), food allergies, hormonal imbalances, and stress. Many women will typically see hormonal breakouts during their menstrual cycle due to hormonal fluctuations. Estrogen dominance due to hormone replacement therapy, the birth control pill, xenoestrogens from the environment (BPA, phthalates, parabens) or a sluggish liver can also contribute to hormonal breakouts.
Big names shows up at Believe It fashion show From left, Hudson’s Bay President Bonnie Brooks, the prime minister’s wife Laureen Harper, legendary Canadian rocker Randy Bachman and country music artist Beverley Mahood at the first annual Believe It fashion show luncheon for personalized cancer medicine in Toronto on Tuesday. The event, sponsored by the Bay, featured a runway show showcasing fall fashion. Proceeds will benefit The Robert & Maggie Bras and Family New Drug Development Program at The Princess Margaret Hospital. courtesy Sandler Central Image Agency
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Resale condo transactions declined 20.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 and prices are expected to remain flat through 2013, thanks to the condo boom, says the Toronto Real Estate Board. At the same time sales via the MLS were down dramatically, new listings were up more than 6.5 per cent over the same quarter of last year as new buildings came on stream and investors looked to cash out on units bought in the cheaper preconstruction phase. Tighter mortgage rules imposed by Ottawa also helped push buyers to the sidelines, said TREB in a report on the condo market released Tues-
Statistics
House sales also on the decline While the sale of detached, semi-detached and rowhouses are also in serious decline — home sales were down across the GTA 23.2 per cent in September over a year day. The average price of a resale condo in the GTA in the third quarter was $334,204. Units in the City of Toronto sold on the MLS for a slight premium, an average of $357,030, said TREB. That’s just $2,000 more than the same units sold for in the third quarter of 2011. At the same time, investors looking to cover their costs by
Quoted
“Given the supply of listings currently in the market place, the average rate of price growth for condo apartments should continue to lag price growth for low-rise home types over the next year.” Jason Merson, TREB’s senior manager of market analysis
earlier — prices appreciated about 8.2 per cent year over year. But condos are another story, with some housing analysts predicting significant price drops to come as more new units hit the market and the inventory of units for sale climbs higher into buyers’ territory. Torstar News Service
renting out units are finding themselves facing more competition: The number of rental listings were up 18.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 over the same period a year earlier, but the number of units leased was up just 3.3 per cent. “Prospective renters had more units to choose from, which led to less upward pressure on rents,” said Jason Merson, senior manager of market analysis for TREB. That means rents that now average $1,605 for a onebedroom unit and $2,097 for a two bedroom, up just 3.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively from Q3 of 2011, make it hard for investors to cover their monthly costs. Torstar News Service
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Dance instructor accused of selling sex in tiny town The first batch of more than 100 men accused of paying a fitness instructor for sex were lying low after police began releasing their names in the small New England town of Kennebunk, Maine, where
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It’s not all hippies backing November’s marijuana legalization votes in Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Appealing to Western individualism and a mistrust of federal government, activists have lined up some prominent conservatives, from onetime presidential hopefuls Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul to Republican-turned-Libertarian presidential candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. “This is truly a nonpartisan issue,” said Mark Slaugh, a volunteer for the Colorado initiative who is based in Colorado T:12.5”
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Springs, which has more Republicans than anywhere else in the state. “It’s fiscally prudent. It would be taxed, regulated, monitored. It makes a lot of
sense to Republicans,” he said. Most Republicans still oppose legalization, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan. When activists make their appeal, it goes like this: States should dictate drug law. Decades of federal prohibition have failed where personal responsibility and old-fashioned parenting will succeed. Politicians back East have no business dictating what the states do. “What is the law against marijuana if it isn’t the Nanny State telling you what you can do and what you can’t do to your body and with your body?” asked Tancredo, a former Republican congressman from suburban Denver who briefly ran for president in 2008. He compared federal law to New York City’s ban on sugary sodas. The Associated Press
rumours have run rampant for weeks. Police on Monday released 21 names of men who were issued summons for engaging in prostitution with Alexis Wright, a 29-year-old Zumba instructor who’s charged with turning her dance studio into a brothel in the seaside community of 10,000 and secretly videotaping her encounters. Police said she kept de-
tailed records suggesting the sex acts generated $150,000 over 18 months. Wright, from nearby Wells, has pleaded not guilty to 106 counts of prostitution, invasion of privacy and other charges. In town, residents heard the list of accused johns could include lawyers, law enforcement officers and well-known people, heightening their curiosity. The Associated Press
Former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo advocates legalization. Ed Andrieski/The Associated Press
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13
He’s awake! Obama goes on the attack in 2nd vital debate Tense faceoffs. White House contenders cross swords over jobs, domestic energy, women’s rights — and that pipeline
Debating the issues (and going for the knockout punch): Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama mix it up during their televised “town hall” debate Tuesday night. mario tama/getty images
Listless? Not anymore! A sharper, energetic Barack Obama emerged Tuesday night in his second televised presidential debate against Mitt Romney. As tens of millions of viewers watched, Obama energetically got down to the business at hand — putting the brakes on his Republican rival’s sudden momentum in a tense, tight race to the White House. Among the tense faceoffs: Jobs, domestic energy — and TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. At one point, Romney
strode uncomfortably close to Obama as he chastised the president for failing to greenlight pipeline. And seeming miffed, Romney also attempted to talk over moderator Candy Crowley, who was having none of it. Obama and Romney also tried to appeal to female voters. Responding to a question about pay equity for women, Obama noted that the first piece of legislation he signed made it easier for women to seek the same pay as men for doing the same work. Romney said as governor of Massachusetts, his administration had a number of women in senior leadership positions. He said many women have suffered job losses and moved into poverty during Obama’s tenure and creating more jobs would help women.
A new approach
It was a debate with a difference — five, in fact. • One. This was a “town hall” debate where people representing a cross-section of America got to ask the questions. • Two. The Gallup organization picked about 80 uncommitted voters. • Three. The questioners couldn’t simply raise their hands and be called at random. • Four. All the questioners were screened beforehand. • Five. Moderator Candy Crowley of CNN and helpers decided who asked the questions.
the associated press
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Shot Pakistani girl’s visitors questioned
Police officers patrol outside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, where Pakistani girl Malala Yousufzai, inset, is being treated. Alastair Grant/the associated press
Malala Yousufzai. Two Quote ‘relatives’ of 14-year“The brain is like real old activist shot by estate.... Location is Taliban questioned by everything.” police after trying to Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery He said Yousufazi’s recovery will depend on visit her in hospital the path the bullet took through her brain British police have questioned two people who tried to visit a hospitalized Pakistani teenager shot for promoting girls’ education, raising fears about her safety following pledges by the Taliban to make another attempt on her life. Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head by the Taliban last week as she was returning home from school in Pakistan. She was airlifted Monday to Britain to receive specialized medical care and Travel
protection from followup attacks threatened by the militants. Medical Director Dr. Dave Rosser of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham stressed Tuesday that security was “under control” at the hospital after the overnight incident. He said several people had turned up at the hospital claiming to be the girl’s relatives but didn’t get very far. He said the people were arrested, but police said they had only been questioned. “We don’t believe there’s Comical vigilante
any threat to her personal security,” Rosser told journalists, explaining the hospital did not believe the suspects were related to Malala. “We think it’s probably people being over-curious.” Police would not immediately confirm the details of the incident. Malala was targeted by the Taliban for promoting girls’ education and criticizing the militant group’s behaviour when they took over the scenic Swat Valley where she lived. Two of her classmates were also wounded in the attack and are receiving treatment in Pakistan. The attack on the girls horrified people in Pakistan and across the world. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said Malala had become “a symbol of all that is good in us.”
Recovery
Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai’s age is an advantage, say doctors. • Optimism. Doctors are
optimistic that Malala’s age is in her favour. Unlike adults, the brains of teenagers are still growing and better able to adapt to trauma.
• Realism. While details on
the path of the bullet and damage have not been released, two physicians say it is extremely unlikely that a full recovery can be made. They could only hope that the bullet took a “lucky path” — going through a more “silent,” or less active — part of the brain.
the associated press
How about a rifle with that ring?
No sovereignty referendum yet
The Cuban government announced Tuesday that it will eliminate a half-century-old restriction that requires its citizens to get an exit visa to leave the country. the associated press
A Michigan man is facing charges for his effort to keep an eye on his community while wearing a Batman outfit. The man is due in court Thursday. the associated press
An U.S. jeweller is offering free rifles for husbands-to-be who spend at least $1,999 on an engagement ring at his store.
Quebec Premier Pauline Marois told a radio network in France Tuesday that a referendum on sovereignty is hardly conceivable right now.
the associated press
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Suspected Todd tormentor was a false tip: B.C. RCMP Amanda Todd suicide. Anonymous allegation ‘unfounded,’ police say, even though accused user has history of blackmail, perversion jessica smith
Metro in Toronto
Allegations by an online hacker group that identified a Vancouver-area man as the tormenter of B.C. teen Amanda Todd were “unfounded,” according to police. Todd, 15, committed suicide last week after suffering years of bullying and online sexual exploitation. In September the teen had posted a video on YouTube in which she described how she showed her breasts to an unknown man over a webcam. She said the man then threatened to send the pictures to friends and family unless she “put on a show” for him.
Although police said Tuesday that the claims by Anonymous were false, the web handle cited in the hacker group’s posting has a disturbing Internet history with links to the same kind of online exploitation to which Todd was a victim. In 2010, the username had been nominated as “blackmailer of the year” in the online Capper Awards, which celebrate a perverted subculture in which people, called cappers, get young girls they call “cam whores” to expose themselves on webcams. The username was nominated for allegedly blackmailing a different girl, identified as “Peyton.” Other awards went to the “cam whore of the year” and “Capper of the year.” In the video on YouTube, a mechanized voice of the cartoon host of the 2010 Capper Awards nominations announces the “Blackmail” category. “This one is for the rapist of the Internet,” it says. “(The user), famous for his blackmail of Peyton, stream-
A screengrab of an online video of the Capper Awards. The man suspected of the blackmail that led to Amanda Todd’s suicide was awarded “Blackmailer of the year” in 2010 after extorting a user identified as Peyton. Youtube.com
ing her videos on BlogTV and Tinychat and threatening her in public,” says the host. An earlier video called The Daily Capper shows a mock news account of the accused blackmailer streaming the explicit videos of Peyton in December 2010. “The first part shows Peyton in bra and the second in panties,” says a cartoon reporter.
The details get more explicit. “We return to a second room only to find a fuming Peyton demanding to know who had played videos, and threatening to call the police,” the reporter says. The fake news report says the girl told her mother and police, but it is unclear whether her alleged blackmailer was ever found.
The Capper Awards videos remained active on YouTube as of press time, except for one that was removed after a link to it was posted on an Amanda Todd memorial Facebook page. Anonymous also published a link to a page on jailbaitgallery.com that shows pornographic photos of young girls with a title including the same online handle.
15
Thrown off course
False Internet tips impeding inquiry: Police B.C. RCMP officers investigating the exploitation and suicide of Amanda Todd say they are being thrown off course by false tips and rumours circulating on the Internet. Sgt. Peter Thiessen said the tip from hacker group Anonymous implicating a B.C. Internet user is unfounded. The rumour that someone released Amanda Todd’s autopsy photos online was debunked by the B.C. Coroner’s Service, police said. In that case, Anonymous was also said to have found the perpetrator online. Fraudulent websites that claim to be fundraising for the Todd family have also popped up, said Thiessen. He said there is only one real account set up by the Todd family — the RBC Amanda Todd Trust Account. JESSICA SMITH/METRO IN TORONTO
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Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic denies war crimes Genocide. ‘I should be rewarded for all the good things I have done,’ he claims at UN tribunal
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Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic cast himself as a “mild man, a tolerant man” as he opened his defence Tuesday in his long-running genocide trial, claiming he tried to prevent fighting and then worked to reduce casualties in the bloody 1992-95 Bosnian war. His claims brought snorts of derision and cries of “He’s lying! He’s lying!” from some Muslim survivors of the war who were watching the trial from the public gallery at the UN tribunal. Karadzic, 67, who faces charges including genocide and crimes against humanity, was given 90 minutes to make a statement on his role in the war that left an estimated 100,000
Radovan Karadzic the associated press
dead. The statement was not made under oath, meaning Karadzic could not be crossexamined by prosecutors. In another of the tribunal’s courtrooms, Goran Hadzic, a former leader of rebel Serbs in Croatia, became the last of the tribunal’s 161 indicted suspects to face justice as his trial got underway. He was arrested last
year in northern Serbia after more than seven years on the run and pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering hundreds of Croats and expelling tens of thousands more. Karadzic, a former psychologist and poet, told judges he was a “physician and literary man” who was a reluctant player in the violent breakup of Yugoslavia. He said before the war many of his friends, including his hairdresser, were Muslims. Prosecutors have painted a starkly different picture of Karadzic during months of witness testimony, portraying him as a political leader who masterminded Serb atrocities throughout the war, from campaigns of persecution and murders of Muslims and Croats early in 1992 to the conflict’s bloody climax, the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the UN-protected Srebrenica enclave. the associated press
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Guard shot in neck at B.C. border crossing Peace Arch tragedy. Victim was still breathing when she was loaded into air ambulance on Tuesday, police said A female Canadian border guard was shot at one of the busiest crossings in Canada on Tuesday, and the gunman died after apparently turning his weapon on himself, RCMP say. The Douglas border crossing, known better as the Peace Arch crossing — which is just south of Vancouver, was closed in both directions Tuesday afternoon. “The first report at the scene revealed that a male, a lone male, had shot an officer in her booth,” said Cpl. Bert Paquet. “At the instant following the shooting of the officer, the lone male had been pronounced dead at the scene from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Paquet said the officer’s con-
Medical scandal
Investigation launched A Winnipeg doctor who had sex with two female patients and improperly wrote them OxyContin prescriptions has been suspended.
17
Dr. Randy Raymond Allan pleaded guilty to professional misconduct. Manitoba’s health minister said an investigation has been launched to recover any taxpayer money that may have gone toward inappropriate billing. Metro in Winnipeg
Most Diploma Programs Have Practicum! Paramedics attend to an injured border guard following a shooting at the Douglas border crossing on Tuesday in B.C. curtis kreklau/for metro
dition isn’t known, but she was breathing when she was loaded into an air ambulance. He said it appeared she’d been shot in the neck and her injuries were serious. “We haven’t confirmed the identity of the suspect yet. He was entering Canada in a
vehicle (with) a Washington plate.” Vic Toews, minister of public safety, said in a statement he was deeply concerned by the news. “This event is a sobering reminder of the dangerous conditions faced daily by the men
and women of our law enforcement agencies as they work to protect the safety and security of Canadians.” A spokeswoman with the Canada Border Services Agency said traffic was being diverted around the crossing.
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The Canadian Press
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Loblaw cuts 700 jobs Brampton. Reductions affect administrative and head-office staff
A Loblaws employee brings in shopping carts in Toronto in this file photo. On Tuesday, Loblaw Co. Ltd. announced plans to cut management and administrative jobs, saying the move would reduce costs. The Canadian Press File
Loblaw Co. Ltd. is cutting hundreds of mostly head-office jobs as Canada’s largest supermarket chain continues a makeover aimed at making it more competitive in the increasingly crowded grocery segment. “We’re managing costs where it makes sense by reducing administrative ex-
pense,” Loblaw president Vicente Trius said in announcing some 700 management and administrative jobs were being trimmed. The company, which operates under several banners including Loblaws, Zehrs, and Real Canadian Super Store, has about 135,000 full-time and part-time employees across the country. The cuts will affect about 10 per cent of its management and administrative staff. Loblaw said the layoff notices would
By the numbers
$60M
The cuts at Loblaw will result in a one-time expense of $60 million, to be recorded in the fourth quarter of its financial year.
begin going out Tuesday and the cuts should be complete within three weeks. RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel called the move a step toward making the company more productive.
Microsoft
California. Court to hear lawsuit over cleaner-fuel mandate
Microsoft’s new Surface tablet The Associated Press file
Surface tablet will match iPad price Microsoft’s Surface tablet computer, the company’s answer to Apple Inc.’s iPad, will start at $519 in Canada when it goes on sale Oct. 26. The price matches that of the iPad, but the base model of the Surface has twice as much storage memory: 32 gigabytes. The screen is also slightly larger. The Associated Press Apple
‘iPad mini’ may debut next week Apple Inc. has sent out invites for an event next Tuesday, where it’s expected to announce the release of a smaller iPad. The invites don’t hint at what will be revealed, beyond saying that “We’ve got a little more to show you.” Observers have said for months that Apple has an “iPad mini” in the works. Reports suggest the smaller iPad would have a screen that’s 7.8 inches on the diagonal, a bit more than the Kindle Fire or Google Inc.’s Nexus, with their seven-inch screens. The Associated Press
Model years 2011-13
Ford recalls Fiestas over side airbags Ford is recalling more than 154,000 Fiesta subcompacts, including 28,000 in Canada, over airbags. If the front passenger seat is empty, Ford says, the side airbag won’t inflate to protect rear-seat passengers in some crashes. The Associated Press
“Loblaw is generally not the leanest of organizations and today’s announcement is a move toward streamlining functions,” Nattel wrote in a report, adding that she expects the company to realize annual savings in the neighbourhood of $60 million, starting in 2013. “But we would not assume that the cost savings will necessarily flow to the bottom line, but rather be reinvested in pricing (and) in-store service to drive top-line performance,” Nattel said. The Canadian Press
Paying double Land Transfer Tax is unfair. If you’re one of the five percent of people moving within the City of Toronto this year, you’ll pay City Hall’s Land Transfer Tax on top of the Province’s, together totalling about $15,000, upfront, on average. And you’ll have to pay it again every time you move, unless you leave Toronto. Forcing so few people to pay so much extra tax, for the same level of service as everyone else, is unfair. City Hall has better options. Let’s get this right, Toronto.
A federal appeals court will hear arguments in a case seeking to stop California’s first-inthe-nation mandate requiring petroleum refiners and ethanol producers to make cleaner fuels for millions of cars and trucks in the state. At issue before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the constitutionality of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, an important piece of the state’s landmark global warming law, AB 32. The mandate requires petroleum refiners, fuel distributors and others to make cleaner-burning fuels for the California market. But out-of-state oil refiners and biofuels producers have sued over the law, saying it will give an unfair advantage to instate fuels producers. The Associated Press
By the numbers
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The California Air Resources Board said the standard will cut California’s dependence on petroleum by 20 per cent, and account for one-tenth of the state’s goal to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020.
iPhone maker dismisses underage interns The company that manufactures Apple’s iPhone said Tuesday it found underage interns as young as 14 working at one of its factories in China. Foxconn Technology Group said the interns were found by a company investigation at its factory in the eastern city of Yantai and were sent back to their schools. China’s minimum legal working age is 16. Foxconn said it was investigating with schools how the interns were sent to its factory. It didn’t say how
many underage interns it found. “We recognize that full responsibility for these violations rests with our company and we have apologized to each of the students for our role in this action,” Foxconn said in a statement. “Any Foxconn employee found, through our investigation, to be responsible for these violations will have their employment immediately terminated.” A labour-rights group, China Labor Watch, said in a statement that primary re-
Foxconn
• Foxconn produces iPhones and iPads for Apple Inc. and also assembles products for Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. The company gave no indication what products were made in facilities where the interns worked.
sponsibility lay with schools involved but “Foxconn is also culpable for not confirming the ages of their workers.”
Foxconn is one of China’s biggest employers, with about 1.2 million employees in factories in several cities. The company has an internship program that takes vocational students who work for three to six months in its factories, accompanied by teachers. Foxconn faced a complaint in August that vocational students were compelled by their schools to work in its factories in China. Foxconn said the students were free to leave at any time. The Associated Press
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Bombardier tries to offset potential CSeries delay Aerospace. Production of mid-fuselage section brought back in-house after Chinese supplier took on too much work Bombardier has taken steps to reduce the risk that a Chinese supplier will delay the first test flight of the CSeries, but an industry analyst who toured its facility remains concerned about its ability to produce sections of the fuselage once full production begins next year. The Montreal-based aircraft manufacturer, which hopes to begin test flights by the end of the year, recently moved production of the mid-fuselage section from Shenyang, China, to an in-house facility in BelWJ _ 5 4 1 0 _ O t t a w a fast. SAC Commercial Aircraft
A reporter enters a full-size model of the Bombardier CSeries aircraft during its September 2009 introduction in Montreal. The Canadian Press File
Company (SACC) continues to supply the rear fuselage section and has already shipped the first one to Mirabel, Que., where it has been joined with other sections. Although this is positive, Walter Spracklin of RBC Cap.italp Markets df Pa g ethe 1Chinese 1 0 / said partner remains a risk to meet
full production targets. “We believe the facility’s ability to ‘repatriate back’ the fuselage components that were moved away from SACC remains a key uncertainty — as it was not made clear on this trip why SACC struggled,” 1he6 wrote / 1 2in, a report. 2 : 0 8 PM The Canadian Press
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22
voices
Curating Canadian conservatives The Canadian Museum of Civilization is being rebranded. Now it’s going to be the Paul Sullivan Canadian Museum of Our Own metronews.ca Backyard. Er, the Canadian Museum of History. That old mandate: “To increase, throughout Canada and internationally, interest in, knowledge and understanding of and appreciation for human cultural achievements and human behaviour…”? That’s over. It’s time to turn our gaze … inward. The feds are going to spend $25 million to teach us Canadian history, no doubt because we weren’t listening the first time in Grade 8. Instead of that civilization malarkey, we’ll gather all our national clichés in one convenient location: The Last Spike, Maurice Richard’s hockey sweater (le pew!), and the gag The power of pop culture reel from This Hour Has 22 Minutes. OK, so I made that I agree with James Moore, last one up. But talk about minister in charge of Turn- historical significance. According to the usually ing Back the Clock, that informed but anonymous the world needs more sources, the museum will focus on the Royal Family and Canada. But we already Canadian military. gave the world Jim Carrey theTell me this is not all part and Neil Young. What of the Harper government’s ongoing effort to put the 21st more do they want? I century back in the bottle know —Celine Dion! and rewrite Canadian history. We’ll give them Celine We’ll know what’s really going on if Museum 2.0 has a Dion! Preston Manning wing. The new museum will use the current Museum of Civilization building, a world-class architectural homage to human civilization. Well, it will have to do. It was either that or move it to Winnipeg, where it could take over the newly built Museum of Human Rights. After all, human rights aren’t really our business, either. Let the EU or the UN or some other foreign outfit worry about that stuff. This here’s Canada. The Canada of Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Robert Borden, R.B. Bennett, John Diefenbaker, Brian Mulroney and, of course, Stephen Harper. Did I leave anyone out? Don’t get me wrong. I agree with James Moore, minister in charge of Turning Back the Clock, that the world needs more Canada. But we already gave the world Jim Carrey and Neil Young. What more do they want? I know — Celine Dion! We’ll give them Celine Dion! We’ll be able to give all these great ideas to the museum, as staff is now travelling across the country, all expenses paid, to find out what we think. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few more suggestions: the Charter of Rights (too civilized? Too Liberal); the Canadian flag (see previous item); the story of medicare; the National Wheat Board; the National Film Board; the CBC (hmm — there’s a pattern emerging here). Gee, James, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
New planet gets four stars!
just sayin’
Team’s first find
Astronomer’s viewpoint
Planet with 4-sun system discovered Astronomers have discovered a new planet with a four-sun system — the first case of its kind. The planet, PH1, circles twin suns that are in turn orbited by a second distant pair of stars. The discovery was made by Planet Hunters, a Yale University-led project, in which amateur astronomers work with professional scientists to find new worlds. Metro
“The discovery of these systems forces us to go back to the drawing board to find how such planets can assemble and evolve in these dynamically challenging environments.” Meg Schwamb, astronomer at Yale University, and lead author of the report behind the discovery.
How they discovered it
How two hobbyists found unique planet Planet Hunters volunteers, Kian Jek of San Francisco and Robert Gagliano of Cottonwood, Ariz., spotted faint dips in light caused by the planet as it passed in front of its parent stars, a common method of finding extrasolar planets. Their discovery was confirmed by observations from the Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
5,000 light years away
• What’s in a name? Named PH1 in honour of the Planet Hunters website. • Neptune-sized planet. More than six times the radius of Earth, making PH1 slightly bigger than Neptune. • Not habitable. PH1’s temperature ranges from a minimum of about 251 C to a maximum of about 340 C.
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The Canadian Museum of Civilization, pictured, will be rebranded as the Canadian Museum of History, the feds announced Tuesday. Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS
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SCENE
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
SCENE
Tyler Perry stars in Alex Cross. HANDOUT
Meet the newest Alex Cross
Adaptation. Tyler Perry plays the lead in the latest movie based on James Patterson’s novels IN FOCUS
Richard Crouse [email protected]
If the name Alex Cross sounds familiar you’re either an avid reader of crime novels or a Morgan Freeman fan. The character is the star
of 20 books by author James Patterson, two films starring Freeman and now a third, the simply titled Alex Cross, with Tyler Perry in the lead role. In the books and films Cross is a Washington D.C. cop with a Ph.D. in psychology. In other words, as he says in Kiss the Girls, “I’m a forensic psychologist. It’s a fancy way of saying I’m a guy who walks into a room like that and determines the hows and whys.” In the new film, Perry, best known as the director and star of the Madea comedies, squares off against a serial killer (Matthew Fox)
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twice,” he said, adding that he changed his mind because he realized he “liked Alex Cross. And the fact that he’s black is totally incidental. That’s a rare thing for a black actor to find.” Along Came a Spider sees Cross solve the case of a kidnapped congressman’s daughter. Once again critics hated the film — which currently sits at 32 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes — but praised Freeman’s performance. New York Times scribe Elvis Mitchell called it “a classless, underdeveloped thriller,” but wrote that it “couldn’t be better served than it is by Mr. Freeman.”
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The movie was a hit with audiences, but not the critics, although Roger Ebert wrote that Freeman and Judd, “are so good, you almost wish they’d decided not to make a thriller at all… and had simply found a way to construct a drama exploring their personalities.” The movie was withheld from release in central Virginia out of respect for the families of three girls who had been murdered in the area. Four years later, despite some reservations, Freeman reprised the role. “I didn’t want to do the same thing
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who claims to have murdered one of the detective’s relatives. The first Cross novel to make the leap to the big screen was Kiss the Girls, the second book in the series. Denzel Washington was originally set to star, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Morgan Freeman stepped in, starring opposite Ashley Judd. In the film Cross’s niece disappears, the likely victim of Casanova, a kidnapper and killer of young women. Aiding Cross is Dr. Kate McTiernan (Judd), a surgeon, who narrowly escaped the sadomasochist killer’s grasp.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Heroism comes at a price for Scott Speedman in Last Resort Interview. Actor discuses his role, the dynamics between characters and the heroism in disobedience
OF GREEN?
We’re pretty sure actor Scott Speedman has the power to broker peace negotiations with a simple glance. Of course, in the role of XO Sam Kendal on Last Resort, it will take more than the 37-yearold’s mesmerizing blue eyes to get his submarine crew out of trouble, considering war was triggered when he refused strange orders to bomb Pakistan. The morality and heart Speedman brings to the role will help as he goes toe-to-toe with the commanding Andre Braugher, who plays the captain of the sub. Their relationship is central to the series — just as important as the mystery surrounding the United States’ decision to turn on its own. Speedman explains.
That’s where a lot of the dramatic tension on the show comes from. (The characters) are very close. You find out that Andre’s character has really nothing to lose; he really has no family to fall back on, so he’s making all these gambles. Meanwhile, I’m relatively young and have a wife waiting for me at home. It’s been really fun to play with that and to deal with that male bonding relationship and tearing that up. We’ve already seen the U.S. attacking the submarine, the crew turning on each other, and a militia on the island prepared to fight the sailors seeking safety there. Who is the biggest enemy? For Sam specifically, ultimately, the most interesting
Scott Speedman stars in Last Resort, which airs on Global. handout
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are teaming up for the Golden Globes. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Dick Clark Productions and NBC announced Monday that the pair of 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation stars have signed on to host the 70th annual Golden Globes ceremony after British comedian Ricky Gervais’
LEAD TO PILES
Metro World News in New York
What is the dynamic between Sam and Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher)?
Golden Globes. 30 Rock’s Tina Fey, Parks and Rec’s Amy Poehler to host show
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AMBER RAY
25
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Track record
“Tina and Amy have a proven chemistry.” Paul Telegdy, NBC
three-year reign as the show’s acerbic emcee. “The unparalleled comedic timing of Tina and Amy will surely have viewers wanting to tune-in to see them in action,” said Takla-O’Reilly, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which honours film and TV at the Beverly Hills Hilton ceremony. The funny lady duo previously starred together in the films Mean Girls and Baby Mama and on Saturday Night Live. They co-hosted the NBC sketch comedy series’ Weekend Update segment from 2004 to 2006. “Having both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on board to host this year’s festivities is a major coup,” said Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late night programming at NBC. “Tina and Amy have a proven chemistry and comedic timing from their many years together.” This year’s Golden Globes ceremony was watched by 16.8 million TV viewers, finishing within one per cent of the 17 million viewers who tuned in to the 2011 broadcast, according to the Nielsen Co. The Globes are usually handed out about a week before the Academy Award nominations are announced, but that won’t be the case next year. The motion-picture academy has moved up the Oscar nominations announcement to three days before the Globes are set to air Jan. 13. The earlier date for the nomination unveiling for the 85th annual Academy Awards, which will be hosted Feb. 24 by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, could steal attention away from the Globes. the associated press
but he’s also really intent on clearing his name.
Quoted
“The most interesting enemy I can have is the captain.” Scott Speedman
enemy I can have is the captain. The more generic choices are there but the more interesting rival will be Marcus Chaplin, the father figure, the mentor. But you have the Navy Seals (who boarded the submarine and seem to have their own agenda); you have Robert Patrick’s character (the sub’s uncooperative Master Chief Joseph Prosser), which is an interesting character to play off of. I much prefer when (the crew is working) as a unit as op-
posed to using some of the (supporting characters) as enemies. What is Sam’s biggest motivation right now? A big thrust of the show is my character trying to get home. But really, Sam wants to stay alive long enough to clear his name. He’s spent all this time getting to where he is in his life and it’s all being ripped away from him. He wants to get home to be with his wife
Is there heroism in disobedience? Of course, I love that aspect of the show. That’s really what drew me to the character. He’s not just this herotype guy; even when facing a tough decision, no matter what the consequences, he’s still going to try to do the right thing. These guys, they spend 10 years getting orders and following them. They’re preparing for this moment — that’s what they do in the nuclear submarine — then the order comes and they don’t do it. It was an interesting moment to play, for sure.”
Funny ladies Tina Fey and Amy Poehler team up to host the Golden Globes. getty images
26
SCENE
Q&A. Ellie Goulding on hit single Lights, sophomore album and dating Skrillex British singer Ellie Goulding dealt with writer’s block when coming up with songs for her sophomore album. That’s because she was still dealing with the success of her first album. Goulding’s debut, Lights, was released in February 2010 in Europe and March 2011 in the United States. This year, however, the title track peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and has sold more than 3.3 million units in America. The electro-dance track is one of the year’s top songs. “I still haven’t been able to understand, like, why that has happened,” the 25-year-old said in a recent interview. “It’s crazy. But the definite truth is it’s been way more popular here (in the U.S.) than it has anywhere in the world.” Her Lights album has sold about 240,000 units in the U.S., but now she’s promoting her sophomore record, Halcyon, which was released this week. She recorded it in “a converted barn in a valley” in England with producer Jim Eliot (Kylie Minogue) to escape the success of Lights. While her Lights single is on the new album, Goulding has a new single, Anything Could Happen, a new sound — and a somewhat new relationship. Did you want to capitalize on the success of Lights and do something similar on the new album? ... No, not really. ... If my next song has the same ability to do what Lights has done, then I’ll be really proud. But, who knows? Like, I would never want to design music to do what Lights did ‘cause that wouldn’t have any kind of integrity on my part. ... Most of my favourite music isn’t in the charts. Don’t get me wrong, I adore pop music so much. I’m not saying I have a thing against chart music. If mine gets on the
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Oozing with exuberance Fear Fun. Musician makes some changes after being on ‘autopilot’ for a few years Pat Healy
Metro World News
Ellie Goulding THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
charts and I sell records, then it’s a bonus. What helped you overcome writer’s block? ... I guess I cured it by meeting Jim. Also ... I went through, like, a breakup in a relationship (with radio DJ Greg James) and genuinely, like, that kind of opened the floodgates for me. I felt like there was a lot I needed to write about for a long time. I went away to Ireland by myself and that triggered a lot of the lyrics, a lot of the ideas. You’re dating Skrillex and you’ve collaborated musically. Do you want to do more of that? I think in an ideal world we’d love to make a whole record together ... but it just so happens that we’re both ridiculously busy. When it comes to music, it honestly is really professional. Honestly. If we start talking about music on the phone, it switches immediately to being professional, and not on purpose, but because we’re both so passionate about music and it’s a very serious thing to us. But at the same time we’ve had fun making stuff, and I have fun listening to his new stuff because it blows my mind and it’s so clever to me, so fascinating it makes me want to laugh, and I laugh because it’s so brilliant. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fear Fun is the debut by Father John Misty, but the man behind the moniker, Joshua Tillman, has been putting out albums for the past eight years, recording as a member of Fleet Foxes, Saxon Shore and on his own as J. Tillman. These previous efforts, mostly characterized by their solemnity, bear little resemblance to his recent outpouring of manic psychedelic folk. “I was obliged to make some changes after some realizations that I had about myself,” says Tillman. “I was on autopilot for a few years with the J. Tillman thing.” On Fear Fun, the songs ooze with an exuberance of being born again, but for Father John Misty that doesn’t necessarily mean a pious awakening. Against some of the same warm quilts of harmony that make Fleet Foxes sound so comforting, Tillman sings words that are frank and funny and often deal with sex and drugs. If it weren’t for this content, you could almost picture him dancing to these funky songs with some groovy monster on The Muppet Show. His voice is one of confidence and clarity, and against the dark decadence of his lyrics, it blurs the line between reverence and irreverence. As opposed to the bleak and serious artwork on his solo records, the album art on Fear Fun is deeply hallucinogenic, with liner notes inside that provide commentary and peculiar subtitles for each song. Tillman says coming up with this part of the
Father John Misty Maximilla Lukacs Biblical references
Nothing is sacred In addition to the new name with which Father John Misty has ordained himself, Fear Fun teems with references to biblical figures and holy places. But Joshua Tillman says nothing is sacred here. “Really, it just kind of aligns with my sensibilities of what I think is funny,” he says. “I do think music that is popular right now is so insubstantial, and there is very album was a cathartic process. “I was just sick of identifying myself as a songwriter and subsequently like a failure of a songwriter or something,” he says. “Around that
little acknowledgement of prevalent images or mythology. ... I know that religion is like an antiquated thing, but it still, for whatever reason, really resonates with people, and the subversion of those images resonates. It’s not out of devotion, but if I’m going to write from my conversational voice, there’s tons of that s— rattling around in my brain just from my formative years, and I really get some enjoyment out of subverting conventional wisdom regarding those symbols.” time, the sound of an acoustic guitar made me nauseous, like I couldn’t even deal with it, and so I left Seattle and I just wanted to get back to my human-
ity. And it’s funny because with songwriting, you get so used to only pulling from certain aspects of your imagination or your emotional quotient. You get so used to farming from these very specific parts of yourself that at some point you start to believe that those are the only parts of yourself that have substance or worth. I was just sort of sick of feeling like a one-dimensional entity in terms of creativity, so I started writing up the book that’s in the album and I wasn’t beholden to these aesthetic parameters that I was musically. I quickly discovered what I perceived to be far more engaging in that medium, creatively. I was laughing a lot the w h o l e time I was writing.”
scene
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Beach House to keep it meaningful from now on Critically acclaimed. Metro talks to the band during their world tour HEIDI PATALANO
Metro World News in New York
Revered by critics and slowly making their way into the mainstream, the Baltimore band Beach House have a growing awareness of the burdens of their fame. Careful to protect their image but eager to engage with their fans, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have vowed to keep it meaningful as they promote their fourth album, the critically acclaimed Bloom. So we went deep for this interview while Scally was on a break during their world tour. Before doing this interview, your publicist told me not to ask about your influences or ask any of the traditional boring questions. I get it. Do you feel sort of weary about doing these interviews now? Um, no. You don’t want to talk about things that are boring. It’s just very natural and simple. … Whenever you get questions like ‘What are your influences?’ I always tend to think that’s just someone who hasn’t really listened to the music. We kind of made a conscious decision, after so many years of doing this band, we only want to do things that are meaningful now. We’re lucky that we can try to do it that way. No fluff. In other coverage of your music, you’ve mentioned how there are so many generalizations about what you do — that it’s all about tones. Do you think there will ever come a day when you’ll swear off reading what people have written about you? We don’t read much of what people have written. ... We feel very lucky that we are asked to do interviews or that people care enough to do it. ... That comment about people paying attention to tones — I think that’s big-
27
Birthday bash. Usher celebrates big day with never-ending party R&B star Usher says he still feels 21, despite just celebrating his 34th birthday. The singer “danced all night” in London with a host of British singing talent Saturday night before his birthday Sunday, including Leona Lewis, Tinie Tempah, Dizzee Rascal and JLS star Ortise Williams. But Usher says that’s not where the
Alex Scally Getty images
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party is going to end. “It’s really going to be a party celebration week as opposed to weekend,” he said. In London to promote the computer game Dance Central 3 for Xbox, Usher also talked about his recent decision to put his European tour dates on hold in order to “do something really creative.” The American R&B star is joining the judging panel on the American talent show The Voice, a role he can’t wait to fill. “I haven’t really had the chance to show people what I do behind the scenes in regards to mentoring, so this will kind of give you a different perspective” about me, he told The Associated Press. Aside from designing video games and mentoring young hopefuls, Usher just premiered a new music video for his latest single Numb. It opens with reallife footage of the singer controversially walking off stage partway through his Berlin gig last year and features him dancing in a glass box. “You know, I live my life in a glass box and every move, everything that I do is kind of speculated or either spoken about in some way and I never really can speak about it myself,” he said. “This kind of gave me the opportunity to open up and just be vulnerable.” Numb is the latest single from the R&B star’s Looking 4 Myself album. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Quoted
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“It’s really going to be a party celebration week as opposed to weekend.” Usher on his 34th birthday
ger than our music. We’re talking about a societywide trend that we’ve been noticing for a couple of years — people just creating music based just only on the vibe of it. The song comes second. The lyrics come second. It’s all just a bunch of sound that feels good. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just commenting on it. It’s not engaging on all levels. Right. When we said that, we were just trying to tell people, well, we spend a lot of time on the songs and the lyrics. Please don’t let it be only felt on that level. If you consciously think about it at all, try to go somewhere else
with it. It’s instructing the listener a little bit. There are all these online lyric sites — are you annoyed when people list them incorrectly? Victoria wrote all the lyrics out in the album art, so anyone who really cares will find the correct ones. I think it’s kind of interesting how there’s so much bad information on the Internet. It’s kind of this hilarious thing. It’s like this big bathroom wall with 10 billion people writing on it. There’s been controversy recently surrounding your refusal to let Volkswagen use your music in their com-
mercial and keeping a lid on how much you share your music for those purposes. Just to clarify “keeping a lid on how much we share our music” — that’s not it at all. We love sharing our music, and if that ad had been amazing we may have done it. The ad was terrible. It’s more taste and it’s more use. If a song is used well, it’s exciting to us. It could make a commercial better or a product better, or maybe we like the thing that they’re trying to sell. Trying to be uncommercial is not one of our goals. We’re a commercial band. We sell our records. We want to communicate to people as much as possible, but on our own terms.
Usher Chris Pizzello/The associated PRess/Invision
28
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
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Scenopolis
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George Hamilton may be best known to my contemporaries as that overly tanned actor whose self effacing cameos poke fun at a Hollywood career that was built off of being an overly-tanned self effacing character. However, Hamilton, given the right opportunity, is more than the sum of his parts. His versatility as a performer is currently on show at Toronto’s Royal Alex Theatre, where he is currently starring in the direct-fromBroadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles, where Hamilton can be found singing, dancing, acting and mugging for the audience as only he can do best. La Cage Aux Folles was written as a French farce, which became an ’80s musical that was then repopularized in 1996 by the Robin Williams movie The Birdcage. Throughout these iterations the plot points have stayed the same: Nightclub owner George, (played by Hamilton) and his drag queen lover must pretend not to a couple in order to impress the conservative parents of their son’s fiancé . While a tale of conflicting family values may seem outdated in 2012 Toronto (drag queens, quelle horreur!), La Cages Aux Folles is a slick musical
La Cage Aux Folles runs until Nov. 18 at the Royal Alex Theatre. courtesy paul kolnik
revival that relishes in its campy and feathered fun. La Cage Aux Folles is currently on-stage at the Royal Alex Theatre until Nov. 18.
Seating is limited!
Every Wednesday, Sceneopolis. com — a new arts and culture subscription website — will bring you the latest from stages across the city. Sceneopolis subscriptions cost only
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29
METRO DISH OUR TAKE ON THE WORLD OF CELEBRITIES
Scarlett Johansson all photos getty images
Johansson calls it splits with BF Scarlett Johansson has split up with boyfriend Nate Naylor just weeks after she was spotted looking cosy with ex Jared Leto at a political event, according to Daily Mail. How official is the split? Naylor was even spotted clearing his belongings out of Johansson’s New York home. “They never officially lived together, but Nate has moved all of his stuff out and back into his apartment,” a source says. “The relationship is over. It has not been amicable.”
Barack Obama gives his take on the American Idol judges’ cat fight.
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Ashley Greene
Penny saved a penny earned for Greene Twilight star Ashley Greene has found a downside to being in the super-successful franchise: getting spoiled when it comes to travel. “Twilight has ruined me,” Greene tells Marie Clare magazine. “When this is all over, flying internationally is going to be very hard for me. It is just not worth it to buy a first class ticket, because of the cost.” Worth it or not, Greene should have no trouble paying for a ticket, though, as she’s been smart with her Twilight salary. “I’m lucky because my dad taught me to be frugal and save,” she says.
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the word
Dorothy Robinson [email protected]
Celebrities are constantly launching perfumes and clothing lines. But Johnny Depp is not just any old actor. He’s Johnny Depp! He’s gotta do things differently!
So what is the famed actor’s new vanity project? Why, he’s going to publish books! According to a statement by Harper Collins, Depp is launching an imprint with the book publisher called Infinitum Nihil (translation: “nothing lasts forever”). Per the statement, Depp says, “I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum Nihil, that we will do our best to deliver publications worthy of peoples’ time, of peoples’ concern, publications that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet.”
As he continues his campaign for re-election, U.S. President Barack Obama is addressing all of the top pressing issues — including the feud between American Idol judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. “I think that they are going to be able to sort it out, I am confident,” Obama said during an interview with Miami’s Y100 radio station. “I’m all about bringing people together, working for the same cause. I think both outstanding artists are going to be able to make sure that they’re moving forward and not going backwards.”
Amanda Bynes is facing charges from her driving record.
recipetoriches.ca
Depp to launch eccentric yet dashing book imprint
Obama offers his two cents in Carey/Minaj feud
The imprint has already announced one book: The Untravelled Tales of Bob Dylan by the historian Douglas Brinkley, which is set for publication in 2015. Interesting way to inject some glamour into the rather staid world of book publishing. And, hey, unlike the rest of us involved in the media world, it’s not like he has to worry about the scant paycheck. But does anyone else get the mental image of Depp editing books while dressed like a pirate and using a quill pen?
Jennie Garth’s efforts to reach out to Bynes all in vain It seems everyone is worried about troubled starlet Amanda Bynes these days, including former What I Like About You co-star Jennie Garth. “I tried reaching out to her and I haven’t been able to reach her,” Garth tells Us Weekly. “My heart feels for whatever she is going through and I love her dearly.” Garth isn’t alone in feeling disconnected, as Bynes’ parents have reportedly been getting the cold shoulder from the actress, who is facing multiple charges stemming from her dangerous driving record.
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There is always time for tapas in Spain’s capital city VAWN HIMMELSBACH [email protected]
Madrid has a tempo; it’s a city that lives by and for art. It’s also a city where food has been elevated to an art form. Take your pick of gastronomic delights at one of the city’s centuries-old restaurants, traditional tapas bars, trendy gastrobars or gourmet markets. Here’s a guide to eating your way around Madrid: Markets Mercado de san Miguel: Built in 1916, this market has become a meeting place for foodies. You’ll find everything from salted fish at Casa del Bacalao to European meats at La Boucherie. At sundown, the market turns into a hotspot for tapas, which can be washed down with a glass of Spanish red at one of its wine houses. Mercado de San Anton and La Cocina: This new gourmet market was designed for foodies — with 14 food stalls on the first floor, and show-cooking stations and a bar for casual meals on the second floor. Head to the third floor’s terrace restaurant, La Cocina, where you’ll find dishes inspired by traditional Spanish cuisine. Here, sample some of the best bellota ham, aged for five years — from pigs fed a diet of acorns and aromatic herbs. Tapas While in Madrid, do like the
Flights
locals and tapear (go for tapas) — order calamari, cod and tripe. This time-honoured tradition still stands, whether in a traditional tavern or trendy bar, where small plates of food are served with a glass of beer or wine. Some of the best traditional taverns can be found in the oldest parts of the capital, including La Latina, Cava Baja, Cava Alta and Cava de San Miguel.
LIFE
Madrid. This destination offers everything from traditional fare in centuries-old buildings to the latest in innovative cuisine
Gastrobars Head to Estado Puro, one of the city’s trendiest gastrobars, where the bar is covered with transparent panels encasing flamenco dolls. The food is a contemporary twist on traditional Spanish fare — try a deconstructed tortilla in a shot glass, or foie gras served like an ice cream sandwich. Traditional with a twist La Capilla de la Bolsa in Madrid’s Literary Quarter was once, in the Middle Ages, the Chapel of Santa Cruz, and later became home to the Madrid Stock Exchange. The restaurant has maintained the building’s Baroque vault and original columns, allowing you to soak up hundreds of years of art history as you eat Mediterranean haute cuisine.
The San Miguel Market is a meeting place for foodies. PHOTOS: COURTESY ESCARABAJO AMARILLO
Where to stay The boutique Hotel de las Letras combines tradition with modern flair. Built in 1917, this newly renovated, modern space has retained its mosaics, marquises, staircases and original sculptures, and each room features high ceilings, oak flooring and natural light. It’s located in the Gran Via shopping district, at the heart of the city’s Art Walk. VAWN HIMMELSBACH IS A FREELANCE WRITER BASED IN TORONTO. CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE AT CHICSAVVYTRAVELS. COM.
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Enjoy some of the architecture in the Gran Via shopping district.
How about some Spanish ham?
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© 2012 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Expedia, Expedia.ca, and the Airplane logos are registered trademarks, or trademarks, of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Ticket fulfillment services provided by Tour East Holidays (Canada) Inc., 15 Kern Road, Suite 9, Toronto, Ontario M3B 1S9. TICO Registration No.: 50015827 and Tour East Holiday (Canada) Inc., 2000 Peel Street, Suite 735 Montreal, QC H3A 2W5. Quebec License No. 702246. *Discount limited to hotel portion of bookings only (off Expedia.ca prices) purchased by Oct. 31/12 for travel between Sept. 12/12 and Apr. 30/13. Savings vary and start at 15%, depending on the hotel. Some conditions apply. Only valid on select “Light Up Vegas” hotel properties. Offer subject to change or cancellation without notice. See expedia.ca for full details.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Arrive in Aruba
With a perfect climate and white sand beaches, where else would you rather be this winter? CASSANDRA GARRISON Metro World News
As the sunset burns over the horizon of Aruba’s 32-kilometre white sand coast, the story that shocked the world in 2005 seems to be the furthest thing from mind. “What incident?” a local sarcastically asks when pressed about whether the “incident” still puts a dent in Aruba’s tourism industry. That “incident,” of course, is the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway and the headline-grabbing investigation that ensued. As the media circus was fuelled by talk that Aruban officials dragged their feet when she first went missing, the island’s main source of income — tourism — devastatingly plummeted. But on the beaches of this tropical paradise, where cool trade winds make for the perfect year-round climate, Aruba seems to have rebounded as it once again emerges as an ideal vacation hot spot in 2012. Crime is typically minimal and security guards patrol the beaches at night.
The waters are always azure in Aruba. THINKSTOCK
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Europe Air + 7 Nights + Rail Vi Vadi Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Wien Messe
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accom, 4-day lift pass, 2-for-1 skiis & biikes tune-up coupons and 2-for-1 lift ticket vouchers for Blue Mountain. Travel Dec 9/usv. Price per person based on quad occupancy (no age limit).
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Boston Air + 3 Nights Courtyard Boston Tremont
$
509
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Conditions apply. Ex: Toronto. Air only prices are per person for return travel unless otherwise stated. Package, cruise, tour, rail & hotel prices are per person, based on double occupancy for total length of stay unless otherwise stated. All-inclusive vacations include air. Prices are for select departure dates and are accurate and subject to availability at advertising deadline, errors and omissions excepted, and subject to change. Taxes & fees include transportation related fees, GST/HST and fuel supplements and are approximate and subject to change. ◊Family special price is per person for quad occupancy (2 adults & 2 kids ages 2-17). ◊◊Price per person based on quad occupancy (no age limit). ΔValid on Air Canada Vacations air, hotel & transfer packages to the Caribbean & Mexico. Must book & pay in full by Oct. 31, 2012. Valid for travel from Nov. 1, 2012 and completed by Apr. 30, 2013. Minimum 7-night stay required. Valid on new bookings only. Offer is subject to change and may be withdrawn at any time without notice by the supplier. Not combinable with any other offers, discounts or promotions. Additional restrictions may apply. vth/ts=transat, swg/wg=sunwing, ac/acv/qk=air canada, wsv/ws=westjet, c6=canjet, american airlines, nol=nolitours, ggv=gogo vacations, ua=united, ccl=carnival, sig=signature, eur=eurail, kl=klm. † We will beat any written quoted airfare by $1 and give you a $20 voucher for future travel. “Fly Free” offer applies only where all “Lowest Airfare Guarantee” criteria are met but Flight Centre does not beat quoted price. Additional important conditions apply. For full terms and conditions visit www.flightcentre.ca/lowestairfareguarantee-flyfree. Head office address: 1 Dundas St W Suite 200, Toronto, ON. Call for retail locations. ONT. REG #4671384
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Feel like a VIP at the island’s top-notch resort: Hyatt Regency Aruba (J. E. Irausquin Blvd. #230, Aruba; +011-297 586-1234). Choose from an ocean-view room or one that overlooks the tropical courtyard with sparkling pools. With its own beach for guests, six restaurants and a casino that’s hopping till the wee hours, vacationers don’t ever need to leave the property, unless it’s to buy some hand-rolled Cuban cigars in the shops across the street. Rates run from $335 in low season, and $595 in high season.
3
Relax
33
Have the hotel arrange a taxi and venture off the beaten path for a more local dining experience. Grab a table on the patio at island favourite Madame Janette (Cunuco Abao 37; +011297-587-0184). Choose from Argentine cuts of beef or a fresh catch from the Caribbean sea. Don’t miss the Shrimp “Coco di Rasta” — jumbo coconut shrimp smothered in red curry sauce and served with rice. Or dine with your feet in the sand at Hyatt’s Footprints restaurant (+011-297-586-1234 ext. 37), which offers romantic tables on the beach so you can watch the sunset as you sip local cocktails and enjoy fresh fare like snapper ceviche or grilled lobster for two.
Stay
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
5 Play
Aruba’s desert climate makes it a perfect growing Kick back with a drink and sing along to karaThough Aruba is just 32 kilomelocation for aloe and the plant’s healing properties are oke at Piet’s Pier Bar (J.E. Irausquin Blvd. tres long, its diverse geography utilized at Hyatt Regency Aruba’s ZoiA Spa (J.E. Iraus#85; +011-297-586-1234 ext. 51) Stay features stunning views. Sip on quin Blvd. #85; +011-297-586-1234). Give your skin a till close and a security guard will be an Aruba Arriba as a catamaran rest from the hot sun with aloe-based facials, wraps or waiting to escort you back to the hotel. with Red Sail Sports (L.G. Smith soothing rituals for your hands and feet. Try a colourHint: Ask the bartender to sing Shania Boulevard 17; +011-297-586themed spirit bath, a tradition used by locals to calm Twain’s Still the One, but be prepared to 1603) takes you to the island’s the spirit and relax the mind. join him in the duet. best snorkel spots, where you’ll Senor Frog’s (J.E. Irausquin Blvd. 348 A; get a close-up of ocean life and +011-297-586-8900) gets a bad rep as aLondon Metro, Publication: Calgary Metro, Edmonton Metro, Halifax Metro, Fileshipwreck Name: from BOR_AD_AMEX-NF_Metro a German 1940. tourist trap,Metro, and, indeed, thereMetro, are plenty Ottawa Metro, Regina Metro, Saskatoon Toronto of college-aged drunks. But if you can get Trim: 10” x 6.182” 1/2 Page Vancouver Metro, Winnipeg Metro past the cheese, it’s not a bad spot for lateCanadian Marketing Bleed: 0" Safety: 0” Mech Res: 300dpi Material Deadline: October 1, night 2012dancing. 100 Yonge Street, 16th Floor Colours: CMYK
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
New Orleans, for the ladies Good times. Women, are you ready to live The Hangover? Alison Bowen Metro World News
Grab your shopping shoes Explore the unique boutiques of Magazine Street, a lengthy but doable walk or a quick cab ride from the French Quarter. Places like Buffalo Exchange offer consignment-store finds, like party dresses or a floral TopShop blouse or a boom box. If your shopping can escalate to extravagant — or for a peek — stop in at M.S. Rau Antiques, where pieces range from a Russian fossilized cave bear to Monets and a vampire killing kit.
How about a girls’ trip for Mardi Gras? thinkstock
Eat your way through the city Leave the diet books at home. The waiters at legendary Arnaud’s Restaurant on Bourbon Street may tell you the meals are zero calories, but that’s not true — and you’ll be robbing yourself of the city’s best pleasures if you don’t eat your way through New Orleans. The city’s cuisine is incomparable — succulent shrimp often delivered straight from the Gulf, the spices are thrown together in a way New England just can’t muster, and, well, what other place constantly lights its desserts on fire? A few places to try: Brunch is a must here. A favourite is Brennan’s in the French Quarter. Craft a delicious prix-fixe meal like its famous turtle soup (you’d never know), shrimp sardou layered over artichokes and spinach and, of course, bananas foster, created at
Stay out all night Make sure to walk along Bourbon Street — even without Mardi Gras, it’s a circus all its own. But locals will tip you toward Frenchmen Street, a chance to dart in and out of
the restaurant and now a New Orleans staple. If you’d rather eat all you want, The Court of Two Sisters down the street has a daily jazz brunch, with a live band in the courtyard and a shrimp-and-grits filled buffet. For a quick sandwich along the way, grab another city staple, the po-boy. In the French Quarter,Johnny’s has alligator sausage po-boys and Deanie’s boasts the shrimp and oyster sandwiches as part of its seafood-centric menu.
Where to stay The Hotel Monteleone, legend says, is where the French Quarter begins. The hotel, opened by a Sicilian shoemaker more than a century ago, has hosted luminaries from Tennessee Williams to Paul Newman and Liberace. Within walking distance from delicious brunch spots and the invigorating, music-filled Frenchmen Street, the hotel is an elegant place to retire at the end of the day.
bars where local bands play all night long. This weekend, you could catch the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival. Top off any night with a visit to Cafe du Monde, open 24 hours a day, for the city’s famous beignets and rich chicory coffee.
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TORONTO METRO • OCTOBER 17, 2012 • TRAVEL SECTION
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Visit nolitours.com or talk to your travel agent. 1 800 992 8143
Flights are from Toronto via Air Transat or CanJet. Price shown is per person, based on double occupancy in lead room category. Space and prices is subject to availability at time of booking and subject to change without prior notice. Taxes and fees are extra and noted above. For full descriptions and terms and conditions, refer to the Nolitours 2012-2013 Sun brochure. Nolitours is a division of Transat Tours Canada Inc., and is registered as a travel wholesaler in Ontario (Reg #50009486) with offices at 191 The West Mall, Suite 800, Etobicoke, ON M9C 5K8.
New Orleans has been a staple of bachelor parties for decades, but these days the ladies are taking over the city. An annual conference, Festigals, drew 400 people this summer for a womenonly celebration. One of the premier hotels, the Windsor Court Hotel, boasts a female chef and female sommelier, together crafting elegant-tasting menus. And a walking tour of the French Quarter — led by a feisty 79-year-old female — drops in tales of women influencing the city. So what better place for a girls’ getaway?
TRAVEL
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P OT
TER
It was roughly 200 years ago that cottages were built and a community established just beyond the French Quarter. photos: gerald herbert/the associated press
Treme celebrates 200 years of tunes Neighbourhood revival. Vibrant pocket of New Orleans is enjoying a surge in interest with HBO series of the same name The colourful and musical New Orleans neighbourhood called Treme is marking the 200th anniversary of its origins as an early melting pot for the city and the U.S. Treme is considered one of America’s most unusual neighbourhoods and holds significant place in the history of jazz. It is also getting some new energy thanks in part to the spotlight provided by the HBO series Treme. “All the things sacred to New Orleans bubbled up from that neighbourhood, because Treme had such a mixture of people and cultures,” said Toni Rice, a spokeswoman for one of the neighbourhood groups organizing its bicentennial celebration. “It wasn’t just slaves. It wasn’t all white or all black. It was German, Spanish, Haitian, Italian.” Born from the immigration that followed the Haitian revolution of the early 1800s and named for French milliner and property owner Claude Treme, the neighbourhood became an entertainment centre where white and black Creoles
A boy participates in a concert at Armstrong Park in Treme.
gathered. The wave of Haitian refugees added to a New Orleans that was already a mix of French, Spanish and AfricanAmerican culture, with American influence filtering in after the 1803 purchase of the territory from France. New Orleans was still largely confined to the French Quarter — the original city founded in 1718. Treme and other outlying neighbourhoods were farms or swamps until efforts to drain the land took hold as the population grew. It’s the site of St. Augustine, one of the oldest African-American Catholic church parishes in the nation, where Homer Plessy was a parishioner. In 1892, Plessy triggered the in-
Quoted
“This neighbourhood is an example of survival” Wayne Baquet, operator of Lil Dizzy’s restaurant in Treme, New Orleans
famous U.S. Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of “separate but equal.” It’s also the site of Congo Square, where during the 18th and 19th centuries slaves were permitted to dance, trade goods and play music that would evolve into jazz. Generations of musicians hail from Treme, among them Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and his grandfather, the late Ooh Poo Pah Doo singer Jesse Hill. It was also home to the recently deceased Lionel Batiste — the vocalist, drummer and assistant leader of the Treme Brass Band who was known simply as “Uncle Lionel.” And it was the birthplace of jazz singer and trumpeter Lionel Ferbos, who at 101 is believed to be the oldest working musician in the city. He performs regularly at
the Palm Court Jazz Cafe in the French Quarter. Percussionist Shannon Powell, 50, has lived in Treme his entire life. It’s where at age 11 he performed Bourbon Street Parade at a now-closed jazz club near his house and where as a teenager he was discovered by singing banjo and guitar player Danny Barker, who helped launch Powell’s career. “I caught the tail end of a lot of good things, of old ways of doing things,” Powell said. “Jazz funerals meant a lot more than they do now. They were so respectful and dignified. The procession dressed in suits, wore black and white, and they played a slow dirge until the body was put in the ground. It’s not like that anymore. Now you have kids out there in jeans playing all kinds of stuff.” Still, after years of blight and crime problems, a slow revival is taking shape. Treme is now part of a multimillion dollar Department of Housing and Urban Development revitalization plan, which could include the removal of the interstate highway. Work is under way to turn an unused rail corridor into a miles-long walking and bike path. “This neighbourhood is an example of survival,” said Wayne Baquet, who operates Lil Dizzy’s restaurant. “The city lost a big part of the middle class due to white flight and then black flight to newer neighbourhoods like New Orleans east and Gentilly. “After Katrina, which practically destroyed those two areas, Treme is coming back,” he said. The Associated Press
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Maple syrup and cinnamon bring out the sweet side of root vegetables Baked Root Vegetables with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon
This recipe serves six. Ryan Szulc, from Rose Reisman’s Family Favorites (Whitecap Books) Ingredients
Rose Reisman for more, visit rosereisman.com
Baked root vegetables are a real comfort side dish during the colder months. Use other varieties of your favourite vegetables such as turnips or rutabagas. You may need to add a little more maple syrup since these vegetables tend to be less sweet.
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
2. Arrange the sweet potatoes,
potatoes, squash, onion, parsnips and beets in a single layer on the lined baking sheets. Drink of the Week
Orange Haze for those fall nights This not-so-kid-friendly murky and thick “orange haze” blends orange liqueur, chocolate liqueur and honey.
• 1 lb sweet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into wedges • 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled and cut into wedges • 1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces • 1 large sweet yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges • 2 large peeled parsnips, cut
Lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, turning after 20 minutes or just until browned and tender. If the trays are on separate racks, switch their positions halfway through the cooking time. Bake the beets an extra 10 minutes, or until fork tender. Place the vegetables It’s perfect for the fall. This recipe serves one. It is, however, very easy to double or triple. • 3/4 oz orange liqueur • 3/4 oz milk chocolate cream liqueur • 1/2 tsp honey • Orange zest, to garnish
into 2-inch pieces • 2 peeled beets, cut into 1-inch pieces Dressing • 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar • 2 tbsp maple syrup • 1/2 tsp cinnamon • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
on a large serving platter.
3. To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the roasted vegetables. Garnish with parsley and serve. Rose Reisman’s Family Favorites (Whitecap Books) by Rose Reisman
Pour the orange liqueur into a shot glass. Very slowly pour the chocolate liqueur down the side of the shot glass, then drizzle the honey over the top of the mixture. Garnish your glass with orange zest. The associated press
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12-10-02 3:13 PM
Ontario Institute of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada Congratulates the 2012 Graduates of
The Certi�ied Supply Chain Management Professional (CSCMP) Designation Program We would especially like to acknowledge Ontario’s highest achievers on the National Exam: Darren Kirkpatrick, CSCMP
Jaqueline Bachelor, CSCMP
Lillian Li, CSCMP
The graduating class for October 2012 is… Rogelio L. Abarca, CSCMP Ebun Y. Arimah, CSCMP Eugenio Arza, CSCMP Bing Bai, CSCMP Jacqueline M. Batchelor, CSCMP Beant Singh Bedi, CSCMP Lori A. Bird, CSCMP Tejpal Singh Brar, CSCMP Marcelo J. Camara, CSCMP Liz Cardoso, CSCMP Parmjit K. Chahal, CSCMP Anguel Chterev, CSCMP Dan J. Clark, CSCMP Kim Crewson, CSCMP Panos Dassios, CSCMP Jason Dhillon, CSCMP Julie Di Lorenzo, CSCMP Jacklyn A. Doyle, CSCMP Jaymie M. Dube, CSCMP Hugh D. H. Durant, CSCMP Sherri L. Earle, CSCMP Folashade Fadeyi, CSCMP Frank Femia, CSCMP Scott D. Firth, CSCMP Suzheng Connie Ge, CSCMP Salpy Ghazarossian, CSCMP Angela Gubacsi, CSCMP Didi Guerdjikova, CSCMP Patrick Haak, CSCMP
Douglas Hambly, CSCMP Richard F. Hampton, CSCMP Jinglu Han, CSCMP Kimberly Hanson, CSCMP Shauna C. Hipwell, CSCMP Mary Jacobs, CSCMP Teresina S. Kandler, CSCMP Jennifer A. Kelly, CSCM Solveig Zarah Keshavjee, CSCMP Reda Khorshed, CSCMP Darren J. Kirkpatrick, CSCMP Sandhya B. Kotian, CSCMP Teresa Ku, CSCMP James C. L. Kuo Sandra S. Laviolette, CSCMP Larry Leung, CSCMP Lilian Li, CSCMP Heather A. Lundy, CSCMP Mary (Zhixian)Ma, CSCMP Ashley M. MacDonald, CSCMP Balbinder Singh Mahal, CSCMP Adizde M. Massu, CSCMP Elizabeth L. Merritt, CSCMP Fady F. Mikhail, CSCMP Marko I. Milankov, CSCMP Arpit Modi, CSCMP Steven C. Mollon, CSCMP Reagan Nault, CSCMP Bridgette T. Newell, CSCMP
Mathew D. Omoruyi, CSCMP Kaushik N. Pandya, CSCMP Mitul B. Patel, CSCMP Bradley R. Patterson, CSCMP Shawn H. Peard, CSCMP Shirin F. Pirwani, CSCMP Steven E. Purdy, CSCMP Hitesh K. Rajput, CSCMP Crystal A. Rasa, CSCMP Angela R. Reaney, CSCMP Glen J. Regier, CSCMP Ian J. Robertson, CSCMP Nicholas R. Rohoman, CSCMP Adalberto Sanchez Seara, CSCMP Kimberly Y. Schieck, CSCMP Sandra L. Scott Hillier, CSCMP Ritesh Sinha, CSCMP Biljana Sredojevic, CSCMP Jason W. Starchuk, CSCMP Rashpal Uppal, CSCMP Aldrin Neilson C. Uy, CSCMP Bridgette Vachon, CSCMP Carrie L. Vancoillie, CSCMP Bonnie Wong , CSCMP Zhimin (Annie) Wu, CSCMP Di Zhang, CSCMP Michael Xu Zhang, CSCMP Panhong (Wendy) Zhao, CSCMP Mingxia (Michelle) Zhu, CSCMP
The Ontario Institute of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (OIPMAC) is the largest supply chain management association in the country. OIPMAC awards a professional designation in supply chain management under the authorization of provincial legislation, and is responsible for standards-setting, accreditation and the continuing professional development of its members. Certified Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMPs) strategically manage the flow of goods, services and knowledge to help organizations maintain a long-term competitive advantage. They apply integrated skills in strategic procurement, operations, logistics, transportation, supplier relations, global sourcing, international business and capital project procurement to deliver quality products and services to customers in a timely and cost-effective fashion. CSCMPs make contributions to the success of organizations in a broad range of sectors, including retail, manufacturing, services, natural resources, utilities, transportation, distribution, IT, telecommunications, health care, education, and the public sector. For more information about OIPMAC and our leading-edge SCM programs, visit us at www.oipmac.ca
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Ontario Institute of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada 1 Dundas Street West, P.O. Box 64, Suite 2704, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1Z3 416-977-7566 / 1 877 726-6968 / Fax 416-977-4135 [email protected] Website: www.oipmac.ca
TM
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
41
Becoming master of the midterm Study these secrets. Translating, talking and tracking down a nest all part of the perfect test strategy
did.
Leah Ruehlicke TalentEgg.ca
Studying can be tough — especially if you have multiple tests, exams or midterms to study for at once. It’s easy to fall asleep with your textbook on your face, or focus more on perfecting that homemade apple crisp than perfecting your math formulas. Everyone has their own best practices when it comes to studying, so we asked around to find some common strategies for success when it comes to burying yourself in your books. Find your study spot The first step to successful
Back to the basics: Jot down the key points of longer texts to keep your brain from going into overdrive. istock
studying is finding a spot that is study-specific and has limited distractions. You might even want to disconnect your WiFi and put your phone on airplane mode for an hour or two. Crazy, I know, but it will help you stay focused.
Review the main concepts Reading through your notes and refreshing your memory on major concepts will make filling in the details later on that much easier. There’s no sense in memorizing the dates of John Cabot’s discoveries if you can’t even recall what he
Change up the lingo Reviewing concepts by using everyday language ensures you understand it. Furthermore, doing this helps you remember things more easily. For example, if your philosophy textbook reads, “Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration,” an easier way of saying this might be “Relativism means that your point of view is only your personal perception, and has no absolute truth or validity.” Speak out loud Calling Helgason, a secondyear Biology student at Trent University, says when she doesn’t understand a concept she reads it out loud. “Talking through my notes breaks down the concepts and makes it easier to understand,” she says. This was a personal strategy of mine as well. I would
Take breaks
Relax to retain • You can’t run on the
treadmill for hours on end and your brain can’t work out for that long either. It needs a break (Tetris, anyone?) as well as hydration (water, coffee and perhaps even an ice cream cone?).
• Allow your brain time to
refresh and when you come back to the books, quickly recap what you learned before your break. This will make it stick even more.
pretend I was explaining something to someone else and, in turn, ended up learning it myself — a tad embarrassing when the roommates walked in, but the good grades made up for my rosy cheeks. That being said, be aware of your surroundings. This might
not fly too well in the quiet section of the library, but on your porch it’s A-OK. Rewrite your notes Sandy Silveira, a student in the early childhood education program at Ryerson University, says when she studies she likes to write things out as well as saying them because it helps her remember them better. Julie Dang, a Mathematical Science student at Western University, echoes this idea by stating that her strategy is to flip back through her textbooks and focus on everything that she highlighted when she initially did her readings. Then she writes out all the terminology and various formulas. “I do study questions over and over and over again,” Julie says. “I review my notes, and then I do more questions. Constantly practicing the formulas is the best way to remember them.” TalentEgg.ca is Canada’s leading job site and online career resource for college and university students and recent graduates.
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I’ve completed four co-op work terms, including positions in financial analysis, project management, and real estate industries assessment. I’ve been applying to jobs on the University of Waterloo’s campus recruitment website (JobMine) as well as reaching out to people that I know and applying online. It has been very frustrating because I have not
received any interviews using online applications, and received only a few using JobMine for graduate positions. Even so, I have a tough time beating the competition as most students are either better at interviews or have more relevant experiences. I returned to one of the employers for my co-operative work term, but I’m planning to transfer into the industry that I want to be in which is banking and finance. I’ve been discouraged so many times through countless rejection emails and I’ve lost hope. But in the end, I realized that my life has only just begun! I don’t expect this process to be easy
like myself to apply more often.
to be resolved, I will be relentless until I find the dream job I desire. I am actively seeking open job opportunities. At the same time, I am putting more effort into contacting previous managers to seek personal recommendations which will increase my chances.
My recommendations for students Everyone is a bright minded individual, and I bet any one else is far smarter and more agile than me. I encourage you to keep applying and remember to use your work relationships to your advantage. I found that using networking skills is far more effective than randomly applying online.
Where I am now I just finished up my bachelor’s degree and returned to one of my previous employers. However, I’m planning to transfer into the financial industry because I’m interested in pursuing my CMA designation. My advice for employers, career centres and schools
I feel so limited in terms of which positions I can apply for. Even if I apply for entry-level positions, some demand exceptional
skill sets; however, if there was a room for potential candidates to be groomed, that would be even better and encourage for students
TalentEgg.ca, Canada’s leading job site and online career resource for students and new graduates, wants to hear your Student Voice. Share it at TalentEgg.ca.
42
WORK/EDUCATION
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Quit coasting: Make a mark Keep up the good work. Collecting As and Bs can result in rewards from unexpected places Jess Taylor
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After high school, most people are told it doesn’t matter whether you get Cs or As in college or university, as long as you get that diploma or degree. However, while you’re striving for that qualification, keeping your marks up can open more doors than you think. During most of high school, I balanced work, a band and good grades, so I learned good study habits, which I brought with me to university. Instead of partying, I would study. This might sound boring and not like the university life many people imagine, but I still had time for a social life as well. Every weekend I would go home from residence to play shows and chill with my band mates
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and boyfriend while at concerts. During the week, I saw my boyfriend usually for two days in a row. I just made sure I had time to do the work required to maintain my good grades. During my second year of university, it was even more important for me to get good grades. I had my eye on the creative writing program at York, which required — along with an impressive portfolio of work — at least a B+ average, but mostly As if you wanted to ensure you were accepted. I was also striving to get scholarships. I thought scholarships and getting into that program was all high marks were good for, but since then a couple of things have changed. First, I decided I want to go
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to grad school after completing my undergrad. An MA or a PhD opens some doors in the job market, but even having an Honours BA, which requires a level of achievement in grades, may set me apart. Then the emails started coming. Like most students, I thought the university didn’t recognize me and the hard work I do, but I was wrong! During the end of my second year, I was told about a special scholarship I could apply for, and more recently, I have been getting volunteer job offers from the university for mentoring new and returning students and leading orientations. These positions take very little120904-0121 time and look great on your resumé whether your goal Target is grad school or an entry-level job. ToKristin receiveLangford these offers I didn’t need straight As, just Metro – Toronto a B+ average. I think this is obtainable for most students with good study habits. x 6.182” So4.921” keep those marks up! You never know what opportunities they will give you. TalentEgg.ca is Canada’s leading job site and online career resource for college and university students and recent graduates.
Make the grade: don’t trade in that much-needed scholarship for a sloppy, sundown-to-sunrise social life. istock
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SPORTS
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
43
Getting warmer: NHL budges on revenue Quoted
“I would like to believe that it will be an excellent starting point and we can go forward and see if there is a deal to be made.”
Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, on the league’s latest proposal
missioner Gary Bettman, who called the proposed deal “longterm.” A lot will need to be accomplished over that period. However, the unexpected proposal offered fans the first real hint of hope since the lockout began Sept. 15.
Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, spent Tuesday afternoon reviewing the lengthy document and held an evening conference call with about 60 players. His initial reaction to the offer was that it could provide something to work with. It wasn’t immediately clear how willing the league is to negotiate off its latest offer. The NHL’s previous proposal called for the players’ revenue share to fall to 47 per cent and tabled a number of restrictive rules governing contracts. According to a source, the only one that remains in Tuesday’s proposal is a maximum contract length of five years. THE CANADIAN PRESS
Humbled before halftime
Soccer. Canadian men chased from World Cup qualifying in debacle in Honduras
Canada’s World Cup dreams were snuffed out in brutal fashion Tuesday as Honduras put them to the sword 8-1 in a door-die qualifying match. It’s a bitter pill to swallow for a Canadian team that went into the match controlling its fate with an unswerving belief that it deserved to move on. That is until Tuesday, when the wheels came off the Canadian bus in a shocking display. Canada entered the hostile confines of a soldout Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula knowing that a
World Cup qualifier
Honduras
Canada
tie or win would be enough to move on to the final round of qualifying in the CONCACAF region, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. The Hondurans, looking to please their fans on an extended national holiday, needed a win. Asked if the moment had got to his team, Canadian coach Stephen Hart offered a oneCarlo Costly, centre, celebrates after scoring while Canadians David Edgar, left, and Nikolas Ledgerwood hang their word answer — “Yes.” heads on Tuesday in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. ESTEBAN FELIX/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS “You’re supposed to go down all guns blazing, you’re Substitute Iain Hume scored supposed to fight,” he added. rassed ourselves,” said midfield- 32 minutes. It looked easy Quoted against a Canadian side that a consolation goal off a nice “You’re supposed to die out er Julian de Guzman. free kick in the 76th minute “We were terrible.... It’s an wasn’t up to the challenge. there. “I know they’ll never for“We let in goals early and before Bengston restored the “We were horrible.... It’s dis- absolute low for us,” added capfell apart. Mentally and physic- six-goal cushion six minutes turbing to me that the team fell tain Kevin McKenna. give me but on behalf of later as the Canadian defence Honduras’ speed and clin- ally,” said Hart. the players, forgive them.” apart.” Jerry Bengston and Carlo crumbled around him. Costly It was Canada’s worst loss ical finishing — combined with Head coach Stephen Hart’s plea to soccer Cansince an 8-0 drubbing in Mexico Canada’s clown-like defending Costly each scored three goals then scored on an 88th-minute adian fans. With two years left on his contract, —- ended the suspense early, for Honduras, while Mario Mar- header to complete the rout. in 1993. Hart said he hasLMD-TOR-Metro-000-2014-10x286-CLR.pdf to consider his coaching future 10/9/12 PM up a 4-0 lead after just tinez added two of his own. “We pretty 1much embar-5:38racking THE CANADIAN PRESS after Tuesday’s crushing result.
C
K
SPORTS
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, right, leaves with assistant commissioner Bill Daly after collective bargaining talks on Tuesday in Toronto. The NHL has presented a new offer to the players. CHRIS YOUNG/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Let the serious negotiations begin. After more than a month with no new offers being tabled in collective bargaining talks, the NHL breathed new life into the process Tuesday with a proposal that could kick-start some significant discussions. It calls for a 50-50 split of revenues between owners and players and includes a deferred salary plan designed to ensure that players would receive all the money they’ve been promised in existing contracts. On top of that, the deal was drawn up with an eye to starting a full 82-game regular season Nov. 2. “We have about nine or 10 days to get this all ... signed, sealed and delivered,” said com-
44
sports
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Raptors guard gets to the point “I don’t ever listen to the tone when somebody yells,” Lucas said. “I just listen to what they’re saying because you could be excited, upset, angry but at the end of the day, if you listen to the message, you know they’re really trying In this era of entitled athletes to help you and not put you who are more than willing down.” 908483 May 11, 2012 The 29-year-old Raptors to whine to agents A09_FCB or friends pointAdvice guard comes to that philabout slights real and perTDCT_P1700 Brand 2012 ceived, John Lucas III has a osophy easily. It’s been like that P1700_F_2_ST simple way to manage harsh pretty much his whole life. Lucas, one of the more words.
NBA. Lucas is a coach’s dream as he sifts through tones and words for the message
Toronto Raptors guard John Lucas III talks with head coach Dwane Casey during an exhibition game on Oct. 8. TARA WALTON/TORstar News SErvice
refreshing members of this version of the Raptors for his candour, quotability and willingness to explain in detail what’s going on, is well versed in the ways of difficult coaches who can really get on a player. “I played for some of the toughest coaches, (Oklahoma State’s iconic) Eddie Sutton, my father (the original John Lucas, a longtime coach and former player), Dave Bliss (another NCAA legend).... I never take anything as criticism,” he
Torstar News SErvice
NBA. Heat jet-lagged from trip to China
From first bank account
To planning for vet school
LeBron James was awake at 3:45 a.m. Dwyane Wade’s dogs were unhappily roused from slumber at 4 a.m. by their bleary-eyed owner. Udonis Haslem was responding to text messages at 5 a.m., which classifies as a rarity. To a man, the Miami Heat raved about their trip to China. Recovering from their trip to China, well, that’s apparently another matter entirely. After flying roughly 17,000 miles, playing three games in eight days starting with the pre-season opener in Atlanta, holding practices and participating in more events than could be squeezed onto a double-sided itinerary, the Heat — with many players acknowledging sleep deprivation — went back to work on Tuesday, trying to get back into some semblance of a normal routine. “Tuesday, right? Had to think about it though,” James said. “I got up this morning about 3:45. Been up since. So, it is what it is. I’m not back just yet.” But he’s trying, as was everyone else. “It’s crazy that we’re back already,” Wade said. James was the last player in the gym Tuesday afternoon, taking dozens of jumpers — he’d receive a pass, take a jab step, ball-fake, then shoot, over and over again — NFL
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P1700_F_2_ST.indd 1
said. “I take it because I feel like they’re helping me, it’s nothing negative, putting me down. It’s something that’s going to help me become a better individual, better team player. Whatever Coach says to me, I take it in and I respond to it.” Lucas’s willingness to accept coaching is refreshing to Toronto coach Dwane Casey. It allows Casey to make points, sometimes forcefully, knowing there’ll be no repercussions.
5/11/12 3:46 PM
Fans hold up cutouts of Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat during an NBA pre-season game in Shanghai, China, on Sunday. Kin Cheung/The Associated Press
as Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and two assistants watched quietly from afar. “Short,” James yelled at no one in particular after one jumper from the right wing, and the NBA’s reigning MVP looked mildly surprised when that shot dropped with a swish. “Ni hao,” Spoelstra said after practice, using the Chinese phrase for “hello.” “It’s good to be back in our gym. We didn’t waste any time getting back to work. The trip was a great trip from a lot of different levels, but there’s nothing like coming back in your practice gym, putting the pads up, mouthguards in and getting after it. That’s what we did today.” The Associated Press
NFL
Bills add linemen to practice squad
Holmgren ousted as Browns prez
The Buffalo Bills have resigned defensive tackle Jay Ross and offensive lineman David Snow to their practice squad. The moves, made Tuesday, came a day after both players had been released to make room for Buffalo to sign defensive end Shawne Merriman and safety Delano Howell. Ross and Snow had been promoted to the team’s active roster as injury replacements the week prior. The Associated Press
Mike Holmgren won’t be finishing the job he went to do in Cleveland. New Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III said Tuesday that Holmgren was out as team president, although the Super Bowlwinning coach will remain with the franchise to help in the transition. Haslam was introduced as the Browns’ new boss after his $1-billion purchase of the team. The Associated Press
sports
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
(BEST-OF-7)
AMERICAN LEAGUE DETROIT VS N.Y. YANKEES (Detroit leads series 2-0) Tuesday’s result N.Y. Yankees at Detroit Sunday’s result Detroit 3 N.Y. Yankees 0 Saturday’s result Detroit 6 N.Y. Yankees 4 (12 innings) Wednesday’s game N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 15-6) at Detroit (Scherzer 16-7), 8:07 p.m. Thursday’s game x-N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 5-4) at Detroit (Fister 10-10), 4:07 p.m. Saturday’s game x-Detroit (Sanchez 4-6) at N.Y. Yankees (Kuroda 16-11), 8:07 p.m. Sunday’s game x-Detroit (Verlander 17-8) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 15-6), 8:07 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE ST. LOUIS VS SAN FRANCISCO (Series tied 1-1) Monday’s result San Francisco 7 St. Louis 1 Sunday’s result St. Louis 6 San Francisco 4 Wednesday’s game San Francisco (Cain 16-5) at St. Louis (Lohse 16-3), 4:07 p.m. Thursday’s game San Francisco (Zito 15-8) at St. Louis (Wainwright 14-13), 8:07 p.m. Friday’s game San Francisco (Bumgarner 16-11) at St. Louis (Lynn 18-7), 8:07 p.m. Sunday’s game x-St. Louis (Carpenter 0-2) at San Francisco (Vogelsong 14-9), 4:37 p.m. Monday, October 22 x-St. Louis (Lohse 16-3) at San Francisco (Cain 16-5), 8:07 p.m. x — played only if necessary.
AHL Tuesday’s result Binghamton 3 Rochester 1 Monday’s results No Games Scheduled. Wednesday’s game — All Times Eastern Peoria at Chicago, 8 p.m. Thursday’s games No Games Scheduled. Friday’s games Adirondack at St. John’s, 6 p.m. Syracuse at Albany, 7 p.m. Providence at Manchester, 7 p.m. Worcester vs. Portland (at Lewiston, Maine), 7 p.m. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Springfield, 7 p.m. Hershey at Binghamton, 7:05 p.m. Grand Rapids at Rochester, 7:05 p.m. Toronto at Hamilton, 7:30 p.m. Connecticut at Norfolk, 7:30 p.m. Charlotte at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. Texas at Houston, 8:05 p.m. Rockford at Peoria, 8:05 p.m. Chicago at Abbotsford, 10 p.m.
St. Louis ab Jay cf 4 Beltran rf 3 Holliday lf 4 Craig 1b 3 Molina c 4 Freese 3b 4 Descalso 2b 4 Kozma ss 3 Schumaker ph 1 Chambers ph 1 Totals 31 St. Louis San Francisco
r 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
h 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
bi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
San Francisco ab r h bi Pagan cf 4 2 2 1 Scutaro 2b 3 0 2 2 Theriot 2b 2 0 1 2 Sandoval 3b 5 0 1 0 Posey c 5 0 1 0 Pence rf 3 0 0 0 Belt 1b 4 1 2 0 Blanco lf 3 2 1 0 Crawford ss 4 1 0 1 Huff ph 1 1 1 0 Totals 34 7 11 6 010 000 000 —1 100 400 02x —7
E—Carpenter, Holliday. LOB—St. Louis 7, San Francisco 9. 2B—Beltran 2 (2), Carpenter (1), Belt (1), Vogelsong (1). HR—Pagan (1). S—Vogelsong. St. Louis Carpenter L, 0-1 Kelly Salas Miller Rzepczynski San Francisco Vogelsong W, 1-0 Affeldt Romo HBP — Craig.
NFL
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP LATE MONDAY SERIES GIANTS 7, CARDINALS 1
IP 4 1 1 1 1-3 2-3
H 6 2 1 3 0
R ER BB SO 5 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 1
7 1 1
2 0 0
4 0 1
Umpires — Home, Chris Guccione; First, Bill Miller; Second, Greg Gibson; Third, Ted Barrett. T — 3:10. A — 42,679 (41,915) at San Francisco, Calif.
NBA PRE-SEASON Tuesday’s results Brooklyn 97 Boston 98 Detroit 112 Orlando 86 Indiana 102 Atlanta 98 Milwaukee at Chicago Charlotte at Oklahoma City Maccabi Haifa (Israel) at Minnesota At Anaheim, Calif. Utah vs. L.A. Lakers Monday’s results Brooklyn 98 Washington 88 Dallas 123 Houston 104 Denver 104 Golden State 98 Philadelphia 107 Boston 75 Sacramento 117 Portland 100 At Cincinnati Cleveland 114 Orlando 111 (OT) Wednesday’s games — All Times Eastern Washington at Toronto, 7 p.m. Cleveland at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Memphis at Houston, 8 p.m. Phoenix at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Golden State at Sacramento, 10 p.m. Denver at Portland, 10 p.m. Utah at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m. Thursday’s games New Orleans at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. Detroit at Miami, 7:30 p.m. Memphis vs. Milwaukee (at La Crosse, Wisc.), 8 p.m. Boston at Brooklyn, 8 p.m. Friday’s games New York vs. Toronto (at Montreal), 7 p.m. Indiana at Orlando, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 8 p.m. Phoenix vs. Oklahoma City (at Tulsa, Okla.), 8 p.m. Sacramento vs. L.A. Lakers (at Las Vegas), 10 p.m. Golden State at Portland, 10 p.m.
EASTERN CONFERENCE x-Kansas City x-Chicago D.C. New York Houston Columbus Montreal Philadelphia New England Toronto
W 17 17 16 15 13 14 12 10 7 5
L T Pts 7 8 59 10 5 56 10 6 54 9 8 53 8 11 50 11 7 49 15 5 41 15 6 36 17 8 29 20 7 22
GF 40 45 49 54 45 40 45 35 37 35
GA 26 39 40 46 38 40 50 37 44 60
69 46 48 56 35 39 40 32 22
40 35 31 45 40 42 50 55 54
WESTERN CONFERENCE x-San Jose x-Real Salt Lake x-Seattle x-Los Angeles Vancouver FC Dallas Colorado Portland Chivas USA
19 17 14 15 11 9 9 7 7
6 7 64 11 4 55 7 10 52 12 5 50 12 9 42 12 11 38 19 4 31 16 9 30 17 8 29
x — clinched playoff berth. Wednesday’s game — All Times Eastern Real Salt Lake at Seattle, 11 p.m. Saturday’s games Montreal at Toronto, 1:30 p.m. Kansas City at New York, 7 p.m. Columbus at D.C., 7:30 p.m. Chicago at New England, 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Houston, 7:30 p.m. Colorado at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m. Sunday’s games Portland at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Los Angeles at San Jose, 7 p.m. Dallas at Seattle, 9 p.m.
EUROPE
Belgium 2 Scotland 0 Croatia 2 Wales 0 Macedonia 1 Serbia 0
GROUP B Czech Republic 0 Bulgaria 0 Italy 3 Denmark 1
GROUP C Austria 4 Kazakhstan 0 Faeroe Islands 1 Ireland 4 Germany 4 Sweden 4 Andorra 0 Estonia 1 Hungary 3 Turkey 1 Romania 1 Netherlands 4
Israel 3 Luxembourg 0 Portugal 1 Northern Ireland 1 Russia 1 Azerbaijan 0
GROUP G Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 Lithuania 0 Latvia 2 Liechtenstein 0 Slovakia 0 Greece 1
GROUP H Poland vs. England (ppd., wet grounds) San Marino 0 Moldova 2 Ukraine 0 Montenegro 1
GROUP I Belarus 2 Georgia 0 Spain 1 France 1
x — clinched berth in regional final
Iraq 1 Australia 2 Oman 2 Jordan 1
x-U.S. x-Jamaica Guatemala Antigua
GP W D 6 4 1 6 3 1 6 3 1 6 0 1
L GF GA Pt 1 11 6 13 2 9 6 10 2 9 8 10 5 4 13 1
Tuesday’s results At Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica 4 Antigua 1 At Kansas City, Kan. U.S. 3 Guatemala 1
GROUP B x-Mexico Costa Rica El Salvador Guyana
GP W D 5 5 0 5 2 1 5 1 2 5 0 1
x-Honduras x-Panama Canada Cuba
GP W D 6 3 2 6 3 2 6 3 1 6 0 1
GROUP A GROUP B
OCEANIA Final Round New Caledonia 5 Solomon Islands 0 New Zealand 3 Tahiti 0 Bolivia 4 Uruguay 1 Paraguay 1 Peru 0 Venezuela 1 Ecuador 1 Chile vs. Argentina
Tuesday’s results At San Jose, Costa Rica Guyana at Costa Rica At Torreon, Mexico El Salvador at Mexico
GROUP C
Final Round
SOUTH AMERICA
L GF GA Pt 0 13 2 15 2 7 5 7 2 8 9 5 4 5 17 1
TRANSACTIONS NBA DALLAS MAVERICKS — Suspended G Delonte West for conduct detrimental to the team.
NFL L GF GA Pt 1 12 3 11 1 6 2 11 2 6 10 10 5 1 10 1
Tuesday’s results At San Pedro Sula, Honduras Honduras 8 Canada 1 At Havana Panama 1 Cuba 1
L 3 3 3 3
T Pct 0 .500 0 .500 0 .500 0 .500
PF 188 133 120 137
PA 137 141 117 192
W 5 2 2 1
L 1 3 4 4
T Pct 0 .833 0 .400 0 .333 0 .200
PF 173 100 114 65
PA 115 145 204 138
W 5 3 2 1
L 1 3 3 5
T Pct 0 .833 0 .500 0 .400 0 .167
PF 161 149 116 134
PA 118 163 115 163
W 3 3 1 1
L 3 3 4 5
T Pct 0 .500 0 .500 0 .200 0 .167
PF 170 148 87 104
PA 138 137 148 183
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Released WR Gerell Robinson. BALTIMORE RAVENS — Placed CB Lardarius Webb on injured reserve. Signed RB Bobby Rainey from the practice squad. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. Promoted secondary coach Todd Bowles to defensive coordinator. PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Suspended NT Alameda Ta’amu two games for conduct detrimental to the team.
Denver San Diego Oakland Kansas City
N.Y. Giants Philadelphia Washington Dallas
W 4 3 3 2
L 2 3 3 3
T Pct 0 .667 0 .500 0 .500 0 .400
PF 178 103 178 94
PA 114 125 173 119
W 6 2 1 1
L 0 3 4 4
T Pct 0 1.000 0 .400 0 .200 0 .200
PF 171 120 92 141
PA 113 101 125 154
W 4 4 3 2
L 1 2 3 3
T Pct 0 .800 0 .667 0 .500 0 .400
PF 149 146 154 126
PA 71 117 135 137
W 4 4 4 3
L 2 2 2 3
T Pct 0 .667 0 .667 0 .667 0 .500
PF 110 152 110 110
PA 97 94 93 111
SOUTH Atlanta Tampa Bay Carolina New Orleans
NORTH
Chicago Minnesota Green Bay Detroit
WEST Arizona San Francisco Seattle St. Louis
WEEK SIX
WEEK SEVEN
Monday’s result Denver 35 San Diego 24 Sunday’s results Miami 17 St. Louis 14 Baltimore 31 Dallas 29 Atlanta 23 Oakland 20 Tampa Bay 38 Kansas City 10 N.Y. Jets 35 Indianapolis 9 Detroit 26 Philadelphia 23 Cleveland 34 Cincinnati 24 Seattle 24 New England 23 Buffalo 19 Arizona 16 Washington 38 Minnesota 26 N.Y. Giants 26 San Francisco 3 Green Bay 42 Houston 24 Thursday, October 11 Tennessee 26 Pittsburgh 23
Thursday’s game All Times Eastern Seattle at San Francisco, 8:20 p.m. Sunday’s games Tennessee at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Baltimore at Houston, 1 p.m. Cleveland at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Arizona at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Dallas at Carolina, 1 p.m. Green Bay at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Washington at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Jacksonville at Oakland, 4:25 p.m. N.Y. Jets at New England, 4:25 p.m. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 8:20 p.m. Monday, October 22 Detroit at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
TENNIS
ATP-WTA KREMLIN CUP
WEEK 16
At Moscow MEN Singles — First Round Alex Bogomolov, Jr., Russia, def. Nikolay Davydenko (5), Russia, 7-5, 6-4. Carlos Berlocq (7), Argentina, def. Andrey Kuznetsov, Russia, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. WOMEN Singles — First Round Dominika Cibulkova (5), Slovakia, def. Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Simona Halep, Romania, def. Nadia Petrova (6), Russia, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, def. Varvara Lepchenko, U.S., 6-0, 7-6 (3). Vesna Dolonc, Serbia, def. Galina Voskoboeva, Kazakhstan, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
EAST DIVISION
ATP ERSTE BANK OPEN At Vienna, Austria Singles — First Round Paolo Lorenzi, Italy, def. Benoit Paire (7), France, 6-4, 6-4. Grega Zemlja, Slovenia, def. Xavier Malisse (8), Belgium, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6). Vasek Pospisil, Vancouver, def. Andreas Haider-Maurer, Austria, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Montreal Toronto Hamilton Winnipeg
GP W L 15 9 6 15 7 8 15 5 10 15 4 11
T 0 0 0 0
PF 406 339 438 295
PA 417 381 481 460
Pt 18 14 10 8
T 0 0 0 0
PF 402 430 397 351
PA 288 350 327 354
Pt 22 18 16 14
WEST DIVISION B.C. Calgary Saskatchewan Edmonton
GP W 15 11 15 9 15 8 15 7
L 4 6 7 8
Saturday’s results Calgary 32 Winnipeg 21 Edmonton 37 Saskatchewan 20 Sunday’s result Montreal 24 Toronto 12
WEEK 17 Friday’s games — All Times Eastern Winnipeg at Toronto, 7 p.m. Edmonton at B.C., 10 p.m. Saturday’s games Montreal at Saskatchewan, 3:30 p.m. Hamilton at Calgary, 7 p.m.
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torontoforddealers.ca
Vehicle(s) may be shown with optional equipment. Dealer may sell or lease for less. Limited time offers. Offers may be cancelled at any time without notice. See your Ford Dealer for complete details or call the Ford Customer Relationship Centre at 1-800-565-3673. © 2012 Sirius Canada Inc. “SiriusXM”, the SiriusXM logo, channel names and logos are trademarks of SiriusXM Radio Inc. and are used under licence. †† Offer only valid from September 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012 (the “Offer Period”) to resident Canadians with a Costco membership on or before August 31, 2012. Use this $1,000CDN Costco member offer towards the purchase or lease of a new 2012/2013 Ford/Lincoln vehicle (excluding Fiesta, Focus, Raptor, GT500, Mustang Boss 302, Transit Connect EV & Medium Truck) (each an “Eligible Vehicle”). The Eligible Vehicle must be delivered and/or factory-ordered from your participating Ford/Lincoln dealer within the Offer Period. Offer is only valid at participating dealers, is subject to vehicle availability, and may be cancelled or changed at any time without notice. Only one (1) offer may be applied towards the purchase or lease of one (1) Eligible Vehicle, up to a maximum of two (2) separate Eligible Vehicle sales per Costco Membership Number. Offer is transferable to persons domiciled with an eligible Costco member. This offer can be used in conjunction with most retail consumer offers made available by Ford Motor Company of Canada at either the time of factory order (if ordered within the Offer Period) or delivery, but not both. Offer is not combinable with any CPA/GPC or Daily Rental incentives, the Commercial Upfit Program or the Commercial Fleet Incentive Program (CFIP). Applicable taxes calculated before $1,000CDN offer is deducted. Dealer may sell or lease for less. Limited time offer, see dealer for details or call the Ford Customer Relationship Centre at 1-800-565-3673. *** Receive a winter safety package which includes: four (4) winter tires, four (4) steel rims (2012 Escape receives alloy wheels), and four (4) tire pressure monitoring sensors when you purchase lease any new 2012/2013 Ford Fiesta, Focus (excluding BEV & ST), Fusion (excluding HEV), Escape, Edge (excluding Sport) or Explorer on or before Nov 30/12. Customers choosing to opt out of the winter safety package will qualify for $750 in customer cash. This offer is not applicable to any Fleet (other than small fleets with an eligible FIN) or Government customers and not combinable with CPA, GPC, CFIP or Daily Rental Allowances. Some conditions apply. See Dealer for details. Vehicle handling characteristics, tire load index and speed rating may not be the same as factory supplied all-season tires. Winter tires are meant to be operated during winter conditions and may require a higher cold inflation pressure than all-season tires. Consult your Ford of Canada dealer for details including applicable warranty coverage. * Lease a new [2013] [Ford Focus SE Sedan Manual /Fiesta SE Hatchback Manual/ Escape SE FWD 1.6L Ecoboost] and get [0%/0%/1.99%] APR for [48/48/36] months on approved credit (OAC) from Ford Credit. Not all buyers will qualify for the lowest APR payment. Example: [$17,204/$14,729/$23,861] (Cash Purchase Price) with [$1,999/$1,999/$3,968] down payment or equivalent trade-in, monthly payment is [$198/$168/$298] total lease obligation is [$11,503/$10,063/$14,696] optional buyout is [$7,744/$6,718/$14,290] cost of leasing is [$0/$0/$1,133] or [0%/0%/1.99%] APR. Offers include [$750] in Winter Safety Package Cash Alternative. Vehicle shown is a 2013 Escape Titanium for $38,429. Offer includes $750 Winter Safety Package Cash Alternative. Taxes payable on full amount of lease financing price after any manufacturer rebate is deducted. Additional payments required for security deposit, NSF fees (where applicable), excess wear and tear, and late fees. Some conditions and mileage restrictions apply. A charge of 16 cents per km over mileage restrictions applies. Offers include freight, air tax, PPSA, Stewardship Ontario Environmental Fee but exclude administration and registration fees of up to $799, fuel fill charge of up to $120 and all applicable taxes. Taxes payable on full amount of lease financing price after any price adjustment is deducted. ** Until November 30, 2012, receive 0% APR purchase financing on new 2013 Focus (excluding S, ST and BEV)/ Ford Fiesta (excluding S)/Taurus (excluding SE)/Edge FWD (excluding SE)/EDGE AWD (excluding SE/Escape (excludingS)/Expedition models for a maximum of 72/72/72/48/48/48/48 months to qualified retail customers, on approved credit (OAC) from Ford Credit. Not all buyers will qualify for the lowest interest rate. Example: $25,000 purchase financed at 0% APR for72/48 months, monthly payment is $520.83/$347.22, cost of borrowing is $0 or APR of 0% and total to be repaid is $25,000. Down payment on purchase financing offers may be required based on approved credit from Ford Credit. Taxes payable on full amount of purchase price. ^^ Estimated fuel consumption ratings for the 2013 [Focus 2.0L- I4 5 speed manual/Fiesta 1.6L -I4 5 speed manual/Escape FWD 1.6L GTDI-I4 6 speed Auto]. Model shown is Escape AWD 1.6L GTDI-I4 6 speed auto]: 9.2L/100 km city and 6.6L/100 km hwy. Fuel consumption ratings based on Transport Canada-approved test methods. Actual fuel consumption will vary based on road conditions, vehicle loading and driving habits. © 2012 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.
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DRIVE
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
47
Let the Elantra excite you
DRIVE ALL PHOTOS WHEELBASE
Type. Four door, front wheel drive, compact hatchback.
•
Engine (hp). 1.8-litre DOHC I4 (148).
•
Transmissions. Six-speed manual, six-speed automatic (optional).
•
Base Price (incl. destination). $20,650
Review. New GT isn’t as big as the Touring but it speaks our kind of language: design language MALCOLM GUNN
Wheelbase Media
If a hatchback is on your radar, the Hyundai Elantra GT with its “Fluidic Sculpture” design language might prove to be the right thirst-quencher. In a world gone mad for small, fuel-efficient cars – not surprising given today’s pump prices – Hyundai’s compact lineup attempts to cover the bases. If your search involves acquiring a vehicle with purposeful practicality, the new Elantra GT might fill the bill just as easily as you can fill its flexible-stowage area. The GT fills the void left by the departing Elantra Touring model, but not in the most direct way. Although neatly styled, the Touring was first and foremost a wagon, while the more
The standard - and only - engine is a 148-horsepower 1.8-litre four-cylinder. rounded GT is definitely hatchback-oriented. Yes, the lines between hatch and wagon tend to get a bit fuzzy, but with about an 18-centimetre deficit in overall length and 20 per cent less total cargo space the GT qualifies as a hatchback. In back, a 60:40 split rear bench folds relatively flat. By Hyundai’s slide rule, the GT has more cargo and passenger room than several of its peers, including the Golf, Ford Focus and Mazda3 hatches. For serious drivers, the GT’s firm suspension with stiffer springs, shocks and stabilizer bars is definitely appreciated. Then there’s the accessory packages if your pockets are deeper that bundle a panoramic sunroof, rear-view camera leather seats and other trinkets. Selecting a hatchback and sprinkling it with some performance-like attitude seems like a tempting way to go about your business and that applies to the Elantra GT, which also thumbs its nose at gas pumps while toting life’s treasures, human and otherwise.
The GT as well as the rest of the Elantra trio, operates with a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 148 horsepower and 131 poundfeet of torque. The peppy mill is rated at 7.2 l/100 km in the city and 4.9 highway when connected to a sixspeed manual transmission, and 7.3/5.0 with optional six-speed automatic.
Styling
An added bonus is the GT’s slippery-shaped design that rivals the Coupe’s, although all three Elantras are handsome rigs in their own way. The GT’s Hyundai Veloster-style open-mouth grille/air intake resembles the Coupe’s, with both body styles eschewing the sedan’s more conservative schnoz.
Fuel economy
Hyundai claims the GT possesses about a 720-kilometre maximum range, which is as much a function of gas-tank size as it is fuel economy. It also doesn’t hurt that, at a relatively light 1,265 kilograms, the GT is 70-90 kilograms lighter than its primary rivals. By comparison
1
Kia Forte5 Base Price: $18,300
Hyundai has become as proficient at tidy interior design as it has at the outside details.
2
Volkswagen Golf Base Price: $21,400
3
Ford Focus hatchback Base Price: $21,150
It’s shorter than the Elantra Touring it replaces, but with this kind of high style it’s unlikely that anyone will miss the space.
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drive
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Taking the test: Honda offers up some real-world hybrid Insight AutoKnow. Today’s crossbreeds appear good on paper, but how do they handle the open road? joe knycha
Wheelbase Media
It’s widely known that hybrid vehicles shine brightest in high-density stop-and-go traffic, achieving in the process low fuel consumption and ultra-low greenhouse-gas emissions. That’s because the built-in electric motor helps the gas engine get the car rolling. But how are they on the open road? More to the point, how do they fare in wideranging road traffic? Can they cover great distances in comfort yet deliver a decent ride without working their little hybrid hearts into a state of mechanical coronary? In an attempt to answer the bigger questions of the universe, Honda surrendered a new-generation Insight hybrid for an outing through the rugged Precambrian shield running alongside Lake Superior, which borders Michigan. The average speed was about 100 km-h over 10 hours with frequent scenic stops along the way; the road climbs and drops majestically, all the while snaking along Superior’s craggy shores. Spirited driving isn’t the point of the Insight and so, responsibly, we steadfastly minded speed limits and drove in as smooth a manner as possible with lightly applied throttle inputs to probe its higher-speed fuel economy. The gasoline/electric drive system, though able to deliver near-brisk performance if required, is in its element when the driver strives for economy and smoothness. The Insight actually assists in this effort through in-dash displays that show: fuel consumption; when it’s running on gas, electric or both; and when the on-board batteries are being re-charged, capturing the Insight’s rolling (kinetic) energy through “regenerative” braking, and when decelerating. Another readout displays a five-branch tree that rates the green-ness of the drive: the branches disappear or come back based on how aggressively the throttle is used. Push a little harder and the light that bathes the instrument panel blends to blue
from green, returning to green when pressure eases. It’s subtle and quietly keeps one mindful. The 1.3-litre (that’s just 79.3 cubic inches) four-cylinder gas engine has a single overhead camshaft, two valves per cylinder and variable valve timing. Driving the front wheels, it’s small by conventional reckoning, but mated to Honda’s fifth-generation Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system, it carries the freight, operating quietly, seamlessly and effortlessly. Sitting silently at the stoplights with the gas engine automatically shut down, you wouldn’t think the Insight would win any drag races, but it does acquit itself well against other vehicles in its class. Acceleration can approach brisk when the throttle is pressed deep into the pile carpet mats, useful for passing maneuvers and when accelerating onto fast-moving freeways, but not so much for extending fuel economy. Weight is typically the enemy of fuel economy, so it’s with some irony that the IMA adds almost 25 kilograms over a comparably equipped Civic, yet gives superior fuel economy, which speaks well of the system’s efficiency. Throughout the drive, fuel economy hovered mostly around the 5.0-l/100-km mark. After a while, it becomes almost obsessive to see how low you can drive the consumption, and for how long at a time. The interior accommodates four average-sized adults. The front bucket seats are firm and began to feel that way after several hours. The dash and controls are well placed and functional though overhead glare on the spade-shaped cover at the top of the instrument panel was visible several times throughout the drive. The thick rear pillars that taper back to the tidy aerodynamic rear end make backing up an exercise in neck-craning, and the view through the rear-view mirror is restricted. With the back seats folded flat, the seemingly small hatchback swallows a surprising amount of cargo, an essential quality for out-of-city driving. With the rear doors open and the hatch lid raised, loading large and bulky items is easy. When the first-generation Insight beat all other hybridpowered vehicles to market more than a decade ago, it launched a terrific idea, but in a body style that while looking sleek and futuristic, didn’t exactly set the world
The Insight looks like a normal compact car because it is, and then some. It just adds an electric helper motor to assist accelerating the vehicle. all images wheelbase
As you can see, the current Insight has tons of room in the back.
ablaze. As two-seater coupe, it had limited cargo space and didn’t fit many lifestyles. Starting at about $22,000, the Insight offers all the functionality and then some of a compact sedan and depending on the view, in a somewhat futuristic design. The front disc/rear drum brakes are also unlike the original Insight’s in that they have excellent pedal feel and are very easily modulated. And to answer the obvious question many will ask: over the entire 800 kilometres, not once did a string of cars pile up behind us waiting to pass.
The dash encourages conservation over a lead foot.
Under the hood
Burning regular gas, the engine rates at 88 (hp) at 5,800 rpm, with torque at 123 pound-feet at 4,500 rpm. When engaged, the IMA adds up to 13 more horses at 1,500 rpm and a further 58 pound-feet of torque to the mix. Unlike the Toyota Prius, the Insight fails to operate on electric power alone. When accelerating, the gas engine is always running, given a boost by the IMA.
The Insight can’t run on electric power alone like the Toyota Prius can.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Searching for second-hand gold? Choose your Quest wisely Second Gear. 2004 to 2009 Quest minivan For the 2004 model year, the Quest minivan hit the market with dual sliding doors, generous cargo capacities, and an even more unique, distinctive design than its predecessor. Features included tire pressure monitoring, alloy wheels, power heated leather seats, a power tailgate, sunroof, heated mirrors, Bose audio, a self-dimming rearview mirror, power accessories, power-adjustable pedals and more. Common Issues
Listen to the engine idle, after confirming its oil level and condition are satisfactory. Rattling sounds at idle or lower revs may be indicative of a timing-chain problem that’s expensive to fix. This seemed to affect 2004 models, mostly. Timing chains generally don’t require maintenance as long as oil change schedules are strictly adhered to. Be sure that’s been the case for the Quest you’re considering. Some owners have reported premature wear of consumable parts, like brakes, so note that a ‘shimmying’ sensation in the front end during braking indicates a brake job is likely in your Quest’s future. Power tailgate and power sliding door mechanism failure may be other issues, alongside a waterleak that could be seen by moisture in the headliner.
all photos handout
What Owners Like
What Owners Dislike
Typically, Quest’s styling, unique design, sky-view roof system and upscale interior looks are highly rated by owners. Spaciousness, handling and overall comfort are also mentioned.
Owner complaints deal with flimsy interior trim, poorly thought-out cupholder layout, limited third-row space and poorer-than-expected mileage.
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Engine
Verdict
All models come equipped with a 3.5 litre V6 with 240 horsepower driving the front wheels through an automatic transmission.
To maximize the likelihood of reliable long-term operation, skip used Quest models with the sunroof, power sliding doors and power tailgate where possible. A peek inside the Quest
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Only in Metro. News worth sharing.
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Less Fuel. More Power. Great Value is a comparison between the 2012 and the 2011 Chrysler Canada product lineups. 40 MPG or greater claim (7.0 L/100 km) based on 2012 EnerGuide highway fuel consumption estimates. Government of Canada test methods used. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on powertrain, driving habits and other factors. See retailer for additional EnerGuide details. Wise customers read the fine print: •, *, ▲, †, § The All Out Clearout Event offers are limited time offers which apply to retail deliveries of selected new and unused models purchased from participating retailers on or after September 1, 2012. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Offers subject to change and may be extended without notice. See participating retailers for complete details and conditions. •$19,995 Purchase Price applies to 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package (22F) only and includes $2,000 Consumer Cash Discount. See participating retailers for complete details. Pricing includes freight ($1,400–$1,595), air tax (if applicable), tire levy and OMVIC fee. Pricing excludes licence, insurance, registration, any retailer administration fees, other retailer charges and other applicable fees and taxes. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Retailer may sell for less. *Consumer Cash Discounts are offered on select 2012 vehicles and are manufacturer-to-retailer incentives, which are deducted from the negotiated price before taxes. Amounts vary by vehicle. See your retailer for complete details. ▲$1,500 Bonus Cash is available on all new 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT and $1,000 Bonus Cash is available on all new 2012 Dodge Journey SXT models except remaining Save the Freight models. Bonus Cash will be deducted from the negotiated price after taxes. See your retailer for complete details. †4.49% purchase financing for up to 96 months available on the new 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package (22F) model to qualified customers on approved credit through Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, TD Auto Finance and Ally Credit Canada. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Retailer may sell for less. See your retailer for complete details. Example: 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package (22F) with a Purchase Price of $19,995 (including Consumer Cash Discount) financed at 4.49% over 96 months with $0 down payment, equals 208 bi-weekly payments of $115 with a cost of borrowing of $3,843 and a total obligation of $23,837.61. Pricing includes freight ($1,400–$1,595), air tax (if applicable), tire levy and OMVIC fee. Pricing excludes licence, insurance, registration, any retailer administration fees, other retailer charges and other applicable fees and taxes. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Retailer may sell for less. §2012 Dodge Journey R/T shown. Price including applicable Consumer Cash Discount: $25,530. Pricing includes freight ($1,400–$1,595), air tax (if applicable), tire levy and OMVIC fee. Pricing excludes licence, insurance, registration, any retailer administration fees, other retailer charges and other applicable fees and taxes. See bottom of the ad for range of potential retailer fees. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Retailer may sell for less. ^Based on R. L. Polk Canada, Inc. January to October 2011 Canadian Total New Vehicle Registration data for Chrysler Crossover Segments. ¤Based on 2012 EnerGuide Fuel Consumption Guide ratings published by Natural Resources Canada. Transport Canada test methods used. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on powertrain, driving habits and other factors. 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package & SE Plus 2.4 L 4-speed automatic – Hwy: 7.5 L/100 km and City: 10.8 L/100 km. 2012 Dodge Journey SXT 3.6 L 6-speed automatic – Hwy: 7.8 L/100 km and City: 12.6 L/100 km. TMThe SiriusXM logo is a registered trademark of SiriusXM Satellite Radio Inc. ®Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC.
T:10”
2012 DODGE JOURNEY CANADA VALUE PACKAGE
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9/24/12 7:03 PM
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Cars that will be catching the eye in 2014 Let the battle begin. Fuel efficiency and technology will be the focus as automakers square off with their new, improved designs TODD BURLAGE
Wheelbase Media
At the same time the curtain is rising on a tech-savvy and unpredictable 2013 new-car market, automakers are continuing to leak some sneak peaks into what we can expect when the 2014 turf war begins a year from now. The popular design trends for the 2014 models won’t be drastically different from what manufacturers rolled into showrooms for 2013, but with dozens of all-new 2014 entries on the way from Acura, Chevrolet, Cadillac, MercedesBenz, Porsche, Volkswagen and others — along with some edgy redesigns and updates coming from many other top automakers — 2014 should again be a competitive year in an improving North American market. Not unlike the 2013 battle plan for most manufacturers, fuel efficiency, technology and sleek styling will highlight the race for 2014 sales supremacy. Volatile gas prices, eco-consciousness and looming minimum fuel-economy standards from the U.S. government will keep efficiency technology as the top priority for buyers and builders in 2014. Legislation was signed in the U.S. in August that requires automakers to meet a fuel efficiency standard of 35.5 mpg (6.6 l/100 km) by 2016 for its cars and light trucks. Of course the affect will be felt here in Canada. “Fuel mileage is a full consideration point for most car buyers in most segments,” said Chris Woodyard, automotive news analyst for daily newspaper USA Today. “All the manufacturers are trying to
The Porsche 918 will be a halo model for the brand and it also happens to be a hybrid. all photos wheelbase
The Ford Evo’s concept points the way toward a new Mustang
reach those new standards the fastest.” Efficiency initiatives have certainly kept engineers busy with their 2014 designs. A growing emphasis on the gas/electric hybrid and plug-in hybrid markets will be worth watching as competition grows with every model year. Even Porsche is introducing the 918 Spyder plug-in, trying to invade this market with its pricey — as in $850,000 — high-performance entry. The BMW 1-Series Compact, the Mazda 6 and the Infiniti Compact are three examples of manufacturers thinking smaller and lighter in 2014, building with more aluminum to improve fuel mileage through lighter vehicles. Other popular models such
as the Nissan Sentra and Ford Mustang will offer a smaller engine option as another choice for better fuel efficiency. Vehicles equipped with the popular turbochargers and gasoline direct injection fuel systems (the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, for one) will also be prominent in showrooms. “And while gas prices have been jumping around, I think auto buyers have become conditioned to think that $5 (per gallon) gas is not an impossibility,” Woodyard said. “And if you’re an automaker, you are desperately trying to find a way to respond to that.” In fact, prices in California really shot past $5 a U.S. gallon while many Canadians have
The Jaguar F-Type
seen $1.40 a litre and higher. So while going farther on less gas will continue to be the primary battle focus, there will be other focuses. “No doubt, technology is really where the action is,” Woodyard said. “With the rise of the ‘Gen X’ generation and the ‘Gen Y’ generation, they don’t care that much about cars, but they care a lot about cell phones and cell-phone technology, so automakers are forced to try and emulate that, try to pick up on that theme.” And the manufacturers are sparing no means to that end, installing all the gadgetry a vehicle can offer, while keeping an eye on safety improvements through fewer distractions and less fidgeting
with hands-on display screens. Cadillac offered its CUE navigation and entertainment system on select 2012 and 2013 models, but expect wider access to this groundbreaking technology option in 2014. Similar to the Kinect gaming system from XBox, CUE recognizes and responds to hand gestures and body movements to help drivers keep their eyes on the road when performing certain requests. Perhaps a wink of the eye will turn the radio on, a head tilt can control the volume, a tap on the steering wheel changes the channel, just to name some basics. Voiceactivated systems will also be prevalent in the 2014 models, as in-car technology follows the
lead of the Flurry-type interactive systems used in iPhone and Droid cell phones. “That kind of technology is going to be a slam dunk to migrate over to cars,” said Woodyard, warning that driver adaptation to these advanced systems will likely create some frustration. “This is the kind of thing that can filter down to other cars. When somebody is on the cutting-edge forefront of something, everybody else wants it.” In addition to efficiency and technology improvements, manufactures are also putting a heavy emphasis on interior and exterior styling when the 2014 models take centre stage at the Los Angeles, Calif., and Detroit. Mich., auto shows in the coming months. Woodyard said the most recognizable styling trend for the 2014 models is a return to the sloped-back look, not unlike the new Ford Fusion that stretches the roof back to the trunk. The sloped-back design was resurrected, at least in part, by a series of cars such as the Audi A7 and Volkswagen CC. The 2014 Impala is creating much buzz after a fresh full redesign that includes this sophisticated styling as General Motors tries to re-establish relevance in the full-size sedan market, occupied by stalwarts such as the Ford Taurus, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. An improving automotive market in North America, fresh designs, hip technology and new entries in the most competitive market segments should make 2014 a trend-setting model year. “It’s all incremental but there are definitely changes taking place,” Woodyard said. “If the automaker still has money, if they are not having to push (redesigns) off because they went broke, they will all stay on schedule . . . And if they really want to be bold they will try something completely new, knowing that it could be a huge hit or a huge flop. These will turn up in the auto shows, along with plenty of surprises.”
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Blistering Bloodhound could eclipse famous free faller Felix in 2014 Land speed record. British team will try to beat Baumgartner’s gravity-pulled speed with blue torpedo-like vehicle in the desert Auto pilot
Mike Goetz [email protected]
Like millions, I was awestruck by the images of Felix Baumgartner on the steps of his capsule, 39 kilometres above the Earth — a height that reveals the curvature of our planet and the blackness of space. Then he jumped. Wow. His moment of release had to be one of the wildest and conflicted sensations ever experienced by a human. But it was only the prelude. Then he accelerated to 1,342 km/h (834 mph)! That’s a crazy number for a thing not at-
Want to go faster on Earth than skydiver Felix Baumgartner did returning to Earth? Then you’ll have to get something like the Bloodhound rocket car. contributed
tached to jet power. It’s also quite faster than the existing land speed record. A British team and its Thrust SSC rocket-car, hold the record, at 763 mph. That was over 15 years ago and speaks to how difficult is it to get a human going that fast down here on earth. The same British team is planning another “go” in 2014, with its new rocket car, the Bloodhound. Last time they
went after the sound barrier. This time they’re shooting for 1,000 mph. To make that happen Bloodhound’s rocket is designed to generate 27,500 pounds of thrust, the equivalent of 80,000 horsepower. Felix Baumgartner had zero horsepower, zero thrust. His speed was simply another reminder of gravity’s immense power, and another opportunity to ponder about harnessing
it for our energy needs. A gravity-engine under the hood of your Ford? Don’t hold your breath. For starters, gravity engines are so far only theoretical. Apparently there are a couple of laws of physics spoiling the reality party. Secondly, these theoretical engines are taller than they are wide, for obvious reasons, and not at all cool looking. I wouldn’t sign up for one on
aesthetic reasons alone. And thirdly, gravity is actually a weak force. It worked on Felix because he was so small, and the big old Earth was so big. So if we ever do use it for transportation, it would be on the mass transit side. The most bizarre concept utilizing gravity has to be the Gravity Train proposed by British scientist, Robert Hooke, sometime in the 17th
century. He proposed a series of tunnels drilled through the Earth. One could connect Spain with New Zealand for example. A train entering the tunnel at either end would accelerate toward the centre of the earth, and then gradually decelerate after the halfway mark. According to Hooke’s calculations, if the train operated in a frictionless environment it would reach the surface at the opposite end of the tunnel at the exact moment its speed reached zero. Even less ambitious proposals for harnessing gravity power seem far-fetched. Most people believe that if we haven’t figured it out yet, it’s not going to happen. This is essentially the same argument about time travel — we never solve time travel, because no one from the past or future has visited us here in the present. I don’t buy it… There was this creepy guy I saw at the mall once. I’m sure he was from the 1980s, he just didn’t know it. So there’s hope for gravity engines too.
news
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
55
Ensure safety by sitting the right way Damage limitation. In the event of an accident follow our experts tips to improve your chances of escaping uninjured
Advice • No feet up. Never let passengers ride with their feet on the dash, as a deploying airbag could do severe damage to their legs. • When hitting the gas. Your heel should rest on the floor when the ball of your foot is on the throttle pedal
jil mcintosh
[email protected]
You know all about wearing your seatbelt, but that’s only half the story. Sitting in the right position is also essential to vehicle control and safety. “The steering wheel, seatbelt, head restraint, seat, mirrors, and pedals are the key points we’re trying to get across,” says Silvana Aceto, spokesperson for CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) South Central Ontario. “It’s important that you are seated properly to make sure you are in control when you’re behind the wheel.” You should be at least 25 cm (10 inches) away from the steering wheel, which puts you
at a safe distance if the airbag deploys. The wheel should be pointed at your chest, but high enough that your thigh doesn’t hit it when you’re moving your foot to the brake pedal. You should be able to push all pedals as far as they’ll go, using the ball of your foot, not your toes. The middle of the head restraint should be at the level of your ears, and no more than 6 cm (2.5 inches) away, to help prevent whiplash. Put your hands at the nine and three o’clock position on the steering wheel. “For years we said 10 and two, but if the airbag is deployed and your hands are
up further, they can fly back and possibly hit you in the face,” Aceto says. “If you’re at nine and three, your hands will fly out to the sides and decrease your risk of injury.” To minimize blind spots around your car, lean to the right until you’re over the centre console or below the rearview mirror, and then adjust your right outside mirror until you can just see the edge of your vehicle. Now lean to the left, against the closed window, and do the same for the left outside mirror. Adjust the rearview mirror so you’re looking out the back window. Finally, adjust the seatbelt over your collarbone so it lies flat on your chest, and put the lap portion over your hip bones, not your abdomen. Most cars have height adjusters where the belt attaches to the pillar so you can fit it properly. Never put the belt under your arm, where it can break your ribs. “Look for how well you fit when you’re buying a vehicle,” Aceto says. “There are certain ones that won’t fit you, and you need to look at these things. Be sure to shop around.”
CAA spokesperson Silvana Aceto demonstrates the correct way to sit. photos by jill mcintosh
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Do it white: Colour tops car charts Top five. Silver ranks a close second followed by black, gray and red If you bought a new vehicle this year, chances are high it was white or silver. Twenty-two per cent of cars and trucks built for the 2012 model year have white paint, making it the most popular colour worldwide. Silver is close behind, at 20 per cent, followed by black at 19 per cent. Gray and red follow to make up the top five. White is the most popular colour for the second year in a row after overtaking silver in 2011. The annual rankings are compiled by automotive paint supplier PPG Industries Inc., a Pittsburghbased company that provides paints to General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., BMW AG and others.
The rankings are skewed somewhat by the large number of pickup trucks on the market. Trucks accounted for 55 per cent of North American production in the first eight months of this year, according to Ward’s, which compiles automotive data. One in four pickups produced is white because business owners often use them as work trucks and paint logos on them. By comparison, 19 per cent of midsize cars made in North America are white. White, which was also popular in the 1980s, is making a comeback as a modern, high-tech colour thanks in part to Apple Inc.’s all-white stores and glossy white gadgets, said Jane Harrington, PPG’s manager of colour styling for car companies. Manufacturers are also making more varieties of white, from the flat, bright white on many vans to the pearly cream of luxury SUVs.
Spray it don’t say it. all photos istock
Silver also rose in popularity as a high-tech colour starting in the 2000s, and remains especially popular choice in Asia. It remains in vogue because it highlights every angle of a car, Harrington said. “Silver looks great on any design,” Harrington said. White and other “safe” colours — silver, grey and black — also got more popular during the economic downturn, as buyers stopped leasing and bought vehicles they expected to hold on to for much longer, said Michelle Killen, GM’s lead colour designer for exterior paints. They were leery of some of the more daring colours on the market, like the magenta available on the Ford Fiesta or the bright orange on the Scion iQ. “Buyers want to purchase a colour they won’t grow tired
Is orange your colour?
of over an extended period of time,” Killen said. Colour choices vary by geography. You’ll find more red vehicles in North America. Black and grey overtake silver in popularity in Europe. Drivers in Asia like tan and gold but not green. Only about seven per cent of cars in every region are blue. PPG, which also develops paints for cellphones, laptops, airplanes and houses, bases its automotive paints on trends it sees in fashion, interior design and other areas. PPG starts showing paints to carmakers three or four years ahead of a model’s release, and automakers settle on colours two years before a model goes on sale. Harrington predicts customers will see more browns and oranges over the next two years, especially on luxury cars.
Brown - which reminds people of leather or a rich cup of coffee - evokes luxury around the world. Earthy colours are also appealing to drivers concerned about the environment. As for the 2015 and 2016 model years, PPG is showing
64 future colour options to automakers this week. Among those are Al Fresco, a silver metallic with a green tint; Glacier, an icy grey with a violet blue tone; and Elixir, a metallic mixture of silver and magenta. The associated press
Or how about confident pillar box red?
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Horoscopes
A Range, a City, a Group, a Province
Aries
March 21 - April 20 The more you do for friends and work colleagues today, the more they will do for you later on — and you will come out ahead of the game. Is that selfish? Maybe. But it’s a higher kind of selfishness.
Taurus
April 21 - May 21 Your task today is to focus all your attention and all your energy in a single direction. Don’t let your concentration stray for even a moment. You can achieve something extraordinary, but you’ve got to be single-minded.
Gemini
May 22 - June 21 Good things are going to happen over the next two or three days. Anything of a creative, romantic or artistic nature is under excellent stars at the moment. So, don’t hold back. Give it all you’ve got.
Libra
Sept. 24 - Oct. 23 Make the most of the opportunities that come your way over the next few days. If you don’t, you will hate yourself for being too slow and indecisive. Find the courage to take the kind of risks most people avoid.
Scorpio
Oct. 24 - Nov. 22 You need to decide what is going to be your number one aim — and you need to get after it today and every day until you have reached your ultimate goal. What moves you? What inspires you?
Sagittarius
Nov. 23 - Dec. 21 The more you work with those who share your aims and ideals, the more of a positive effect you will have on the world around you — and the more fun you will have.
Capricorn
Cancer
June 22 - July 23 This is the ideal time to let partners and loved ones know how much you care for them. The Sun in the domestic area of your chart makes it easy for you to reveal your innermost thoughts and feelings.
Dec. 22 - Jan. 20 You are about to be tested and challenged like never before. Do you have what it takes to confront your inner demons? Do you have the strength to battle them and overcome them? Of course you do.
Aquarius
Leo
July 24 - Aug. 23 Get out into the world and have a good time. Meet as many interesting new people as you possibly can. Don’t worry about your work. It will still be there waiting for you when you get back — if you get back!
Jan. 21 - Feb. 19 You have got to stand up for what you believe. Unless you are clear in your own mind what it is that’s worth fighting for, you won’t be able to persuade others to fight for it too. They need you to lead.
Across 1. Existed 4. Chicken ___ king (2 wds.) 7. By what means 10. African animal whose full name means “river horse” 12. Ship’s spar 14. Mentally sound 15. Syrian president Bashar al-___ 16. Free Willy star 17. French islands 18. They form the AlbertaBC border (2 wds.) 20. Exam 21. Wed. preceder 22. Playful caper 24. PEI city known as “The Birthplace of Confederation” 29. Corrida cheer 30. ___ Vegas 31. Comment made while fanning oneself (2 wds.) 33. Day’s coolest temperature 34. “Shame on you!” 35. Parliamentarians, for short 37. 7th Greek letter (looks like an H) 38. “___ circumstances beyond our control ...” (2 wds.) 40. Alumna bio word 41. Small drink of liquor 42. Rock band from Kingston, Ontario, nine of whose albums have reached #1 in Canada; with “The” (2 wds.) 47. Native New Zealander Yesterday’s Crossword
Aug. 24 - Sept. 23 You want to buy yourself lots of pretty things, no matter how much they cost. But can you afford it? Don’t spend up to your credit limit now and spend the rest of the year living on bread and water.
Feb. 20 - March 20 There seems to be a lot of deception and trickery going on at the moment, so it will pay you to be on your guard. Anyone who promises you the world for a small investment is either mad or bad — or both. SALLY BROMPTON
48. Duo 49. Country road 52. Maritime Province (2 wds) 57. Great poker start 58. Baker’s frosting tool 59. Add ___ of salt: recipe direction (2 wds.) 60. Canadian Liberal, familiarly 61. Adorable 62. Farm storage buildings 63. Poivre tablemate 64. Ocean 65. Santa’s helper Down 1. Desire 2. Altar end of church 3. Aggressive ancient Greek city-state 4. Violently frenzied 5. Cowboy ropes 6. Climber’s task 7. ___ and hearty: ablebodied 8. Single units 9. BC’s Coast 10. Chapeau 11. Smell 13. Delicate discrimination 14. Funny TV series, for short 19. Jail units 23. Response to “Can that be true?” (2 wds.) 24. Influence, as in politics 25. Tree cutter 26. Acorn dropper 27. “___ Was Young”: Animals hit (2 wds.)
28. What a dissatisfied diner may leave (2 wds.) 29. Stale 32. Open, as a keg 34. Greek garb 35. Mad Max actor Gibson 36. Animal skins 39. Least thrilling 40. Artless simplicity 43. Classical architecture style dating back to ancient Greece
539
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business” (2 wds.) 56. Satisfied sounds
Sudoku
See today’s answers at metronews.ca/ answers.
The Friends of the Library, Trinity College
Chicago US Thanksgiving, Air + 3 Nights
44. Early spring bloomer 45. Workout spots for women, for short 46. Sweatshirt with a top 49. Brings up the rear 50. 4,047 square metres 51. Toronto-born rocker Young 53. Carpet measurement 54. Exaggerated, as a story 55. “That ___ no concern to you”: “None of your
How to play Fill in the grid, so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9. There is no math involved. You solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic.
Pisces
Virgo
59
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Optima SX Turbo shown
Kia’s new Customer Friendly Pricing includes delivery and destination fees and all mandatory government levies. Prices do not include licensing, PPSA or applicable taxes.
Offer(s) available on select new 2012/2013 models through participating dealers to qualified customers who take delivery by October 31, 2012. Dealers may sell or lease for less. Some conditions apply. Offers are subject to change without notice. See dealer for complete details. Vehicles shown may include optional accessories and upgrades available at extra cost. All offers exclude licensing, registration, insurance, other taxes and down payment (if applicable and unless otherwise specified). Your local dealer may charge additional fees for an administration fee that can range from $0 to $699. Other lease and financing options also available. **0% purchase financing is available on select new 2013 Kia models on approved credit. Terms vary by model and trim, see dealer for complete details. Representative financing example based on 2013 Sportage 2.4L LX MT FWD (SP551D) with a selling price of $24,528 [includes delivery and destination fees of $1,650, $750 loan savings, tire recycling and filter charges of $34, OMVIC fee, variable dealer administration fees (up to $399), environmental fee and A/C charge ($100, where applicable)] financed at 0.9% APR for 48 months. Monthly payments equal $236 per payment with a down payment/equivalent trade of $1,899. License, insurance, applicable taxes, PPSA and registration fees are extra. Retailer may sell for less. See dealer for full details. “Don’t Pay for 90 Days” on select new models (90-day payment deferral) applies to purchase financing offers on select 2012 and 2013 models on approved credit (2012/2013 Sportage/Sorento/Sedona excluded). No interest will accrue during the first 60 days of the finance contract. After this period, interest starts to accrue and the purchaser will repay the principal interest monthly over the term of the contract. ¥3 Payments On Us offer is available on approved credit to eligible retail customers who finance or lease a select new 2012 Soul 1.6L MT/2012 Soul 1.6L AT/2012 Optima/2013 Optima/2012 Sorento/2013 Sorento/2013 Forte Sedan/2013 Forte Koup/2013 Forte5 from a participating dealer between October 1 – October 31, 2012. Eligible lease and purchase finance (including FlexChoice) customers will receive a cheque in the amount of three payments (excluding taxes) to a maximum of $350/$350/$400/$400/$550/$550/$350/$350/$350 per month. Lease and finance (including FlexChoice) purchases are subject to approved credit. Customers will be given a choice between up to $1,050/$1,050/$1,200/$1,200/$1,650/$1,650/$1,050/$1,050/$1,050 reductions from the selling/leasing price after taxes or dealer can issue a cheque to the customer. Some conditions apply. See your dealer for complete details. Offer ends October 31, 2012. Cash purchase price for 2012 Rondo LX with AC (RN750C)/2012 Optima Hybrid base (OP74AC) is $16,928/$26,883 and includes a cash savings of $5,500/$4,700 (which is deducted from the negotiated selling price before taxes and cannot be combined with special lease and finance offers), $0/$1,000 ECO-credit, $750/$0 cash bonus, delivery and destination fees of $1,650/$1,455, tire recycling and filter charges of $34, OMVIC fee, variable dealer administration fees (up to $399), environmental fee and A/C charge ($100, where applicable). License, insurance, applicable taxes, PPSA and registration fees are extra. Based on the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price of $23,178/$32,583. Retailer may sell for less. See dealer for full details. Available at participating dealers. ΩRondo Cash Bonus offer is available to qualified retail customers who purchase/finance or lease a new 2012 Kia Rondo (Cash Bonus of $750) from a participating dealer between October 1 and October 31, 2012 and will be deducted from the negotiated purchase/lease price before taxes. Lease and finance offers are on approved credit. Some conditions apply. See your dealer for complete details. >ECO-Credit for 2012 Optima Hybrid is $1,000 (deducted before taxes) and is applicable to the purchase or lease of a new 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. Available at participating dealers. Certain restrictions apply. See dealer for details. ‡$4,700 cash savings on the cash purchase of an eligible new 2012 Optima Hybrid from a participating dealer between October 1 – October 31, 2012. Cash savings is deducted from the negotiated selling price before taxes and cannot be combined with special lease and finance offers. Some conditions apply. See your dealer for complete details. ≠Bi-weekly finance payment (on approved credit) for new 2012 Optima LX AT (OP742C) based on a selling price of $26,283 is $135 with an APR of 1.49% for 60 months, amortized over an 84-month period. Estimated remaining principal balance of $6,917 plus applicable taxes due at end of 60-month period. Offer includes $1,200 “3 payments on us” savings, delivery and destination fees of $1,455, tire recycling and filter charges of $34, OMVIC fee, variable dealer administration fees (up to $399), environmental fee and A/C charge ($100, where applicable). License, insurance, applicable taxes, PPSA and registration fees are extra. Retailer may sell for less. See dealer for full details. Model shown Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price for 2012 Rondo EX V6 Luxury (RN75BC)/2012 Optima SX Turbo (OP748C)/2012 Optima Hybrid Premium (OP74BC) is $29,945/$35,450/$37,250 and includes delivery and destination fees of $1,650/$1,455/$1,455, environmental fee and A/C charge ($100, where applicable). License, insurance, applicable taxes, variable dealer administration fees (up to $399), tire recycling and filter charges of $34, OMVIC fee, PPSA and registration fees are extra. Retailer may sell for less. See dealer for full details. Available at participating dealers. Highway/city fuel consumption is based on the 2012 Rondo 2.4L MPI 4-cyl/2012 Optima 2.4L GDI 4-cyl (A/T)/2012 Optima Hybrid 2.4L MPI 4-cyl (A/T). These estimates are based on Transport Canada’s approved criteria and testing methods. Refer to the Government of Canada’s EnerGuide Fuel Consumption Guide. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on driving habits and other factors. Some conditions apply to the $500 Grad Rebate Program. See dealer or kia.ca for details. Information in this advertisement is believed to be accurate at the time of printing. For more information on our 5-year warranty coverage, visit kia.ca or call us at 1-877-542-2886. KIA is a trademark of Kia Motors Corporation and Kia Canada Inc. respectively. KCI_OCT17_1_COR_C_10X12_4C.indd 1
12-10-15 4:41 PM
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In what US state was 'Custer's Last Stand'?
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20121017_ca_toronto by Metro Canada - issuu
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they’re at it again
Friday’s Jackpot
A feistier Barack Obama emerges in second debate against Mitt Romney toronto
page 13
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 News worth sharing.
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metronews.ca | twitter.com/metrotoronto | facebook.com/metrotoronto
Did Hudak miss the subway vs. LRT debate? He doesn’t think so. Ontario Conservative leader says he would still try to divert LRT funds in order to build subways
Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak has thrust Toronto’s political hot potato — the transit file — to the forefront of an eventual Ontario election. On Tuesday, only hours after Premier Dalton McGuinty announced his resignation, Hudak was at Nathan Phillips Square, inserting his foot firmly in the door of yet another debate over the merits of subways versus LRTs. He promised to dedicate as much as possible of the $8.4 billion the province has long promised for Toronto transit expansion (including $330 million from Ottawa) toward building underground transit — potentially diverting some
Contracts on the way
“There’s no decision by council to revisit what we’ve approved. We were asked to make a decision on our transit future. We made it.” TTC chair Karen Stintz
money from the LRT program recently firmed up and already underway. Accompanied by council allies of the pro-subway mayor, Rob Ford, Hudak also repeated his pledge of last week to build subways, upload the TTC’s current subway lines and new LRTs to provincial control, and supersize the transportation agency Metrolinx. But there’s a catch: Building more subways will have to wait until the $14.4-billion provincial deficit has been eliminated, said Hudak, suggesting it might be years be-
fore he’s able to expand transit even if an election were held this year or in early 2013. He conceded that he doesn’t know how feasible redirecting funds will be if he becomes premier and the LRT projects are already well underway. “We’ll be practical about this.… Whatever dollars are in the existing pool, I’ll maximize those to go underground,” said Hudak, who also echoed Ford’s repudiation of streetcars. While acknowledging that the province can spend its transit funds as it chooses, TTC chair Karen Stintz said the LRT lines planned for Eglinton, Finch, Sheppard and the Scarborough RT have already left the station. The master agreement spelling out how the $8.4 billion will be spent is close to being signed by the city manager. Council will be officially informed of that agreement in November, she said. torstar news service
Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak scrums with the media Tuesday at Nathan Phillips Square. Hudak discussed breaking the gridlock in the GTA and Hamilton area, while several Toronto city councillors stood nearby, showing their support. TARA WALTON/TORstar news service
The price of autism
Condo sales Someone else see 20.5% drop takes the lead
Parents of an autistic child tell Metro why they chose therapy that’s a financial burden page 8
Prices also expected to remain flat through 2013, thanks to the condo boom: TREB page 10
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Police standoff
Alleged abductor in Durham hostage taking is former Oshawa councillor
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Early-morning incident
T.O. councillor charged with impaired driving City councillor Ana Bailão has been arrested on drunkdriving charges, after a police officer spotted the politician driving Coun. Ana Bailão withTORSTAR NEWS out her headlights SERVICE FILE on early Tuesday morning, a police source said. The officer first noticed Bailão, 36, at 1:43 a.m., heading north on Bathurst Street. “The officer attempted to pull her over. The vehicle didn’t stop and then they finally stopped at Harbord and Bathurst streets,” said the source. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
In wake of sex assaults, T.O. yoga studio teaches street self-defence Bloor-Christie area. Tula Yoga Spa brings in instructors to help its members ‘feel more empowered’ in rattled west-end neighbourhood A Toronto yoga studio has traded downward dogs for groin kicks to help its members feel safer in a neighbourhood shaken by a rash of recent sexual assaults. In a break from yoga’s peace-loving tradition, a team of black belt instructors took charge at Tula Yoga Spa in Toronto’s west end Sunday evening to launch a six-week street self-defence course. “To hear about (sexual assaults) in your area, it’s a little bit scary,” said Samantha Marchese, a 21-year-old hairdresser whose own safety concerns prompted her to sign up. “A lot of people don’t think it would happen to them ... but I think it’s good to be educated.” Since July, police have received more than 10 reports of sexual assault incidents in the west downtown area. On Thanksgiving weekend, police got three similar reports of a man assaulting women from behind in the Christie Pits area, prompting officers to urge residents to use more caution, especially when walking at night. In response, Tula owner Isabel Lambert said she decided to partner with Toronto police and self-defence instructors to create a course to help her studio members “feel more empowered” on the street. On Sunday, nearly 20 people joined two Toronto
Sasha Mrvic kicks Alfie Della-Terza as they put the students of Tula Yoga through a crash self-defence course on Sunday in response to the latest sex assaults in the Bloor-Christie area. RENE JOHNSTON/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
police officers and a group of self-defence instructors at the Tula studio to learn the best ways to avoid trouble on the street and, if necessary, fight off an assailant. They learned how to escape chokeholds, wrist grabs and, perhaps most importantly given the recent trend, how to respond when approached from behind. It’s called a “coward grab,” said Alfie Della-Terza, a retired correctional officer who led the class, and the best way to escape is with the “tall become small approach” — crouch and bend at the waist, then push back before twisting around to escape the grab.
Quoted
“Hopefully this will teach us how to act, not to get scared and freeze, and just to stand your guard.” Samantha Marchese, a 21-year-old hairdresser who for weeks has felt nervous walking home from work at night
The yogis also learned how to escape a “ponytail grab,” how to twist out of a “chicken wing” where both arms are trapped, and how to best target kicks to the kneecap, upper thigh and groin.
“It’s important to fight back ... (these people) do not want to become a stat,” said Della-Terza, adding that participants are being trained to know how to respond in panic situations. For Marchese, who said she often walks home from her hairdressing job late at night, the classes come at the right time. For weeks, she said, she has felt nervous walking through her westend neighbourhood alone at night. “Hopefully this will teach us how to act, not to get scared and freeze, and just to stand your guard,” she said. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
NEWS
The man who has barricaded himself inside a Whitby auto shop is former Oshawa city councillor Robert Lutczyk, who allegedly abducted a city solicitor Monday night, Torstar News Service has learned. A lengthy standoff continued in Whitby Tuesday night after city solicitor David Potts was abducted from his home Monday evening and escaped shortly after. Former Oshawa mayor John Grey told Torstar News Service, in news confirmed by Durham Region police sources, that Lutczyk allegedly abducted Potts at his Courtice home following a city council meeting that ended at 10:30 p.m. Monday. Oshawa Mayor John Henry said Potts was taken against his will but escaped unharmed just before 2 a.m. Tuesday.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Naqvi to mull possible leadership bid with family
Ontario party president Yasir Naqvi. Graham LANKTREE/METRO in ottawa
Yasir Naqvi is doing more than “not ruling out” a bid for the leadership of the provincial Liberals. The Ottawa Centre MPP and Ontario Liberal Party president said he looks forward to discussing throwing his name in the ring with his family — as soon as he has a chance to actually see them. “I’ve not even gone home yet to connect with my family, so obviously I’m looking for-
ward to that opportunity,” Naqvi said Tuesday. “You never say never in life, and it is a very exciting time in our party. Right now there’s great opportunity for renewal.” “Renewal” seems to be the watchword for provincial and federal Liberals of late. It was used a number of times by outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty, who announced Monday night that he’ll be stepping down as leader just as soon as
the party selects another. There is no timeline set for the selection of a new leader as of yet, Naqvi said. Normally, the party is required to select a new leader within six months. But because McGuinty remains leader, that doesn’t come into affect. If he considers tossing his name in the ring, Naqvi said he will recuse himself from his role as party president.
Other possible contenders
Speculation abounds as to who will put in a bid for the leadership. • Finance Minister
Dwight Duncan’s name has been mentioned, as has embattled Energy Minister Chris Bentley.
• Ministers Eric Hoskins
(Youth Services), Deb Matthews (Health), Glen Murray (College and Universities), Charles Sousa (Immigration), and Kathleen Wynne (Municipal Affairs) are also rumoured candidates.
ALEX BOUTILIER In Metro Ottawa
Prorogation changes channel for McGuinty, expert says Shuttered house. Clears the decks ALEX BOUTILIER
Metro in Ottawa
Closing Queen’s Park gives the provincial Liberals a chance to regain control of the message, according to an expert on parliamentary governance. Dr. Lori Turnbull, who coauthored a 2011 book on prorogation and constitutional reform, said Dalton McGuinty’s decision to prorogue the legislature speaks to the government’s ability to control the message. Rather than step down as premier and have the party select an interim leader, McGuinty promised to stay on until a leadership convention is called at the “earliest possible opportunity.”
“If there was an interim leader appointed, well then today we’d be back at the house and we’d be dealing with the same issues, just a different guy,” said Turnbull on Tuesday. “Whereas now, nobody is talking about the issues we were talking about yesterday. Now the big issue is why McGuinty resigned, whether he’s going to run against Trudeau (for leadership).” McGuinty announced late Monday evening he would prorogue parliament and ask the party to select a new leader. That means all bills and committees from this short session — such as the committee investigating Energy Minister Chris Bentley for withholding documents on cancelled power plants — die on the vine. “It’s a purging of what the house has been doing,” Turnbull said. “Taxpayers dollars went to all that work, and now it’s flushed down the toilet.”
Time to establish some rules around prorogation?
Errol Mendes, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa, drew parallels to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue the House of Commons in 2009 amid the Afghan detainee controversy and the threat of a non-confidence vote. “Harper did the same thing,” Mendes said. “I think it’s about time both at the federal level and the provincial level for clear rules (about) when these type of actions can and cannot be done.” Dalton McGuinty speaks to media after announcing he’s stepping down as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party at Queens Park on Monday. TORSTAR news service
Trudeau welcomes idea of a strong, robust leadership race with McGuinty
Federal Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau addresses students at Citadel High School in Halifax on Tuesday. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian press
Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau says he would welcome the entrance of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty into the race to lead the federal party. The perceived front-runner said Tuesday in Halifax that he didn’t want to speculate on McGuinty’s
plans, one day after the Ontario leader announced his resignation. Trudeau says McGuinty has served his province and country well and would add to what he insisted will be “a strong and robust leadership race.” Trudeau, who addressed students at a packed high
school auditorium, says he hasn’t spoken to McGuinty but added that there will be strong candidates running even if he decides not to enter the race. McGuinty, who was first elected premier in 2003, has left the door open to the leadership bid and sources say a campaign road map
has already been sketched out. A movement to draft McGuinty has been fuelled by a sense that the race needs a heavyweight contender to challenge Trudeau, the eldest son of former prime minister and Liberal icon Pierre Trudeau. THE CANADIAN PRESS
06
news
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
2nd BRA Day hopes to lift breast cancer survivors into comfort zone Breast reconstruction. Event shines light on option women have after a mastectomy Phoebe Ho
[email protected]
Anna Borenstein relied on Google to help make the decision whether to go through with a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction to treat her breast cancer. Not knowing what to expect, she spent hours surfing the web trying to find images of women who had undergone the same treatment. “The reality is never like pictures, and the pictures don’t tell you a whole lot about the process, and what I know now compared to what I knew going in is monumental,” she said. “Had I actually seen reconstructions in the flesh, to actually be able to see up close and to handle them, it would’ve taken away a lot of the anxiety and unexpectedness.” Borenstein, 52, said she came across plenty of information when it came to treatment, chemotherapy and radiation, but when it came to dealing with the aftermath of a mastectomy or breast reconstruction, she found nothing. “I felt so isolated in going through this,” she said. “Online communities talk about anything but reconstruction. Canadian online support groups again deal with treat-
Need to know
Things to know about breast reconstruction: • A reconstructed breast will not have the same sensation it had before the procedure • Incision lines will be visible, whether it’s from reconstruction or mastectomy
Anna Borenstein searched the web for answers to treat her breast cancer. supplied
The options for reconstruction include:
Quoted
• Using a donor’s tissue or a woman’s own muscle, fat and skin to reconstruct a complete breast or to support a breast implant.
“It saddens me to see patients who cannot get appropriate access, who have felt uncomfortable, sad, depressed, or had difficulties dealing with the consequences of their mastectomy when there were other options to try to manage them.”
• The tissue expansion method, which stretches healthy skin to cover the breast implant.
ment and to a certain extent depression, but not survival.” The second annual Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day is looking to change that. At a Show and Tell Lounge hosted by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada in Toronto on Wednesday at the Toronto Reference Library, a number of women who have undergone the procedure will be baring their breasts in a “comfortable, private and professionally put-together lounge,” so that women mulling over their options can see firsthand what
BRA Day founder Dr. Mitchell Brown
Singer-songwriter Jewel, a spokesperson of BRA Day in the U.S., penned a new song called Flower to help raise awareness about the importance of breast-reconstruction options for survivors. Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press
it’s really like. “It’s different because there are many ways to do it. You can do it with breast implants, you can use your own bodies’ tissues or a combination of both,” said BRA Day founder Dr. Mitchell Brown. “So the best way to understand and ap-
preciate that is to see and feel it herself.” Brown, who’s been practising plastic and reconstructive surgery for more than 17 years, says he was stunned by the number of women who’d come to him years after a mastectomy saying they never knew
they could get a breast reconstruction or just couldn’t get access to it in their area. The event is only in its second year, but it’s already spread to more than 25 countries. In the U.S., singer-songwriter Jewel, a spokesperson of the event there, even penned
a new song, called Flower, to help raise awareness about the importance of breast-reconstruction options for survivors. “Reconstruction is a huge part of the healing process,” Jewel told The Associated Press. “It’s not just vanity. It’s part of what makes us women. It’s part of our identity as women. Patients should at least be informed about their options.”
T.O. seeks to license hookah lounges
10 exclusive designs to chew on Greta Constantine designers Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill, both with backs turned, make some lastminute touches to the models at the 5 Black Collection look-book photoshoot at Roy Thomson Hall on Tuesday. Wong and Pickersgill partnered with 5 Gum to create 10 exclusive designs to bring to life their sleek, bold, black style. contributed
City licensing officials are trying to clamp down on Toronto’s hookah establishments through a series of health and cleanliness regulations, citing medical concerns over nontobacco water-pipe use. The proposed guidelines, recommended in a report going before the licensing committee on Friday, would require hookah cafés to maintain adequate air ventilation, properly sanitize pipe equipment before use and ban minors from entry. Businesses would also have to hold a water pipe establishment licence. “There should be some regulation,” said Ilan Kritzer, owner of Sheesha Lounge and Coffee House on Bloor Street West at Ossington Avenue, adding that his business already follows the proposed rules. “Because there’s no regulation at all, there’s potential for abuse — these bars should be regulated and enforcement should be done.”
Quoted
“There is some indication that whether you’re smoking non-tobacco hookah or tobacco hookah, they produce similar amounts of toxins, such as carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (also found in cigarettes).” Suzanne Thibault, Toronto Public Health
Hookah — also known as shisha, narghila or water pipe — is sold in tobacco form or as a composite of dried plants, herbs, tea leaves, preservatives and flavouring. Hookah establishments have so far avoided regulation by offering nontobacco shisha, which does not fall under the provincial Smoke-Free Ontario Act. The 2006 legislation prohibits businesses from offering tobaccobased hookah. The report stops short of proposing an outright ban of hookah lounges, noting research into the ill effects of non-tobacco shisha use is
spotty. But after consultation with Toronto Public Health officials and anti-smoking advocates, city staff believe the health concerns are significant enough to warrant regulation. Public-health officials argue that the social element of hookah cafés, where a group of friends can lounge for hours, and mainstream use among youth create a misperception that tobacco-less shisha is benign. About 80 cafés, restaurants and bars in Toronto offer hookah, according to a Toronto Public Health study conducted this year. Torstar News Service
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Autism: ‘We know the little boy that’s in there’ Diagnosis
What is autism spectrum disorder? • One in 100 Canadians
has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is one of the most prevalent developmental disabilities.
• ASD affects develop-
ment of the brain in the area of social interactions and communication skills.
• The disorder manifests
in different ways in a spectrum that runs from mild to severe. Autism Ontario says it can result in repeated body movements, unusual responses to people, attachments to objects or resistance to changes in routine.
• On the severe end, it
can also lead to aggressive or self-injurious behaviour.
• Autism Ontario
estimates that 100,000 Ontarians have ASD.
Anne Rahming credits intensive behavioural intervention with the steady progress made by her son, Mića Jovanović. Mića, who turns five next month, has a severe form of autism. Mike Carroccetto/for Metro
Part 1 of a 3-part series. 1,417 children are receiving intensive behavioural intervention in Ontario, while 1,702 wait for therapy
Treatment
Coming to terms with autism
“We had all the same preconceived notions that everybody else has about autism. We were like, well, he’s really smart and he’s figuring out ways to get his point across. Well, you know there are a lot of kids that have autism that are actually really smart.”
What is intensive behavioural intervention? • Intensive behavioural
intervention (IBI) is a therapy for children with autism. Its aim is to help them develop a connection to the outside world.
Anne Rahming on her son, Mića, who has severe autism spectrum disorder
ALEX BOUTILIER
Metro in Ottawa
“Duck.” Mića extends his hand as his therapist, Kristina Dunbar, presents him with a small plastic duck, which promptly joins others in the toy pond at their feet. It’s a simple, one-syllable request. But for Mića, that would not have been possible only a year and a half ago. This kind of therapy — intensive behavioural intervention, or IBI — was how he learned to talk. Four-year-old Mića Jovanović was diagnosed with severe autism spectrum disorder at the age of three. Before that, he had difficulties with his hearing, which led his family to seek a diagnosis. “We weren’t expecting a severe diagnosis. We were expecting him to be sort of
middle of the spectrum,” Mića’s mother, Anne Rahming, said. “When (the doctor) explained to us that it was severe, we were bowled over. It was a very quiet drive home.” At the time, Mića was assessed as having the understanding of a six-month-old. He turns five next month, and is now assessed at a three-year-old’s level. Rahming credits IBI for his progress. But the therapy is expensive, and the regional waiting lists for provincial subsidies are long. If Rahming and her family waited the average two years for funding before getting treatment, Mića would have missed the crucial window when IBI is most effective. So, while waiting, they paid out-of-pocket from
March 2011 to August 2012. The bill was $80,000. In August, they ran out of money for Mića’s therapy. In frustration, Rahming turned to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, which grants IBI funding to regional providers, who in turn deliver it to parents. She also went to the media. “After I decided to get the minister’s office and reporters involved, surprisingly money emerged,” she said. That money — which still doesn’t cover the full cost of the therapy — means Mića can remain at the Portia Learning Centre, a private clinic in Kanata, just southwest of Ottawa. For Rahming, it’s the difference between Mića interacting with the people in his life or living inside his head. “We know the little boy that’s in there,” she said.
• In one-on-one therapy,
or in a small-group setting, children work with therapists to learn words and their use — to ask for things, and to verbally interact with the people and things around them.
• The treatment is typically
Mića Jovanović plays with therapist Kristina Dunbar at the Portia Learning Centre in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa. Mike Carroccetto/for Metro Next up • Part 2 (Thursday): The
politics of autism, including the funding process and long wait list for treatment.
• Part 3 (Weekend): Public-
service providers and their role in providing funding for treatment of autism. • On the web: Follow
the series online at metronews.ca.
most effective between the ages of three and five.
• According to the Ontario
Ministry of Children and Youth Services, funding for IBI reached $115.8 million in 2011-12.
• Across Ontario, 1,417
children are receiving the therapy, while 1,702 are on the waiting list for funding.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
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Not Just a Teenage Problem! Hormonal breakouts, such as acne that is marked by pimples, whiteheads, blackheads and cysts affect many teenagers today. But teenagers are not the only ones; acne can strike adults too - more than half of all adult women and about a quarter of adult men. As the largest organ in the body, the skin is one of the best indicators of how healthy we are on the inside. Acne can have many underlying causes including: poor digestion and dietary intake (vitamin and mineral deficiencies), food allergies, hormonal imbalances, and stress. Many women will typically see hormonal breakouts during their menstrual cycle due to hormonal fluctuations. Estrogen dominance due to hormone replacement therapy, the birth control pill, xenoestrogens from the environment (BPA, phthalates, parabens) or a sluggish liver can also contribute to hormonal breakouts.
Big names shows up at Believe It fashion show From left, Hudson’s Bay President Bonnie Brooks, the prime minister’s wife Laureen Harper, legendary Canadian rocker Randy Bachman and country music artist Beverley Mahood at the first annual Believe It fashion show luncheon for personalized cancer medicine in Toronto on Tuesday. The event, sponsored by the Bay, featured a runway show showcasing fall fashion. Proceeds will benefit The Robert & Maggie Bras and Family New Drug Development Program at The Princess Margaret Hospital. courtesy Sandler Central Image Agency
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Condo sales take dive as prices stagnate
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Resale condo transactions declined 20.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 and prices are expected to remain flat through 2013, thanks to the condo boom, says the Toronto Real Estate Board. At the same time sales via the MLS were down dramatically, new listings were up more than 6.5 per cent over the same quarter of last year as new buildings came on stream and investors looked to cash out on units bought in the cheaper preconstruction phase. Tighter mortgage rules imposed by Ottawa also helped push buyers to the sidelines, said TREB in a report on the condo market released Tues-
Statistics
House sales also on the decline While the sale of detached, semi-detached and rowhouses are also in serious decline — home sales were down across the GTA 23.2 per cent in September over a year day. The average price of a resale condo in the GTA in the third quarter was $334,204. Units in the City of Toronto sold on the MLS for a slight premium, an average of $357,030, said TREB. That’s just $2,000 more than the same units sold for in the third quarter of 2011. At the same time, investors looking to cover their costs by
Quoted
“Given the supply of listings currently in the market place, the average rate of price growth for condo apartments should continue to lag price growth for low-rise home types over the next year.” Jason Merson, TREB’s senior manager of market analysis
earlier — prices appreciated about 8.2 per cent year over year. But condos are another story, with some housing analysts predicting significant price drops to come as more new units hit the market and the inventory of units for sale climbs higher into buyers’ territory. Torstar News Service
renting out units are finding themselves facing more competition: The number of rental listings were up 18.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 over the same period a year earlier, but the number of units leased was up just 3.3 per cent. “Prospective renters had more units to choose from, which led to less upward pressure on rents,” said Jason Merson, senior manager of market analysis for TREB. That means rents that now average $1,605 for a onebedroom unit and $2,097 for a two bedroom, up just 3.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively from Q3 of 2011, make it hard for investors to cover their monthly costs. Torstar News Service
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Marijuana makes friends left — and right Right-wing weed. Republicans take ‘your body, your choice’ philosophy, and see big money in legalization
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Dance instructor accused of selling sex in tiny town The first batch of more than 100 men accused of paying a fitness instructor for sex were lying low after police began releasing their names in the small New England town of Kennebunk, Maine, where
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It’s not all hippies backing November’s marijuana legalization votes in Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Appealing to Western individualism and a mistrust of federal government, activists have lined up some prominent conservatives, from onetime presidential hopefuls Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul to Republican-turned-Libertarian presidential candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. “This is truly a nonpartisan issue,” said Mark Slaugh, a volunteer for the Colorado initiative who is based in Colorado T:12.5”
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Springs, which has more Republicans than anywhere else in the state. “It’s fiscally prudent. It would be taxed, regulated, monitored. It makes a lot of
sense to Republicans,” he said. Most Republicans still oppose legalization, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan. When activists make their appeal, it goes like this: States should dictate drug law. Decades of federal prohibition have failed where personal responsibility and old-fashioned parenting will succeed. Politicians back East have no business dictating what the states do. “What is the law against marijuana if it isn’t the Nanny State telling you what you can do and what you can’t do to your body and with your body?” asked Tancredo, a former Republican congressman from suburban Denver who briefly ran for president in 2008. He compared federal law to New York City’s ban on sugary sodas. The Associated Press
rumours have run rampant for weeks. Police on Monday released 21 names of men who were issued summons for engaging in prostitution with Alexis Wright, a 29-year-old Zumba instructor who’s charged with turning her dance studio into a brothel in the seaside community of 10,000 and secretly videotaping her encounters. Police said she kept de-
tailed records suggesting the sex acts generated $150,000 over 18 months. Wright, from nearby Wells, has pleaded not guilty to 106 counts of prostitution, invasion of privacy and other charges. In town, residents heard the list of accused johns could include lawyers, law enforcement officers and well-known people, heightening their curiosity. The Associated Press
Former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo advocates legalization. Ed Andrieski/The Associated Press
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
13
He’s awake! Obama goes on the attack in 2nd vital debate Tense faceoffs. White House contenders cross swords over jobs, domestic energy, women’s rights — and that pipeline
Debating the issues (and going for the knockout punch): Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama mix it up during their televised “town hall” debate Tuesday night. mario tama/getty images
Listless? Not anymore! A sharper, energetic Barack Obama emerged Tuesday night in his second televised presidential debate against Mitt Romney. As tens of millions of viewers watched, Obama energetically got down to the business at hand — putting the brakes on his Republican rival’s sudden momentum in a tense, tight race to the White House. Among the tense faceoffs: Jobs, domestic energy — and TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. At one point, Romney
strode uncomfortably close to Obama as he chastised the president for failing to greenlight pipeline. And seeming miffed, Romney also attempted to talk over moderator Candy Crowley, who was having none of it. Obama and Romney also tried to appeal to female voters. Responding to a question about pay equity for women, Obama noted that the first piece of legislation he signed made it easier for women to seek the same pay as men for doing the same work. Romney said as governor of Massachusetts, his administration had a number of women in senior leadership positions. He said many women have suffered job losses and moved into poverty during Obama’s tenure and creating more jobs would help women.
A new approach
It was a debate with a difference — five, in fact. • One. This was a “town hall” debate where people representing a cross-section of America got to ask the questions. • Two. The Gallup organization picked about 80 uncommitted voters. • Three. The questioners couldn’t simply raise their hands and be called at random. • Four. All the questioners were screened beforehand. • Five. Moderator Candy Crowley of CNN and helpers decided who asked the questions.
the associated press
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Shot Pakistani girl’s visitors questioned
Police officers patrol outside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, where Pakistani girl Malala Yousufzai, inset, is being treated. Alastair Grant/the associated press
Malala Yousufzai. Two Quote ‘relatives’ of 14-year“The brain is like real old activist shot by estate.... Location is Taliban questioned by everything.” police after trying to Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery He said Yousufazi’s recovery will depend on visit her in hospital the path the bullet took through her brain British police have questioned two people who tried to visit a hospitalized Pakistani teenager shot for promoting girls’ education, raising fears about her safety following pledges by the Taliban to make another attempt on her life. Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head by the Taliban last week as she was returning home from school in Pakistan. She was airlifted Monday to Britain to receive specialized medical care and Travel
protection from followup attacks threatened by the militants. Medical Director Dr. Dave Rosser of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham stressed Tuesday that security was “under control” at the hospital after the overnight incident. He said several people had turned up at the hospital claiming to be the girl’s relatives but didn’t get very far. He said the people were arrested, but police said they had only been questioned. “We don’t believe there’s Comical vigilante
any threat to her personal security,” Rosser told journalists, explaining the hospital did not believe the suspects were related to Malala. “We think it’s probably people being over-curious.” Police would not immediately confirm the details of the incident. Malala was targeted by the Taliban for promoting girls’ education and criticizing the militant group’s behaviour when they took over the scenic Swat Valley where she lived. Two of her classmates were also wounded in the attack and are receiving treatment in Pakistan. The attack on the girls horrified people in Pakistan and across the world. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said Malala had become “a symbol of all that is good in us.”
Recovery
Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai’s age is an advantage, say doctors. • Optimism. Doctors are
optimistic that Malala’s age is in her favour. Unlike adults, the brains of teenagers are still growing and better able to adapt to trauma.
• Realism. While details on
the path of the bullet and damage have not been released, two physicians say it is extremely unlikely that a full recovery can be made. They could only hope that the bullet took a “lucky path” — going through a more “silent,” or less active — part of the brain.
the associated press
How about a rifle with that ring?
No sovereignty referendum yet
The Cuban government announced Tuesday that it will eliminate a half-century-old restriction that requires its citizens to get an exit visa to leave the country. the associated press
A Michigan man is facing charges for his effort to keep an eye on his community while wearing a Batman outfit. The man is due in court Thursday. the associated press
An U.S. jeweller is offering free rifles for husbands-to-be who spend at least $1,999 on an engagement ring at his store.
Quebec Premier Pauline Marois told a radio network in France Tuesday that a referendum on sovereignty is hardly conceivable right now.
the associated press
news
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Suspected Todd tormentor was a false tip: B.C. RCMP Amanda Todd suicide. Anonymous allegation ‘unfounded,’ police say, even though accused user has history of blackmail, perversion jessica smith
Metro in Toronto
Allegations by an online hacker group that identified a Vancouver-area man as the tormenter of B.C. teen Amanda Todd were “unfounded,” according to police. Todd, 15, committed suicide last week after suffering years of bullying and online sexual exploitation. In September the teen had posted a video on YouTube in which she described how she showed her breasts to an unknown man over a webcam. She said the man then threatened to send the pictures to friends and family unless she “put on a show” for him.
Although police said Tuesday that the claims by Anonymous were false, the web handle cited in the hacker group’s posting has a disturbing Internet history with links to the same kind of online exploitation to which Todd was a victim. In 2010, the username had been nominated as “blackmailer of the year” in the online Capper Awards, which celebrate a perverted subculture in which people, called cappers, get young girls they call “cam whores” to expose themselves on webcams. The username was nominated for allegedly blackmailing a different girl, identified as “Peyton.” Other awards went to the “cam whore of the year” and “Capper of the year.” In the video on YouTube, a mechanized voice of the cartoon host of the 2010 Capper Awards nominations announces the “Blackmail” category. “This one is for the rapist of the Internet,” it says. “(The user), famous for his blackmail of Peyton, stream-
A screengrab of an online video of the Capper Awards. The man suspected of the blackmail that led to Amanda Todd’s suicide was awarded “Blackmailer of the year” in 2010 after extorting a user identified as Peyton. Youtube.com
ing her videos on BlogTV and Tinychat and threatening her in public,” says the host. An earlier video called The Daily Capper shows a mock news account of the accused blackmailer streaming the explicit videos of Peyton in December 2010. “The first part shows Peyton in bra and the second in panties,” says a cartoon reporter.
The details get more explicit. “We return to a second room only to find a fuming Peyton demanding to know who had played videos, and threatening to call the police,” the reporter says. The fake news report says the girl told her mother and police, but it is unclear whether her alleged blackmailer was ever found.
The Capper Awards videos remained active on YouTube as of press time, except for one that was removed after a link to it was posted on an Amanda Todd memorial Facebook page. Anonymous also published a link to a page on jailbaitgallery.com that shows pornographic photos of young girls with a title including the same online handle.
15
Thrown off course
False Internet tips impeding inquiry: Police B.C. RCMP officers investigating the exploitation and suicide of Amanda Todd say they are being thrown off course by false tips and rumours circulating on the Internet. Sgt. Peter Thiessen said the tip from hacker group Anonymous implicating a B.C. Internet user is unfounded. The rumour that someone released Amanda Todd’s autopsy photos online was debunked by the B.C. Coroner’s Service, police said. In that case, Anonymous was also said to have found the perpetrator online. Fraudulent websites that claim to be fundraising for the Todd family have also popped up, said Thiessen. He said there is only one real account set up by the Todd family — the RBC Amanda Todd Trust Account. JESSICA SMITH/METRO IN TORONTO
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Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic denies war crimes Genocide. ‘I should be rewarded for all the good things I have done,’ he claims at UN tribunal
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Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic cast himself as a “mild man, a tolerant man” as he opened his defence Tuesday in his long-running genocide trial, claiming he tried to prevent fighting and then worked to reduce casualties in the bloody 1992-95 Bosnian war. His claims brought snorts of derision and cries of “He’s lying! He’s lying!” from some Muslim survivors of the war who were watching the trial from the public gallery at the UN tribunal. Karadzic, 67, who faces charges including genocide and crimes against humanity, was given 90 minutes to make a statement on his role in the war that left an estimated 100,000
Radovan Karadzic the associated press
dead. The statement was not made under oath, meaning Karadzic could not be crossexamined by prosecutors. In another of the tribunal’s courtrooms, Goran Hadzic, a former leader of rebel Serbs in Croatia, became the last of the tribunal’s 161 indicted suspects to face justice as his trial got underway. He was arrested last
year in northern Serbia after more than seven years on the run and pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering hundreds of Croats and expelling tens of thousands more. Karadzic, a former psychologist and poet, told judges he was a “physician and literary man” who was a reluctant player in the violent breakup of Yugoslavia. He said before the war many of his friends, including his hairdresser, were Muslims. Prosecutors have painted a starkly different picture of Karadzic during months of witness testimony, portraying him as a political leader who masterminded Serb atrocities throughout the war, from campaigns of persecution and murders of Muslims and Croats early in 1992 to the conflict’s bloody climax, the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the UN-protected Srebrenica enclave. the associated press
news
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Guard shot in neck at B.C. border crossing Peace Arch tragedy. Victim was still breathing when she was loaded into air ambulance on Tuesday, police said A female Canadian border guard was shot at one of the busiest crossings in Canada on Tuesday, and the gunman died after apparently turning his weapon on himself, RCMP say. The Douglas border crossing, known better as the Peace Arch crossing — which is just south of Vancouver, was closed in both directions Tuesday afternoon. “The first report at the scene revealed that a male, a lone male, had shot an officer in her booth,” said Cpl. Bert Paquet. “At the instant following the shooting of the officer, the lone male had been pronounced dead at the scene from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Paquet said the officer’s con-
Medical scandal
Investigation launched A Winnipeg doctor who had sex with two female patients and improperly wrote them OxyContin prescriptions has been suspended.
17
Dr. Randy Raymond Allan pleaded guilty to professional misconduct. Manitoba’s health minister said an investigation has been launched to recover any taxpayer money that may have gone toward inappropriate billing. Metro in Winnipeg
Most Diploma Programs Have Practicum! Paramedics attend to an injured border guard following a shooting at the Douglas border crossing on Tuesday in B.C. curtis kreklau/for metro
dition isn’t known, but she was breathing when she was loaded into an air ambulance. He said it appeared she’d been shot in the neck and her injuries were serious. “We haven’t confirmed the identity of the suspect yet. He was entering Canada in a
vehicle (with) a Washington plate.” Vic Toews, minister of public safety, said in a statement he was deeply concerned by the news. “This event is a sobering reminder of the dangerous conditions faced daily by the men
and women of our law enforcement agencies as they work to protect the safety and security of Canadians.” A spokeswoman with the Canada Border Services Agency said traffic was being diverted around the crossing.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Loblaw cuts 700 jobs Brampton. Reductions affect administrative and head-office staff
A Loblaws employee brings in shopping carts in Toronto in this file photo. On Tuesday, Loblaw Co. Ltd. announced plans to cut management and administrative jobs, saying the move would reduce costs. The Canadian Press File
Loblaw Co. Ltd. is cutting hundreds of mostly head-office jobs as Canada’s largest supermarket chain continues a makeover aimed at making it more competitive in the increasingly crowded grocery segment. “We’re managing costs where it makes sense by reducing administrative ex-
pense,” Loblaw president Vicente Trius said in announcing some 700 management and administrative jobs were being trimmed. The company, which operates under several banners including Loblaws, Zehrs, and Real Canadian Super Store, has about 135,000 full-time and part-time employees across the country. The cuts will affect about 10 per cent of its management and administrative staff. Loblaw said the layoff notices would
By the numbers
$60M
The cuts at Loblaw will result in a one-time expense of $60 million, to be recorded in the fourth quarter of its financial year.
begin going out Tuesday and the cuts should be complete within three weeks. RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel called the move a step toward making the company more productive.
Microsoft
California. Court to hear lawsuit over cleaner-fuel mandate
Microsoft’s new Surface tablet The Associated Press file
Surface tablet will match iPad price Microsoft’s Surface tablet computer, the company’s answer to Apple Inc.’s iPad, will start at $519 in Canada when it goes on sale Oct. 26. The price matches that of the iPad, but the base model of the Surface has twice as much storage memory: 32 gigabytes. The screen is also slightly larger. The Associated Press Apple
‘iPad mini’ may debut next week Apple Inc. has sent out invites for an event next Tuesday, where it’s expected to announce the release of a smaller iPad. The invites don’t hint at what will be revealed, beyond saying that “We’ve got a little more to show you.” Observers have said for months that Apple has an “iPad mini” in the works. Reports suggest the smaller iPad would have a screen that’s 7.8 inches on the diagonal, a bit more than the Kindle Fire or Google Inc.’s Nexus, with their seven-inch screens. The Associated Press
Model years 2011-13
Ford recalls Fiestas over side airbags Ford is recalling more than 154,000 Fiesta subcompacts, including 28,000 in Canada, over airbags. If the front passenger seat is empty, Ford says, the side airbag won’t inflate to protect rear-seat passengers in some crashes. The Associated Press
“Loblaw is generally not the leanest of organizations and today’s announcement is a move toward streamlining functions,” Nattel wrote in a report, adding that she expects the company to realize annual savings in the neighbourhood of $60 million, starting in 2013. “But we would not assume that the cost savings will necessarily flow to the bottom line, but rather be reinvested in pricing (and) in-store service to drive top-line performance,” Nattel said. The Canadian Press
Paying double Land Transfer Tax is unfair. If you’re one of the five percent of people moving within the City of Toronto this year, you’ll pay City Hall’s Land Transfer Tax on top of the Province’s, together totalling about $15,000, upfront, on average. And you’ll have to pay it again every time you move, unless you leave Toronto. Forcing so few people to pay so much extra tax, for the same level of service as everyone else, is unfair. City Hall has better options. Let’s get this right, Toronto.
A federal appeals court will hear arguments in a case seeking to stop California’s first-inthe-nation mandate requiring petroleum refiners and ethanol producers to make cleaner fuels for millions of cars and trucks in the state. At issue before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the constitutionality of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, an important piece of the state’s landmark global warming law, AB 32. The mandate requires petroleum refiners, fuel distributors and others to make cleaner-burning fuels for the California market. But out-of-state oil refiners and biofuels producers have sued over the law, saying it will give an unfair advantage to instate fuels producers. The Associated Press
By the numbers
2020
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The California Air Resources Board said the standard will cut California’s dependence on petroleum by 20 per cent, and account for one-tenth of the state’s goal to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020.
iPhone maker dismisses underage interns The company that manufactures Apple’s iPhone said Tuesday it found underage interns as young as 14 working at one of its factories in China. Foxconn Technology Group said the interns were found by a company investigation at its factory in the eastern city of Yantai and were sent back to their schools. China’s minimum legal working age is 16. Foxconn said it was investigating with schools how the interns were sent to its factory. It didn’t say how
many underage interns it found. “We recognize that full responsibility for these violations rests with our company and we have apologized to each of the students for our role in this action,” Foxconn said in a statement. “Any Foxconn employee found, through our investigation, to be responsible for these violations will have their employment immediately terminated.” A labour-rights group, China Labor Watch, said in a statement that primary re-
Foxconn
• Foxconn produces iPhones and iPads for Apple Inc. and also assembles products for Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. The company gave no indication what products were made in facilities where the interns worked.
sponsibility lay with schools involved but “Foxconn is also culpable for not confirming the ages of their workers.”
Foxconn is one of China’s biggest employers, with about 1.2 million employees in factories in several cities. The company has an internship program that takes vocational students who work for three to six months in its factories, accompanied by teachers. Foxconn faced a complaint in August that vocational students were compelled by their schools to work in its factories in China. Foxconn said the students were free to leave at any time. The Associated Press
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Bombardier tries to offset potential CSeries delay Aerospace. Production of mid-fuselage section brought back in-house after Chinese supplier took on too much work Bombardier has taken steps to reduce the risk that a Chinese supplier will delay the first test flight of the CSeries, but an industry analyst who toured its facility remains concerned about its ability to produce sections of the fuselage once full production begins next year. The Montreal-based aircraft manufacturer, which hopes to begin test flights by the end of the year, recently moved production of the mid-fuselage section from Shenyang, China, to an in-house facility in BelWJ _ 5 4 1 0 _ O t t a w a fast. SAC Commercial Aircraft
A reporter enters a full-size model of the Bombardier CSeries aircraft during its September 2009 introduction in Montreal. The Canadian Press File
Company (SACC) continues to supply the rear fuselage section and has already shipped the first one to Mirabel, Que., where it has been joined with other sections. Although this is positive, Walter Spracklin of RBC Cap.italp Markets df Pa g ethe 1Chinese 1 0 / said partner remains a risk to meet
full production targets. “We believe the facility’s ability to ‘repatriate back’ the fuselage components that were moved away from SACC remains a key uncertainty — as it was not made clear on this trip why SACC struggled,” 1he6 wrote / 1 2in, a report. 2 : 0 8 PM The Canadian Press
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*Seasonal start and end dates apply. Book by October 18, 2012 (11:59 p.m. MT) for travel from November 1, 2012 to February 7, 2013. Blackout dates from December 13, 2012 to January 8, 2013. For Canadian destinations travel on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. For U.S. destinations travel on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For Mexico and Caribbean destinations travel on any day of the week where WestJet offers scheduled service. Flights may not operate on certain days. Seat sale fares are discounted from WestJet’s lowest regular fare, apply only to flights marketed and operated wholly by WestJet, and are not applicable when travelling with our code-share, interline or other airline partners. Sale vacation packages are discounted by a reduction in the price of the air component of the package. New bookings only. Non-refundable. Offer limited and subject to availability. Advance purchase required. Other restrictions may apply. See westjet.com for full seat sale details. Ontario travel agents are covered by TICO. Mailing address: 6085 Midfield Road, Toronto, ON L5P 1A2. TICO registration number: 50018683.
22
voices
Curating Canadian conservatives The Canadian Museum of Civilization is being rebranded. Now it’s going to be the Paul Sullivan Canadian Museum of Our Own metronews.ca Backyard. Er, the Canadian Museum of History. That old mandate: “To increase, throughout Canada and internationally, interest in, knowledge and understanding of and appreciation for human cultural achievements and human behaviour…”? That’s over. It’s time to turn our gaze … inward. The feds are going to spend $25 million to teach us Canadian history, no doubt because we weren’t listening the first time in Grade 8. Instead of that civilization malarkey, we’ll gather all our national clichés in one convenient location: The Last Spike, Maurice Richard’s hockey sweater (le pew!), and the gag The power of pop culture reel from This Hour Has 22 Minutes. OK, so I made that I agree with James Moore, last one up. But talk about minister in charge of Turn- historical significance. According to the usually ing Back the Clock, that informed but anonymous the world needs more sources, the museum will focus on the Royal Family and Canada. But we already Canadian military. gave the world Jim Carrey theTell me this is not all part and Neil Young. What of the Harper government’s ongoing effort to put the 21st more do they want? I century back in the bottle know —Celine Dion! and rewrite Canadian history. We’ll give them Celine We’ll know what’s really going on if Museum 2.0 has a Dion! Preston Manning wing. The new museum will use the current Museum of Civilization building, a world-class architectural homage to human civilization. Well, it will have to do. It was either that or move it to Winnipeg, where it could take over the newly built Museum of Human Rights. After all, human rights aren’t really our business, either. Let the EU or the UN or some other foreign outfit worry about that stuff. This here’s Canada. The Canada of Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Robert Borden, R.B. Bennett, John Diefenbaker, Brian Mulroney and, of course, Stephen Harper. Did I leave anyone out? Don’t get me wrong. I agree with James Moore, minister in charge of Turning Back the Clock, that the world needs more Canada. But we already gave the world Jim Carrey and Neil Young. What more do they want? I know — Celine Dion! We’ll give them Celine Dion! We’ll be able to give all these great ideas to the museum, as staff is now travelling across the country, all expenses paid, to find out what we think. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few more suggestions: the Charter of Rights (too civilized? Too Liberal); the Canadian flag (see previous item); the story of medicare; the National Wheat Board; the National Film Board; the CBC (hmm — there’s a pattern emerging here). Gee, James, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
New planet gets four stars!
just sayin’
Team’s first find
Astronomer’s viewpoint
Planet with 4-sun system discovered Astronomers have discovered a new planet with a four-sun system — the first case of its kind. The planet, PH1, circles twin suns that are in turn orbited by a second distant pair of stars. The discovery was made by Planet Hunters, a Yale University-led project, in which amateur astronomers work with professional scientists to find new worlds. Metro
“The discovery of these systems forces us to go back to the drawing board to find how such planets can assemble and evolve in these dynamically challenging environments.” Meg Schwamb, astronomer at Yale University, and lead author of the report behind the discovery.
How they discovered it
How two hobbyists found unique planet Planet Hunters volunteers, Kian Jek of San Francisco and Robert Gagliano of Cottonwood, Ariz., spotted faint dips in light caused by the planet as it passed in front of its parent stars, a common method of finding extrasolar planets. Their discovery was confirmed by observations from the Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
5,000 light years away
• What’s in a name? Named PH1 in honour of the Planet Hunters website. • Neptune-sized planet. More than six times the radius of Earth, making PH1 slightly bigger than Neptune. • Not habitable. PH1’s temperature ranges from a minimum of about 251 C to a maximum of about 340 C.
Metro
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The Canadian Museum of Civilization, pictured, will be rebranded as the Canadian Museum of History, the feds announced Tuesday. Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
SCENE
Tyler Perry stars in Alex Cross. HANDOUT
Meet the newest Alex Cross
Adaptation. Tyler Perry plays the lead in the latest movie based on James Patterson’s novels IN FOCUS
Richard Crouse [email protected]
If the name Alex Cross sounds familiar you’re either an avid reader of crime novels or a Morgan Freeman fan. The character is the star
of 20 books by author James Patterson, two films starring Freeman and now a third, the simply titled Alex Cross, with Tyler Perry in the lead role. In the books and films Cross is a Washington D.C. cop with a Ph.D. in psychology. In other words, as he says in Kiss the Girls, “I’m a forensic psychologist. It’s a fancy way of saying I’m a guy who walks into a room like that and determines the hows and whys.” In the new film, Perry, best known as the director and star of the Madea comedies, squares off against a serial killer (Matthew Fox)
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twice,” he said, adding that he changed his mind because he realized he “liked Alex Cross. And the fact that he’s black is totally incidental. That’s a rare thing for a black actor to find.” Along Came a Spider sees Cross solve the case of a kidnapped congressman’s daughter. Once again critics hated the film — which currently sits at 32 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes — but praised Freeman’s performance. New York Times scribe Elvis Mitchell called it “a classless, underdeveloped thriller,” but wrote that it “couldn’t be better served than it is by Mr. Freeman.”
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The movie was a hit with audiences, but not the critics, although Roger Ebert wrote that Freeman and Judd, “are so good, you almost wish they’d decided not to make a thriller at all… and had simply found a way to construct a drama exploring their personalities.” The movie was withheld from release in central Virginia out of respect for the families of three girls who had been murdered in the area. Four years later, despite some reservations, Freeman reprised the role. “I didn’t want to do the same thing
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who claims to have murdered one of the detective’s relatives. The first Cross novel to make the leap to the big screen was Kiss the Girls, the second book in the series. Denzel Washington was originally set to star, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Morgan Freeman stepped in, starring opposite Ashley Judd. In the film Cross’s niece disappears, the likely victim of Casanova, a kidnapper and killer of young women. Aiding Cross is Dr. Kate McTiernan (Judd), a surgeon, who narrowly escaped the sadomasochist killer’s grasp.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Heroism comes at a price for Scott Speedman in Last Resort Interview. Actor discuses his role, the dynamics between characters and the heroism in disobedience
OF GREEN?
We’re pretty sure actor Scott Speedman has the power to broker peace negotiations with a simple glance. Of course, in the role of XO Sam Kendal on Last Resort, it will take more than the 37-yearold’s mesmerizing blue eyes to get his submarine crew out of trouble, considering war was triggered when he refused strange orders to bomb Pakistan. The morality and heart Speedman brings to the role will help as he goes toe-to-toe with the commanding Andre Braugher, who plays the captain of the sub. Their relationship is central to the series — just as important as the mystery surrounding the United States’ decision to turn on its own. Speedman explains.
That’s where a lot of the dramatic tension on the show comes from. (The characters) are very close. You find out that Andre’s character has really nothing to lose; he really has no family to fall back on, so he’s making all these gambles. Meanwhile, I’m relatively young and have a wife waiting for me at home. It’s been really fun to play with that and to deal with that male bonding relationship and tearing that up. We’ve already seen the U.S. attacking the submarine, the crew turning on each other, and a militia on the island prepared to fight the sailors seeking safety there. Who is the biggest enemy? For Sam specifically, ultimately, the most interesting
Scott Speedman stars in Last Resort, which airs on Global. handout
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are teaming up for the Golden Globes. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Dick Clark Productions and NBC announced Monday that the pair of 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation stars have signed on to host the 70th annual Golden Globes ceremony after British comedian Ricky Gervais’
LEAD TO PILES
Metro World News in New York
What is the dynamic between Sam and Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher)?
Golden Globes. 30 Rock’s Tina Fey, Parks and Rec’s Amy Poehler to host show
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Track record
“Tina and Amy have a proven chemistry.” Paul Telegdy, NBC
three-year reign as the show’s acerbic emcee. “The unparalleled comedic timing of Tina and Amy will surely have viewers wanting to tune-in to see them in action,” said Takla-O’Reilly, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which honours film and TV at the Beverly Hills Hilton ceremony. The funny lady duo previously starred together in the films Mean Girls and Baby Mama and on Saturday Night Live. They co-hosted the NBC sketch comedy series’ Weekend Update segment from 2004 to 2006. “Having both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on board to host this year’s festivities is a major coup,” said Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late night programming at NBC. “Tina and Amy have a proven chemistry and comedic timing from their many years together.” This year’s Golden Globes ceremony was watched by 16.8 million TV viewers, finishing within one per cent of the 17 million viewers who tuned in to the 2011 broadcast, according to the Nielsen Co. The Globes are usually handed out about a week before the Academy Award nominations are announced, but that won’t be the case next year. The motion-picture academy has moved up the Oscar nominations announcement to three days before the Globes are set to air Jan. 13. The earlier date for the nomination unveiling for the 85th annual Academy Awards, which will be hosted Feb. 24 by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, could steal attention away from the Globes. the associated press
but he’s also really intent on clearing his name.
Quoted
“The most interesting enemy I can have is the captain.” Scott Speedman
enemy I can have is the captain. The more generic choices are there but the more interesting rival will be Marcus Chaplin, the father figure, the mentor. But you have the Navy Seals (who boarded the submarine and seem to have their own agenda); you have Robert Patrick’s character (the sub’s uncooperative Master Chief Joseph Prosser), which is an interesting character to play off of. I much prefer when (the crew is working) as a unit as op-
posed to using some of the (supporting characters) as enemies. What is Sam’s biggest motivation right now? A big thrust of the show is my character trying to get home. But really, Sam wants to stay alive long enough to clear his name. He’s spent all this time getting to where he is in his life and it’s all being ripped away from him. He wants to get home to be with his wife
Is there heroism in disobedience? Of course, I love that aspect of the show. That’s really what drew me to the character. He’s not just this herotype guy; even when facing a tough decision, no matter what the consequences, he’s still going to try to do the right thing. These guys, they spend 10 years getting orders and following them. They’re preparing for this moment — that’s what they do in the nuclear submarine — then the order comes and they don’t do it. It was an interesting moment to play, for sure.”
Funny ladies Tina Fey and Amy Poehler team up to host the Golden Globes. getty images
26
SCENE
Q&A. Ellie Goulding on hit single Lights, sophomore album and dating Skrillex British singer Ellie Goulding dealt with writer’s block when coming up with songs for her sophomore album. That’s because she was still dealing with the success of her first album. Goulding’s debut, Lights, was released in February 2010 in Europe and March 2011 in the United States. This year, however, the title track peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and has sold more than 3.3 million units in America. The electro-dance track is one of the year’s top songs. “I still haven’t been able to understand, like, why that has happened,” the 25-year-old said in a recent interview. “It’s crazy. But the definite truth is it’s been way more popular here (in the U.S.) than it has anywhere in the world.” Her Lights album has sold about 240,000 units in the U.S., but now she’s promoting her sophomore record, Halcyon, which was released this week. She recorded it in “a converted barn in a valley” in England with producer Jim Eliot (Kylie Minogue) to escape the success of Lights. While her Lights single is on the new album, Goulding has a new single, Anything Could Happen, a new sound — and a somewhat new relationship. Did you want to capitalize on the success of Lights and do something similar on the new album? ... No, not really. ... If my next song has the same ability to do what Lights has done, then I’ll be really proud. But, who knows? Like, I would never want to design music to do what Lights did ‘cause that wouldn’t have any kind of integrity on my part. ... Most of my favourite music isn’t in the charts. Don’t get me wrong, I adore pop music so much. I’m not saying I have a thing against chart music. If mine gets on the
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Oozing with exuberance Fear Fun. Musician makes some changes after being on ‘autopilot’ for a few years Pat Healy
Metro World News
Ellie Goulding THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
charts and I sell records, then it’s a bonus. What helped you overcome writer’s block? ... I guess I cured it by meeting Jim. Also ... I went through, like, a breakup in a relationship (with radio DJ Greg James) and genuinely, like, that kind of opened the floodgates for me. I felt like there was a lot I needed to write about for a long time. I went away to Ireland by myself and that triggered a lot of the lyrics, a lot of the ideas. You’re dating Skrillex and you’ve collaborated musically. Do you want to do more of that? I think in an ideal world we’d love to make a whole record together ... but it just so happens that we’re both ridiculously busy. When it comes to music, it honestly is really professional. Honestly. If we start talking about music on the phone, it switches immediately to being professional, and not on purpose, but because we’re both so passionate about music and it’s a very serious thing to us. But at the same time we’ve had fun making stuff, and I have fun listening to his new stuff because it blows my mind and it’s so clever to me, so fascinating it makes me want to laugh, and I laugh because it’s so brilliant. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fear Fun is the debut by Father John Misty, but the man behind the moniker, Joshua Tillman, has been putting out albums for the past eight years, recording as a member of Fleet Foxes, Saxon Shore and on his own as J. Tillman. These previous efforts, mostly characterized by their solemnity, bear little resemblance to his recent outpouring of manic psychedelic folk. “I was obliged to make some changes after some realizations that I had about myself,” says Tillman. “I was on autopilot for a few years with the J. Tillman thing.” On Fear Fun, the songs ooze with an exuberance of being born again, but for Father John Misty that doesn’t necessarily mean a pious awakening. Against some of the same warm quilts of harmony that make Fleet Foxes sound so comforting, Tillman sings words that are frank and funny and often deal with sex and drugs. If it weren’t for this content, you could almost picture him dancing to these funky songs with some groovy monster on The Muppet Show. His voice is one of confidence and clarity, and against the dark decadence of his lyrics, it blurs the line between reverence and irreverence. As opposed to the bleak and serious artwork on his solo records, the album art on Fear Fun is deeply hallucinogenic, with liner notes inside that provide commentary and peculiar subtitles for each song. Tillman says coming up with this part of the
Father John Misty Maximilla Lukacs Biblical references
Nothing is sacred In addition to the new name with which Father John Misty has ordained himself, Fear Fun teems with references to biblical figures and holy places. But Joshua Tillman says nothing is sacred here. “Really, it just kind of aligns with my sensibilities of what I think is funny,” he says. “I do think music that is popular right now is so insubstantial, and there is very album was a cathartic process. “I was just sick of identifying myself as a songwriter and subsequently like a failure of a songwriter or something,” he says. “Around that
little acknowledgement of prevalent images or mythology. ... I know that religion is like an antiquated thing, but it still, for whatever reason, really resonates with people, and the subversion of those images resonates. It’s not out of devotion, but if I’m going to write from my conversational voice, there’s tons of that s— rattling around in my brain just from my formative years, and I really get some enjoyment out of subverting conventional wisdom regarding those symbols.” time, the sound of an acoustic guitar made me nauseous, like I couldn’t even deal with it, and so I left Seattle and I just wanted to get back to my human-
ity. And it’s funny because with songwriting, you get so used to only pulling from certain aspects of your imagination or your emotional quotient. You get so used to farming from these very specific parts of yourself that at some point you start to believe that those are the only parts of yourself that have substance or worth. I was just sort of sick of feeling like a one-dimensional entity in terms of creativity, so I started writing up the book that’s in the album and I wasn’t beholden to these aesthetic parameters that I was musically. I quickly discovered what I perceived to be far more engaging in that medium, creatively. I was laughing a lot the w h o l e time I was writing.”
scene
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Beach House to keep it meaningful from now on Critically acclaimed. Metro talks to the band during their world tour HEIDI PATALANO
Metro World News in New York
Revered by critics and slowly making their way into the mainstream, the Baltimore band Beach House have a growing awareness of the burdens of their fame. Careful to protect their image but eager to engage with their fans, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have vowed to keep it meaningful as they promote their fourth album, the critically acclaimed Bloom. So we went deep for this interview while Scally was on a break during their world tour. Before doing this interview, your publicist told me not to ask about your influences or ask any of the traditional boring questions. I get it. Do you feel sort of weary about doing these interviews now? Um, no. You don’t want to talk about things that are boring. It’s just very natural and simple. … Whenever you get questions like ‘What are your influences?’ I always tend to think that’s just someone who hasn’t really listened to the music. We kind of made a conscious decision, after so many years of doing this band, we only want to do things that are meaningful now. We’re lucky that we can try to do it that way. No fluff. In other coverage of your music, you’ve mentioned how there are so many generalizations about what you do — that it’s all about tones. Do you think there will ever come a day when you’ll swear off reading what people have written about you? We don’t read much of what people have written. ... We feel very lucky that we are asked to do interviews or that people care enough to do it. ... That comment about people paying attention to tones — I think that’s big-
27
Birthday bash. Usher celebrates big day with never-ending party R&B star Usher says he still feels 21, despite just celebrating his 34th birthday. The singer “danced all night” in London with a host of British singing talent Saturday night before his birthday Sunday, including Leona Lewis, Tinie Tempah, Dizzee Rascal and JLS star Ortise Williams. But Usher says that’s not where the
Alex Scally Getty images
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party is going to end. “It’s really going to be a party celebration week as opposed to weekend,” he said. In London to promote the computer game Dance Central 3 for Xbox, Usher also talked about his recent decision to put his European tour dates on hold in order to “do something really creative.” The American R&B star is joining the judging panel on the American talent show The Voice, a role he can’t wait to fill. “I haven’t really had the chance to show people what I do behind the scenes in regards to mentoring, so this will kind of give you a different perspective” about me, he told The Associated Press. Aside from designing video games and mentoring young hopefuls, Usher just premiered a new music video for his latest single Numb. It opens with reallife footage of the singer controversially walking off stage partway through his Berlin gig last year and features him dancing in a glass box. “You know, I live my life in a glass box and every move, everything that I do is kind of speculated or either spoken about in some way and I never really can speak about it myself,” he said. “This kind of gave me the opportunity to open up and just be vulnerable.” Numb is the latest single from the R&B star’s Looking 4 Myself album. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Quoted
TONIGHT 9
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“It’s really going to be a party celebration week as opposed to weekend.” Usher on his 34th birthday
ger than our music. We’re talking about a societywide trend that we’ve been noticing for a couple of years — people just creating music based just only on the vibe of it. The song comes second. The lyrics come second. It’s all just a bunch of sound that feels good. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just commenting on it. It’s not engaging on all levels. Right. When we said that, we were just trying to tell people, well, we spend a lot of time on the songs and the lyrics. Please don’t let it be only felt on that level. If you consciously think about it at all, try to go somewhere else
with it. It’s instructing the listener a little bit. There are all these online lyric sites — are you annoyed when people list them incorrectly? Victoria wrote all the lyrics out in the album art, so anyone who really cares will find the correct ones. I think it’s kind of interesting how there’s so much bad information on the Internet. It’s kind of this hilarious thing. It’s like this big bathroom wall with 10 billion people writing on it. There’s been controversy recently surrounding your refusal to let Volkswagen use your music in their com-
mercial and keeping a lid on how much you share your music for those purposes. Just to clarify “keeping a lid on how much we share our music” — that’s not it at all. We love sharing our music, and if that ad had been amazing we may have done it. The ad was terrible. It’s more taste and it’s more use. If a song is used well, it’s exciting to us. It could make a commercial better or a product better, or maybe we like the thing that they’re trying to sell. Trying to be uncommercial is not one of our goals. We’re a commercial band. We sell our records. We want to communicate to people as much as possible, but on our own terms.
Usher Chris Pizzello/The associated PRess/Invision
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
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George Hamilton may be best known to my contemporaries as that overly tanned actor whose self effacing cameos poke fun at a Hollywood career that was built off of being an overly-tanned self effacing character. However, Hamilton, given the right opportunity, is more than the sum of his parts. His versatility as a performer is currently on show at Toronto’s Royal Alex Theatre, where he is currently starring in the direct-fromBroadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles, where Hamilton can be found singing, dancing, acting and mugging for the audience as only he can do best. La Cage Aux Folles was written as a French farce, which became an ’80s musical that was then repopularized in 1996 by the Robin Williams movie The Birdcage. Throughout these iterations the plot points have stayed the same: Nightclub owner George, (played by Hamilton) and his drag queen lover must pretend not to a couple in order to impress the conservative parents of their son’s fiancé . While a tale of conflicting family values may seem outdated in 2012 Toronto (drag queens, quelle horreur!), La Cages Aux Folles is a slick musical
La Cage Aux Folles runs until Nov. 18 at the Royal Alex Theatre. courtesy paul kolnik
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
29
METRO DISH OUR TAKE ON THE WORLD OF CELEBRITIES
Scarlett Johansson all photos getty images
Johansson calls it splits with BF Scarlett Johansson has split up with boyfriend Nate Naylor just weeks after she was spotted looking cosy with ex Jared Leto at a political event, according to Daily Mail. How official is the split? Naylor was even spotted clearing his belongings out of Johansson’s New York home. “They never officially lived together, but Nate has moved all of his stuff out and back into his apartment,” a source says. “The relationship is over. It has not been amicable.”
Barack Obama gives his take on the American Idol judges’ cat fight.
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Penny saved a penny earned for Greene Twilight star Ashley Greene has found a downside to being in the super-successful franchise: getting spoiled when it comes to travel. “Twilight has ruined me,” Greene tells Marie Clare magazine. “When this is all over, flying internationally is going to be very hard for me. It is just not worth it to buy a first class ticket, because of the cost.” Worth it or not, Greene should have no trouble paying for a ticket, though, as she’s been smart with her Twilight salary. “I’m lucky because my dad taught me to be frugal and save,” she says.
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the word
Dorothy Robinson [email protected]
Celebrities are constantly launching perfumes and clothing lines. But Johnny Depp is not just any old actor. He’s Johnny Depp! He’s gotta do things differently!
So what is the famed actor’s new vanity project? Why, he’s going to publish books! According to a statement by Harper Collins, Depp is launching an imprint with the book publisher called Infinitum Nihil (translation: “nothing lasts forever”). Per the statement, Depp says, “I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum Nihil, that we will do our best to deliver publications worthy of peoples’ time, of peoples’ concern, publications that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet.”
As he continues his campaign for re-election, U.S. President Barack Obama is addressing all of the top pressing issues — including the feud between American Idol judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. “I think that they are going to be able to sort it out, I am confident,” Obama said during an interview with Miami’s Y100 radio station. “I’m all about bringing people together, working for the same cause. I think both outstanding artists are going to be able to make sure that they’re moving forward and not going backwards.”
Amanda Bynes is facing charges from her driving record.
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Depp to launch eccentric yet dashing book imprint
Obama offers his two cents in Carey/Minaj feud
The imprint has already announced one book: The Untravelled Tales of Bob Dylan by the historian Douglas Brinkley, which is set for publication in 2015. Interesting way to inject some glamour into the rather staid world of book publishing. And, hey, unlike the rest of us involved in the media world, it’s not like he has to worry about the scant paycheck. But does anyone else get the mental image of Depp editing books while dressed like a pirate and using a quill pen?
Jennie Garth’s efforts to reach out to Bynes all in vain It seems everyone is worried about troubled starlet Amanda Bynes these days, including former What I Like About You co-star Jennie Garth. “I tried reaching out to her and I haven’t been able to reach her,” Garth tells Us Weekly. “My heart feels for whatever she is going through and I love her dearly.” Garth isn’t alone in feeling disconnected, as Bynes’ parents have reportedly been getting the cold shoulder from the actress, who is facing multiple charges stemming from her dangerous driving record.
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31
There is always time for tapas in Spain’s capital city VAWN HIMMELSBACH [email protected]
Madrid has a tempo; it’s a city that lives by and for art. It’s also a city where food has been elevated to an art form. Take your pick of gastronomic delights at one of the city’s centuries-old restaurants, traditional tapas bars, trendy gastrobars or gourmet markets. Here’s a guide to eating your way around Madrid: Markets Mercado de san Miguel: Built in 1916, this market has become a meeting place for foodies. You’ll find everything from salted fish at Casa del Bacalao to European meats at La Boucherie. At sundown, the market turns into a hotspot for tapas, which can be washed down with a glass of Spanish red at one of its wine houses. Mercado de San Anton and La Cocina: This new gourmet market was designed for foodies — with 14 food stalls on the first floor, and show-cooking stations and a bar for casual meals on the second floor. Head to the third floor’s terrace restaurant, La Cocina, where you’ll find dishes inspired by traditional Spanish cuisine. Here, sample some of the best bellota ham, aged for five years — from pigs fed a diet of acorns and aromatic herbs. Tapas While in Madrid, do like the
Flights
locals and tapear (go for tapas) — order calamari, cod and tripe. This time-honoured tradition still stands, whether in a traditional tavern or trendy bar, where small plates of food are served with a glass of beer or wine. Some of the best traditional taverns can be found in the oldest parts of the capital, including La Latina, Cava Baja, Cava Alta and Cava de San Miguel.
LIFE
Madrid. This destination offers everything from traditional fare in centuries-old buildings to the latest in innovative cuisine
Gastrobars Head to Estado Puro, one of the city’s trendiest gastrobars, where the bar is covered with transparent panels encasing flamenco dolls. The food is a contemporary twist on traditional Spanish fare — try a deconstructed tortilla in a shot glass, or foie gras served like an ice cream sandwich. Traditional with a twist La Capilla de la Bolsa in Madrid’s Literary Quarter was once, in the Middle Ages, the Chapel of Santa Cruz, and later became home to the Madrid Stock Exchange. The restaurant has maintained the building’s Baroque vault and original columns, allowing you to soak up hundreds of years of art history as you eat Mediterranean haute cuisine.
The San Miguel Market is a meeting place for foodies. PHOTOS: COURTESY ESCARABAJO AMARILLO
Where to stay The boutique Hotel de las Letras combines tradition with modern flair. Built in 1917, this newly renovated, modern space has retained its mosaics, marquises, staircases and original sculptures, and each room features high ceilings, oak flooring and natural light. It’s located in the Gran Via shopping district, at the heart of the city’s Art Walk. VAWN HIMMELSBACH IS A FREELANCE WRITER BASED IN TORONTO. CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE AT CHICSAVVYTRAVELS. COM.
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Enjoy some of the architecture in the Gran Via shopping district.
How about some Spanish ham?
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Arrive in Aruba
With a perfect climate and white sand beaches, where else would you rather be this winter? CASSANDRA GARRISON Metro World News
As the sunset burns over the horizon of Aruba’s 32-kilometre white sand coast, the story that shocked the world in 2005 seems to be the furthest thing from mind. “What incident?” a local sarcastically asks when pressed about whether the “incident” still puts a dent in Aruba’s tourism industry. That “incident,” of course, is the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway and the headline-grabbing investigation that ensued. As the media circus was fuelled by talk that Aruban officials dragged their feet when she first went missing, the island’s main source of income — tourism — devastatingly plummeted. But on the beaches of this tropical paradise, where cool trade winds make for the perfect year-round climate, Aruba seems to have rebounded as it once again emerges as an ideal vacation hot spot in 2012. Crime is typically minimal and security guards patrol the beaches at night.
The waters are always azure in Aruba. THINKSTOCK
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Europe Air + 7 Nights + Rail Vi Vadi Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Wien Messe
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Boston Air + 3 Nights Courtyard Boston Tremont
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Conditions apply. Ex: Toronto. Air only prices are per person for return travel unless otherwise stated. Package, cruise, tour, rail & hotel prices are per person, based on double occupancy for total length of stay unless otherwise stated. All-inclusive vacations include air. Prices are for select departure dates and are accurate and subject to availability at advertising deadline, errors and omissions excepted, and subject to change. Taxes & fees include transportation related fees, GST/HST and fuel supplements and are approximate and subject to change. ◊Family special price is per person for quad occupancy (2 adults & 2 kids ages 2-17). ◊◊Price per person based on quad occupancy (no age limit). ΔValid on Air Canada Vacations air, hotel & transfer packages to the Caribbean & Mexico. Must book & pay in full by Oct. 31, 2012. Valid for travel from Nov. 1, 2012 and completed by Apr. 30, 2013. Minimum 7-night stay required. Valid on new bookings only. Offer is subject to change and may be withdrawn at any time without notice by the supplier. Not combinable with any other offers, discounts or promotions. Additional restrictions may apply. vth/ts=transat, swg/wg=sunwing, ac/acv/qk=air canada, wsv/ws=westjet, c6=canjet, american airlines, nol=nolitours, ggv=gogo vacations, ua=united, ccl=carnival, sig=signature, eur=eurail, kl=klm. † We will beat any written quoted airfare by $1 and give you a $20 voucher for future travel. “Fly Free” offer applies only where all “Lowest Airfare Guarantee” criteria are met but Flight Centre does not beat quoted price. Additional important conditions apply. For full terms and conditions visit www.flightcentre.ca/lowestairfareguarantee-flyfree. Head office address: 1 Dundas St W Suite 200, Toronto, ON. Call for retail locations. ONT. REG #4671384
1
Eat
Feel like a VIP at the island’s top-notch resort: Hyatt Regency Aruba (J. E. Irausquin Blvd. #230, Aruba; +011-297 586-1234). Choose from an ocean-view room or one that overlooks the tropical courtyard with sparkling pools. With its own beach for guests, six restaurants and a casino that’s hopping till the wee hours, vacationers don’t ever need to leave the property, unless it’s to buy some hand-rolled Cuban cigars in the shops across the street. Rates run from $335 in low season, and $595 in high season.
3
Relax
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Have the hotel arrange a taxi and venture off the beaten path for a more local dining experience. Grab a table on the patio at island favourite Madame Janette (Cunuco Abao 37; +011297-587-0184). Choose from Argentine cuts of beef or a fresh catch from the Caribbean sea. Don’t miss the Shrimp “Coco di Rasta” — jumbo coconut shrimp smothered in red curry sauce and served with rice. Or dine with your feet in the sand at Hyatt’s Footprints restaurant (+011-297-586-1234 ext. 37), which offers romantic tables on the beach so you can watch the sunset as you sip local cocktails and enjoy fresh fare like snapper ceviche or grilled lobster for two.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
5 Play
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
New Orleans, for the ladies Good times. Women, are you ready to live The Hangover? Alison Bowen Metro World News
Grab your shopping shoes Explore the unique boutiques of Magazine Street, a lengthy but doable walk or a quick cab ride from the French Quarter. Places like Buffalo Exchange offer consignment-store finds, like party dresses or a floral TopShop blouse or a boom box. If your shopping can escalate to extravagant — or for a peek — stop in at M.S. Rau Antiques, where pieces range from a Russian fossilized cave bear to Monets and a vampire killing kit.
How about a girls’ trip for Mardi Gras? thinkstock
Eat your way through the city Leave the diet books at home. The waiters at legendary Arnaud’s Restaurant on Bourbon Street may tell you the meals are zero calories, but that’s not true — and you’ll be robbing yourself of the city’s best pleasures if you don’t eat your way through New Orleans. The city’s cuisine is incomparable — succulent shrimp often delivered straight from the Gulf, the spices are thrown together in a way New England just can’t muster, and, well, what other place constantly lights its desserts on fire? A few places to try: Brunch is a must here. A favourite is Brennan’s in the French Quarter. Craft a delicious prix-fixe meal like its famous turtle soup (you’d never know), shrimp sardou layered over artichokes and spinach and, of course, bananas foster, created at
Stay out all night Make sure to walk along Bourbon Street — even without Mardi Gras, it’s a circus all its own. But locals will tip you toward Frenchmen Street, a chance to dart in and out of
the restaurant and now a New Orleans staple. If you’d rather eat all you want, The Court of Two Sisters down the street has a daily jazz brunch, with a live band in the courtyard and a shrimp-and-grits filled buffet. For a quick sandwich along the way, grab another city staple, the po-boy. In the French Quarter,Johnny’s has alligator sausage po-boys and Deanie’s boasts the shrimp and oyster sandwiches as part of its seafood-centric menu.
Where to stay The Hotel Monteleone, legend says, is where the French Quarter begins. The hotel, opened by a Sicilian shoemaker more than a century ago, has hosted luminaries from Tennessee Williams to Paul Newman and Liberace. Within walking distance from delicious brunch spots and the invigorating, music-filled Frenchmen Street, the hotel is an elegant place to retire at the end of the day.
bars where local bands play all night long. This weekend, you could catch the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival. Top off any night with a visit to Cafe du Monde, open 24 hours a day, for the city’s famous beignets and rich chicory coffee.
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New Orleans has been a staple of bachelor parties for decades, but these days the ladies are taking over the city. An annual conference, Festigals, drew 400 people this summer for a womenonly celebration. One of the premier hotels, the Windsor Court Hotel, boasts a female chef and female sommelier, together crafting elegant-tasting menus. And a walking tour of the French Quarter — led by a feisty 79-year-old female — drops in tales of women influencing the city. So what better place for a girls’ getaway?
TRAVEL
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
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P OT
TER
It was roughly 200 years ago that cottages were built and a community established just beyond the French Quarter. photos: gerald herbert/the associated press
Treme celebrates 200 years of tunes Neighbourhood revival. Vibrant pocket of New Orleans is enjoying a surge in interest with HBO series of the same name The colourful and musical New Orleans neighbourhood called Treme is marking the 200th anniversary of its origins as an early melting pot for the city and the U.S. Treme is considered one of America’s most unusual neighbourhoods and holds significant place in the history of jazz. It is also getting some new energy thanks in part to the spotlight provided by the HBO series Treme. “All the things sacred to New Orleans bubbled up from that neighbourhood, because Treme had such a mixture of people and cultures,” said Toni Rice, a spokeswoman for one of the neighbourhood groups organizing its bicentennial celebration. “It wasn’t just slaves. It wasn’t all white or all black. It was German, Spanish, Haitian, Italian.” Born from the immigration that followed the Haitian revolution of the early 1800s and named for French milliner and property owner Claude Treme, the neighbourhood became an entertainment centre where white and black Creoles
A boy participates in a concert at Armstrong Park in Treme.
gathered. The wave of Haitian refugees added to a New Orleans that was already a mix of French, Spanish and AfricanAmerican culture, with American influence filtering in after the 1803 purchase of the territory from France. New Orleans was still largely confined to the French Quarter — the original city founded in 1718. Treme and other outlying neighbourhoods were farms or swamps until efforts to drain the land took hold as the population grew. It’s the site of St. Augustine, one of the oldest African-American Catholic church parishes in the nation, where Homer Plessy was a parishioner. In 1892, Plessy triggered the in-
Quoted
“This neighbourhood is an example of survival” Wayne Baquet, operator of Lil Dizzy’s restaurant in Treme, New Orleans
famous U.S. Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of “separate but equal.” It’s also the site of Congo Square, where during the 18th and 19th centuries slaves were permitted to dance, trade goods and play music that would evolve into jazz. Generations of musicians hail from Treme, among them Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and his grandfather, the late Ooh Poo Pah Doo singer Jesse Hill. It was also home to the recently deceased Lionel Batiste — the vocalist, drummer and assistant leader of the Treme Brass Band who was known simply as “Uncle Lionel.” And it was the birthplace of jazz singer and trumpeter Lionel Ferbos, who at 101 is believed to be the oldest working musician in the city. He performs regularly at
the Palm Court Jazz Cafe in the French Quarter. Percussionist Shannon Powell, 50, has lived in Treme his entire life. It’s where at age 11 he performed Bourbon Street Parade at a now-closed jazz club near his house and where as a teenager he was discovered by singing banjo and guitar player Danny Barker, who helped launch Powell’s career. “I caught the tail end of a lot of good things, of old ways of doing things,” Powell said. “Jazz funerals meant a lot more than they do now. They were so respectful and dignified. The procession dressed in suits, wore black and white, and they played a slow dirge until the body was put in the ground. It’s not like that anymore. Now you have kids out there in jeans playing all kinds of stuff.” Still, after years of blight and crime problems, a slow revival is taking shape. Treme is now part of a multimillion dollar Department of Housing and Urban Development revitalization plan, which could include the removal of the interstate highway. Work is under way to turn an unused rail corridor into a miles-long walking and bike path. “This neighbourhood is an example of survival,” said Wayne Baquet, who operates Lil Dizzy’s restaurant. “The city lost a big part of the middle class due to white flight and then black flight to newer neighbourhoods like New Orleans east and Gentilly. “After Katrina, which practically destroyed those two areas, Treme is coming back,” he said. The Associated Press
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Maple syrup and cinnamon bring out the sweet side of root vegetables Baked Root Vegetables with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon
This recipe serves six. Ryan Szulc, from Rose Reisman’s Family Favorites (Whitecap Books) Ingredients
Rose Reisman for more, visit rosereisman.com
Baked root vegetables are a real comfort side dish during the colder months. Use other varieties of your favourite vegetables such as turnips or rutabagas. You may need to add a little more maple syrup since these vegetables tend to be less sweet.
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
2. Arrange the sweet potatoes,
potatoes, squash, onion, parsnips and beets in a single layer on the lined baking sheets. Drink of the Week
Orange Haze for those fall nights This not-so-kid-friendly murky and thick “orange haze” blends orange liqueur, chocolate liqueur and honey.
• 1 lb sweet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into wedges • 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled and cut into wedges • 1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces • 1 large sweet yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges • 2 large peeled parsnips, cut
Lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, turning after 20 minutes or just until browned and tender. If the trays are on separate racks, switch their positions halfway through the cooking time. Bake the beets an extra 10 minutes, or until fork tender. Place the vegetables It’s perfect for the fall. This recipe serves one. It is, however, very easy to double or triple. • 3/4 oz orange liqueur • 3/4 oz milk chocolate cream liqueur • 1/2 tsp honey • Orange zest, to garnish
into 2-inch pieces • 2 peeled beets, cut into 1-inch pieces Dressing • 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar • 2 tbsp maple syrup • 1/2 tsp cinnamon • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
on a large serving platter.
3. To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the roasted vegetables. Garnish with parsley and serve. Rose Reisman’s Family Favorites (Whitecap Books) by Rose Reisman
Pour the orange liqueur into a shot glass. Very slowly pour the chocolate liqueur down the side of the shot glass, then drizzle the honey over the top of the mixture. Garnish your glass with orange zest. The associated press
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Ontario Institute of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada Congratulates the 2012 Graduates of
The Certi�ied Supply Chain Management Professional (CSCMP) Designation Program We would especially like to acknowledge Ontario’s highest achievers on the National Exam: Darren Kirkpatrick, CSCMP
Jaqueline Bachelor, CSCMP
Lillian Li, CSCMP
The graduating class for October 2012 is… Rogelio L. Abarca, CSCMP Ebun Y. Arimah, CSCMP Eugenio Arza, CSCMP Bing Bai, CSCMP Jacqueline M. Batchelor, CSCMP Beant Singh Bedi, CSCMP Lori A. Bird, CSCMP Tejpal Singh Brar, CSCMP Marcelo J. Camara, CSCMP Liz Cardoso, CSCMP Parmjit K. Chahal, CSCMP Anguel Chterev, CSCMP Dan J. Clark, CSCMP Kim Crewson, CSCMP Panos Dassios, CSCMP Jason Dhillon, CSCMP Julie Di Lorenzo, CSCMP Jacklyn A. Doyle, CSCMP Jaymie M. Dube, CSCMP Hugh D. H. Durant, CSCMP Sherri L. Earle, CSCMP Folashade Fadeyi, CSCMP Frank Femia, CSCMP Scott D. Firth, CSCMP Suzheng Connie Ge, CSCMP Salpy Ghazarossian, CSCMP Angela Gubacsi, CSCMP Didi Guerdjikova, CSCMP Patrick Haak, CSCMP
Douglas Hambly, CSCMP Richard F. Hampton, CSCMP Jinglu Han, CSCMP Kimberly Hanson, CSCMP Shauna C. Hipwell, CSCMP Mary Jacobs, CSCMP Teresina S. Kandler, CSCMP Jennifer A. Kelly, CSCM Solveig Zarah Keshavjee, CSCMP Reda Khorshed, CSCMP Darren J. Kirkpatrick, CSCMP Sandhya B. Kotian, CSCMP Teresa Ku, CSCMP James C. L. Kuo Sandra S. Laviolette, CSCMP Larry Leung, CSCMP Lilian Li, CSCMP Heather A. Lundy, CSCMP Mary (Zhixian)Ma, CSCMP Ashley M. MacDonald, CSCMP Balbinder Singh Mahal, CSCMP Adizde M. Massu, CSCMP Elizabeth L. Merritt, CSCMP Fady F. Mikhail, CSCMP Marko I. Milankov, CSCMP Arpit Modi, CSCMP Steven C. Mollon, CSCMP Reagan Nault, CSCMP Bridgette T. Newell, CSCMP
Mathew D. Omoruyi, CSCMP Kaushik N. Pandya, CSCMP Mitul B. Patel, CSCMP Bradley R. Patterson, CSCMP Shawn H. Peard, CSCMP Shirin F. Pirwani, CSCMP Steven E. Purdy, CSCMP Hitesh K. Rajput, CSCMP Crystal A. Rasa, CSCMP Angela R. Reaney, CSCMP Glen J. Regier, CSCMP Ian J. Robertson, CSCMP Nicholas R. Rohoman, CSCMP Adalberto Sanchez Seara, CSCMP Kimberly Y. Schieck, CSCMP Sandra L. Scott Hillier, CSCMP Ritesh Sinha, CSCMP Biljana Sredojevic, CSCMP Jason W. Starchuk, CSCMP Rashpal Uppal, CSCMP Aldrin Neilson C. Uy, CSCMP Bridgette Vachon, CSCMP Carrie L. Vancoillie, CSCMP Bonnie Wong , CSCMP Zhimin (Annie) Wu, CSCMP Di Zhang, CSCMP Michael Xu Zhang, CSCMP Panhong (Wendy) Zhao, CSCMP Mingxia (Michelle) Zhu, CSCMP
The Ontario Institute of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (OIPMAC) is the largest supply chain management association in the country. OIPMAC awards a professional designation in supply chain management under the authorization of provincial legislation, and is responsible for standards-setting, accreditation and the continuing professional development of its members. Certified Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMPs) strategically manage the flow of goods, services and knowledge to help organizations maintain a long-term competitive advantage. They apply integrated skills in strategic procurement, operations, logistics, transportation, supplier relations, global sourcing, international business and capital project procurement to deliver quality products and services to customers in a timely and cost-effective fashion. CSCMPs make contributions to the success of organizations in a broad range of sectors, including retail, manufacturing, services, natural resources, utilities, transportation, distribution, IT, telecommunications, health care, education, and the public sector. For more information about OIPMAC and our leading-edge SCM programs, visit us at www.oipmac.ca
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TM
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
41
Becoming master of the midterm Study these secrets. Translating, talking and tracking down a nest all part of the perfect test strategy
did.
Leah Ruehlicke TalentEgg.ca
Studying can be tough — especially if you have multiple tests, exams or midterms to study for at once. It’s easy to fall asleep with your textbook on your face, or focus more on perfecting that homemade apple crisp than perfecting your math formulas. Everyone has their own best practices when it comes to studying, so we asked around to find some common strategies for success when it comes to burying yourself in your books. Find your study spot The first step to successful
Back to the basics: Jot down the key points of longer texts to keep your brain from going into overdrive. istock
studying is finding a spot that is study-specific and has limited distractions. You might even want to disconnect your WiFi and put your phone on airplane mode for an hour or two. Crazy, I know, but it will help you stay focused.
Review the main concepts Reading through your notes and refreshing your memory on major concepts will make filling in the details later on that much easier. There’s no sense in memorizing the dates of John Cabot’s discoveries if you can’t even recall what he
Change up the lingo Reviewing concepts by using everyday language ensures you understand it. Furthermore, doing this helps you remember things more easily. For example, if your philosophy textbook reads, “Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration,” an easier way of saying this might be “Relativism means that your point of view is only your personal perception, and has no absolute truth or validity.” Speak out loud Calling Helgason, a secondyear Biology student at Trent University, says when she doesn’t understand a concept she reads it out loud. “Talking through my notes breaks down the concepts and makes it easier to understand,” she says. This was a personal strategy of mine as well. I would
Take breaks
Relax to retain • You can’t run on the
treadmill for hours on end and your brain can’t work out for that long either. It needs a break (Tetris, anyone?) as well as hydration (water, coffee and perhaps even an ice cream cone?).
• Allow your brain time to
refresh and when you come back to the books, quickly recap what you learned before your break. This will make it stick even more.
pretend I was explaining something to someone else and, in turn, ended up learning it myself — a tad embarrassing when the roommates walked in, but the good grades made up for my rosy cheeks. That being said, be aware of your surroundings. This might
not fly too well in the quiet section of the library, but on your porch it’s A-OK. Rewrite your notes Sandy Silveira, a student in the early childhood education program at Ryerson University, says when she studies she likes to write things out as well as saying them because it helps her remember them better. Julie Dang, a Mathematical Science student at Western University, echoes this idea by stating that her strategy is to flip back through her textbooks and focus on everything that she highlighted when she initially did her readings. Then she writes out all the terminology and various formulas. “I do study questions over and over and over again,” Julie says. “I review my notes, and then I do more questions. Constantly practicing the formulas is the best way to remember them.” TalentEgg.ca is Canada’s leading job site and online career resource for college and university students and recent graduates.
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‘My life has only just begun’ Jake Choi Graduate Bachelor of Arts in Economics/Business University of Waterloo TalentEgg.ca
I’ve completed four co-op work terms, including positions in financial analysis, project management, and real estate industries assessment. I’ve been applying to jobs on the University of Waterloo’s campus recruitment website (JobMine) as well as reaching out to people that I know and applying online. It has been very frustrating because I have not
received any interviews using online applications, and received only a few using JobMine for graduate positions. Even so, I have a tough time beating the competition as most students are either better at interviews or have more relevant experiences. I returned to one of the employers for my co-operative work term, but I’m planning to transfer into the industry that I want to be in which is banking and finance. I’ve been discouraged so many times through countless rejection emails and I’ve lost hope. But in the end, I realized that my life has only just begun! I don’t expect this process to be easy
like myself to apply more often.
to be resolved, I will be relentless until I find the dream job I desire. I am actively seeking open job opportunities. At the same time, I am putting more effort into contacting previous managers to seek personal recommendations which will increase my chances.
My recommendations for students Everyone is a bright minded individual, and I bet any one else is far smarter and more agile than me. I encourage you to keep applying and remember to use your work relationships to your advantage. I found that using networking skills is far more effective than randomly applying online.
Where I am now I just finished up my bachelor’s degree and returned to one of my previous employers. However, I’m planning to transfer into the financial industry because I’m interested in pursuing my CMA designation. My advice for employers, career centres and schools
I feel so limited in terms of which positions I can apply for. Even if I apply for entry-level positions, some demand exceptional
skill sets; however, if there was a room for potential candidates to be groomed, that would be even better and encourage for students
TalentEgg.ca, Canada’s leading job site and online career resource for students and new graduates, wants to hear your Student Voice. Share it at TalentEgg.ca.
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WORK/EDUCATION
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Quit coasting: Make a mark Keep up the good work. Collecting As and Bs can result in rewards from unexpected places Jess Taylor
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After high school, most people are told it doesn’t matter whether you get Cs or As in college or university, as long as you get that diploma or degree. However, while you’re striving for that qualification, keeping your marks up can open more doors than you think. During most of high school, I balanced work, a band and good grades, so I learned good study habits, which I brought with me to university. Instead of partying, I would study. This might sound boring and not like the university life many people imagine, but I still had time for a social life as well. Every weekend I would go home from residence to play shows and chill with my band mates
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and boyfriend while at concerts. During the week, I saw my boyfriend usually for two days in a row. I just made sure I had time to do the work required to maintain my good grades. During my second year of university, it was even more important for me to get good grades. I had my eye on the creative writing program at York, which required — along with an impressive portfolio of work — at least a B+ average, but mostly As if you wanted to ensure you were accepted. I was also striving to get scholarships. I thought scholarships and getting into that program was all high marks were good for, but since then a couple of things have changed. First, I decided I want to go
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SPORTS
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
43
Getting warmer: NHL budges on revenue Quoted
“I would like to believe that it will be an excellent starting point and we can go forward and see if there is a deal to be made.”
Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, on the league’s latest proposal
missioner Gary Bettman, who called the proposed deal “longterm.” A lot will need to be accomplished over that period. However, the unexpected proposal offered fans the first real hint of hope since the lockout began Sept. 15.
Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, spent Tuesday afternoon reviewing the lengthy document and held an evening conference call with about 60 players. His initial reaction to the offer was that it could provide something to work with. It wasn’t immediately clear how willing the league is to negotiate off its latest offer. The NHL’s previous proposal called for the players’ revenue share to fall to 47 per cent and tabled a number of restrictive rules governing contracts. According to a source, the only one that remains in Tuesday’s proposal is a maximum contract length of five years. THE CANADIAN PRESS
Humbled before halftime
Soccer. Canadian men chased from World Cup qualifying in debacle in Honduras
Canada’s World Cup dreams were snuffed out in brutal fashion Tuesday as Honduras put them to the sword 8-1 in a door-die qualifying match. It’s a bitter pill to swallow for a Canadian team that went into the match controlling its fate with an unswerving belief that it deserved to move on. That is until Tuesday, when the wheels came off the Canadian bus in a shocking display. Canada entered the hostile confines of a soldout Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula knowing that a
World Cup qualifier
Honduras
Canada
tie or win would be enough to move on to the final round of qualifying in the CONCACAF region, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. The Hondurans, looking to please their fans on an extended national holiday, needed a win. Asked if the moment had got to his team, Canadian coach Stephen Hart offered a oneCarlo Costly, centre, celebrates after scoring while Canadians David Edgar, left, and Nikolas Ledgerwood hang their word answer — “Yes.” heads on Tuesday in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. ESTEBAN FELIX/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS “You’re supposed to go down all guns blazing, you’re Substitute Iain Hume scored supposed to fight,” he added. rassed ourselves,” said midfield- 32 minutes. It looked easy Quoted against a Canadian side that a consolation goal off a nice “You’re supposed to die out er Julian de Guzman. free kick in the 76th minute “We were terrible.... It’s an wasn’t up to the challenge. there. “I know they’ll never for“We let in goals early and before Bengston restored the “We were horrible.... It’s dis- absolute low for us,” added capfell apart. Mentally and physic- six-goal cushion six minutes turbing to me that the team fell tain Kevin McKenna. give me but on behalf of later as the Canadian defence Honduras’ speed and clin- ally,” said Hart. the players, forgive them.” apart.” Jerry Bengston and Carlo crumbled around him. Costly It was Canada’s worst loss ical finishing — combined with Head coach Stephen Hart’s plea to soccer Cansince an 8-0 drubbing in Mexico Canada’s clown-like defending Costly each scored three goals then scored on an 88th-minute adian fans. With two years left on his contract, —- ended the suspense early, for Honduras, while Mario Mar- header to complete the rout. in 1993. Hart said he hasLMD-TOR-Metro-000-2014-10x286-CLR.pdf to consider his coaching future 10/9/12 PM up a 4-0 lead after just tinez added two of his own. “We pretty 1much embar-5:38racking THE CANADIAN PRESS after Tuesday’s crushing result.
C
K
SPORTS
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, right, leaves with assistant commissioner Bill Daly after collective bargaining talks on Tuesday in Toronto. The NHL has presented a new offer to the players. CHRIS YOUNG/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Let the serious negotiations begin. After more than a month with no new offers being tabled in collective bargaining talks, the NHL breathed new life into the process Tuesday with a proposal that could kick-start some significant discussions. It calls for a 50-50 split of revenues between owners and players and includes a deferred salary plan designed to ensure that players would receive all the money they’ve been promised in existing contracts. On top of that, the deal was drawn up with an eye to starting a full 82-game regular season Nov. 2. “We have about nine or 10 days to get this all ... signed, sealed and delivered,” said com-
44
sports
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Raptors guard gets to the point “I don’t ever listen to the tone when somebody yells,” Lucas said. “I just listen to what they’re saying because you could be excited, upset, angry but at the end of the day, if you listen to the message, you know they’re really trying In this era of entitled athletes to help you and not put you who are more than willing down.” 908483 May 11, 2012 The 29-year-old Raptors to whine to agents A09_FCB or friends pointAdvice guard comes to that philabout slights real and perTDCT_P1700 Brand 2012 ceived, John Lucas III has a osophy easily. It’s been like that P1700_F_2_ST simple way to manage harsh pretty much his whole life. Lucas, one of the more words.
NBA. Lucas is a coach’s dream as he sifts through tones and words for the message
Toronto Raptors guard John Lucas III talks with head coach Dwane Casey during an exhibition game on Oct. 8. TARA WALTON/TORstar News SErvice
refreshing members of this version of the Raptors for his candour, quotability and willingness to explain in detail what’s going on, is well versed in the ways of difficult coaches who can really get on a player. “I played for some of the toughest coaches, (Oklahoma State’s iconic) Eddie Sutton, my father (the original John Lucas, a longtime coach and former player), Dave Bliss (another NCAA legend).... I never take anything as criticism,” he
Torstar News SErvice
NBA. Heat jet-lagged from trip to China
From first bank account
To planning for vet school
LeBron James was awake at 3:45 a.m. Dwyane Wade’s dogs were unhappily roused from slumber at 4 a.m. by their bleary-eyed owner. Udonis Haslem was responding to text messages at 5 a.m., which classifies as a rarity. To a man, the Miami Heat raved about their trip to China. Recovering from their trip to China, well, that’s apparently another matter entirely. After flying roughly 17,000 miles, playing three games in eight days starting with the pre-season opener in Atlanta, holding practices and participating in more events than could be squeezed onto a double-sided itinerary, the Heat — with many players acknowledging sleep deprivation — went back to work on Tuesday, trying to get back into some semblance of a normal routine. “Tuesday, right? Had to think about it though,” James said. “I got up this morning about 3:45. Been up since. So, it is what it is. I’m not back just yet.” But he’s trying, as was everyone else. “It’s crazy that we’re back already,” Wade said. James was the last player in the gym Tuesday afternoon, taking dozens of jumpers — he’d receive a pass, take a jab step, ball-fake, then shoot, over and over again — NFL
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P1700_F_2_ST.indd 1
said. “I take it because I feel like they’re helping me, it’s nothing negative, putting me down. It’s something that’s going to help me become a better individual, better team player. Whatever Coach says to me, I take it in and I respond to it.” Lucas’s willingness to accept coaching is refreshing to Toronto coach Dwane Casey. It allows Casey to make points, sometimes forcefully, knowing there’ll be no repercussions.
5/11/12 3:46 PM
Fans hold up cutouts of Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat during an NBA pre-season game in Shanghai, China, on Sunday. Kin Cheung/The Associated Press
as Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and two assistants watched quietly from afar. “Short,” James yelled at no one in particular after one jumper from the right wing, and the NBA’s reigning MVP looked mildly surprised when that shot dropped with a swish. “Ni hao,” Spoelstra said after practice, using the Chinese phrase for “hello.” “It’s good to be back in our gym. We didn’t waste any time getting back to work. The trip was a great trip from a lot of different levels, but there’s nothing like coming back in your practice gym, putting the pads up, mouthguards in and getting after it. That’s what we did today.” The Associated Press
NFL
Bills add linemen to practice squad
Holmgren ousted as Browns prez
The Buffalo Bills have resigned defensive tackle Jay Ross and offensive lineman David Snow to their practice squad. The moves, made Tuesday, came a day after both players had been released to make room for Buffalo to sign defensive end Shawne Merriman and safety Delano Howell. Ross and Snow had been promoted to the team’s active roster as injury replacements the week prior. The Associated Press
Mike Holmgren won’t be finishing the job he went to do in Cleveland. New Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III said Tuesday that Holmgren was out as team president, although the Super Bowlwinning coach will remain with the franchise to help in the transition. Haslam was introduced as the Browns’ new boss after his $1-billion purchase of the team. The Associated Press
sports
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
(BEST-OF-7)
AMERICAN LEAGUE DETROIT VS N.Y. YANKEES (Detroit leads series 2-0) Tuesday’s result N.Y. Yankees at Detroit Sunday’s result Detroit 3 N.Y. Yankees 0 Saturday’s result Detroit 6 N.Y. Yankees 4 (12 innings) Wednesday’s game N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 15-6) at Detroit (Scherzer 16-7), 8:07 p.m. Thursday’s game x-N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 5-4) at Detroit (Fister 10-10), 4:07 p.m. Saturday’s game x-Detroit (Sanchez 4-6) at N.Y. Yankees (Kuroda 16-11), 8:07 p.m. Sunday’s game x-Detroit (Verlander 17-8) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 15-6), 8:07 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE ST. LOUIS VS SAN FRANCISCO (Series tied 1-1) Monday’s result San Francisco 7 St. Louis 1 Sunday’s result St. Louis 6 San Francisco 4 Wednesday’s game San Francisco (Cain 16-5) at St. Louis (Lohse 16-3), 4:07 p.m. Thursday’s game San Francisco (Zito 15-8) at St. Louis (Wainwright 14-13), 8:07 p.m. Friday’s game San Francisco (Bumgarner 16-11) at St. Louis (Lynn 18-7), 8:07 p.m. Sunday’s game x-St. Louis (Carpenter 0-2) at San Francisco (Vogelsong 14-9), 4:37 p.m. Monday, October 22 x-St. Louis (Lohse 16-3) at San Francisco (Cain 16-5), 8:07 p.m. x — played only if necessary.
AHL Tuesday’s result Binghamton 3 Rochester 1 Monday’s results No Games Scheduled. Wednesday’s game — All Times Eastern Peoria at Chicago, 8 p.m. Thursday’s games No Games Scheduled. Friday’s games Adirondack at St. John’s, 6 p.m. Syracuse at Albany, 7 p.m. Providence at Manchester, 7 p.m. Worcester vs. Portland (at Lewiston, Maine), 7 p.m. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Springfield, 7 p.m. Hershey at Binghamton, 7:05 p.m. Grand Rapids at Rochester, 7:05 p.m. Toronto at Hamilton, 7:30 p.m. Connecticut at Norfolk, 7:30 p.m. Charlotte at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. Texas at Houston, 8:05 p.m. Rockford at Peoria, 8:05 p.m. Chicago at Abbotsford, 10 p.m.
St. Louis ab Jay cf 4 Beltran rf 3 Holliday lf 4 Craig 1b 3 Molina c 4 Freese 3b 4 Descalso 2b 4 Kozma ss 3 Schumaker ph 1 Chambers ph 1 Totals 31 St. Louis San Francisco
r 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
h 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
bi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
San Francisco ab r h bi Pagan cf 4 2 2 1 Scutaro 2b 3 0 2 2 Theriot 2b 2 0 1 2 Sandoval 3b 5 0 1 0 Posey c 5 0 1 0 Pence rf 3 0 0 0 Belt 1b 4 1 2 0 Blanco lf 3 2 1 0 Crawford ss 4 1 0 1 Huff ph 1 1 1 0 Totals 34 7 11 6 010 000 000 —1 100 400 02x —7
E—Carpenter, Holliday. LOB—St. Louis 7, San Francisco 9. 2B—Beltran 2 (2), Carpenter (1), Belt (1), Vogelsong (1). HR—Pagan (1). S—Vogelsong. St. Louis Carpenter L, 0-1 Kelly Salas Miller Rzepczynski San Francisco Vogelsong W, 1-0 Affeldt Romo HBP — Craig.
NFL
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP LATE MONDAY SERIES GIANTS 7, CARDINALS 1
IP 4 1 1 1 1-3 2-3
H 6 2 1 3 0
R ER BB SO 5 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 1
7 1 1
2 0 0
4 0 1
Umpires — Home, Chris Guccione; First, Bill Miller; Second, Greg Gibson; Third, Ted Barrett. T — 3:10. A — 42,679 (41,915) at San Francisco, Calif.
NBA PRE-SEASON Tuesday’s results Brooklyn 97 Boston 98 Detroit 112 Orlando 86 Indiana 102 Atlanta 98 Milwaukee at Chicago Charlotte at Oklahoma City Maccabi Haifa (Israel) at Minnesota At Anaheim, Calif. Utah vs. L.A. Lakers Monday’s results Brooklyn 98 Washington 88 Dallas 123 Houston 104 Denver 104 Golden State 98 Philadelphia 107 Boston 75 Sacramento 117 Portland 100 At Cincinnati Cleveland 114 Orlando 111 (OT) Wednesday’s games — All Times Eastern Washington at Toronto, 7 p.m. Cleveland at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Memphis at Houston, 8 p.m. Phoenix at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Golden State at Sacramento, 10 p.m. Denver at Portland, 10 p.m. Utah at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m. Thursday’s games New Orleans at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. Detroit at Miami, 7:30 p.m. Memphis vs. Milwaukee (at La Crosse, Wisc.), 8 p.m. Boston at Brooklyn, 8 p.m. Friday’s games New York vs. Toronto (at Montreal), 7 p.m. Indiana at Orlando, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 8 p.m. Phoenix vs. Oklahoma City (at Tulsa, Okla.), 8 p.m. Sacramento vs. L.A. Lakers (at Las Vegas), 10 p.m. Golden State at Portland, 10 p.m.
EASTERN CONFERENCE x-Kansas City x-Chicago D.C. New York Houston Columbus Montreal Philadelphia New England Toronto
W 17 17 16 15 13 14 12 10 7 5
L T Pts 7 8 59 10 5 56 10 6 54 9 8 53 8 11 50 11 7 49 15 5 41 15 6 36 17 8 29 20 7 22
GF 40 45 49 54 45 40 45 35 37 35
GA 26 39 40 46 38 40 50 37 44 60
69 46 48 56 35 39 40 32 22
40 35 31 45 40 42 50 55 54
WESTERN CONFERENCE x-San Jose x-Real Salt Lake x-Seattle x-Los Angeles Vancouver FC Dallas Colorado Portland Chivas USA
19 17 14 15 11 9 9 7 7
6 7 64 11 4 55 7 10 52 12 5 50 12 9 42 12 11 38 19 4 31 16 9 30 17 8 29
x — clinched playoff berth. Wednesday’s game — All Times Eastern Real Salt Lake at Seattle, 11 p.m. Saturday’s games Montreal at Toronto, 1:30 p.m. Kansas City at New York, 7 p.m. Columbus at D.C., 7:30 p.m. Chicago at New England, 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Houston, 7:30 p.m. Colorado at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m. Sunday’s games Portland at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Los Angeles at San Jose, 7 p.m. Dallas at Seattle, 9 p.m.
EUROPE
Belgium 2 Scotland 0 Croatia 2 Wales 0 Macedonia 1 Serbia 0
GROUP B Czech Republic 0 Bulgaria 0 Italy 3 Denmark 1
GROUP C Austria 4 Kazakhstan 0 Faeroe Islands 1 Ireland 4 Germany 4 Sweden 4 Andorra 0 Estonia 1 Hungary 3 Turkey 1 Romania 1 Netherlands 4
Israel 3 Luxembourg 0 Portugal 1 Northern Ireland 1 Russia 1 Azerbaijan 0
GROUP G Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 Lithuania 0 Latvia 2 Liechtenstein 0 Slovakia 0 Greece 1
GROUP H Poland vs. England (ppd., wet grounds) San Marino 0 Moldova 2 Ukraine 0 Montenegro 1
GROUP I Belarus 2 Georgia 0 Spain 1 France 1
x — clinched berth in regional final
Iraq 1 Australia 2 Oman 2 Jordan 1
x-U.S. x-Jamaica Guatemala Antigua
GP W D 6 4 1 6 3 1 6 3 1 6 0 1
L GF GA Pt 1 11 6 13 2 9 6 10 2 9 8 10 5 4 13 1
Tuesday’s results At Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica 4 Antigua 1 At Kansas City, Kan. U.S. 3 Guatemala 1
GROUP B x-Mexico Costa Rica El Salvador Guyana
GP W D 5 5 0 5 2 1 5 1 2 5 0 1
x-Honduras x-Panama Canada Cuba
GP W D 6 3 2 6 3 2 6 3 1 6 0 1
GROUP A GROUP B
OCEANIA Final Round New Caledonia 5 Solomon Islands 0 New Zealand 3 Tahiti 0 Bolivia 4 Uruguay 1 Paraguay 1 Peru 0 Venezuela 1 Ecuador 1 Chile vs. Argentina
Tuesday’s results At San Jose, Costa Rica Guyana at Costa Rica At Torreon, Mexico El Salvador at Mexico
GROUP C
Final Round
SOUTH AMERICA
L GF GA Pt 0 13 2 15 2 7 5 7 2 8 9 5 4 5 17 1
TRANSACTIONS NBA DALLAS MAVERICKS — Suspended G Delonte West for conduct detrimental to the team.
NFL L GF GA Pt 1 12 3 11 1 6 2 11 2 6 10 10 5 1 10 1
Tuesday’s results At San Pedro Sula, Honduras Honduras 8 Canada 1 At Havana Panama 1 Cuba 1
L 3 3 3 3
T Pct 0 .500 0 .500 0 .500 0 .500
PF 188 133 120 137
PA 137 141 117 192
W 5 2 2 1
L 1 3 4 4
T Pct 0 .833 0 .400 0 .333 0 .200
PF 173 100 114 65
PA 115 145 204 138
W 5 3 2 1
L 1 3 3 5
T Pct 0 .833 0 .500 0 .400 0 .167
PF 161 149 116 134
PA 118 163 115 163
W 3 3 1 1
L 3 3 4 5
T Pct 0 .500 0 .500 0 .200 0 .167
PF 170 148 87 104
PA 138 137 148 183
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Released WR Gerell Robinson. BALTIMORE RAVENS — Placed CB Lardarius Webb on injured reserve. Signed RB Bobby Rainey from the practice squad. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. Promoted secondary coach Todd Bowles to defensive coordinator. PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Suspended NT Alameda Ta’amu two games for conduct detrimental to the team.
Denver San Diego Oakland Kansas City
N.Y. Giants Philadelphia Washington Dallas
W 4 3 3 2
L 2 3 3 3
T Pct 0 .667 0 .500 0 .500 0 .400
PF 178 103 178 94
PA 114 125 173 119
W 6 2 1 1
L 0 3 4 4
T Pct 0 1.000 0 .400 0 .200 0 .200
PF 171 120 92 141
PA 113 101 125 154
W 4 4 3 2
L 1 2 3 3
T Pct 0 .800 0 .667 0 .500 0 .400
PF 149 146 154 126
PA 71 117 135 137
W 4 4 4 3
L 2 2 2 3
T Pct 0 .667 0 .667 0 .667 0 .500
PF 110 152 110 110
PA 97 94 93 111
SOUTH Atlanta Tampa Bay Carolina New Orleans
NORTH
Chicago Minnesota Green Bay Detroit
WEST Arizona San Francisco Seattle St. Louis
WEEK SIX
WEEK SEVEN
Monday’s result Denver 35 San Diego 24 Sunday’s results Miami 17 St. Louis 14 Baltimore 31 Dallas 29 Atlanta 23 Oakland 20 Tampa Bay 38 Kansas City 10 N.Y. Jets 35 Indianapolis 9 Detroit 26 Philadelphia 23 Cleveland 34 Cincinnati 24 Seattle 24 New England 23 Buffalo 19 Arizona 16 Washington 38 Minnesota 26 N.Y. Giants 26 San Francisco 3 Green Bay 42 Houston 24 Thursday, October 11 Tennessee 26 Pittsburgh 23
Thursday’s game All Times Eastern Seattle at San Francisco, 8:20 p.m. Sunday’s games Tennessee at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Baltimore at Houston, 1 p.m. Cleveland at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Arizona at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Dallas at Carolina, 1 p.m. Green Bay at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Washington at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Jacksonville at Oakland, 4:25 p.m. N.Y. Jets at New England, 4:25 p.m. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 8:20 p.m. Monday, October 22 Detroit at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
TENNIS
ATP-WTA KREMLIN CUP
WEEK 16
At Moscow MEN Singles — First Round Alex Bogomolov, Jr., Russia, def. Nikolay Davydenko (5), Russia, 7-5, 6-4. Carlos Berlocq (7), Argentina, def. Andrey Kuznetsov, Russia, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. WOMEN Singles — First Round Dominika Cibulkova (5), Slovakia, def. Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Simona Halep, Romania, def. Nadia Petrova (6), Russia, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, def. Varvara Lepchenko, U.S., 6-0, 7-6 (3). Vesna Dolonc, Serbia, def. Galina Voskoboeva, Kazakhstan, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
EAST DIVISION
ATP ERSTE BANK OPEN At Vienna, Austria Singles — First Round Paolo Lorenzi, Italy, def. Benoit Paire (7), France, 6-4, 6-4. Grega Zemlja, Slovenia, def. Xavier Malisse (8), Belgium, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6). Vasek Pospisil, Vancouver, def. Andreas Haider-Maurer, Austria, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Montreal Toronto Hamilton Winnipeg
GP W L 15 9 6 15 7 8 15 5 10 15 4 11
T 0 0 0 0
PF 406 339 438 295
PA 417 381 481 460
Pt 18 14 10 8
T 0 0 0 0
PF 402 430 397 351
PA 288 350 327 354
Pt 22 18 16 14
WEST DIVISION B.C. Calgary Saskatchewan Edmonton
GP W 15 11 15 9 15 8 15 7
L 4 6 7 8
Saturday’s results Calgary 32 Winnipeg 21 Edmonton 37 Saskatchewan 20 Sunday’s result Montreal 24 Toronto 12
WEEK 17 Friday’s games — All Times Eastern Winnipeg at Toronto, 7 p.m. Edmonton at B.C., 10 p.m. Saturday’s games Montreal at Saskatchewan, 3:30 p.m. Hamilton at Calgary, 7 p.m.
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Vehicle(s) may be shown with optional equipment. Dealer may sell or lease for less. Limited time offers. Offers may be cancelled at any time without notice. See your Ford Dealer for complete details or call the Ford Customer Relationship Centre at 1-800-565-3673. © 2012 Sirius Canada Inc. “SiriusXM”, the SiriusXM logo, channel names and logos are trademarks of SiriusXM Radio Inc. and are used under licence. †† Offer only valid from September 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012 (the “Offer Period”) to resident Canadians with a Costco membership on or before August 31, 2012. Use this $1,000CDN Costco member offer towards the purchase or lease of a new 2012/2013 Ford/Lincoln vehicle (excluding Fiesta, Focus, Raptor, GT500, Mustang Boss 302, Transit Connect EV & Medium Truck) (each an “Eligible Vehicle”). The Eligible Vehicle must be delivered and/or factory-ordered from your participating Ford/Lincoln dealer within the Offer Period. 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Winter tires are meant to be operated during winter conditions and may require a higher cold inflation pressure than all-season tires. Consult your Ford of Canada dealer for details including applicable warranty coverage. * Lease a new [2013] [Ford Focus SE Sedan Manual /Fiesta SE Hatchback Manual/ Escape SE FWD 1.6L Ecoboost] and get [0%/0%/1.99%] APR for [48/48/36] months on approved credit (OAC) from Ford Credit. Not all buyers will qualify for the lowest APR payment. Example: [$17,204/$14,729/$23,861] (Cash Purchase Price) with [$1,999/$1,999/$3,968] down payment or equivalent trade-in, monthly payment is [$198/$168/$298] total lease obligation is [$11,503/$10,063/$14,696] optional buyout is [$7,744/$6,718/$14,290] cost of leasing is [$0/$0/$1,133] or [0%/0%/1.99%] APR. Offers include [$750] in Winter Safety Package Cash Alternative. Vehicle shown is a 2013 Escape Titanium for $38,429. Offer includes $750 Winter Safety Package Cash Alternative. Taxes payable on full amount of lease financing price after any manufacturer rebate is deducted. Additional payments required for security deposit, NSF fees (where applicable), excess wear and tear, and late fees. Some conditions and mileage restrictions apply. A charge of 16 cents per km over mileage restrictions applies. Offers include freight, air tax, PPSA, Stewardship Ontario Environmental Fee but exclude administration and registration fees of up to $799, fuel fill charge of up to $120 and all applicable taxes. Taxes payable on full amount of lease financing price after any price adjustment is deducted. ** Until November 30, 2012, receive 0% APR purchase financing on new 2013 Focus (excluding S, ST and BEV)/ Ford Fiesta (excluding S)/Taurus (excluding SE)/Edge FWD (excluding SE)/EDGE AWD (excluding SE/Escape (excludingS)/Expedition models for a maximum of 72/72/72/48/48/48/48 months to qualified retail customers, on approved credit (OAC) from Ford Credit. Not all buyers will qualify for the lowest interest rate. Example: $25,000 purchase financed at 0% APR for72/48 months, monthly payment is $520.83/$347.22, cost of borrowing is $0 or APR of 0% and total to be repaid is $25,000. Down payment on purchase financing offers may be required based on approved credit from Ford Credit. Taxes payable on full amount of purchase price. ^^ Estimated fuel consumption ratings for the 2013 [Focus 2.0L- I4 5 speed manual/Fiesta 1.6L -I4 5 speed manual/Escape FWD 1.6L GTDI-I4 6 speed Auto]. Model shown is Escape AWD 1.6L GTDI-I4 6 speed auto]: 9.2L/100 km city and 6.6L/100 km hwy. Fuel consumption ratings based on Transport Canada-approved test methods. Actual fuel consumption will vary based on road conditions, vehicle loading and driving habits. © 2012 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.
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47
Let the Elantra excite you
DRIVE ALL PHOTOS WHEELBASE
Type. Four door, front wheel drive, compact hatchback.
•
Engine (hp). 1.8-litre DOHC I4 (148).
•
Transmissions. Six-speed manual, six-speed automatic (optional).
•
Base Price (incl. destination). $20,650
Review. New GT isn’t as big as the Touring but it speaks our kind of language: design language MALCOLM GUNN
Wheelbase Media
If a hatchback is on your radar, the Hyundai Elantra GT with its “Fluidic Sculpture” design language might prove to be the right thirst-quencher. In a world gone mad for small, fuel-efficient cars – not surprising given today’s pump prices – Hyundai’s compact lineup attempts to cover the bases. If your search involves acquiring a vehicle with purposeful practicality, the new Elantra GT might fill the bill just as easily as you can fill its flexible-stowage area. The GT fills the void left by the departing Elantra Touring model, but not in the most direct way. Although neatly styled, the Touring was first and foremost a wagon, while the more
The standard - and only - engine is a 148-horsepower 1.8-litre four-cylinder. rounded GT is definitely hatchback-oriented. Yes, the lines between hatch and wagon tend to get a bit fuzzy, but with about an 18-centimetre deficit in overall length and 20 per cent less total cargo space the GT qualifies as a hatchback. In back, a 60:40 split rear bench folds relatively flat. By Hyundai’s slide rule, the GT has more cargo and passenger room than several of its peers, including the Golf, Ford Focus and Mazda3 hatches. For serious drivers, the GT’s firm suspension with stiffer springs, shocks and stabilizer bars is definitely appreciated. Then there’s the accessory packages if your pockets are deeper that bundle a panoramic sunroof, rear-view camera leather seats and other trinkets. Selecting a hatchback and sprinkling it with some performance-like attitude seems like a tempting way to go about your business and that applies to the Elantra GT, which also thumbs its nose at gas pumps while toting life’s treasures, human and otherwise.
The GT as well as the rest of the Elantra trio, operates with a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 148 horsepower and 131 poundfeet of torque. The peppy mill is rated at 7.2 l/100 km in the city and 4.9 highway when connected to a sixspeed manual transmission, and 7.3/5.0 with optional six-speed automatic.
Styling
An added bonus is the GT’s slippery-shaped design that rivals the Coupe’s, although all three Elantras are handsome rigs in their own way. The GT’s Hyundai Veloster-style open-mouth grille/air intake resembles the Coupe’s, with both body styles eschewing the sedan’s more conservative schnoz.
Fuel economy
Hyundai claims the GT possesses about a 720-kilometre maximum range, which is as much a function of gas-tank size as it is fuel economy. It also doesn’t hurt that, at a relatively light 1,265 kilograms, the GT is 70-90 kilograms lighter than its primary rivals. By comparison
1
Kia Forte5 Base Price: $18,300
Hyundai has become as proficient at tidy interior design as it has at the outside details.
2
Volkswagen Golf Base Price: $21,400
3
Ford Focus hatchback Base Price: $21,150
It’s shorter than the Elantra Touring it replaces, but with this kind of high style it’s unlikely that anyone will miss the space.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Taking the test: Honda offers up some real-world hybrid Insight AutoKnow. Today’s crossbreeds appear good on paper, but how do they handle the open road? joe knycha
Wheelbase Media
It’s widely known that hybrid vehicles shine brightest in high-density stop-and-go traffic, achieving in the process low fuel consumption and ultra-low greenhouse-gas emissions. That’s because the built-in electric motor helps the gas engine get the car rolling. But how are they on the open road? More to the point, how do they fare in wideranging road traffic? Can they cover great distances in comfort yet deliver a decent ride without working their little hybrid hearts into a state of mechanical coronary? In an attempt to answer the bigger questions of the universe, Honda surrendered a new-generation Insight hybrid for an outing through the rugged Precambrian shield running alongside Lake Superior, which borders Michigan. The average speed was about 100 km-h over 10 hours with frequent scenic stops along the way; the road climbs and drops majestically, all the while snaking along Superior’s craggy shores. Spirited driving isn’t the point of the Insight and so, responsibly, we steadfastly minded speed limits and drove in as smooth a manner as possible with lightly applied throttle inputs to probe its higher-speed fuel economy. The gasoline/electric drive system, though able to deliver near-brisk performance if required, is in its element when the driver strives for economy and smoothness. The Insight actually assists in this effort through in-dash displays that show: fuel consumption; when it’s running on gas, electric or both; and when the on-board batteries are being re-charged, capturing the Insight’s rolling (kinetic) energy through “regenerative” braking, and when decelerating. Another readout displays a five-branch tree that rates the green-ness of the drive: the branches disappear or come back based on how aggressively the throttle is used. Push a little harder and the light that bathes the instrument panel blends to blue
from green, returning to green when pressure eases. It’s subtle and quietly keeps one mindful. The 1.3-litre (that’s just 79.3 cubic inches) four-cylinder gas engine has a single overhead camshaft, two valves per cylinder and variable valve timing. Driving the front wheels, it’s small by conventional reckoning, but mated to Honda’s fifth-generation Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system, it carries the freight, operating quietly, seamlessly and effortlessly. Sitting silently at the stoplights with the gas engine automatically shut down, you wouldn’t think the Insight would win any drag races, but it does acquit itself well against other vehicles in its class. Acceleration can approach brisk when the throttle is pressed deep into the pile carpet mats, useful for passing maneuvers and when accelerating onto fast-moving freeways, but not so much for extending fuel economy. Weight is typically the enemy of fuel economy, so it’s with some irony that the IMA adds almost 25 kilograms over a comparably equipped Civic, yet gives superior fuel economy, which speaks well of the system’s efficiency. Throughout the drive, fuel economy hovered mostly around the 5.0-l/100-km mark. After a while, it becomes almost obsessive to see how low you can drive the consumption, and for how long at a time. The interior accommodates four average-sized adults. The front bucket seats are firm and began to feel that way after several hours. The dash and controls are well placed and functional though overhead glare on the spade-shaped cover at the top of the instrument panel was visible several times throughout the drive. The thick rear pillars that taper back to the tidy aerodynamic rear end make backing up an exercise in neck-craning, and the view through the rear-view mirror is restricted. With the back seats folded flat, the seemingly small hatchback swallows a surprising amount of cargo, an essential quality for out-of-city driving. With the rear doors open and the hatch lid raised, loading large and bulky items is easy. When the first-generation Insight beat all other hybridpowered vehicles to market more than a decade ago, it launched a terrific idea, but in a body style that while looking sleek and futuristic, didn’t exactly set the world
The Insight looks like a normal compact car because it is, and then some. It just adds an electric helper motor to assist accelerating the vehicle. all images wheelbase
As you can see, the current Insight has tons of room in the back.
ablaze. As two-seater coupe, it had limited cargo space and didn’t fit many lifestyles. Starting at about $22,000, the Insight offers all the functionality and then some of a compact sedan and depending on the view, in a somewhat futuristic design. The front disc/rear drum brakes are also unlike the original Insight’s in that they have excellent pedal feel and are very easily modulated. And to answer the obvious question many will ask: over the entire 800 kilometres, not once did a string of cars pile up behind us waiting to pass.
The dash encourages conservation over a lead foot.
Under the hood
Burning regular gas, the engine rates at 88 (hp) at 5,800 rpm, with torque at 123 pound-feet at 4,500 rpm. When engaged, the IMA adds up to 13 more horses at 1,500 rpm and a further 58 pound-feet of torque to the mix. Unlike the Toyota Prius, the Insight fails to operate on electric power alone. When accelerating, the gas engine is always running, given a boost by the IMA.
The Insight can’t run on electric power alone like the Toyota Prius can.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Searching for second-hand gold? Choose your Quest wisely Second Gear. 2004 to 2009 Quest minivan For the 2004 model year, the Quest minivan hit the market with dual sliding doors, generous cargo capacities, and an even more unique, distinctive design than its predecessor. Features included tire pressure monitoring, alloy wheels, power heated leather seats, a power tailgate, sunroof, heated mirrors, Bose audio, a self-dimming rearview mirror, power accessories, power-adjustable pedals and more. Common Issues
Listen to the engine idle, after confirming its oil level and condition are satisfactory. Rattling sounds at idle or lower revs may be indicative of a timing-chain problem that’s expensive to fix. This seemed to affect 2004 models, mostly. Timing chains generally don’t require maintenance as long as oil change schedules are strictly adhered to. Be sure that’s been the case for the Quest you’re considering. Some owners have reported premature wear of consumable parts, like brakes, so note that a ‘shimmying’ sensation in the front end during braking indicates a brake job is likely in your Quest’s future. Power tailgate and power sliding door mechanism failure may be other issues, alongside a waterleak that could be seen by moisture in the headliner.
all photos handout
What Owners Like
What Owners Dislike
Typically, Quest’s styling, unique design, sky-view roof system and upscale interior looks are highly rated by owners. Spaciousness, handling and overall comfort are also mentioned.
Owner complaints deal with flimsy interior trim, poorly thought-out cupholder layout, limited third-row space and poorer-than-expected mileage.
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Verdict
All models come equipped with a 3.5 litre V6 with 240 horsepower driving the front wheels through an automatic transmission.
To maximize the likelihood of reliable long-term operation, skip used Quest models with the sunroof, power sliding doors and power tailgate where possible. A peek inside the Quest
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Less Fuel. More Power. Great Value is a comparison between the 2012 and the 2011 Chrysler Canada product lineups. 40 MPG or greater claim (7.0 L/100 km) based on 2012 EnerGuide highway fuel consumption estimates. Government of Canada test methods used. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on powertrain, driving habits and other factors. See retailer for additional EnerGuide details. Wise customers read the fine print: •, *, ▲, †, § The All Out Clearout Event offers are limited time offers which apply to retail deliveries of selected new and unused models purchased from participating retailers on or after September 1, 2012. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Offers subject to change and may be extended without notice. See participating retailers for complete details and conditions. •$19,995 Purchase Price applies to 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package (22F) only and includes $2,000 Consumer Cash Discount. See participating retailers for complete details. Pricing includes freight ($1,400–$1,595), air tax (if applicable), tire levy and OMVIC fee. Pricing excludes licence, insurance, registration, any retailer administration fees, other retailer charges and other applicable fees and taxes. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Retailer may sell for less. *Consumer Cash Discounts are offered on select 2012 vehicles and are manufacturer-to-retailer incentives, which are deducted from the negotiated price before taxes. Amounts vary by vehicle. See your retailer for complete details. ▲$1,500 Bonus Cash is available on all new 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT and $1,000 Bonus Cash is available on all new 2012 Dodge Journey SXT models except remaining Save the Freight models. Bonus Cash will be deducted from the negotiated price after taxes. See your retailer for complete details. †4.49% purchase financing for up to 96 months available on the new 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package (22F) model to qualified customers on approved credit through Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, TD Auto Finance and Ally Credit Canada. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Retailer may sell for less. See your retailer for complete details. Example: 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package (22F) with a Purchase Price of $19,995 (including Consumer Cash Discount) financed at 4.49% over 96 months with $0 down payment, equals 208 bi-weekly payments of $115 with a cost of borrowing of $3,843 and a total obligation of $23,837.61. Pricing includes freight ($1,400–$1,595), air tax (if applicable), tire levy and OMVIC fee. Pricing excludes licence, insurance, registration, any retailer administration fees, other retailer charges and other applicable fees and taxes. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Retailer may sell for less. §2012 Dodge Journey R/T shown. Price including applicable Consumer Cash Discount: $25,530. Pricing includes freight ($1,400–$1,595), air tax (if applicable), tire levy and OMVIC fee. Pricing excludes licence, insurance, registration, any retailer administration fees, other retailer charges and other applicable fees and taxes. See bottom of the ad for range of potential retailer fees. Retailer order/trade may be necessary. Retailer may sell for less. ^Based on R. L. Polk Canada, Inc. January to October 2011 Canadian Total New Vehicle Registration data for Chrysler Crossover Segments. ¤Based on 2012 EnerGuide Fuel Consumption Guide ratings published by Natural Resources Canada. Transport Canada test methods used. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on powertrain, driving habits and other factors. 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package & SE Plus 2.4 L 4-speed automatic – Hwy: 7.5 L/100 km and City: 10.8 L/100 km. 2012 Dodge Journey SXT 3.6 L 6-speed automatic – Hwy: 7.8 L/100 km and City: 12.6 L/100 km. TMThe SiriusXM logo is a registered trademark of SiriusXM Satellite Radio Inc. ®Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC.
T:10”
2012 DODGE JOURNEY CANADA VALUE PACKAGE
38
$
MPG HWY
7.5 L/100 KM HWY ¤ PURCHASE PRICE INCLUDES $2,000 CONSUMER CASH,* FREIGHT, AIR TAX, TIRE LEVY AND OMVIC FEE. TAXES EXCLUDED. OTHER RETAILER CHARGES MAY APPLY.+
$
• 3.6 L PentastarTM VVT V6 with 283 HP • One-touch up/down front windows
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• Dual bright exhaust tips • Highway: 7.8 L/100 KM (36 MPG)¤ T:12.5”
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+Your local retailer may charge additional fees for administration/pre-delivery that can range from $0 to $1,098 and anti-theft/safety products that can range from $0 to $1,298. Charges may vary by retailer.
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10 VEHICLES WITH 40 MPG HWY OR BETTER.
LESS FUEL. MORE POWER. GREAT VALUE.
9/24/12 7:03 PM
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Cars that will be catching the eye in 2014 Let the battle begin. Fuel efficiency and technology will be the focus as automakers square off with their new, improved designs TODD BURLAGE
Wheelbase Media
At the same time the curtain is rising on a tech-savvy and unpredictable 2013 new-car market, automakers are continuing to leak some sneak peaks into what we can expect when the 2014 turf war begins a year from now. The popular design trends for the 2014 models won’t be drastically different from what manufacturers rolled into showrooms for 2013, but with dozens of all-new 2014 entries on the way from Acura, Chevrolet, Cadillac, MercedesBenz, Porsche, Volkswagen and others — along with some edgy redesigns and updates coming from many other top automakers — 2014 should again be a competitive year in an improving North American market. Not unlike the 2013 battle plan for most manufacturers, fuel efficiency, technology and sleek styling will highlight the race for 2014 sales supremacy. Volatile gas prices, eco-consciousness and looming minimum fuel-economy standards from the U.S. government will keep efficiency technology as the top priority for buyers and builders in 2014. Legislation was signed in the U.S. in August that requires automakers to meet a fuel efficiency standard of 35.5 mpg (6.6 l/100 km) by 2016 for its cars and light trucks. Of course the affect will be felt here in Canada. “Fuel mileage is a full consideration point for most car buyers in most segments,” said Chris Woodyard, automotive news analyst for daily newspaper USA Today. “All the manufacturers are trying to
The Porsche 918 will be a halo model for the brand and it also happens to be a hybrid. all photos wheelbase
The Ford Evo’s concept points the way toward a new Mustang
reach those new standards the fastest.” Efficiency initiatives have certainly kept engineers busy with their 2014 designs. A growing emphasis on the gas/electric hybrid and plug-in hybrid markets will be worth watching as competition grows with every model year. Even Porsche is introducing the 918 Spyder plug-in, trying to invade this market with its pricey — as in $850,000 — high-performance entry. The BMW 1-Series Compact, the Mazda 6 and the Infiniti Compact are three examples of manufacturers thinking smaller and lighter in 2014, building with more aluminum to improve fuel mileage through lighter vehicles. Other popular models such
as the Nissan Sentra and Ford Mustang will offer a smaller engine option as another choice for better fuel efficiency. Vehicles equipped with the popular turbochargers and gasoline direct injection fuel systems (the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, for one) will also be prominent in showrooms. “And while gas prices have been jumping around, I think auto buyers have become conditioned to think that $5 (per gallon) gas is not an impossibility,” Woodyard said. “And if you’re an automaker, you are desperately trying to find a way to respond to that.” In fact, prices in California really shot past $5 a U.S. gallon while many Canadians have
The Jaguar F-Type
seen $1.40 a litre and higher. So while going farther on less gas will continue to be the primary battle focus, there will be other focuses. “No doubt, technology is really where the action is,” Woodyard said. “With the rise of the ‘Gen X’ generation and the ‘Gen Y’ generation, they don’t care that much about cars, but they care a lot about cell phones and cell-phone technology, so automakers are forced to try and emulate that, try to pick up on that theme.” And the manufacturers are sparing no means to that end, installing all the gadgetry a vehicle can offer, while keeping an eye on safety improvements through fewer distractions and less fidgeting
with hands-on display screens. Cadillac offered its CUE navigation and entertainment system on select 2012 and 2013 models, but expect wider access to this groundbreaking technology option in 2014. Similar to the Kinect gaming system from XBox, CUE recognizes and responds to hand gestures and body movements to help drivers keep their eyes on the road when performing certain requests. Perhaps a wink of the eye will turn the radio on, a head tilt can control the volume, a tap on the steering wheel changes the channel, just to name some basics. Voiceactivated systems will also be prevalent in the 2014 models, as in-car technology follows the
lead of the Flurry-type interactive systems used in iPhone and Droid cell phones. “That kind of technology is going to be a slam dunk to migrate over to cars,” said Woodyard, warning that driver adaptation to these advanced systems will likely create some frustration. “This is the kind of thing that can filter down to other cars. When somebody is on the cutting-edge forefront of something, everybody else wants it.” In addition to efficiency and technology improvements, manufactures are also putting a heavy emphasis on interior and exterior styling when the 2014 models take centre stage at the Los Angeles, Calif., and Detroit. Mich., auto shows in the coming months. Woodyard said the most recognizable styling trend for the 2014 models is a return to the sloped-back look, not unlike the new Ford Fusion that stretches the roof back to the trunk. The sloped-back design was resurrected, at least in part, by a series of cars such as the Audi A7 and Volkswagen CC. The 2014 Impala is creating much buzz after a fresh full redesign that includes this sophisticated styling as General Motors tries to re-establish relevance in the full-size sedan market, occupied by stalwarts such as the Ford Taurus, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. An improving automotive market in North America, fresh designs, hip technology and new entries in the most competitive market segments should make 2014 a trend-setting model year. “It’s all incremental but there are definitely changes taking place,” Woodyard said. “If the automaker still has money, if they are not having to push (redesigns) off because they went broke, they will all stay on schedule . . . And if they really want to be bold they will try something completely new, knowing that it could be a huge hit or a huge flop. These will turn up in the auto shows, along with plenty of surprises.”
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Blistering Bloodhound could eclipse famous free faller Felix in 2014 Land speed record. British team will try to beat Baumgartner’s gravity-pulled speed with blue torpedo-like vehicle in the desert Auto pilot
Mike Goetz [email protected]
Like millions, I was awestruck by the images of Felix Baumgartner on the steps of his capsule, 39 kilometres above the Earth — a height that reveals the curvature of our planet and the blackness of space. Then he jumped. Wow. His moment of release had to be one of the wildest and conflicted sensations ever experienced by a human. But it was only the prelude. Then he accelerated to 1,342 km/h (834 mph)! That’s a crazy number for a thing not at-
Want to go faster on Earth than skydiver Felix Baumgartner did returning to Earth? Then you’ll have to get something like the Bloodhound rocket car. contributed
tached to jet power. It’s also quite faster than the existing land speed record. A British team and its Thrust SSC rocket-car, hold the record, at 763 mph. That was over 15 years ago and speaks to how difficult is it to get a human going that fast down here on earth. The same British team is planning another “go” in 2014, with its new rocket car, the Bloodhound. Last time they
went after the sound barrier. This time they’re shooting for 1,000 mph. To make that happen Bloodhound’s rocket is designed to generate 27,500 pounds of thrust, the equivalent of 80,000 horsepower. Felix Baumgartner had zero horsepower, zero thrust. His speed was simply another reminder of gravity’s immense power, and another opportunity to ponder about harnessing
it for our energy needs. A gravity-engine under the hood of your Ford? Don’t hold your breath. For starters, gravity engines are so far only theoretical. Apparently there are a couple of laws of physics spoiling the reality party. Secondly, these theoretical engines are taller than they are wide, for obvious reasons, and not at all cool looking. I wouldn’t sign up for one on
aesthetic reasons alone. And thirdly, gravity is actually a weak force. It worked on Felix because he was so small, and the big old Earth was so big. So if we ever do use it for transportation, it would be on the mass transit side. The most bizarre concept utilizing gravity has to be the Gravity Train proposed by British scientist, Robert Hooke, sometime in the 17th
century. He proposed a series of tunnels drilled through the Earth. One could connect Spain with New Zealand for example. A train entering the tunnel at either end would accelerate toward the centre of the earth, and then gradually decelerate after the halfway mark. According to Hooke’s calculations, if the train operated in a frictionless environment it would reach the surface at the opposite end of the tunnel at the exact moment its speed reached zero. Even less ambitious proposals for harnessing gravity power seem far-fetched. Most people believe that if we haven’t figured it out yet, it’s not going to happen. This is essentially the same argument about time travel — we never solve time travel, because no one from the past or future has visited us here in the present. I don’t buy it… There was this creepy guy I saw at the mall once. I’m sure he was from the 1980s, he just didn’t know it. So there’s hope for gravity engines too.
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metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
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Ensure safety by sitting the right way Damage limitation. In the event of an accident follow our experts tips to improve your chances of escaping uninjured
Advice • No feet up. Never let passengers ride with their feet on the dash, as a deploying airbag could do severe damage to their legs. • When hitting the gas. Your heel should rest on the floor when the ball of your foot is on the throttle pedal
jil mcintosh
[email protected]
You know all about wearing your seatbelt, but that’s only half the story. Sitting in the right position is also essential to vehicle control and safety. “The steering wheel, seatbelt, head restraint, seat, mirrors, and pedals are the key points we’re trying to get across,” says Silvana Aceto, spokesperson for CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) South Central Ontario. “It’s important that you are seated properly to make sure you are in control when you’re behind the wheel.” You should be at least 25 cm (10 inches) away from the steering wheel, which puts you
at a safe distance if the airbag deploys. The wheel should be pointed at your chest, but high enough that your thigh doesn’t hit it when you’re moving your foot to the brake pedal. You should be able to push all pedals as far as they’ll go, using the ball of your foot, not your toes. The middle of the head restraint should be at the level of your ears, and no more than 6 cm (2.5 inches) away, to help prevent whiplash. Put your hands at the nine and three o’clock position on the steering wheel. “For years we said 10 and two, but if the airbag is deployed and your hands are
up further, they can fly back and possibly hit you in the face,” Aceto says. “If you’re at nine and three, your hands will fly out to the sides and decrease your risk of injury.” To minimize blind spots around your car, lean to the right until you’re over the centre console or below the rearview mirror, and then adjust your right outside mirror until you can just see the edge of your vehicle. Now lean to the left, against the closed window, and do the same for the left outside mirror. Adjust the rearview mirror so you’re looking out the back window. Finally, adjust the seatbelt over your collarbone so it lies flat on your chest, and put the lap portion over your hip bones, not your abdomen. Most cars have height adjusters where the belt attaches to the pillar so you can fit it properly. Never put the belt under your arm, where it can break your ribs. “Look for how well you fit when you’re buying a vehicle,” Aceto says. “There are certain ones that won’t fit you, and you need to look at these things. Be sure to shop around.”
CAA spokesperson Silvana Aceto demonstrates the correct way to sit. photos by jill mcintosh
And look at how happy sitting correctly will make you!
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56
drive
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Do it white: Colour tops car charts Top five. Silver ranks a close second followed by black, gray and red If you bought a new vehicle this year, chances are high it was white or silver. Twenty-two per cent of cars and trucks built for the 2012 model year have white paint, making it the most popular colour worldwide. Silver is close behind, at 20 per cent, followed by black at 19 per cent. Gray and red follow to make up the top five. White is the most popular colour for the second year in a row after overtaking silver in 2011. The annual rankings are compiled by automotive paint supplier PPG Industries Inc., a Pittsburghbased company that provides paints to General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., BMW AG and others.
The rankings are skewed somewhat by the large number of pickup trucks on the market. Trucks accounted for 55 per cent of North American production in the first eight months of this year, according to Ward’s, which compiles automotive data. One in four pickups produced is white because business owners often use them as work trucks and paint logos on them. By comparison, 19 per cent of midsize cars made in North America are white. White, which was also popular in the 1980s, is making a comeback as a modern, high-tech colour thanks in part to Apple Inc.’s all-white stores and glossy white gadgets, said Jane Harrington, PPG’s manager of colour styling for car companies. Manufacturers are also making more varieties of white, from the flat, bright white on many vans to the pearly cream of luxury SUVs.
Spray it don’t say it. all photos istock
Silver also rose in popularity as a high-tech colour starting in the 2000s, and remains especially popular choice in Asia. It remains in vogue because it highlights every angle of a car, Harrington said. “Silver looks great on any design,” Harrington said. White and other “safe” colours — silver, grey and black — also got more popular during the economic downturn, as buyers stopped leasing and bought vehicles they expected to hold on to for much longer, said Michelle Killen, GM’s lead colour designer for exterior paints. They were leery of some of the more daring colours on the market, like the magenta available on the Ford Fiesta or the bright orange on the Scion iQ. “Buyers want to purchase a colour they won’t grow tired
Is orange your colour?
of over an extended period of time,” Killen said. Colour choices vary by geography. You’ll find more red vehicles in North America. Black and grey overtake silver in popularity in Europe. Drivers in Asia like tan and gold but not green. Only about seven per cent of cars in every region are blue. PPG, which also develops paints for cellphones, laptops, airplanes and houses, bases its automotive paints on trends it sees in fashion, interior design and other areas. PPG starts showing paints to carmakers three or four years ahead of a model’s release, and automakers settle on colours two years before a model goes on sale. Harrington predicts customers will see more browns and oranges over the next two years, especially on luxury cars.
Brown - which reminds people of leather or a rich cup of coffee - evokes luxury around the world. Earthy colours are also appealing to drivers concerned about the environment. As for the 2015 and 2016 model years, PPG is showing
64 future colour options to automakers this week. Among those are Al Fresco, a silver metallic with a green tint; Glacier, an icy grey with a violet blue tone; and Elixir, a metallic mixture of silver and magenta. The associated press
Or how about confident pillar box red?
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You may qualify for a discount on your car insurance and on your home insurance when you have both policies with the same insurance company. It is the easiest way to reduce your overall insurance bill; simply purchase multiple policies with the same company. Longevity Discount – Most insurance companies offer discounts to customers who have kept a policy with them for a long period of time. Keep in mind that it doesn’t hurt to shop around for quotes and compare – the savings that you could receive with another insurance company could outweigh
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58
metronews.ca Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Horoscopes
A Range, a City, a Group, a Province
Aries
March 21 - April 20 The more you do for friends and work colleagues today, the more they will do for you later on — and you will come out ahead of the game. Is that selfish? Maybe. But it’s a higher kind of selfishness.
Taurus
April 21 - May 21 Your task today is to focus all your attention and all your energy in a single direction. Don’t let your concentration stray for even a moment. You can achieve something extraordinary, but you’ve got to be single-minded.
Gemini
May 22 - June 21 Good things are going to happen over the next two or three days. Anything of a creative, romantic or artistic nature is under excellent stars at the moment. So, don’t hold back. Give it all you’ve got.
Libra
Sept. 24 - Oct. 23 Make the most of the opportunities that come your way over the next few days. If you don’t, you will hate yourself for being too slow and indecisive. Find the courage to take the kind of risks most people avoid.
Scorpio
Oct. 24 - Nov. 22 You need to decide what is going to be your number one aim — and you need to get after it today and every day until you have reached your ultimate goal. What moves you? What inspires you?
Sagittarius
Nov. 23 - Dec. 21 The more you work with those who share your aims and ideals, the more of a positive effect you will have on the world around you — and the more fun you will have.
Capricorn
Cancer
June 22 - July 23 This is the ideal time to let partners and loved ones know how much you care for them. The Sun in the domestic area of your chart makes it easy for you to reveal your innermost thoughts and feelings.
Dec. 22 - Jan. 20 You are about to be tested and challenged like never before. Do you have what it takes to confront your inner demons? Do you have the strength to battle them and overcome them? Of course you do.
Aquarius
Leo
July 24 - Aug. 23 Get out into the world and have a good time. Meet as many interesting new people as you possibly can. Don’t worry about your work. It will still be there waiting for you when you get back — if you get back!
Jan. 21 - Feb. 19 You have got to stand up for what you believe. Unless you are clear in your own mind what it is that’s worth fighting for, you won’t be able to persuade others to fight for it too. They need you to lead.
Across 1. Existed 4. Chicken ___ king (2 wds.) 7. By what means 10. African animal whose full name means “river horse” 12. Ship’s spar 14. Mentally sound 15. Syrian president Bashar al-___ 16. Free Willy star 17. French islands 18. They form the AlbertaBC border (2 wds.) 20. Exam 21. Wed. preceder 22. Playful caper 24. PEI city known as “The Birthplace of Confederation” 29. Corrida cheer 30. ___ Vegas 31. Comment made while fanning oneself (2 wds.) 33. Day’s coolest temperature 34. “Shame on you!” 35. Parliamentarians, for short 37. 7th Greek letter (looks like an H) 38. “___ circumstances beyond our control ...” (2 wds.) 40. Alumna bio word 41. Small drink of liquor 42. Rock band from Kingston, Ontario, nine of whose albums have reached #1 in Canada; with “The” (2 wds.) 47. Native New Zealander Yesterday’s Crossword
Aug. 24 - Sept. 23 You want to buy yourself lots of pretty things, no matter how much they cost. But can you afford it? Don’t spend up to your credit limit now and spend the rest of the year living on bread and water.
Feb. 20 - March 20 There seems to be a lot of deception and trickery going on at the moment, so it will pay you to be on your guard. Anyone who promises you the world for a small investment is either mad or bad — or both. SALLY BROMPTON
48. Duo 49. Country road 52. Maritime Province (2 wds) 57. Great poker start 58. Baker’s frosting tool 59. Add ___ of salt: recipe direction (2 wds.) 60. Canadian Liberal, familiarly 61. Adorable 62. Farm storage buildings 63. Poivre tablemate 64. Ocean 65. Santa’s helper Down 1. Desire 2. Altar end of church 3. Aggressive ancient Greek city-state 4. Violently frenzied 5. Cowboy ropes 6. Climber’s task 7. ___ and hearty: ablebodied 8. Single units 9. BC’s Coast 10. Chapeau 11. Smell 13. Delicate discrimination 14. Funny TV series, for short 19. Jail units 23. Response to “Can that be true?” (2 wds.) 24. Influence, as in politics 25. Tree cutter 26. Acorn dropper 27. “___ Was Young”: Animals hit (2 wds.)
28. What a dissatisfied diner may leave (2 wds.) 29. Stale 32. Open, as a keg 34. Greek garb 35. Mad Max actor Gibson 36. Animal skins 39. Least thrilling 40. Artless simplicity 43. Classical architecture style dating back to ancient Greece
539
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business” (2 wds.) 56. Satisfied sounds
Sudoku
See today’s answers at metronews.ca/ answers.
The Friends of the Library, Trinity College
Chicago US Thanksgiving, Air + 3 Nights
44. Early spring bloomer 45. Workout spots for women, for short 46. Sweatshirt with a top 49. Brings up the rear 50. 4,047 square metres 51. Toronto-born rocker Young 53. Carpet measurement 54. Exaggerated, as a story 55. “That ___ no concern to you”: “None of your
How to play Fill in the grid, so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9. There is no math involved. You solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic.
Pisces
Virgo
59
37th Annual Book Sale • October 18-22, 2012 Thursday October 18, 4-9pm ($5 Admission) Friday October 19, 10am-8pm Saturday October 20, 10am-8pm Sunday October 21, 12pm-8pm Monday October 22, 10am-8pm (No admission charge Fri-Mon)
Cash • Cheque • Debit • Amex • Mastercard • Visa 6 Hoskin Avenue, Upstairs in Seeley Hall Museum, St. George Subway, or Wellesley Bus 94 to the door 416 - 978 - 6750 • www.trinity.utoronto.ca/booksale CHARITABLE REGISTRATION #11926 9751 RR0001
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T:10"
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%
E B FF O O CT O
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1.49%
60
bi-weekly for 60 months, amortized over 84 months with $1,750 down payment. $6,917 remaining balance. Offer includes delivery, destination and fees of $1,988 and $1,200 “3 payments on us” savings¥. BASED ON A PURCHASE PRICE OF $26,283. $26,283 Offer based on 2012 Optima LX AT.
WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED *5-year/100,000 km worry-free comprehensive warranty.
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Optima SX Turbo shown
Kia’s new Customer Friendly Pricing includes delivery and destination fees and all mandatory government levies. Prices do not include licensing, PPSA or applicable taxes.
Offer(s) available on select new 2012/2013 models through participating dealers to qualified customers who take delivery by October 31, 2012. Dealers may sell or lease for less. Some conditions apply. Offers are subject to change without notice. See dealer for complete details. Vehicles shown may include optional accessories and upgrades available at extra cost. All offers exclude licensing, registration, insurance, other taxes and down payment (if applicable and unless otherwise specified). Your local dealer may charge additional fees for an administration fee that can range from $0 to $699. Other lease and financing options also available. **0% purchase financing is available on select new 2013 Kia models on approved credit. Terms vary by model and trim, see dealer for complete details. Representative financing example based on 2013 Sportage 2.4L LX MT FWD (SP551D) with a selling price of $24,528 [includes delivery and destination fees of $1,650, $750 loan savings, tire recycling and filter charges of $34, OMVIC fee, variable dealer administration fees (up to $399), environmental fee and A/C charge ($100, where applicable)] financed at 0.9% APR for 48 months. Monthly payments equal $236 per payment with a down payment/equivalent trade of $1,899. License, insurance, applicable taxes, PPSA and registration fees are extra. Retailer may sell for less. See dealer for full details. “Don’t Pay for 90 Days” on select new models (90-day payment deferral) applies to purchase financing offers on select 2012 and 2013 models on approved credit (2012/2013 Sportage/Sorento/Sedona excluded). No interest will accrue during the first 60 days of the finance contract. After this period, interest starts to accrue and the purchaser will repay the principal interest monthly over the term of the contract. ¥3 Payments On Us offer is available on approved credit to eligible retail customers who finance or lease a select new 2012 Soul 1.6L MT/2012 Soul 1.6L AT/2012 Optima/2013 Optima/2012 Sorento/2013 Sorento/2013 Forte Sedan/2013 Forte Koup/2013 Forte5 from a participating dealer between October 1 – October 31, 2012. Eligible lease and purchase finance (including FlexChoice) customers will receive a cheque in the amount of three payments (excluding taxes) to a maximum of $350/$350/$400/$400/$550/$550/$350/$350/$350 per month. Lease and finance (including FlexChoice) purchases are subject to approved credit. Customers will be given a choice between up to $1,050/$1,050/$1,200/$1,200/$1,650/$1,650/$1,050/$1,050/$1,050 reductions from the selling/leasing price after taxes or dealer can issue a cheque to the customer. Some conditions apply. See your dealer for complete details. Offer ends October 31, 2012. Cash purchase price for 2012 Rondo LX with AC (RN750C)/2012 Optima Hybrid base (OP74AC) is $16,928/$26,883 and includes a cash savings of $5,500/$4,700 (which is deducted from the negotiated selling price before taxes and cannot be combined with special lease and finance offers), $0/$1,000 ECO-credit, $750/$0 cash bonus, delivery and destination fees of $1,650/$1,455, tire recycling and filter charges of $34, OMVIC fee, variable dealer administration fees (up to $399), environmental fee and A/C charge ($100, where applicable). License, insurance, applicable taxes, PPSA and registration fees are extra. Based on the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price of $23,178/$32,583. Retailer may sell for less. See dealer for full details. Available at participating dealers. ΩRondo Cash Bonus offer is available to qualified retail customers who purchase/finance or lease a new 2012 Kia Rondo (Cash Bonus of $750) from a participating dealer between October 1 and October 31, 2012 and will be deducted from the negotiated purchase/lease price before taxes. Lease and finance offers are on approved credit. Some conditions apply. See your dealer for complete details. >ECO-Credit for 2012 Optima Hybrid is $1,000 (deducted before taxes) and is applicable to the purchase or lease of a new 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. Available at participating dealers. Certain restrictions apply. See dealer for details. ‡$4,700 cash savings on the cash purchase of an eligible new 2012 Optima Hybrid from a participating dealer between October 1 – October 31, 2012. Cash savings is deducted from the negotiated selling price before taxes and cannot be combined with special lease and finance offers. Some conditions apply. See your dealer for complete details. ≠Bi-weekly finance payment (on approved credit) for new 2012 Optima LX AT (OP742C) based on a selling price of $26,283 is $135 with an APR of 1.49% for 60 months, amortized over an 84-month period. Estimated remaining principal balance of $6,917 plus applicable taxes due at end of 60-month period. Offer includes $1,200 “3 payments on us” savings, delivery and destination fees of $1,455, tire recycling and filter charges of $34, OMVIC fee, variable dealer administration fees (up to $399), environmental fee and A/C charge ($100, where applicable). License, insurance, applicable taxes, PPSA and registration fees are extra. Retailer may sell for less. See dealer for full details. Model shown Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price for 2012 Rondo EX V6 Luxury (RN75BC)/2012 Optima SX Turbo (OP748C)/2012 Optima Hybrid Premium (OP74BC) is $29,945/$35,450/$37,250 and includes delivery and destination fees of $1,650/$1,455/$1,455, environmental fee and A/C charge ($100, where applicable). License, insurance, applicable taxes, variable dealer administration fees (up to $399), tire recycling and filter charges of $34, OMVIC fee, PPSA and registration fees are extra. Retailer may sell for less. See dealer for full details. Available at participating dealers. Highway/city fuel consumption is based on the 2012 Rondo 2.4L MPI 4-cyl/2012 Optima 2.4L GDI 4-cyl (A/T)/2012 Optima Hybrid 2.4L MPI 4-cyl (A/T). These estimates are based on Transport Canada’s approved criteria and testing methods. Refer to the Government of Canada’s EnerGuide Fuel Consumption Guide. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on driving habits and other factors. Some conditions apply to the $500 Grad Rebate Program. See dealer or kia.ca for details. Information in this advertisement is believed to be accurate at the time of printing. For more information on our 5-year warranty coverage, visit kia.ca or call us at 1-877-542-2886. KIA is a trademark of Kia Motors Corporation and Kia Canada Inc. respectively. KCI_OCT17_1_COR_C_10X12_4C.indd 1
12-10-15 4:41 PM
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i don't know
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The Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) pioneered and made his vast fortune in which industry in late 1800s USA?
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Andrew Carnegie John D. Rockefeller J.P. Morgan. Andrew Carnegie ( ) A Scottish-American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American. - ppt download
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Presentation on theme: "Andrew Carnegie John D. Rockefeller J.P. Morgan. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) A Scottish-American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American."— Presentation transcript:
1 Andrew Carnegie John D. Rockefeller J.P. Morgan
2 Andrew Carnegie ( ) A Scottish-American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. He was among the most famous and wealthy industrialists of his day.
3
4 Andrew Carnegie controlled every aspect of steel production: Shipping on the Great Lakes Railroad transportation Storage and production facilities Carnegie Steel produced more steel than any country in the world
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6 John D. Rockefeller An American business magnate and philanthropist. He was a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. ( )
7 Originally Standard oil controlled the kerosene (used for lights and street lamps) market. When electricity replaced kerosene for lights Standard oil switched to gasoline to power internal combustion engines in machines and automobiles.
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10 J.P. Morgan An American financier, banker, philanthropist and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. He bought the Carnegie Steel Company in 1901 for $500 million to create U.S. Steel. ( )
11 J.P. Morgan dominated the financial world. He bought struggling companies and merged them to create industrial giant that dominated markets. Financed and organized the General Electric Company. Purchased Carnegie Steel and merged it with several other companies to create U.S. Steel Controlled numerous railroad companies In 1890–1913, J.P. Morgan was involved in 42 major corporations.
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Steel
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What is the English translation of the German news magazine title Der Spiegel?
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1000+ images about peop. Captains of Industry on Pinterest | Andrew carnegie, Cornelius vanderbilt and The gospel of wealth
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Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. He was also one of the highest profile philanthropists of his era. At the time of his death, he had already given away $350,695,653 (approximately $4.8 billion, adjusted to 2010 figures) of his wealth. At his death, his last $30,000,000 was given to foundations, charities, & to pensioners
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Surface, Fire and Nexus are brands/models of what modern (2010s) consumer product?
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Gardenscapes Hack Tool 2017 No Survey [Unlimited Money] Free Download
Rating: 1
Gameserialkeygenerator.blogspot.comhttp://gameserialkeygenerator.blogspot.com/
Each Mass Effect: Andromeda activation code is functioning for computer Xbox One PS4 version of the game. You don’t would like Crack for Mass Effect: Andromeda IF you transfer this Mass Effect: Andromeda Keygen! transfer Mass Effect: Andromeda cd key generator at no cost and play in Cracked Mass Effect: Andromeda computer Xbox One PS4. Our company unconcealed our Mass Effect: Andromeda serial generator into 2 editions. first choices utilizing this standard world wide internet Product Keygen through your electronic computer browser. On word wide internet Keygen you're needed to choose that computer game system does one ought to have.
Rating: 4
Aicok Digital Scale for Kitchen Food and liquids with hanging bracket weighs 11 grams / 5 kg, scale stainless steel kitchen, White with Green
Nice kitchen scale with high precision has the Tara function, which allows you to weigh the content when weighing initially the container and set it to zero The display is big and look good numbers can be measured in grams, ounces, pounds / ounce, milliliters water and milk ranges from 1 gram to 5 kilos If exceeding 5 kilos gives an error has an error range of 1 gram I spent a one euro coin weighing 7.5 grams and brand as 7 grams Very good accuracy made with quality materials, the upper surface is metallic and has a handy hook for hanging it is powered by a CR2032 button battery, and is included in the package, we just have to remove the plastic load to remove the battery have to push to the side of the metal and stack out without difficulty, to get her idem is off by itself if we are no activity within 60 seconds given for analysis and commentary kitchen scale quality product, it is accurate while with modern design and nice I like.
Rating: 4
Krups Inissia - Coffee (Independent, Red, System capsules, 16 capsules included, Lungo, Espresso, 0.7L)
I have the model in black coffee with very rapid warming, it has two lengths short and long coffee with automatic stop lights giving the two buttons length coffee to vezSaca a terrific coffee, note that it is not a basic coffee within the range of Objections Nespresso coffee machines? the tank is immediately filled capsules used because it is quite small.
Rating: 4
Chg 3388-00 Tea Strainer / Filter Tea / Ø Approx. 7.5cm / Width = Approx. 10 cm / Height = approx. 7.5 Cm
Superb quality and good price is always very convenient check measurements before purchasing: 7.5 cm diameter, 10 cm wide, 7.5 cm high If the kettle is very high, you may have to fill with enough water The design is perfect for medium or teapots low (the classic for tea) or to cups has a cover to keep warm and is made of stainless steel is easy to clean but will eventually take some tea color the cover also can serve to support the filter once made the infusion or if you want to re-instill the same herbs In my case, I tend to infuse the tea twice, once for 30 seconds and a second for about one minute it is very durable it will not break if the dishwasher Supports And, most important falls, get out the essence of the infusions.
Rating: 5
Monix Vitro Noir - 12 cup coffee
I think an excellent cafeteria, I have seen other at a higher price and this is still my best choice Do not make noise when going up coffee If just want half coffee just put half water and half coffee that usually put in for complete love her, and not lose quality or taste.
Rating: 5
Peak Coffee N80 - Supports for 80 coffee capsules, silver
It is a very stable dispenser with a swivel base that comes with a pad to avoid scratching the surfaces Large capacity for capsules whole family is very stylish in the kitchen Recommended to anyone who wants a capacity for 80 capsules.
Rating: 4
What decepción¡ With that price and not worth for the induction cooker This information was not available on the Amazon tab it is nice but I have to return it or give it to someone.
Rating: 4
Sports thermos 750 ml, Hydro Water Bottle, cold drinks for 24 hours, hot 12, -termo triple wall. Green thermos ...
I bought this heat after seeing the positive reviews on Amazon and the truth is that it has not disappointed me at all I use it every day to have hot coffee in the office and the truth is that keeps it hot all morning The ability is optimal and detail that is the filter for infusions love definitely high quality product and a very good value.
Rating: 3
TRSL Orbegozo 750 - Termo for solid and liquid, 750 ml
I'm DELIGHTED WITH THERMO I DID A TEST shove freshly boiled water and leave MORE THAN 12 HOURS WITHOUT OPENING TO DO IT WAS STILL VERY HOT MUCH REMAINS SOLID AS HOT LIQUIDS IS AIRTIGHT AND HAS DOUBLE THREAD CLOSED NO ESCAPING NOTHING OF INTERIOR AS ME HAPPENED TO OTHER TERMOS he had.
Rating: 5
Bialetti Moka Express - Coffee espresso cups 6, silver
Delighted with the price, quality and rendimientoal first I muedo of q was very large and q says 6-cup But neither wanted to stay short, so q the ordered Well pays for 6expresos, or q to 3tazas coffee normal size and as a large cup of coffee Peeeero American office there q q consider making a very pure coffee! Get all the flavors of coffee splendidly! So q if you prefer less strong, you can add a little water if you made milk, is perfect If there are three people drinking coffee at a time, it would be advisable to go by a second round, while the first cup is taken;) If you are more than three usually choose a larger x !.
Rating: 3
Mini Moka 999,300 - Manual espresso coffee, suitable for single-dose, black / gray
In my case the machine make excellent coffee But more than the product want to emphasize here the quality of service provided by Amazon I had the machine 11 months, and as I say, the coffee is always and obtained creamy very good However, after this time, the pressure system broke Consequently, texted "Customer " Amazon asking what to do and, believe me, I answered immediately and the next day had a new coffee in my home and also instructions for returning the defective by Post TOTALLY FREE Unbelievable but true I do not usually comment when I buy goods online, neither good nor bad but in this case the attention has been so serious and responsible, I can not help but comment greetings to all.
Rating: 3
Aigostar HHB1748A Adam - Adam Kettle, glass, 1.7 liters, with LED lighting. Various colors. Exclusive design
A good product at a good price is a jug of considerable size, can boil 1.7L once (you will not leave without water!) Positive: - Large capacity, without that it looks ostentatious, thanks to being of glass, which gives an appearance of visual lightness - elegant design with a circle of blue LED lights reflected in the water when powered - No resistance in sight or in contact with water - Very fast, thanks to its 2200 W power - very fast shipping by Amazon, well packaged Negative: - So far, nothing Everything perfect.
Rating: 5
Received the next day in perfect condition corresponds exactly with the description and performs well and correctly.
Rating: 3
De 'Longhi Dolce Gusto Piccolo EDG200 - Coffee capsules, 15 bar, black color
At first I was hesitant to take an automatic but did not want fanciest both a coffee maker, even a manual works much better than the automatic it had before Senseo, the first capsules are the test and look like going, then when you catch the action you know when you have to stop, or if you want longer and rush over the capsule you can also do in the end I see much use to the fact that either manually addition to heat water makes no noise and is super fast, is very tiny and takes up very little in the kitchen and the design is also very cool as well as color the only thing that the deposit is very tiny but in my case we already do well because we are just 2 at home and gives us leftovers , I still think they could make 4 or 6 coffees flip, depending on the type of coffee is made.
Rating: 4
Queen Aigostar HHB1732 - Kettle in stainless steel with LED lighting. 1.7 liters capacity.
- The pitcher is quality, but high-quality stainless steel is, but not good On the one hand is fine, as this does not weigh much - The window and light blue LED is practical and gives pimp - The normal operation compared to others in the same price - only thing I do not like is that it is a bit noisy when heating the water, something more than previously had anyway as a whole is very good.
Rating: 5
Adler AD 02 - Kettle, 0.6-liter white
The capacity is just over half a liter, perfect in my opinion it is separated from the base and turns off when boiled, but for that we must close the cover only thing I do not like is that the part that connects the pitcher with the base, where is the wiring, not too protected Care the first time the cleanse.
Rating: 3
Solac CH6301 Milk & Chocolate - Calientaleches / chocolate (capacity of 1 L, filter anti-cream)
I use it to heat the milk latte drink in my office and I'm happy with it Pros: -You can heat from a small amount of milk to higher amounts, the reservoir has a capacity of leftovers' The milk comes out hot, without boil 'the heating time is not very long not like a microwave, which in a few seconds you heat it with this heater you have to wait a couple of minutes long' the machine is simple: you enter the milk in the container, the plug in and turn on the switch that simple Cons: -Cuesta some clean: if not once used the quick clean, the remaining milk "semisolidificara " into the tank and not so easy to clean'll have to scrub strong being cleaned for the no you can clean in the dishwasher product that performs well for the price and if you are looking only heat milk without complications, will be very useful.
Rating: 5
Bosch MKM6003 - electric coffee grinder, black color
Good, in the end I bought this mill, especially for its price really wanted one tooth, but the economy is not to whims, so to make good coffee and beans, it works out cheaper, with one of blades you can throw "palante " This is a very competitive price (17 euros) and recognized brand reputation works properly, is very quiet Powerful, leave the very ground coffee, more than I thought I agree with the other opinions, not come plus a recojecables, or that could remove the cable from the device and clean, with a makeup brush my wife (who would not) how clean perfectly and did not give it 5 stars, this time because of Amazon, La grinder box, no transport, if not bosch, the warranty seal was broken and I've thoroughly examined everything is in order, but hey otherwise, everything OK.
Rating: 5
KFI Orbegozo 950 - Coffee stainless steel, 9 cups
Orbegozo has always been that brand I've seen in stores at low prices, so it was my cheapest option for products that do not use very often (and those who do not usually pay more than necessary) However this time I made a exception, and trust them to prepare my daily coffee Excellent choice coffee is good, very good Closes perfectly without applying excessive force (in my other coffee, rubber made after preparing the coffee my wife always call me to open the coffee machine) without loss of water pressure or size is correct 9 cups are possible if you prepare coffee cups, mixing it with milk If you drink coffee only probably for about 5 if you use is a cup of breakfast about 3 lattes (medium / medium) currently I am delighted with the purchase and much more for the price Try it !.
Rating: 5
TRAVEL MUG * anti-drip, leak-proof thermo Premium * * 5-year warranty * One Click quality, with one hand * * vacuum insulation double wall stainless steel (TORCH model, 0.5L, 16fl.oz)
Excellent quality of materials and easy cleaning stick it in your backpack and do not fall a drop I have a couple of days using this glass and the truth is that worth the investment may seem caroaguanta hot coffee about 5 hours and peak from there it shows to be cooling but tempered mentiene a couple or 3 hours.
Rating: 4
This is what I was looking for a second Nespresso not take up much space Inconvenience, could not welcome me to the offer of 50 € in coffee Amazon was not at that time among the vendors allowed.
Rating: 3
I bought it on the recommendation by the matcha, and is also very good quality, stainless steel and catch just 1 gram which is what they say it is ideal for a cup of matcha tea.
Rating: 5
Bosch TASSIMO TAS1252 Vivy - Coffee capsules multibebidas automatic, compact design, black color
I usually drink coffee a day, in the morning, as two had been looking a machine of this and until the last moment was hesitating between Tassimo, Nespresso and Senseo In the end I decided on The Bosch Tassimo for the low price of the machine and the good general feedback regarding the quality of coffee produced in my case that can prepare other beverages (Nespresso and Senseo can not) I do not, because for tea and infusions I'm pretty classic use kettle and good raw material for me is critical speed and cleaning the morning heat up the milk in the cup, I put the cup on the Tassimo (it is a big breakfast to spare) and in a minute I have the coffee ready the T-Disc will away and the machine is perfect for the next use Before using the typical coffee Moka or Italiania and between the full, put the coffee and prepares lose a good time Each T-Disc comes out for about 20 cents (depending on which buy and where you buy it), which can be expensive it looked coldly, but my pay me much time saving and comfort me involved.
Rating: 4
DeLonghi EC 680.M - Coffee (stainless steel, capacity 1 liter anti drip, silver)
I mean that coffee makes, especially the cappuccino spectacular coffee, because the steamer takes out a lot of foam to milk and is fantastic This on the one hand the other, say that depending on the degree of grinding of coffee the machine may cost you a lot of work to pass the water through the filter, which happens to me when I make a very fine grind coffee point must take her to the mill, for neither spend nor stay short, so the coffee would aguado All this in the If you think buy coffee beans and grind you If you buy ground coffee, everything will go smoothly, but I recommend the first option Another advantage is that it is not necessary to remove the water tank to fill Yes you will need to remove the collected drops, if you want to brew coffee in a medium-high cup, although not much of a problem because only pull a little of it, and leaves only the dimensions of the coffee makes it perfect if you do not have much room on your countertop .
Rating: 5
Ufesa CG7232 - Coffee Avantis Optima, 800 W, black and gray
I expected Meets decently for a great price But let there be no mistake: these coffee makers, tell yourself what you want, do a (American) weak coffee and spend a lot of coffee The advantages: a large amount of coffee, fast and very comfortable to use and clean But they have no point of comparison with Italian coffee and much less pressure with Amazon now sends items by Correos it was time I come two days ahead of schedule and without lies or problems Thanks.
Rating: 3
Bomann KSW 445 CB - electric coffee grinder, stainless steel, 120 W, gray and black
Well, nice and cheap is perfect for the price it is more than meets its function grinds well as much coffee as flax and other seeds is aesthetic, with fair and stainless steel size has safety lock, ie, does not work without the lid and the price is unbeatable, 11.74 € in agosto12 products with the same price are not enough quality, since they tend to be less potent and plastic definitely recommend it.
Rating: 4
The product is good quality and functioning properly Essential for Matcha tea if there is no way to dissolve.
Rating: 5
Focus Poemia Saeco HD8423 / 11 - Espresso machine manual for ground coffee and ESE pods, black color
It is the segunada coffee Saeco I have, the previous model perfectamentre funcionao Aroma for many years and when he said just decided to buy one of the same brand and have hit the coffee comes out buenisimo, nothing to do with the coffee capsules, this can enjoy an authentic coffee cafeteria the counterattacks also have them are; -The Switch that genius What has happened to put it in the back? in a electrodomentico which is usually attached to the -The wall top water tank is large, it is not easy to put on and to completely dismantled should be left somewhere while you fill the -The tank water tank, it is something small - the area where we place the cups, is not flat, and you have to be careful that the cups are flat overall it is an excellent coffee that I recommend without doubt deses who enjoy a magnificent coffee.
Rating: 3
Aigostar King HHB1739 - Kettle in stainless steel with LED lighting. 1.7 liters capacity.
Within a few weeks of use and shows a point oxide, see photos The cover is not completely open and does not allow comfortably wash the inside If you buy it because it is made of steel (supposedly) steel and not plastic, note that the side window it is plastic and is in contact with water If not for these disadvantages would be an excellent product: nice, large capacity, heats up fast.
Rating: 4
perfect for induction cooktops product is not easy to find such coffee machines that work well with induction, but this product is perfectly suited to be steel inoxInmejorable quality / price ratio.
Rating: 4
Krups Dolce Gusto Oblo - Coffee multibebida, black color
This coffee Krups capsules DOLCE GUSTO, buy it at almost 50% cheaper than the official or flotsam that in my city Quality is durable be, suitable for a size of a large cup, to do all kinds of coffees, teas , chocolates, etc. the operation is manual, with the possibility of weather- water or hot as beverage to be prepared has the function oN oFF after a timeout inactivity also has an lED to illuminate the cup as he is preparing and observe that water level is left in the box comes a voucher of € 10 web discount and sample box with 3 varieties Good packaging and fast.
Rating: 4
Russell Hobbs 20190-70 Chester - Compact Kettle polished stainless steel, for 1 l, hidden resistance, base 360
It broke my filter and no parts have already visited the service center in my city, El Corte Ingles and the Internet is incredible that a kettle brand like this does not have available the only part that can be susceptible to breakage when you want take to clean not recommend for this reason your purchase After my previous comment I got in touch with the brand through the website and sent me the filter without still charge when the filter is not within the appliance guarantee have to thank the response had planned to pay the postage (7 € + VAT) but it came to me with the postage prepaid.
Rating: 4
Nespresso Essenza Automatic XN2140 Krups Earth - Coffee single dose (19 bar, automatic and programmable, energy saving mode)
Two years ago I got the machine and can do nothing more to say benefits of this system Pros - Variety of coffee and all good (though I tried other solutions besides the nespresso system not just like me black coffee) - There in the market compatible capsules although the Nespresso, always seems to have more foam and body - on the machine, can be prepared long coffee and short coffee and the amount is configurable, the button short coffee or long is pressed, the machine He begins to prepare, without releasing it and when you agree with the drawn amount, loose, and the new volume is recorded - compact and easy cleaning machine Peros - No manufactures cut but hey, they can then prepare with regular milk also sell Mercadona capsules cream liquid milk that is 1 euro and there are several and can make a good cut - capsulas expensive but the fact is that sometimes we take in a bar a cafe (who knows Raigón Goat) and paid 1 euro for them so I think everything is relative to give you the pleasure to take a few exquisite coffee 30 cents worth Anyway, very happy if I break.
Rating: 4
DeLonghi Essenza EN97 W - Nespresso coffee pods (19 bars, automatic, programmable, energy saving mode), white
The coffee is fine has a pressure of 19 bars, which guarantees a good coffee, creamy and palatable get no watered down as the philips system senseo or dolce gusto I tested capsules white markings and work perfectly The design is very nice I like the Krupps A very good buy Fully recommended.
Rating: 5
Garmin Edge 520 - GPS bike computer (screen 2.3 ", Garmin Connect, ANT + power sensor, up to 15 hours autonomy), black - single device
Bought to replace my previous Garmin (Edge 305) already had nearly 10 years, with an average use of about 110 times a year just hope that its operation is similar to the same moment I've used in about 12 outlets and the result great Faster uptake of satellites, more compact, larger screen, better and more practical anchor on bikes (I use the BTT and skinny) and some new utilities which was not available 305 in summary, my opinion "Excellent " in fact I bought one for my son who was in the same situation as me.
Rating: 5
GORE BIKE WEAR Xenon 2.0 - cycling gloves for men
It fits your hand like a glove, or as a second skin, are perfect With Gore you pay for quality and are not cheap exactly, but I have personally compensated those euro difference If you do kilometers and do not want complications, you want to be comfortable and not think about the tingling or stories, the best of the market in Gore there are other cheaper alternatives for people who do many kilometers.
Rating: 3
Polar V800 - Sport Watch GPS and H7 heart rate sensor HR Sensor, blue
The first is to comment that this watch has already been on the market a while making a couple of positive circumstances in my opinion, and any negative Among the positive aspects of this situation are given, include: - As this is a mature product the software is pretty slick, so I do not think you meet with major faults at the software level, make you crazy you again and See yourselves fooled by buying a watch over 300 € and that there is no way to go fine - Together with the above, as the product is ripe, it is easy to find some take an interest offer that leave the watch well below the 300 € with heart rate monitor included, which for a watch like this is a very interesting price on the negative side buying a mature product in the world of technology you you can imagine, although the product has only been a couple of years in the market, this couple of years watches multisport have been incorporating features and functionality that this watch will not come to see .
Rating: 4
I arrived in two days !! backpack piece for that money !! worth much more !!, one hundred percent recommended !, I imagined worse.
Rating: 3
Excelvan Q8 - Waterproof Sport Action Camera DV (2.0 "HD LCD screen, 4K, WIFI, 16Mp, 170 ° Wide Angle, Water-resistant to 30m, USB HDMI, Multi-Language), Silver
Hello everyone! = D 'First the contents of the box: Q8 DV camera 1x 1x 1x Waterproof housing 7x Bike Rack Mount Clip 1x 2x 4x band Helmet clip 1x Battery 2x 4x Adhesive Tapes Wire Rope 1x 1x 1x Charger 1x USB Cable Lens Cloth 1x user Manual As a first impression, abroad, gives a feeling of quality is all hard cardboard and plastic You open the box and see a common presentation, yet clearly stated and ordered Pros: -Imbatible value -Recording to 4k 30 actual frames -Wifi built -Accessories that allow you a wide experience in different aquatic -Covering circumstances, with buttons to operate the camera -Mode video, photography and slow motion -Multiple settings Castilian -In the menu He can see and play videos and photos on the camera Cons: -The battery does not last long, two hours maximum continuous recording mode in Full Hd -The wifi not have a powerful, barely two meters, so I do not really see him -The many useful accessories that brings not really help much important not come -Carece Micro SD.
Rating: 5
Garmin vívosmart® HR - bracelet integrated Garmin heart rate monitor activity Elevate
Hello I will try to contribute something to the comments of this product, I hope you have the patience to read it all ;-) I've been day to day with both bracelets the Fitbit Charge HR and Garmin Vivosmart HR for not just me deciding, well I'll tell you my experience with both day after day in these two weeks If at the end you useful please votadme positive thanks !! Short version: the end I prefer the Garmin for notifications, for better autonomy and be submersible EDITION: 3 months of use Ravishing with Garmin software bracelet itself is updated regularly and go for the version 310 add small features, for example you can now see the forecast weather to 5 days ahead if you touch on the screen forecasting day and the screen pulsations if you press can see a small graphic of the last hours with maximum and minimum frequency sometimes disconnect from the mobile, especially when donning and doffing the plane mobile mode, I guess it's "normal " and dependent on each mobile.
Rating: 4
Excelvan - Sports Camera (14MP, Display 2.0 ", Full HD H.264, 1080P, Waterproof 30M, HDMI, 170 Lens, Anti-Vibration) - Silver
In the first purchase to the seller, they sent me a camera used, without original tucked in bag and did not work box, returned it and choose to buy another different color gave my opinion on the previous purchase and the seller put in contact me to amend the criticism, and to do it would compensate me with sending a gift of a selfie stick, for Amazon not penalized in sales and in this case did not receive any obsiquio or bonus about it, what if conclucion bag is there to criticize everything that comes defective to be more responsible in shipments and things like that do not happen.
Rating: 5
GoPro HERO Session - Sports Camcorder 8MP (WiFi, submergible, 1030 mAh), black color
I am impressed with this GoPro I have read some negative reviews and I will try to rebut something I read somewhere: 1) The image quality is poor if you see from the app mobile but if you download it to your device quality is amazing I've used skiing and mountain biking (60 fps / 1080 / wide) and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of sound and image Someone had also commented that the upload videos to facebook not seen a lot of quality but that is due to the system compression facebook, not the device 2) to those critics who say the wifi still works after turning it off and consumes battery (unless you use the app GoPro to turn it off), tell them there's a second button on the back the device for changing the wifi from on to off I would recommend this GoPro to anyone looking for something cheap but complete action camera One of its shortcomings is that you can not change the battery but honestly believe that defects are overcome by their virtues , which are numerous If you give it a chance sure you will not disappoint.
Rating: 4
Hero4 Silver Edition GoPro Adventure - Sport Camcorder (12 Mp, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, waterproof to 40 m)
I have the HERO3 + Black and say I thought to buy a screen for this, but I saw this offer and I decided to buy it, and I was right full, as are the videos in low light, and the photos are amazing, the built-in display is that was missing from the 3 I'm very happy with it All I have changed the batteries, but hey, is not that they are not very expensive gopro eye hooks at the end faileth like Mike Bergsma opinion jajajajaa Large 14/07/15 : Now I'm happier than before yet, I have two 4 silver and lots of accessories, say no any computer can process video images in post, and software gopro study is rubbish but monumental USB cable fails and sometimes it's a bit boring.
Rating: 4
GHB Pulsometer Pulse Oximeter and Heart Rate Monitor with LED Display
Oximeters finger is used to measure oxygen saturation is a small device that attaches to the tip of the finger and throws two beams of light, one red and one infrared, through the patient's skin Light beams allow the oximeter reading small changes in color of the patient's blood caused by the pulse, which in turn provides an estimated immediate saturation of oxygen in blood oximeters finger measurement are more accurate when stronger our pulse it is normal to have between 95% and 100%, below 90% is with hypoxemia understood, and an oxygen level in the blood below 80% is known as severe hypoxemia that is the difficulty breathing, is the main symptom of hypoxemia This oximeter is pretty good, I've been trying for a long time, and all measurements has been very accurate, powered by two AAA batteries that are not included it's really small and weight too, as you can see images in short, a device that helps us maintain our health in perfect condition for comment Product loan.
Rating: 3
Tabiger Sport water bottle foldable silicone Safety leakproof (4 Colours: Black, Purple, Orange, Blue) (A-Black)
I arrived this week the bottle and I feel great is a bottle that is closed with a lid, that I think is very important because there are many who do not have close and if you carry in a backpack can get dirty nozzle where babies The fact that is not rigid silicone seems very good idea, because you can carry in your backpack the gym and does not occupy space and almost no weight and is comfortable to carry hiking.
Rating: 5
Polar M400 - Clock integrated GPS training and activity log with H7 heart rate sensor, blue
I wanted a clock / pulse monitor quality but simple and good price and has fully met my expectations usually combining career training and toning 1 hour and the battery lasts me 4-5 workouts GPS picks it up pretty fast and even indicates "do not move, detecting GPS signal "is not necessary to stand, it also gets moving has several default sports, me suits me very well for what I do, because I put in so " run "for the race and " another outdoor "for toning and so I keep them separately and see better results have iphone and app for IOS had very poor ratings in the appstore but the truth is that it works for me perfect, I have not had any problems synchronization not I tried riding a bike, perhaps it falls a bit short of battery for very long routes where it takes out the GPS (which is what most battery consumes) as the clock is comfortable but a little big for girl, I do not care because you only use it for exercise, I do not wear it all day like bracelet activity.
Rating: 4
Garmin Forerunner 230 - GPS clock and functions carreja Connection, unisex, yellow and black color, size Regular
It is the replacement for previous versions of the forerunner in fact includes most functions of the model 620, but adding larger screen and a duration of the much larger battery In fact the battery is what most pleased I am, because notifications plugged all day long, 24/7 monitoring of the activities performed and run out 4 times a week 45 minutes, the battery lasts about 7 or 8 days no integrated heart rate monitor, but after much reading, for me it was not the time to have one, come from a Tomtom with integrated heart rate monitor and lectures were very erratic thrilled with this smartwach / clock running Store delivery was two days and through SEUR.
Rating: 3
VicTsing - 4 Units x16 Led Solar Light with motion sensor including outdoor Patio, Hall, Garden, Porch and Garage
It is a really powerful solar focus, with 16 LED 'S can not be compared, even remotely, to MPOW 8 LED ' s Although in a matter of options is very limited, as only fit option turned on or off This power button is on hand, at the front, which enables us to manipulate it without being off the hook by turning, what we get is to give us half power overnight until it detects movement and turns at full capacity a eye would say gives a light equivalent of 15W lED, getting dimly illuminate a patio about 10 meters by 6 meters (when fully operational) the motion sensor is dont really effective, but works best when movement occurs at sides, rather than front (something common to all these models) on cloudy days the charge is not made complete, at least where I have it installed in shaded area Hold the middle of the night But if the load is complete, functioning round 8 hours something enough for summer nights, but falls somewhat short for the winter evenings, where you have to be working from 18:00 pm until 06:30 am.
Rating: 5
Topop Sport Waterproof camera 1080p 12MP Image and Video, Support resistant to 30 m, Lens Wide Angle 170 Degrees with 2-inch LCD for Multiple Sports Accessories Outdoor Display.
This sport camera or "action camera " becomes an economic version of the famous GoPro eye, not because economic means you do not have quality Comes in a cardboard box with 3 subcajas inside In one of them found the camera within its waterproof housing (up to 30 m) and the other two a lot of accessories that attach it to the bike, take it on the wrist, ride in a helmet, on one side of the camera slot microSD card (not included), the micro USB connection to charge and transfer data to the computer and an HDMI connection on the other side, the selection buttons to move through menus, and on the front and the top two more buttons to set it up, record, stop, the camera menu, which by default is in English but you can put in Spanish, has many configuration options, loop recording, white balance, ISO control, to I econtrado an option of image stabilization, I have not tried to see how it works.
Rating: 5
Garmin Forerunner 630 HRM - GPS Watch with Heart Rate Monitor HRM, blue
Just great The battery life exceeds the week with a pair of outputs running perfect as always Shipment By putting a small but, the brightness of the screen is a bit low for my taste and the battery life you have.
Rating: 5
the presentation of their measurements, the ability to pass all the computer communicate with the other person while doing your recoorrido so you can see your way, finally exceptional GPS device.
Rating: 4
Garmin Edge 520 - GPS bike computer (screen 2.3 ", Garmin Connect, ANT + power sensor, up to 15 hours autonomy), black - pack with device and accessories
The team is very complete, has many functions and possibilities to configure the screens according to your needs is easy to use and very intuitive, notifies calls and messages to reach the phone if connected via bluethoot a very good feature is what they call strava live segments , which displays real-time segments strava, you can compete against your best time or the KOM of each segment in the GPS, when you walk into a segment, an arrow indicating your best time or the KOM of that segment appears and then another arrow with your current position, which can train like you compitieras virtually another screen you can see an animated with two bicyclists drawn sideways chart indicating the separation between your best time and your current time (virtual partner) all I think not worth buying is the heart rate sensor is of very poor quality, is not waterproof and sweat battery rusts, and I changed it under warranty, but I think I will not buy any other sensor use and better quality if not for that sensor would give 5 stars.
Rating: 3
X-Loop Polarized Sunglasses - Sunglasses Sport Cycling - UV400 (UVA and UVB)
They have UV400 protection, and are polarized, perfect to eliminate reflections of the sun, especially the reflections on the water surface have a good price, and are ideal for not jeopardize our most expensive glasses to contour They adapt very well head and are comfortable, weigh nothing.
Rating: 5
Mantona Trekking - SLR Camera Backpack (waterproof, chest strap), black color
I preferred to wait some time of use to review with better knowledge Other previous reviewers have already highlighted qualities that I share in full: size / capacity; quality / price ratio; opening in back (attached to the back); Tripod transport; exterior side pockets are easily transported a body of professional type (Nikon D300 grip, in my case) with a mounted target average (Sigma 17-50 HSM) Besides, let us holes for: A telephoto type Tanrom 70-300 in its sheath; a flash or the like; a fixed lens and small accessories such as filters, brackets, etc. Inside the main compartment is a kind of chest "shielded ", removable and which is accessed by a zipper I guess is to transport very delicate items, although its space is not very generous, relative to the volume occupied by the piece I use it to keep a spare battery, a trigger level, small pieces that are often lost if they are not well kept, etc. the chest, on your site makes fixing and hold the camera body.
Rating: 4
Campingaz Backpack - Flexible Refrigerator, 14 l
Known as the model of backpack-cooler 12 liters of Campingaz, I had always been very successful keeping for hours food cold, even in summer on the beach with much heat in the atmosphere This model is 14 liters more larger than 12, although there are a few things that have changed I do not like as much as in the previous model: the base of the backpack is no longer rigid as before (it deforms below to get large bottles) and interior material has touch as more than "bad plastic " that the model 12 liter earlier, which seemed more upscale otherwise it is great and does the job shipping within the deadline set by Amazon although it was a little more slower than at other times.
Rating: 4
Highlander Discovery - Hiking Backpack
I bought the backpack of 45 liters to make trekking or fly without having to check in for both complies easily holds about eight kilos of material with the bag and mat, which can be also outside can be filled with more because there is a extensor sheath in the head and backpack gives himself, plus there are numerous hooks to adjust the volume, but is intended for light luggage or weeks paths where few things (a path of Santiago 25-30 days in summer, use a adventure trip to another country ten days, etc.) the materials are good within its range, backpack transmits a good feeling, both in design and in pockets and accessories Among the nice touches, has a lower access that can connect to the rest of the pack or not, ideal for not having to remove everything to get some background also has a rain cover built and numerous pockets and zippers I particularly liked the cushions for back and lumbar area are very comfortable and padded with a system for air to run and not sweat.
Rating: 4
Techair TANZ0713V2 - Laptop Backpack 17.3 ", black color
I was scared to buy this product, since all the backpacks of this segment of certain quality exceed 50 € without problem, which was not very optimistic about terms of quality The surprise has been capitalized, I found witha backpack high quality, comfortable, spacious and well finished quality zippers is more than acceptable, glide smoothly and handles are metal, the outside, which a priori seems impervious is very well finished and looks robust Another fear that had was to enter without problem my laptop 173 "which is a little bigger than usual, is a MSI GE72 Apache Pro I have plenty of space for a gamepad, a mouse gaming and charger portable Bring a compartment for documents and warranty LIFETIME manufacturer is certainly a purchase more than recommended Amazon urge to do better product photos, of course not do justice.
Rating: 5
FREETOO fanny running, sports belt, impermeable to sweat and pocket Reflective iPhone 6S / S PLUS with a transparent window and touch
Product loan from Freetoo We are before a fanny pack for iPhone 6 plus, but can also serve mobile 55 "Iwould 6" I've tried it with the ulefone be touch 2 and fits like a glove The fanny pack is made of neoprene part and lycra material which makes it very soft and comfortable, and allows optimum breathability and withstand being wet without any problem, because the anger phone protected at all times, making it impossible to get wet also has several compartments to save keys, coins, notes, headphones, etc ... and it is best to not be in contact with the mobile a that also add him to have holes to introduce headphones, although ideally use it with a bluetooth Conclusion This fanny pack is very well finished and is an indispensable accessory if you like jogging or do some kind of sport comfortable way to carry mobile without fear of losing it also has enough space to carry things that we can do foul the maximum width that supports is 110 cm Greetings D Mike MQ.
Rating: 3
Laptop Backpack M Samsonite Guardit 15 "- 16 " Suitcases and trolleys, 45 cm, 22 L, Grey (Grey)
I must say first that finishes the backpack are very good including zips and overall design is made to last (is made of polyester) The backpack has 3 main compartments and 2 side Starting in the main in order from front to back : - First compartment with subdivisions for storage of small size such as wallets, powerbanks, mobile, moleskine, etc. to give you an idea derrick iPad Air within this compartment without problems -Second: this is "bound " to get books or folders to normal sheet size and fit you can fit a small file without problems also comes with a pocket to put your tablet 10 "(or whatever you want) - Third: it is the largest compartment, the which is "destined " to put a laptop with an approximate size 15-16 "One of 17 " if that would be wide but not high also comes with pocket tablet about 10 "The other side compartments are the red front pocket and compartment for glasses are spaces to put what you want not very large.
Rating: 3
It has met my expectations in an excellent way Good value for money, the fabric is waterproof except zippers, one aspect to enhance However, its capacity is well distributed in different pockets, and perfect ergonomics'm glad we purchased.
Rating: 3
Port Designs Houston - transport Backpack Laptop
Usually go to work by bicycle and needed something comfortable to carry my 15-inch notebook, as well as various accessories and also some other accessory bike itself, such as cameras, inflates etc. The truth is that in the backpack comes around, my macbook pro 15 ", my iPad Air, and the helmet, gloves, covers etc have not missed any space more, plus the backpack is not to be excessively large is very comfortable to wear, the truth that the handles shoulder is very padded note the material seems good quality and its interior is well protected for laptop and tablet I've even led to a route by bike through the countryside and I found it very comfortable to wear only echo in It needs to have to also fasten around the waist a great product, very complete, with many pockets and large capacity, and a good price for what it offers.
Rating: 4
HP Value 15.6 Backpack - Backpack for laptops up to 15.6 ", gray and blue
Lightweight, has many internal pockets and good quality Very durable outside and waterproof The color is a little darker than it looks in the photos but is gray has a vertical outer pocket that is not very practical but I understand that so did the design is intended to carry laptop and tablet, large notebook, pens and laptop accessories have smaller pockets to carry more stuff, keys, business cards, tec cost me 20 €, so I find amazing value -price.
Rating: 3
S-ZONE vintage fabric and genuine leather backpack laptop up to 15.6 "
I was torn between this bag and other all-leather In the end I think I hit the nail as well as being gorgeous backpack, hold better the weather, like rain As said earlier a vintage design and a large interior and loose to bring a thousand things a great buy.
Rating: 3
The best; price and product quality one of the few backpacks with exact measurements for Ryan Air and other low cost vueling airlines, EasyJet, Aer Lingus etc.
Rating: 3
Mantona Rhodolit - SLR Camera Backpack (waterproof, breathable padding AirMesh, chest strap), black color
Today I got this bag, looking for something broad, versatile and good quality, and I do not miss it fits my computer, a D90 with grip with the Tokina 11-16 mounted a Sigma 28-70 (grandecito also), 18 55-200 -55 and 50mm kiteros and 18, along with a large flash and another medium This is what fits, overrunning little space in the specific area for photographic materials, in an inside pocket in the same area fit a pair of batteries parts, a couple of packs of batteries and a small box of cigarettes which carry memory cards also padded pocket that is over this area is very wide, roughly the size of a pack 6 cans and in the rear there is a cinch to tie the tripod and a small bowl that lies to the base thereof, takes quite comfortably, I have a Velbon Sherpa 250 goes smoothly Apart from this backpack has some very ingenious solutions, such as a system for use only one of the cross handles, hiding the other in a compartment behind the back padding, or the upper handle perpendicular to the back, very comfortable and more durable (these seams are often broken).
Rating: 3
OUTAD Aotu Ergonomic Waterproof Hiking Backpack 40L for Travel Tours Parks
Product purchased coupon-discount manufacturer / seller with the sole commitment to write an objective review - has a generously sized 40 liters adding all the spaces - Great set has a large main room with an interior compartment that would locate a camelbag 3 liters without problems (not included) by removing the cannula through the hole mark "headphone " which comes uncut has another large space with access from another zipper on the outside and several more including 3 small pockets, one in the padded belt with direct access without removing the backpack, perfect for mobile also has 1 large open pocket closed with only one strap, perfect for hand carrying a polar, a raincoat, a helmet for bike.
Rating: 4
Mountaintop Hiking 40L Backpack Outdoor / Hiking Backpack / Bag Backpack Sport Climbing backpack with rain cover 51x35x16CM 5812II Azur
Roomy and comfortable backpack for heading out for field trips, camping, or perform any type of sports activity, also because of its size but the truth is quite biggie we can serve to travel if we are people who do not carry a lot of things, a very long journey we would stay small has a capacity of 40 L is made of a very light and easy to clean fabric if we are dirty but quite sturdy, it is very comfortable to wear because both its handles and the front where we will support the back is padded besides that we reduce the sense of weight in men considerably its back panel is highly breathable their endings and finishes are good, all both inseams and exterior are reinforced and zippers are of good quality straps shoulders and waist are adjustable to graduate them to our body and to carry comfortably.
Rating: 4
A very good article, as does this brand to carry the notebook or 12-inch tablet to introduce clothes, cablesperfecta, fits great to the back is quite large, the size may not be the ideal for everyday use.
Rating: 3
Logitech K400 Plus - Wireless keyboard with TouchPad Spanish built QWERTY mousepad. Color black.
The keyboard itself is exactly as presented on the official website or here is true that it is more plastic than I expected on the other hand makes it very lightweight forever have him back and forth wide apart to be a compact keys and with many quick options in the F keys ideal for TV, multimedia centers or raspberry the trapad fine with the possibility of left click on the top left esquiena Good keyboard for its function, lightweight, comfortable and with many shortcuts, although more plastiquete I expected (considering that it is logitech) My problemaque was open I bought it for presale, evidently takes longer (I assume) but came open case, batteries installed (yes the stickers on the keyboard were coming intact) guess they returned as had long without receiving new and had already been waiting two weeks they sent me this operate all the keys but I hope not take no surprise But of course as you show that came open.
Rating: 3
Samsung Evo MB-MP64DA / EU - Memory Card 64GB micro SDXC (UHS-I Grade 1, Class 10 with SD adapter)
Edito April 2016: Someone has asked me for the application you used to recover lost in tarjetaTrabajé PC files under Windows I tested several very effective, that after a couple of hours rescued almost everything and I showed him, but I demanded to go through $$ box to access files that finally worked for me was very good ZAR X (za-recovery), which is located on the website of the name I have bracketed have a paid version, but allows a free version whose only limitation it is that rescues only photos and videos as was what he intended to rescue, those pictures that we accumulate and at least I'm not wise enough to support them externally from time to time, I used with 100% satisfaction must have patience , can you take from 2 to 4 hours If the problem is corruption of the FAT card (it is in 90% of the time) redeem everything.
Rating: 5
SanDisk SDSDXNE-064G-GZFIN Extreme SDXC Memory Card 64GB (up to 90 MB / s, Class 10 U3)
I bought it last pre-Black Friday deal, but mostly because it was the Extreme 60MB / S and I was super good (I put the photos) +++ +++ 04.01.2016 Update to date I modified the review and now I say only "somewhat disappointed " for the writing speed and I uploaded 2 stars to 4 stars the truth that I finally I have been, and use a camera in which I record HD video to the camera you have left with the speed of this card for HD video But the transfer to the PC, plenty noticeable speed copy to the PC, in this scenario, is a highly recommended card Therefore, if you are not going to use a camera or any device that is capable of squeezing the writing speed (which already in itself is good, what happens is that the previous model was better) the fact that the value, worth +++ +++ update so I used Cristaldiskmark 503 My Sandisk extreme 60MB / s reads and writes 66 to 72 this that I bought Sandisk extreme 90MB / s reads 91, but writes 49 !!! that is 22MB / s less than 60MB / S My microSD Samsung 89 Pro reads, but writes to 79 have used this reader.
Rating: 4
SanDisk Ultra - Micro SDHC Card 32GB (with SD adapter, 80 MB / s, UHS-I, Class 10)
I bought this micro SD for a mobile phone, as needed storage capacity and also a good transfer of data, I tested with large files, and smaller file but lots of it, and the transfer rate has been good, and best price I leave an image of the test to which I subjected to this micro SD, made with Crystal Disk Marl program in its portable version.
Rating: 5
AUKEY 20000mAh External Battery for iPhone, Samsung, iPad, LG, HTC, Kindle, Tablets etc, Input 5V / 2.1A and 5V / 3.1A Max Output 2 Port, LED Indicator and Flash (Black)
I've been quite surprised with this product, honestly I'm going to explain to parties: Packaging: Excellent Nice, simple, minimalist, but useful Reminds me of packaged Apple, keeping distances Battery: For now works pretty well have as much capacity as promises I've only used one week, but for now great battery Indicator: not very accurate, but given the great ability is no problem Measures "only " intervals 5000 mAh USB Outputs: Excellent, give both Voltage Amperage as promised Excellent Materials: very good Surprised I did not know this brand before buying this product, but now, I would definitely recommend buying.
Rating: 4
AUKEY 54W Quick Charge 2.0 5 Port USB Desktop Charging Station, 4 Port with AiPower Technology, 1 Port with Quick Charge Technology 2.0 for Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge / S6 / S6 Edge, HTC, iPhone 6s and more; Including a Micro USB Cable 3.3ft (Black)
The AUKEY Quick Charge 20 Wall Charger 54W, 4 * Ports AiPower + 1 serves to recharge all those devices with a USB power outlet Battery is very versatile because it is portable The battery is charged by connecting to the current battery Aukey is very easy to use and compatible with almost all the devices on the market is super-handy as it weighs very little, only weighs about 358 grams and it is also very small size and its dimensions are 14.6 x 13 , 8 x 3.7 cm == design == Its design is quite modern in black fast charging station has 5 USB inputs to connect 5 devices at once come correctly identified == Advantages == * Weighs little * * very simple quick charge to use * Price == Disadvantages == * == Conclusion == None disadvantage my experience I recommend this product because it is very practical, easy to carry anywhere because of their small size, you can save anywhere because of their small size and weight This has a quite adequate price Fully recommended.
Rating: 5
AUKEY Magnetic Air Car Mobile Support Universal Smartphone Holder for Car Air Grilles for iPhone 6s / 6 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S6 / Note 4 / LG G3 and GPS Device (Black)
Product Leased by AukeyDirect Magnetic vents _LLevo support some time using this system magnetic base consists of a base that incorporates 4 small magnets at the rear parate have a clamp that allows the anchor grid our vehicle have two a rectangular metal badges and a round rectangular _Chapa: Measures 45x65x0,4mm this allows us to have more magnetic field also is much finer, for this reason is more comfortable and is something that I prefer to use _Chapa round: Measures 38x1mm, has one side which allows us to stick, smaller but somewhat thicker _Instalación of veneer: veneers can be glued directly to the housing within the smartphone smartphone ,, or between the smartphone and a sheath, if we use it _Instalación Base : the base fits in the vents of the vehicle is a "valid " support for almost all vehicles, with some "buts " the clip has to be fed properly, if the 4 points exerting pressure much better .
Rating: 5
SDSQUNC-128G SanDisk Ultra Android-GZFMA microSDXC memory card 128 GB (with SD adapter, up to 80 MB / s, Class 10)
I bought this micro SD for a mobile phone, as needed storage capacity and also a good transfer of data, I tested with large files, and smaller file but lots of it, and the transfer rate has been good, and best price I leave an image of the test to which I subjected to this micro SD, made with Crystal Disk Marl program in its portable version.
Rating: 4
Doogee X5 - 3G Android 5.1 Smartphone Free (Quad Core, 5.0 "IPS 1280 * 720 HD, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, 5.0MP Camera, Dual SIM, GPS, OTG) Cell, color Black
The Doogee X5 is a basic terminal with very similar to others in the same range features, except that it has a very attractive price for its moderate performance and quality best: - The price! - The HD display with very good brightness ratio and color, in addition to my personal judgment have the ideal size of 5 inches - Your rom stock is based on Android Lollipop and includes Google services from the initial power, implementation by Doogee practically no bloatware and proprietary applications 'invasive ' or unnecessary - the answer phone in everyday tasks is excellent, its performance is optimal - Dual SIM Downsides: - the volume of calls is a little low, is not critical, but it should be something to be considered by manufacturers anyway understand that with the tools to MTK and way of 'engineer ' you can modify the values to improve the volume of both the microphone and the Mejorable headset - speed liaison with GPS for geolocation mode 'only GPS ' ** Product received for objective analysis.
Rating: 4
AUKEY Bluetooth 4.1 Stereo Headset with Microphone for Running Sports Helmets Hands Free for iPhone, iPad, LG, Samsung and Other Mobile Phones Smartphones (Blue EP-B13) Sports
So far it seems they are behaving properly these headphones are easy to tie, have an acceptable battery life The'm using almost two hours a day they are very good to go running, but would not recommend for gymnasium, as the handset is anchored outside the ear, which does not isolate you completely from outside noise (music from the gym for example), which is an advantage for those who run be alert at all times.
Rating: 5
EU BOOM 2 - Portable Speaker (NFC, Bluetooth, USB, Li-ion), black color
To see how start and explained that it is a very expensive speaker sound offered and that even benefits that have are the most comprehensive in the market but after a week almost certainly me stay Let's start I paid 229 euros in amazon because they have had two weeks at this price no stock but when reached them I sent him the money bought a week ago If I had to pay 299 euros not buy or "sick of wine " I bought you the next speaker in last 3 months: Braven 850, a benefit more than the Mega how to load iphone and ipad and pause buttons forward and reverse design in aeronautic aluminum 20 w power Sold as not convince me sound and distorted enough with tennis chill out, house and pop a shame because it was very nice cost me 179 euros in Braven europe I lost money Denon Envaya beautiful but too low to drown the rest of ranges in the acute oia Braven in the Envaya hardly perceived high volume distortion Refunded Tdk a34 I liked sound much I recommend I buy white for 99 euros on Amazon for christmas week and returned it you can see my review.
Rating: 5
Pilot poweradd 2GS 10000mAh (2.1A + 1A) Portable External Battery Charger Mobile Power Bank for iPhone iPad (Apple adapters not included), Samsung devices, other Android over and More - silvered
I bought this powerbank to charge my devices when I have to travel for this reason I have decided to mention to my impressions I hope you find them useful 1-THE CONTENT OF THE BOX Inside the box is the following: --The powerbank - -a-USB microUSB cable for charging instructions in several languages --The two-EL POWERBANK the truth that right out of the box is seen to have quality coated aluminum, has rounded edges, measuring approximately 14x7x1,5 centimeters and weighs 263 grams Its capacity is 10,000 mAh, which will allow us to charge between 4 or 5 times our mobile depending on the battery with on one side we have all connectors This powerbank specifically has two USB ports 5 V to load devices, one of 1A and a 21A, so we can choose one or the other depending on the device to charge this side there is also a microUSB connector for charging, a button on / off and four white LEDs that indicates the capacity of charge remaining in the powerbank Each lED indicates 25% charge.
Rating: 5
Zookki 40 in 1 Accessory for GoPro Hero 4 3+ 3 2 1 Black Silver Accessory Kit for GoPro 4 3+ 3 2 1 Black Silver SJ4000 SJ5000 SJ6000, game accessories Camera for GoPro Hero2 Hero3 + Hero4 hero3
The accessory pack is very successful but with some problems: 1- selfie stick rotates the camera alone and is not very good subject (to be seen how long endure if corrosion) 2- The tripod got me loose nut and accessory that lets you put the camera does not just look good subject (I had to put a pair of washers to make stop) 3- the yellow buoy worked very well until one day it was impossible to finish threading the nut that holds the Gopro 4- one of the nuts to secure the Gopro not work (I guess the screw was too small) 5- in some of the accessories that are anchored directly to the Gopro (where you put the screw to secure the camera) costs get the camera to put 6- screw One of these accessories (especially the circular goes to the top of the tripod or stick selfie) soon broke most useful accessories are the caliper kit head and chest'm not unhappy with the kit but do not expect to find so many faults I have yet to see how this arrangement.
Rating: 4
Huawei P8 Lite - Free Android Smartphone (display 5 ", 13MP camera, 16GB, HISILICON Kirin 620 Octa Core 1.2GHz, 2GB RAM), black color
Mobile bought as a gift for a family member, after comparative depth with other mobile Its price, the quality of your camera and having two gbs of RAM were the main determinants of purchase, after reading many comparative It cost 170 euros in spring 2016 Your fluctuates price, but sise wait a few days is down to 170 I guess in the future down something else I have a Galaxy S6 and this Huawei has caused me a great impression must say that once in the hand he is seen as a mobile quality When power is turned on, the colors of the screen are vivid and pleasant in normal operation not notice much difference with the reference jump from one program to another smoothly and without problems or lag any his cloak EMUI, not me poses no problem adapting when I catch him occasionally, or notice the difference Va with a cover to protect it we buy here like the is noteworthy camera tempered glass makes a splendid and very competitive photos with any mobile quality No beauty set your filter, which is rather designed to appear whiter and the more long face.
Rating: 4
Bose ® SoundSport® - sports in-ear headphones, black color
I'm pretty picky about auticulares in general for several reasons: i) can not stand to have a few uncomfortable headphones, ii) I bought many that the medium term have had problems with the sound fragile cables (and speak good brands), iii ) and I also want to play sports (for listening to music at home and I have some on-ear) so I need to be subject well and iv) I like that sound good (I'm not superexigente but I notice when headphones are bad) Bose SoundSport have met all my expectations by far they fit well, are comfortable hear great and it shows that are quality recommend them to anyone who is demanding with headphones and is willing to spend enough BEST - amazing sound (especially in low) - they are comfortable - resistant sweat - the design is nice - mark WORST - are somewhat expensive - Accustomed to other in-ear you may seem to get a little loose inside the ear but you get used quickly and They do not fall through the outer grip.
Rating: 4
AUKEY Quick Charge 3.0 34.5W Car Charger with Dual Port Technology AiPower Adaptive Charging for Samsung Galaxy S7, G5 LG, HTC One A9, N6, and iPhone 6s (Micro USB Cable Included 1 meter) -Black
MARAVILLOSO Phone: LG Google Nexus 5 Car: C4 Coupe 2006 35 minutes charging while driving with the application Waze open, active route, screen on, sound alerts via phone audio Beginning with 4% battery Under Car with 45% battery load faster than the wall charger that came with the phone, indeed, faster than any of the chargers I have at home other brands (LG, HTC, Samsung, BQ, BlackBerry battery loaded ).
Rating: 5
Vtin Eypro 1 Sport Camera 1080p WIFI 12MP Waterproof, resistant to 30m with Accessory Kit
Very good image quality The packaging box is super fast order but the best are its 2 batteries that have plus multiple accessories For little money more worthwhile, and if you do not buy a go pro I have to say that is not far from go pro is a good camera As a gift the person will be happy.
Rating: 5
Logitech G29 - Volante
Actually, it is a G27 with a wash of Same face finishes (leather, metal), same operation and some improvements Not much more is a G27 itself, but a G27 that works on PS4 aspect seems to me quite nice There are people to which he looks ugly on the issue of having so many buttons how nice it is not eaten, but if I tell you one thing: that both botoncito is a small downside I see it, is that the buttons appear to be random posts is quite uncomfortable button presses in fact, some is impossible to press them at the screen the PS the Option button and the Share can not be more together and I assure you that when you want to pause the game, you will draw a capture, when you want to make a will go photo to the main menu PS a nuisance issue will get used, but it is much more difficult than it should have been L2 / L3 and R2 / R3 are not very handy base is practically the same: - | The pedals seem identical, but they have improved brake treading agreement it is becoming stiff and that makes it more real Little else occurs to me add: Pros: - Finished.
Rating: 3
Tepoinn - Virtual Reality Glasses
Are glasses for VR-oriented phones are comfortable and all parts that come into contact with the glasses are well padded, imitation leather, which is not nailed or forehead or nose as with versions of cardboard it includes several elements of the glasses own a strap to hold our head is assembled, a cloth to clean the lenses and as a gift, a small pencil for mobile and tablets (which by the way I find I sense the inclusion) Includes two small knobs, one for adjusting the distance entered eyes and a wheel to separate them (you can use with glasses) Although they are well constructed and materials are quality, not hurt to have first included some type of action button required for some games like do have the cardboard (silver on the top right button) to view videos 360 for example perfect, tested in a S6 and Nexus 5X phone is securely fastened and no chance to rub placed sources is protected by some pieces of foam.
Rating: 4
Duronic BL1200 - Blender 1200W -stainless steel - 3 Prefunciones for Shakes, Chopping Ice and cleaning ...
I do not know what will last, but it looks strong and powerful This is the third mixer vessel bought in my life The first (cheapie), the descambié nothing to buy The propeller had less force than a pinwheel The second (also baratita) I did not use or ten times and the engine literally burned (came smoke and all), just start to shred a Conclusion humus: recommend buying a powerful and glass blender to withstand the cold and heat the seller sends invoice to preserve as 1 year warranty).
Rating: 4
Russell Hobbs 18996-56 Desire - Blender, glass cup 1.5 l capacity, 2 speed, function ...
When he got home blender I felt, at first, a desire to return Why? Its huge size however decided to give it a try and at least try to write a review about their quality Watching her work, my doubts were disappearing gradually is true that it is a very large device (comparison in the photo with a bottle 0 '75l), but it is also true that it is very good quality blades, stainless steel are repera I've put to work with frozen fruit, carrots and even with ice, and may yet not being a blender not going to make a carrot in liquid, but if base miss orange juice, for example, be a fine, fine texture, like a gazpacho Regarding noise, I read somewhere complaints, but to me the And I do not mind really am a very fastidious person noises not more scandalous than a hand mixer Pros: -Design nice -Powerful -Number acceptable noise Easy to clean dishwasher compatible with thick glass JUG Cons: -Size -for its way too big can not prepare a single serving.
Rating: 3
The mixer was fancy, but three months has failed! Bosch is now in the service that goes with grief, for a blender take 1.5 months !!! Not how soon paara refrigerator.
Rating: 4
Ufesa BS4798 - Blender (Stainless Steel, Glass, Stainless Steel, Silver, Transparent, 800 W, 2.5A ...
Good device with a defect that requires very careful cleaning the exhaust system of the blades is unthreaded, is fixed by a rotation of a few degrees If you are not properly secured the vessel loses its contents may affect the engine.
Rating: 5
I loved my first appliance purchased on Amazon works great and has very good finishes I am very happy.
Rating: 5
Braun MQ325 omlette - Minipimer 550 W, rod mixer
I have had other blenders in which the top of the chopper could not be put under water, which, or you resignabas to quedase some other foods, or, eventually, the gear rusted and food not I could nibble because the oxide fell on it in the blender all accessories (except the part that attaches the whisk egg whites with the engine and, of course, the motor) can be washed with soap and water, and even enter into the dishwasher I looked at many beaters before deciding on this and very few specify that you can wash the picador accessory, information that seems very important power is more than enough game, I tried blenders 750w and I do not think that the difference is remarkable highly recommended , especially for the convenience for cleaning.
Rating: 5
Braun MQ 745 Aperitif Multiquick 7 - Minipimer (Blender with accessories)
After seeing several reviews of this blender, I decided to buy it is very powerful bites and beats everything effortlessly, although it is quite noisy with that power not expect less Includes various accessories which are indispensable, apparently with good quality, time will tell function variable speed according to the press of the button, it is very comfortable and precise blades are easy to clean has a button on top "head ", you'd have to press every time the want to use, it is designed for being lying and connected to the mains, do not put it on accidentally, which see very important just see him a but, and why not put it 5 stars, is that the body where you pick to work, it is a kind of rubbery material, which is quite dirty and difficult to clean, yes, grab very well recommend without doubt, for those who are looking for a mixer quality, with accessories and value for money very good, because with less power and equality of accessories, there are more expensive and no better.
Rating: 5
Braun Multiquick 5 Vario MQ 5000 - Blender 750 W, 21 speeds and turbo, splash, white and gray
I bought this product because my parents have like one of this brand (although older) and had always liked I've already used a while and the truth is that she looks very robust'm very happy with the operation of this mixer, beat the food great and having a wheel with which you can tune the speed of shake seems like a good idea, because you can go adjusted finely as you go beating to make it the food to your liking if you're doing a sauce (mayonnaise or similar) is great because it allows you to fine tune how you want to beat and this is very useful for example in sauces that can be cut or so as for the assembly, disassembly and easy cleaning, is also perfect mounts pressing simultaneously a small side buttons and fits perfectly same for dismantling: you press the buttons and leaves only addition, the seal between the plastic that holds the rod and the rod is seen very firm (on another I had another brand, it's over out and could slide the plastic part by the rod; a disaster).
Rating: 4
Russell Hobbs 21350-56 Kitchen Collection Mix & Go Cool - Mini blender 300 W, ice blade includes 2 ...
Comfortable to use and powerful enough occupies little and management is simple and intuitive I like the fact that you have to close the bottle and then place is safer than a arm or jar not give 5 stars because in the description puts free of BPA and puts him or not bottles or the box, either web.
Rating: 5
Arendo - 3,000 W turbo Tea kettle watts / fine steel retro design (shape teapot) | cooking...
Product released by CSL-Computer We are facing a kettle of 18 liters of maximum capacity wireless is a kettle all stainless steel shaped retro teapot use is very simple, fill the kettle with the amount of water to be heated, give the power button and will be launched once you reach that temperature will stop only thanks to its 3000w power guarantees quick cooking the water outlet has a small lime filter for places that have a higher rate lime the kettle is positioned on a base that can rotate 360 degrees the boiler, that base is what gives the power of boiled Conclusion a product that provide us the warm water fast, we add him that he has a very cool retro design It makes it very attractive even can expose stay nice and has a medium size and its handling is very simple Greetings D Mike MQ.
Rating: 4
Moulinex A320R1 - mincer, 700 W, 0.6 l
It is a model (the made in Spain version) that haunts my mother's house for a thousand years, I have another like it was my grandmother and works flawlessly As there were few I Tripití the model with glass for another home and although it is made in Thailand seems that I have not burned I like because power and chopped looks like a coffee grinder, but you can put moist foods like meat other I used to put almonds or hazelnuts have died, I do not think it is asking too much to a mincer but concoctions If you want to burn more liquid or shakes you put the glass and voila, you save the blender (those have perished 3 in this house, very cute and glass, but do not want more).
Rating: 4
Samsung 850 EVO - Hard drive solid internal SSD (SSD 500GB Serial ATA), black
Light, fast and easy to install If you want to clone your current startup disk and not disponéis SATA-USB to do with the tool provided by Samsung, advise useis Aomei Partition Assistant Standard (Free for PC) or SuperDuper! (Free for Mac) It is important that your BIOS has support AHCI to get all the juice and the operating system support (TRIM) Without AHCI detects and operates per the low yield about 220 MB / s (faster than HDD yet) TRIM is available in Windows 7 and MacOS Lion or higher in earlier versions can be installed with drivers I think (ie: winXP).
Rating: 3
The terminal was for a person of 80 years, already handled with Samsung, so it must have characteristics similar to the previous size and I see it also suitable for a first smartphone in a pre-teen.
Rating: 3
Excellent cover, fits perfectly and frees all buttons and connections The mejortotal transparency recommend it remains very well revealing the original design of mobile.
Rating: 4
Samsung Galaxy edge S7 - Free Android Smartphone (screen 5.5 ", 12 MP camera, 32 GB, 2.3 GHz Exynos 8, 4 GB ...
I have previously purchased the S7 normal and is a machine although I came defective and returned it and I took this to my opinion the price difference is worth really worth the details of the screen edge or the battery a lot noticeable already without being precious fine and gives a perfect grip, s7 is thicker and gives another way to catch Let s7 edge smartphone the best in every way!.
Rating: 4
Samsung Galaxy edge S7 - Free Android Smartphone (screen 5.5 ", 12 MP camera, 32 GB, 2.3 GHz Exynos 8, 4 GB ...
I have previously purchased the S7 normal and is a machine although I came defective and returned it and I took this to my opinion the price difference is worth really worth the details of the screen edge or the battery a lot noticeable already without being precious fine and gives a perfect grip, s7 is thicker and gives another way to catch Let s7 edge smartphone the best in every way!.
Rating: 4
Samsung Galaxy A5 - Free Android Smartphone (display 5 ", 13MP camera, 16GB, Quad-Core 1.2 GHz, 2 GB RAM), ...
Samsung is on track changing politics in creating mobile devices This phone radiates quality where you look, it's expensive, but worth nothing but see, once in hand distinguishes this device is intended to premium range, is made of aluminum with a very elegant antirayaduras treatment, hardly weighs anything, very easy to carry and easy to handle the phone is not for me, I have an iPhone 6 Plus, and I must admit that the screen is impressive, technology amoled with contrast and colors that love, which in broad daylight looks perfectly it works all really fluid, using it think it was worth the leap to the big brothers s6 and Edge Congratulations to Samsung for this product so round, so good is that it it we sold and bought the A7, the same but bigger.
Rating: 4
Samsung Galaxy A5 - Free Android Smartphone (display 5 ", 13MP camera, 16GB, Quad-Core 1.2 GHz, 2 GB RAM), ...
Samsung is on track changing politics in creating mobile devices This phone radiates quality where you look, it's expensive, but worth nothing but see, once in hand distinguishes this device is intended to premium range, is made of aluminum with a very elegant antirayaduras treatment, hardly weighs anything, very easy to carry and easy to handle the phone is not for me, I have an iPhone 6 Plus, and I must admit that the screen is impressive, technology amoled with contrast and colors that love, which in broad daylight looks perfectly it works all really fluid, using it think it was worth the leap to the big brothers s6 and Edge Congratulations to Samsung for this product so round, so good is that it it we sold and bought the A7, the same but bigger.
Rating: 4
Well at first but now I begin to have some quibbles and I freaked you stop working close screens alone program stops detecting sim jump the keyboard as much as I pressed no black mark.
Rating: 5
A perfect phone in the price / quality ratio works fast, the screen has a perfect image, etc. I think for those who are not fundamentalists of the latter is a perfect phone.
Rating: 5
Lumsing® Micro USB to USB 2.0 cable (91cm / 3ft * x5), Micro Data Cable, Cable faster and durable ...
CONTENT: USB-Micro USB Cable DESCRIPTION: This is a USB-MicroUSB about 1 meter long wire cable works seamlessly with any device that has this type of connector and, despite the length, equal load faster than any another cable of this type is quite well built, giving the impression of quality CONCLUSIONS: it seems a great for the price that you have cable, cheap, good length and good Recommended finishes certainly Product loan from ATCes for honest and impartial assessment , this may be positive or negative.
Rating: 3
SENT fast accurate description Good Good packaging material protects the device without further protections screen etc. The material seems legitimate to skin may be.
Rating: 5
The phone itself is not bad, but because I wanted to buy a two simy not tienepero nothing in the description of titutalar if they set it was two simmuy malteneis to get that description !!!! The rest is acceptable.
Rating: 5
It is an extraordinary phone for the price it has the same characteristics he P9 Lite Huawei, the only difference is that RAM is 3 Gb at last.
Rating: 5
Huawei Mate 7 - Free Android Smartphone (display 6 ", 13MP camera, 16GB, Quad-Core 1.8 GHz, 2 GB RAM), silver
Advantages over a Nexus 5, my previous smartphone Despite being a Full HD screen like my previous device, the screen looks much better, and that has less pixels per inch The phone design is spectacular, the latest models in my opinion only surpassed by M9, P8 and S6 edge although I had read that the camera was not his strong point, for me but focuses a little slower, resolution and sharpness of the pictures is remarkable, more than enough for travel photos and so the battery lasts much compared to my Nexus 5, around day and a half, and I think I use a lot the sound is right Disadvantages launcher that comes by default it seems bad, I installed the Nova Launcher, and had the problem that I constantly went out, had hang've solved the problem by installing Go Launcher Another disadvantage is the fluidity I think that even though that is fluid, my Nexus 5 was better still, no lag exasperating far, is 100 % usable I see that in some applications such as Google Earth hits some tugging the Nexus did not beat And finally, the version of Android that is 442 when the Nexus had 511.
Rating: 4
Very good housing that fits great on the phone, recommended what I loved, and excellent quality and arrived as promised.
Rating: 5
Huawei P8 Grace - Free Android Smartphone (screen 5.2 ", 13MP camera, 16GB, Kirin 930 Octa Core 2 GHz, 3 GB ...
Very good mobile has fulfilled my expectations came from the p7 model and improved performance, memory, camera, etc. is remarkable Huawei continues to improve and this mobile is able to change his mind to those who believe that China just come back from others and poor technology.
Rating: 3
TPC © Headsets, Huawei AM115 Original Earbuds for Huawei Ascend G6, G7, G8, GX8, P6, P7, P8, P8 Lite, ...
I decided to buy these headphones as helmets for my mobile (android) I had was the famous earpods (apple) That is what I wanted: 1- I needed a headset that had the same form of headphones as the earpods turned me surprisingly These comfortable headphones were shaped like a time tested and have to say that's not exactly the way but they are comfortable Although the material is not exactly like the earpods [4/5] 2- the sound quality was very good earpods these helmets also has very good sound quality, while still worse compared to earpods [4/5] 3- One of the biggest problems I had was that when incompateble the earpods with my mobile, being disinter OS types, is the use of the microphone the headset works properly your microphone, but when there is little wind or some noise, micro saturates and does not capture the user's voice (microphone sensitivity too low, without attenuator external noise) [ 3/5] 4- Another problem I had with the earpods were remote volume control having OS incompatibility, not working, why look a headset.
Rating: 5
It is good my previous review was for another product is falcó Va perfect to put on and noengorda much mobile Very fast delivery.
Rating: 3
Huawei G Play Mini - Free Terminal 5 "(Kirin 620 Octa Core 1.2GHz, 2GB of RAM, 13MP camera, Android ...
Impressed with the power, fluidity good image, finno fotosen you may ask for more !!! I come from having an iPhone 5 and my daughter just bought 6 for more than 700 € You want me to tell you not give me any envy and I am proud of not spending more for a brand x when this phone complies with all that one needs to spare !! Very happy with.
Rating: 3
Quick Charge 3.0 AUKEY Travel Charger 18W [Qualcomm Certificate] Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Note 5, Note 4, Nexus ...
This charger meets the Qualcomm Quick Charge 30 standard This is a guarantee of compliance with the specifications, require approval of the Qualcomm brand to show off this label addition Charger USB cable is included Micro USB good thickness, according to the higher intensities current supplying this type of boots If we used a cable of inferior quality load current would drop to get the most out of the charger, the team that we connect also should be approved Qualcomm Quick charge 30, but even not so considered will always certainly supports and load faster than with a normal charger specifications offered: VoltajeCorriente load (maximum) --------------------------- 3A 36-65V ----------- 65V-9V 2A 9V-12V 15A voltage is automatically adjusted depending on the connected device (in the general case all phones and tablets operate at 5 V) and the actual load current, that each moment is regulated depending on the level of battery charge.
Rating: 5
Huawei Honor 4C - 4G LTE Android Smartphone Free (5.0 "1280x720, Octa Core, Dual Sim, 16Gb 2Gb Ram, 13MP Camera ...
The mobile has gone well so I domingo5 mesesno works or WiFi, or GPS or bluetoothhuawei Spain to be Chinese is not responsible and did not want me ayudargracias God with amazon makes you feel good and I have solved everything.
Rating: 3
Huawei G7 - Android 4.4+ Free Smartphone Emotion UI 3.0 (screen 5.5 ", 13MP camera, 16GB, Quad-Core 1.2 GHz ...
I have bought as refurbished Amazon, something cheaper than 250 €, you see that someone bought but returned, even so deserves the discount worth about 30 € on the phone all against for my taste that has accessories such as Samsung, LG or iphone but at what cost I think it will be 1 mobile bearing without covers only a tempered glass screen protection and that it comes with an original carcasita gift within very decent Huawei and second lacks pelin brightness, I compare with Nokias for their ClearBlack and Note3, but is not problematic looks good to sunlight Pros: size, weight, finishing 10 to overall good accomplished and for only 250 € to day today current Processor think qualcomm 410, quite Ram and everything else well equipped and best of all was handled very well, interface friendly, themes to customize the mobile style Sony Xperia and there are many to download, along with 3000mHA gives the battery for two days quietly or supercharged day job and holds it have put the MicroSD 64GB class 10 ultra and flies have also received the first update of 442-44.
Rating: 3
Huawei P9 - Free Android Smartphone (screen 5.2 ", 12 MP camera, 32 GB, Octa-Core 2.5 GHz, 3GB RAM), color ...
In the current smartphone market is becoming increasingly difficult to find a place and you have to specialize, Huawei has decided to make a mobile ready for high quality photographs, for it provided him with a dual camera Leica, one chamber is dedicated to capture color and the other in black and white by having two sensors it is easier to know the distances to the objects photographed and so the autofocus is very accurate and fast, it's a shame not be able to record video in 4K design, very similar to P8, it is attractive and with its 695mm thickness is thinner than 0.95mm thinner 0.15mm Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S As a novelty incorporates a fingerprint reader on the back freeing space the front ************** ************** ** ** PROS Very good camera designed by Leica and excellent photo application for the front camera selfies also enjoys good enough quality range -RAM: 3GB Mighty Octacore and GPU processor design -Attractive metal, thinner than the iPhone 6S and the Galaxy S7.
Rating: 4
Huawei G Play Mini - Free Terminal 5 "(Kirin 620 Octa Core 1.2GHz, 2GB of RAM, 13MP camera, Android ...
Impressed with the power, fluidity good image, finno fotosen you may ask for more !!! I come from having an iPhone 5 and my daughter just bought 6 for more than 700 € You want me to tell you not give me any envy and I am proud of not spending more for a brand x when this phone complies with all that one needs to spare !! Very happy with.
Rating: 5
The phone itself is not bad, but because I wanted to buy a two simy not tienepero nothing in the description of titutalar if they set it was two simmuy malteneis to get that description !!!! The rest is acceptable.
Rating: 3
CSL - Alu Inear Headphones Ultimate Style 640 Flat | noise reduction design | EP Power Bass | new model...
It noted that the sound is very good and the quality / price of these headphones are fantastic I have tried several videos and sound great've tried many headphones, and generally all have sounded very well, but these have impressed me, their treble and bass they are very good, and the ratio of depth and space is definitely a worthy excellent to have in mind the overall weight is negligible headphones only 14 grams really, really good headphones advise your purchase
Rating: 4
Braun CruZer 6 Beard & Head - beard and hair trimmer
The machine brings all the need to cut the hair and beard trimming two combs (one of 10mm to 20mm, and one of 1mm to 11mm), charger, cleaning brush hair machine and a small boat oil As trimmer beard not has no problem plenty of power and precision blade for sideburns, mustache, behind the ears combs are doing very well, they collect fine hair and cut it all at the same level in <5 minutes you shave without problem to cut hair goes well if you let it grow much the longer the hair, the more work it costs ideally in this case would first cut the hair with scissors, and then we pass the machine If you cut your hair frequently (I every two weeks) is stupendously Another small drawback is that you have to be unclogging the hair comb quite often with comb for small length are accumulated just above the blade But hey, a shake and pass your finger and you're battery is more than enough to cut both hair and beard In no time I have stayed if load If he were to run out of battery you can plug in and continue cutting hair.
Rating: 4
Philips M6601WB / 23 - digital telephone (unique design, 18 h, hands-free), white and ...
A phone that meets all my expectations, after comparing several models of different ranges, excluding VOIP To be a conventional phone, is well above the rest, especially in design and quality has very good sound quality either normal or speakerphone with individual voice setting in both audio is very soft, and slightly heavier than its competitors (for me, it does not show much) has many functions, two of which made me bow down for this phone: on the one side locking calls, or to a certain number or a pattern; on the other hand the function (think unique to this model), to reflect the number (or name if it is included on the agenda), on the outside, only for that deserves your purchase (looks great, despite some comment which says its display is low); also it does not reflect name / number is already the phone on the base or not (data that nobody includes in its specifications, except the manual) As for the ringtones, I'm not a maniac sounds, and phone meet no more.
Rating: 3
Philips M3301W / 23 - Cordless phone DesignLine (screen 1.6 "backlit handsfree), white
It seems silly, but what we considered when we bought it, and is that being hung unseen caller, so you have to pick it up or have it constantly off-hook, which affects the battery or ease of operation Otherwise , a phone without more.
Rating: 3
Philips BT3600A / 00 - Portable Speaker with Bluetooth (NFC, microphone, multipair, rechargeable battery), blue
Disappointed from the comparison with my other wireless speaker Speaker MPOW Armor This cost me 50 €, the MPOW Armor € 25.99 Sound Power (which is what I wanted), the Philips 10w 5w and the other (as directed) the difference in sound power is clearly very much in favor of MPOW Armor While the Philips seems to have a sound clarity better than hair the MPOW Armor because of its two speakers (less sound "canned "), the bass is far deeper in the MPOW Armor so in a "plasticky sound " principle of MPOW Armor is corrected to high volume low volume Philips sounds clearer and better quality media and agudospero at full power the MPOW Armor makes it a "Sorpasso " in sound and serious Filling much room the MPOW Armor that much cheaper in short Philipsy, if you want sound clarity without "stay deaf " this product is correctosi it you want it is sound power at a reduced price and with a bonus of more than acceptable low I recommend MPW Armor.
Rating: 5
EC Technology Mini External USB audio adapter 3.5mm headset microphone - Silver
It is a "card " external USB sound which is detected by Windows as another audio device in windows 7/8/10 more is automatically detected and does not need additional drivers have micrófno input and headphone / speaker goes well and not expensive so it's okay if your computer has crashed or sound card.
Rating: 5
Brother MFCL2700DW - Multifunction Laser Printer
Initially sought a document scanner to scan 10 or 15 sheets automatically, without lifting the lid and scan sheet to sheet After analyzing many multifunction products, I found it met all the features I wanted and I also found that: imprimía duplexing, was WiFi, incorporates Fax, and has a possibility of scanning automatic document which simplifies and facilitates work and saves time I also like that available drum and toner, allowing to obtain supplies at a good price.
Rating: 5
Philips AE1530 / 00 Portable Radio AM / FM
Design well above average in this price range very good quality audio, easy tune to stations Unlike the competition, you can listen to music through headphones or the loudspeaker The batteries last quite, although not of the more lasting radios we've had at home.
Rating: 5
Philips D1201WN / 23 - Cordless Telephone (DECT, 50m, 300m), green and white
I have already written an answer, but I put it here for general information: the phone is very good and is very cheap, but I would say that the basis of this phone is small and basic: no timbre (only sole the phone and if you've left out there just do not hear it I would have docked a bell that I bought at the Chinese) and has no search key, which you click on the base when you want the phone to ring because it can not find (the solution is to call from the phone and put your ear to see where sounds) Moreover as I said before the phone is fine, good sound, good range, good range, good screen.
Rating: 3
BPS TV Wall Mount for 26-55 inch flat screen (LCD LED Plasma), with mobile arm tilt function ...
I just placed an LCD 37 and very happy with the kit is very complete; even carries the screws to the TV (3 different sizes) Easy to assemble, but the instructions are very poor space to the wall is right if you have rear connections on your TV.
Rating: 5
TaoTronics wireless Bluetooth headset sports headphone with magnetic, aptX and handsfree Built-in Mic ...
As always in this brand packaging is impressive in recycled materials and respecting where possible the environment when opened and we met some materials of sufficient quality, nor are extreme quality but good are lightweight and accessories fit all ears and manual comes in several languages, including Spanish! big clear news The sound is very serious serious Convincing that make have a very intense experience when listening to music Sharp are fine, elegant and quite sharp Only if you're a purist these helmets can leave you cold, for others it is a very good sound in addition, the detail of the magnets on the back is great, because with them can put the helmets around the neck, to take much more comfortable When Bluetooth 41 can enjoy quality connection and have the info on the remaining battery on Handsfree iPhone screen and music control etc. Very recommended.
Rating: 3
Sony Xperia Z5 - Free Android Smartphone (screen 5.2 "Snapdragon MSM8994 Octa Core 1.5GHz, rear camera ...
Not allude to the specifications, since these will find them in the item description My revised is more consistent with the experience of using and comparing its predecessor, the Z3 -Screen, very similar to the Z3 is an IPS panel that looks perfectly, with true colors shine, in my opinion, is insufficient in bright environments, loses respect to Z3 -The performance (speed) is terrific very fluid, very electric, no locks, no lag it's even better than the Z3 in return I have to say is heated considerably more than the Z3 If you are regular games, this is not your mobile -Battery: failure I think is the main handicap of this phone, if you are a heavy user (4 hours screen or more), you will not reach the end of the day a ruling again over its predecessor, the Z3, which has better battery -Desbloque fingerprint: Go perfect, fast and first -Camera: a plus above the Z3, without But it is not up to phones like the S6, S6, Lg G4, G5 Lg, is a step down does not mean it's a bad camera at all, it is simply in the tail of the TOP.
Rating: 3
Sony MDR10RC - white headband headphones closed (with microphone, integrated remote control),
The headphones are awesome Sound is the cleanest I've ever heard Soundproofing is good, not great The only problem is that I thought would be bigger, but I like even better for when you get home are super comfortable recommend your purchase.
Rating: 5
Sony SBH20 - Bluetooth Handsfree, white
Before putting my opinion on the product I have reread those who had already other buyers and, I must say, I pushed adquirilo useful Some and other particularly ridiculous (if I have 2 ears at the same distance from the device, why the ear cable is longer than the other (WTF, seriously uncle ??), maybe it still does not know at this point put you headphones, long cable runs behind the neck, if someone else other than our friend have a question 3 star because you can not wear headphones (/ clap) well, jokes aside Other colleagues complain about the poor sound quality of the headphones, well, I'd say that is directly related to the device that you conectáis, if you have a pileup of 90 or mobile 50 bucks because hey, yes friend, your mobile Nothing more xD Then one complains that "not heard 10 meters behind a wall ", but hey, I repeat, what are those criteria to evaluate a product? It has a range more than acceptable, they are wireless, do not do magic.
Rating: 3
Sony MDRV55R - closed headphones headband, black and red
After looking good headphones especially in terms of quality and reliability sound I came across these, recommended by a person related to the world of music production and to say, because after a long look, compare and read reviews I opted for this and the result is more than satisfactory Indistitante the price they have, the sound quality is amazing! You can give the volume quietly that do not distort at all nor the hype stands out above the other sounds / frequencies is a pleasure to listen to music with them I think are quietly to the same height as other helmets worth € 200-300, in as for sound quality it refers the only negative aspect is that after a period of use cause some discomfort in the ears by the pressure exerted on them, but after a while they give a little and that pain decreases But with all this great sound quality if you like music and you will enjoy the much totally recommend purchase.
Rating: 5
Sony Xperia SP - Free Android Smartphone (screen 11.7 ", 8MP camera, 8GB, Dual-Core 1.7 GHz, 1 GB of RAM), ...
Only ten days ago that I have and the truth is that happy with the purchase The camera takes good pictures, though not as good as my Xperia Arc S, but much better than any other mobile phone of this price both focus and color well Also pictures at night or in low light the battery can last up to two days with normal use of WhatsApp and some application more has a battery management very good but the battery itself is not the most powerful design is fine, though so putting all buttons on one side not encounter anything practical being right hand, you can easily confuse or give them inadvertently when talking on the phone, for example it is thicker and heavier than the Xperia Arc S but inside design other phones in its class music hear perfectly even though headphones brings are button, not the internal, which are more uncomfortable and also came flawed because nothing is heard from the left side but serve any other type of headphones you want use A basic Sony are going very well.
Rating: 3
Sony ICDPX333.CE7 - Voice Recorder (Built-in microphone, TransFlash, microSD), Black
I'll do a review extensive, it seems that you are missing this product even though there are many comments What is this recorder is a dictaphone, with the possibility of making recordings semi-professional connecting an external stereo microphone it should not be compared with a recorder professional audio for musicians, that is something else If what you intend is to record voice and conversations, as well as doing interviews, this is possibly the best writer you can buy right now at this good price rebate what has: it really has everything a dictaphone may require and more Starting with the possibilities of organizing, I emphasize: - Posibilidadad to create up to 400 folders and get 4074 voice files in total Note that other recorders only allow 4 or 5 folders eye because a user it has been said that only has 4 folders, but because they are with the next, but you can create up to 400 making it with the file manager computer (Some people put to opine without even reading the manual).
Rating: 3
Sony MDR-EX110LP - in-ear headphones, black
Looking good headphones often at an affordable price usu are not easy to get one optimal among many brands, models and prices But Sony's brand warranty and only had to choose the most apparent and this model is great, the sound is excellent and see the difference with other similar is affordable and worth it.
Rating: 3
Sony PRS-T3S Coodio® T3 leather case Premium leather with bright light - Elegant Red
I bought to give away with a reader Sony T3 did not bring sheath and the product corresponds to the expectations Color is nice, exactly like the one on the web, and the reader fits perfectly and looks great subject Though be more expensive than other cases, the fastening system shaped frame seems much safer than the elastic in the corners proposing other models.
Rating: 5
Sony MDR-ZX110 - Headphones Foldable headband (1000 Mw), pink
I bought these helmets because I saw a blog about offers from amazon had been looking a headset at a good price but they had decent quality and the truth is that this finding it complies perfectly with what he wanted now listen to music at work or anywhere it is a delight, without fear of the typical so expensive that they have left me and I pass this p Fully recommended Good value / Salvo price you're a picky these helmets meet for the vast majority of people who do not need or want to spend lot of money on a brand helmets.
Rating: 4
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100M4 - compact camera 20.1 Mp (Sensor 1 "Exmor RS of 20 MP, ZEISS T * 24-70mm, Visor ...
I bought this camera at Amazon UK (had in my account balance of a gift), and after a year using it, my experience is: Pros: Size incredibly compact to contain a sensor 1 "Nice, very well finished design it'll hold time Low noise in low light thanks to its sensor 1 "and the maximum aperture f18 Fantastic image quality hand Controls for almost everything, suitable for photography enthusiasts even focus peaking for manual focus assisted (although in this case is not very useful) Video of exceptional quality, with very good image stabilization, which allows moving video very fluid exceptional screen with several viewing options, such as histogram or, my favorite, spirit level, along with showing guides thirds, makes you take less in need of an optical viewfinder Cons: As usual, in the shortest focal deforms slightly for pictures with groups, which are located at the ends can not leave well unemployed the maximum aperture f18 drops rapidly when the zoom is operated, thus weakening their ability to focus in low light longer.
Rating: 3
This time buy gift, work well, have a considerable distance, and battery also holds up well if you're thinking of buying with hard hats in white, I say that brings both pink and white, I liked that detail.
Rating: 4
Sony HT-CT80 - Soundbar 80 W (2.1 channels, Bluetooth), black
Easy to install, with good design and sound power more than enough for a house (it will not be the most powerful on the market but it sounds so good and so strong that it can upload it to stop) The NFC connection to the mobile Sony Xperia is great ; put music on mobile and automatically plays in the bar Highly recommended.
Rating: 4
Ideal for a TV medium size (32 ") to put at any angle very robust and stable studs for the wall bracket are not the most desirable, but it depends on the area where you are placing, that's not important.
Rating: 5
Sony ICF-M260 FM / AM Digital tuning Portable Radio - Silver
Its price is about 50 € in physical store they gave it to me for Christmas 2002/3 and still has not given problems - Works with 2 batteries Type AATambién can use rechargeable batteries When using just 2 no problems with voltage - not available input for mains adapter, but has clock is missing the function despertadorSi has 10 pre-selectors in FM and 5 AM the quality of all buttons is appreciated, just press once and not several as other cheaper - dial is digital, you just have to keep pressed up or down with two search speeds stations - time data and preset stations are erased from memory if you removed the batteries, does not retain that data changing batteries has to be done in less than a minute to deletion - The screen does not have any type of lighting - otherwise, you have Sleep (60 minutes) and lock key - The volume is rotatable and sometimes make noises due to dust that accumulates with the passage of time - I uploaded a photo to favor; quality sony, you also hear, against, no pentalla lighting or alarm Greetings.
Rating: 3
Sony Xperia Z2 - Free Android Smartphone (screen 5.2 "Mp camera 20.7, 16 GB, Quad-Core 2.3 GHz, 3GB RAM), ...
The reason I put this negative review is that the mobile did not match the description as it was a product unfit for sale sign, the proof is in the labeling of the product itself (see photo) which says that it is not a product suitable for sale (DEMO ONLY nOT fOR sALE) also could not be used because it contains software that erased any configuration changes that they should do every time you plugged into the mains for charging or is turned off screen, leaving predefined typical of those seen in devices stores with product specifications screensaver Each time this happened the product also changed the language to Dutch Since I needed a mobile for professional reasons and could not disburse another After 300 euros waiting for the return of this decided device of urgency to be serviced which really restored it and I was told that the salesperson had not restored but had simply made a factory reset, so that mobile still It is a demo or sample product to store.
Rating: 1
Sony MDR-XB450AP - wired Headphones Mobile open diadem (integrated remote control), black
The bad: - High frequencies a bit poor and I expected because I've noticed that often the high sacrifice in headphones where the target is to have good bass can be improved with the equalizer - EQ low is exaggerated, but nothing serious, they are low volume in the equalizer and already - Saturation high volume of medium and high frequencies, this is where the price range headphones noticeable, if they rise much volume frequencies are saturated and noise is heard, however, I must admit that this happens soon, in fact once I tried the famous beats and saturating much more frequencies than these, and cost much more expensive - they Heat a little ear, much less than my previous headband headphones closed, but definitely not to be used for sports or summer the good: - After equalization have excellent sound, generally very clear, powerful bass.
Rating: 2
Sony MDR-ZX110 - Headphones Foldable headband (1000 Mw), white
I bought these helmets because I saw a blog about offers from amazon had been looking a headset at a good price but they had decent quality and the truth is that this finding it complies perfectly with what he wanted now listen to music at work or anywhere it is a delight, without fear of the typical so expensive that they have left me and I pass this p Fully recommended Good value / Salvo price you're a picky these helmets meet for the vast majority of people who do not need or want to spend lot of money on a brand helmets.
Rating: 1
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Dual - Smartphone 6 "(WiFi, Mediatek MT6752, 2GB of RAM, 16 GB, Android 5.0 Lollipop) ...
He bought a unit of this phone at the end of November From the earliest days detect deficiencies related to the battery, very short duration of it (no more than 6 hours standby time) Before turning seven days after purchase incidence opens the service and support we proceed with sending the phone at the same in approximately 7 days the phone back "theoretically " solved with a "software update" during the next few days, the phone still works just as bad, to that five days after returning support service, the phone turns off to never again turn the procedure again to open an incident in the support service, and again sent, again with the same support service, in which the phone is not right, and I express my desire for change with a new unit and not a repair because the phone is newly bought and I paid for a new phone and no one restored past few days again receive the same unit "theoretically repaired " according to Sony, we proceeded with the change of the battery.
Rating: 4
Sony BSP10 - Speaker with Bluetooth, black
I got a first device, but not loaded So I had to return (October 1 to Amazon for the return process: only bring the package to the post office postage paid) Second correctly load UPDATE: has happened to me 2 times with the second model I have for more than 2 months ago: beeps no load and Smart Connect Sony application for Android (recommended) tells me that the battery is zero and no load But now I've gotten "fix " this with a simple reset: press the handsfree key for a few seconds until the device is cycled, and back to normal probably did not do this with the first device that returned in the manual also explains another way to reset, but have not been able to use it with my clumsy fingers connect and disconnect quickly the USB cable and press the power button at once: turns off before it has managed to connect or disconnect or backwards Best pressing the handsfree button END UPDATE minimalist aesthetic I like much I had not noticed but fits perfectly in the cup holder of my car.
Rating: 4
Sony DSC-HX60 - 20.4 Mp compact camera (screen 3 ", 30x optical zoom, optical image stabilizer, video Full ...
Upon receipt of the camera and tested can give you my first impressions Outwardly the camera is beautiful, the controls are in place and has a grip or perfect grip has an own advanced compact camera inside, ie the result of the photos the camera meets outstanding note everything q can you ask a compact avanzadasu performance light is exceptional, with colors and stunning clarity with low light and high isos naturally low quality especially from iso 800 but the photos are data apply recommend in these cases exar hand super flash or automatic modes q enhance your photos by removing noise or possibly a tripod spectacular Zoom quality, exceptional and good stabilizing macro Some people to enlarge the photos full complain that the pictures look pixilated, it is true but I am possessed of a nikon d7000 and having more quality also pixelated see if the photo is extended to maximum or almost a little mercy nobody needs to enlarge a photo to 60, 70 or 80% of the photo the camera works perfectly with what you have, that's the truth.
Rating: 1
Sony Xperia Z - Free Android Smartphone (display 5 ", 13.1 Mp camera, 16 GB, 1.5 GHz, 2 GB RAM), white
I confess that I bought for forward The official price of Sony in Spain are 669 euros and left it (imported from Germany) for 611 euros So I bought it, and all have been advantages have not only paid 60 euros less for mobile, but has also reached me with important things that does not bring the Spanish pack in particular, the DK-26 dock, which allows you to charge the phone without lifting the flap for me, absolutely essential to keep it tight and can get wet also included two NFC tags that are very useful and screensavers and rear respuesto (takes a few stalls factory) in addition, of course, it included what does lead the Spanish pack: standard charger and headphones that do not sound bad Still, no matter not too open and close the flap that covers the headphone jack, I think I'll me with that work via bluetooth -------------------- and now on the phone (after five days with him) is quite large but not excessive (at least for my hands) The screen is amazing Super bright and clear.
Rating: 2
Sony Smartwatch 3 Classic - Smartwatch Android (screen 1.6 ", 4 GB, Quad-Core 1.2 GHz, 512 MB RAM), black
Impressions after a few days of intensive PROS - Excellent transflective display with sunlight time is available without turning it on - screen 320x320, looks much when you turn - The battery lasts long, with a very heavy use around one day and means more moderate use two days - quickly will you take a liking to review and discard notifications from the watch, is a great convenience - it is very light and very comfortable - of the few apps that are saved now, Google fit works well without having the paired phone - (March 2015) the app GhostRacers can record sessiones running or cycling with GPS clock and even lead paired a Bluetooth 40 heart rate monitor to watch without smartphone This app then lets you upload sessions to Strava CONS - no apps for hardware and Eastern SW3 Google, Sony and company should learn to accompany their new products with software that allows you to leverage them from day 0 - All apps messaging limited to notify message received, and let you answer it.
Rating: 2
Sony MDR-ZX110 - Headphones Foldable headband (1000 Mw), black
I bought these helmets because I saw a blog about offers from amazon had been looking a headset at a good price but they had decent quality and the truth is that this finding it complies perfectly with what he wanted now listen to music at work or anywhere it is a delight, without fear of the typical so expensive that they have left me and I pass this p Fully recommended Good value / Salvo price you're a picky these helmets meet for the vast majority of people who do not need or want to spend lot of money on a brand helmets.
Rating: 1
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact - Smartphone 4.6 "(Bluetooth, WiFi, Octa Core MSM8994 Snapdragon 810, 2GB of RAM, 32 ...
Finally a brand manufactures terminals "compact " (note the quotation marks, the end of the day are 4.6 ") with terminal features top of the range, something to thank Nothing terminal smaller than the original and with cut specifications Pros: - compact size I do not have very big hands and still I can handle it with a single easily Something less long hand and wider than the iPhone 6s, but thicker (to establish a comparison) - once installed all updates , applications and let the system stabilize, the operation is very fluid, without appreciable lag - the layer of customization Sony does not differ much from the experience "pure Android " and additives are generally useful - Va tastes but the simple aesthetics makes it a very attractive phone - fingerprint reader in a very suitable place (if you're right-handed, of course) - IP68 - Sound pretty good from the speakers - memory expansion via microSD - very good camera.
Rating: 2
M4 Aqua Sony - Smartphone 5 "(Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615, 8 GB ROM, 2 GB RAM, Android 5.0 Lollipop) color ...
** Updated 06/23/15: I think a scam mobile for the money Sony should remove the ROM 8GB model and sell only the 16GB if you do not want to sink this model I think a bygone sell a mobile 8GB ROM in 2015, of which 2.5GB is useful, okay, Motorola also makes the Moto G, but leaves them free 5,5GB, more than double the memory and half the price of the Sony a part of the teasing internal memory, post-processing of the camera is to lie to mourn not know where they want to go with a camera of 13 Mpx that making the pictures seem to happens a damp cloth over to see if fade more Amen that life itself is pulled to focus, another to take the picture and another to save the picture in the external memory (using an SD class 10, is not a problem of my SD, is botched processing photo of Sony).
Rating: 1
Sony Xperia Z3 - Smartphone Android (5.2 "Full HD 1920 x 1080 p, Qualcomm Snapdragon 2.5 GHz, 20.7 Mp camera) ...
I bought the phone about a month ago and I'm pretty happy with it I bought to replace a Nexus 4, mainly motivated by the camera you have and the good reviews on the battery life I've had in a while a phone of the same brand (Sony Xperia S) so I pretty much knew what I expected to find me, but still commented what most caught my attention after to have some time on my hands: Pluses: - good quality rear camera I recognize that was the main reason to buy this phone (because I quite like taking pictures, and sometimes I do not like to take the camera above) In automatic mode recognizes the scene (landscape, portrait, document, etc.) and adjusts settings rather success to make it right I like the finish natural color with the remaining photos, especially in the countryside daytime the camera application that comes with the phone I like much more than the native Android for its simplicity, but also by the options you have.
Rating: 4
Sony Xperia Z - Free Android Smartphone (display 5 ", 13.1 Mp camera, 16 GB, 1.5 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 4G / LTE), black
I confess that I bought for forward The official price of Sony in Spain are 669 euros and left it (imported from Germany) for 611 euros So I bought it, and all have been advantages have not only paid 60 euros less for mobile, but has also reached me with important things that does not bring the Spanish pack in particular, the DK-26 dock, which allows you to charge the phone without lifting the flap for me, absolutely essential to keep it tight and can get wet also included two NFC tags that are very useful and screensavers and rear respuesto (takes a few stalls factory) in addition, of course, it included what does lead the Spanish pack: standard charger and headphones that do not sound bad Still, no matter not too open and close the flap that covers the headphone jack, I think I'll me with that work via bluetooth -------------------- and now on the phone (after five days with him) is quite large but not excessive (at least for my hands) The screen is amazing Super bright and clear.
Rating: 5
Parrot Bebop PF722000AA remote controlled drone
It is relatively easy to start. It flies very well and is easy to handle with freeflight application. It has a very good quality camera that records clearly and firmly take completely in HD, and can also lean regardless of the drone. But what I like is the resistance of the drone. With security is given a beating and still flying!
Rating: 5
I have tried other gimbal for Smartphone and Osmo tops them all in quality and performance. Last but not least the new firmware has given exciting new capabilities and prolonged battery over an hour of recording. Very satisfied.
Rating: 1
Very, very slow I used to basics why buy it but I did not expect it to be so slow
Rating: 5
All great, prompt delivery, looks great, and I like Android. Sony does not usually disappoint. Netflix recognizes the HDR, so if anyone has doubts, this TV if you have HDR.
Rating: 5
The value / price of this TV I think that is not surpassed by other brands. Image, sound and very good network functions. I really made a good buy.
Rating: 4
Philips 22PFH4000 LED TV
very attentive seller. Product with very good price / quality ratio, all that is not very comfortable is the support having although in my case does not affect me as it is in wall mount, if you buy for a table or the like itself would have to have it consider; otherwise the image quality is good, the sound is good and connections are sufficient (USB, 2HDMI, VGA, digital audio output, Scart). The TDT is not tdt2 but in my case I'll use it just as it is for girls and increased use will be the USB and HDMI inputs.
Rating: 5
very happy with this purchase, great quality and price, recommend everyone can antler is great record with external memories thanks
Rating: 5
Sony KDL-40R550C FULLD HD TV
The picture quality is very good, better than other TVs in the same price ranges. The Smart TV is quite similiar to brands like LG and Samsung, serves rather to little. In fact he sought a TV without 3D and Smart TV also gave me the same, but this if wearing it and as I said, is basically useless ... It has a very basic browser, type apps Youtube, etc ... Not much ... to put but could be more colorful menus are in black tone. But overall it is an excellent television.
Rating: 5
The tv is amazing, is very comprehensive truth that Acerte up buying looks great and is correct also smart tv
Rating: 5
LG 24MT47D TV
very good buy, has very good image quality. I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject, but so far is amazing, works well and looks very good. The price is so good. it is also true that only took her 15 days.
Rating: 5
The perfect television, very complete for a 32 ". The image quality is very good. I have it in the bedroom and it's great. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4
The seller sends quickly with Seur (smooth). TV works well, very bright colors. It has only one HDMI connection and Euro connector. Two HDMI is better now, but it was indicated in the technical data, and knew it.
Rating: 3
Led Tv Nevir 32 Nvr-7406-32hd-n LED TV
TV looks perfect and is fairly complete. The only downside is that when he did not work with the command of Tivo, call the manufacturer and says it does not work with universal remotes, so if the command is broken you run out of control (plus it is annoying to walk with 2 knobs )
Rating: 5
Poweradd Slim 2 5000mAh powerbank
Excellent product finishes are aluminum and with very good finish and because it takes 4 leds to tell you charge status, something q others do not have, besides that q was the main reason so q I bought it, it is because it has output of 2.1 amps when all of their size have only 1A, this also supports load to 2.1 with all it q q you get if you load a large 5.5-inch mobile or tablet can do so without problems because with the output of 2.1A you can do it without problems, so it is a quality powerbank recommend for performance as well as for its extraordinary price!
Rating: 5
Kingston DataTraveler SE9 G2 usb memory stick
It is very small, should measure about 5cm. The hoop is handy because you can hang keys and even you used to pull it when you take it out. For me, it is the fastest I've ever had, a 1.5GB file is loaded in about 1 minute. I bought the 64GB and use it to watch movies on TV and probably will buy another soon for other things. Very happy with the purchase!
Rating: 5
TP-LINK TL-WR841N router
I bought the router 2 weeks ago and I am very happy with the product. It has 4 Gigabit ports and have 80-120MB speeds between computers that have connected to the router. The Wifi also goes well, you connect to 300Mbs and achieves a 15-20 MB.
Rating: 5
Seagate Expansion Portable 1TB Portable hard drive
Perfect for ps4, after installed enough capacity to those that are of digital purchase like me. I recommend keeping a copy of data security ps4 occasionally because as in my case I have shared has a family then does not make me copy in the cloud albeit plus automatically have to do it manually.
Rating: 4
HP DeskJet 3630 multifunction printer
Great value. It is much faster than I expected. The connection via wifi works swimmingly, easily configured and you just have to connect the first cable to the computer when you install the software that tells you step by step to do, then everything is handled wirelessly even from the smartphone. Shipping in 4 days. I recommend purchase.
Rating: 3
SanDisk SDCZ33-016G-B35 Memory drive black
Very slow, a lot ... but in my case is for use on the car radio is ideal. I suffer when filled with music once and like 16Gb because I have music on my radio while and being black, it seems that is no post because besides just excels. Bring own software which gives few tenths more in my score, but nothing that becomes essential.
Rating: 5
Logitech G430 Gaming Headphones
Quality of material. They listen very well. They are comfortable for several hours of play. I do not advise to PS4 since I bought them for that and the USB plug I lost a lot of volume, however if dialed in the command were heard 10 but you did not have to use the micro pin. For PC, the best in value for money.
Rating: 4
Fitbit Charge HR Activity tracker bracelet
It is the first bracelet of activity that I have, so I can not compare it with others. In my experience in the three weeks of use I wear I think it was a very good buy. The measurements are quite accurate, is comfortable, it measures steps, calories burned, heart rate, distance, number of plants increases, time and date. Fitbit App downloads on mobile and you can sync. The only problem I have is that I can not synchronize bracelet with my Mac. I connect the USB skewer bringing bracelet, turn on the Bluetooth, etc ... but always gives me error. I have a MacBook Pro 10.6.8 do not want to upgrade for personal reasons ... so I do not know if the problem is my Mac or USB skewer included. But I do not care because I always synchronize with mobile. By putting a snag ... the display lighting is quite dim in the light of day. If you exercise in the sun you have to work to see the numbers ... and as you wear sunglasses on ... forget it. But this is a minor detail compared to the rest of useful features that has this excellent bracelet. Recommended!
Rating: 5
SJCAM Original Sj4000 Wifi action video camera
Super Mini Sport càmera with wifi, with the unenviable known as gopro results. It has everything to be content, a very good battery thanks to its rechargeable lithium battery through USB to USB micro cable. The accessory more Preciado for this càmera is its perspex cover to record or realitzar photos in the water, giving full functionality to the buttons thanks to its excellent sealing. The definition of the video is very interesting, thanks to the 12 Mp and the wide angle lens, giving estupendes images especially with daylight. Hd resolution screen 1.5 "great. Operation simple with only light touch of a button and selecting the function deseada.Viene with Micro SD card slot up to 32 GB, with which we can go recording and if we were to fill it up autograbaría. Practice and incorporates current input hdmi to visualitzar the recording on the screen of your TV or PC. The quality of the photos becomes very interesting, you know just taking pictures do not seem to give a semi-professional results, really. Another very interesting and current characteristic is that it has convenient access, so we can visualitzar on any device of this is recorded with the mini càmera either tablet, smartphone, etc., in addition to controlling the càmera by applying for it . The truth is that the Sj Cam has nothing to envy to most brands cares, besides the great majoria accessories other brands are supported without any problems, plus it already comes with some pretty useful. Mini càmera highly recommended for both beginners and more professional.
Rating: 4
a solid mounting device without frills! If you are looking for one without Bluetooth, ABS, SRS, traction control, blood pressure monitors, weather station and schweitzer penknife .. this is definitely empfählen)
Rating: 2
Philips NT3160/10 Series 3000 Nose Hair, Ear and Eyebrow Trimmer Hair
use The first time was the nose hair trimmer from easy and then not again! So I can not say much about performance & co, my husband had not had the opportunity to find out whether some kind of attachment is more convenient than the typical. He has hardly begun and already went nothing more. The return shipping and refund proceeded properly, so a star!
Rating: 4
Removes even small hairs very accurate and relatively painless, is very good in the hand. Unfortunately only works charged without cable I would like to take the the cable also works as the boot time is about 1 hour.
Rating: 3
Remington S9500
I am a hairdresser and have stayed with some smoothness iron worked among others with the ghd and I can tell you that this straighteners I can keep up loosely do with the smoother beautiful waves and curls and also smooth and keeps everything super long what most smoother not create. Moreover shine to hair after nice I use it to 190 degrees in temperature
Rating: 4
Philips HP8232/00
So I had to Clatronic before who also is quite good. Compared even very very similar. The Clatronic is almost half cheaper, offers a comparable output, volume, and heat and, indeed, the ionization. There are both really great hairdryers. The performance can be fairly quickly dry the hair. That's important to me. What I did not like so much the Philips one hand the white plastic and the plastic seams, making it less quality when struck in the hand than in the photos, and the switch to actuate the left, so you always unintentionally when switching on / off the adjusted heat ..
Rating: 4
Philips HP8232/00
So I had to Clatronic before who also is quite good. Compared even very very similar. The Clatronic is almost half cheaper, offers a comparable output, volume, and heat and, indeed, the ionization. There are both really great hairdryers. The performance can be fairly quickly dry the hair. That's important to me. What I did not like so much the Philips one hand the white plastic and the plastic seams, making it less quality when struck in the hand than in the photos, and the switch to actuate the left, so you always unintentionally when switching on / off the adjusted heat ..
Rating: 4
Remington MB320C
The trimmer works very precisely and cleanly. The adjustable lengths are sufficiently dimensioned. The power of the battery is also sufficient. One can also use multiple power supply without him. With electricity from the can but he is still a little bit better. Would I buy again!
Rating: 4
Gillette Fusion ProGlide
Bought Did the razor for my husband at the tremendous offerings because they were cheaper. He used Gillette razors now been a few years and find that they have the best blade. He has a strong beard he shaved several times a week, and is always very pleased with the shaving performance of the blades.
Rating: 4
Dyptique Jasmin Candle
Among all scented candles this is a champion. No matter it's pricey it's superb quality. You can turn it on just for a short while and your room is scented. This way you save tens of cheap $10 candles just by using this small candle for months for the same effect!
Rating: 4
iPhone 6S Plus 64gb, space gray model
Awesome phone. I am coming from iPhone 6 Plus, and was not sure if the upgrade worth it, but it is worth. First of all the overall speed is faster, second - the safari tabs don't require frequent reloads anymore as it was before. Then the 3D Touch is also sort of addictive and now the regular touch pad on my Macbook air seems to be missing something. What else. The new haptic engine - the vibration - is making pretty much cooler sounds - it makes sounds like knocking, rather than just buzzing. Very nice and firm knocks or touches, I enjoy them more than a plane old vibration motor on 6 Plus. Also I changed the color, before I had gold and now got a Space Gray version and it also looks now better for me with a Saddle Brown case its an awesome looking device. So if you are on the fence about upgrading - don't think much - its a good choice!
Rating: 1
Wi-Power ISP
Wireless Internet Service Provider in the Tucson, Arizona area. It is very expensive for what you get. $80/mo @ 1.5 megabits/sec. They advertise "burst speed up to 10 mb/sec". You may get 5 or 6 or 10 megabits/sec, but that only lasts 3 seconds then the system throttles you back to the 1.5 megabit/sec. This allows the fast downloads of most web pages (not all) before slowing down. Worse yet is the lack of reliability. The system is down or VERY slow at least once a week. This is after factoring in the weather since it is a wireless system. If you call tech support expect to be on hold for at least 45 minutes. Since January 2013 we have have had about 40 outages. They have replace the rooftop radio 5 times, and realigned us to a different tower 12 times. With NO change in reliability. Found another wireless ISP but Wi-Power wants us to pay a $300 "early termination fee"?
Rating: 2
Well for the price you get the quality. Those are toys, but they can fire the airsoft bullets. However expect them to break very fast and the quality and feel is pretty low.
Rating: 3
This ones you can buy from ebay and they are pretty much cool. The company which sells them make them for tv shows, concerts and maybe even movies so the quality is awesome.
Rating: 3
Marshall - Monitor Over-the-Ear Headphones
Those headphones are pretty good. They are tough - solid metal frame, they are easily disassembled - the earpieces have magnet holders, they are pretty cool and not costly comparing to others and the sound quality is superior to Beatz in my opinion. Also their sound cable is removable and can be replaced (not like shitty AKG headphones all the time breaking the cable). Also there is one little cool feature with those - if you want to share the music or whatever you listen too with someone else they can plug their headphones right into these Marshalls! However there is one little down fall for this headphones. If you buy one from Apple they would have a volume controller buttons on the cord. But if you get the ones from other sources they probably won't have this option!
Rating: 4
They call it Piel de Sapo in Spanish or Santa Claus melon in America. This melon is very tasty. If compared to more traditional Honeydews it is really more reach in flavor and more yummy. Highly recommended!
Rating: 3
I like the smell. You can buy it only in LA as its a city exclusive, however some people on ebay can sell you this pretty much same price!
Rating: 3
MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2013)
Pretty good computer, rather fast and of course very lightweight. However let me point two things. First, and minor, its screen is rather low quality if compared to MacBook Pro or something similar, so if you are switching from such but older one you might definetly see the difference all the time at first. However what is the most annoying about this nearly perfect computer is its magnetic charger connector. This thing slides off any time you take the computer. Every. Time. Plugs off! It's annoying, annoying, annoying! Rather than that its a good computer.
Rating: 3
Apple Watch Black Leather Loop Band (original!)
This band is very comfortable and pretty good looking, very nice snug, nice magnets, almost everything is good about it, except one thing - if you sweat a lot or do some sports it might absorb moisture really fast and get a bit smelly. But I believe this might be an issue with all other leather bands as well! If not this its a very nice band.
Rating: 2
IKEA Trogsta floor lamp (white)
Well, the lamp is doing its job. It gives light, it is pretty bright to lit the middle size room. However lamp itself is very fragile - very thin poles, very thin lampshade. Looks cheap from upclose too. Basically it's a so-so product
Rating: 4
This thing is awesome. Yes, it's expensive but its a state of art. I adore it and highly recommend if you can drop some green on it!
Rating: 1
Don't buy! The paste itself is pretty ok, but the packaging is bad - it gets clogged fast and then it starts rupturing the tube so it all gets really messy. Find some other toothpaste!
Rating: 2
Pretty boring. Maybe suitable for kids 2-5 year old. For elder and adults is really boring. Only a couple good jokes. Actually just one.
Rating: 1
This thing is horrible: bad sound, horrible quality of plastic and wires, rubber pieces on ear pieces not holding up etc. Don't buy!
Rating: 1
Straight Outta Compton 2015 movie
Well, first of my concerns was if this movie ok for young teenagers. It is ok, nothing really bad happening there except one scene of the naked women which are not really that naked. Second thing - this movie is boring. The trailer is much more live and fun than the movie itself. It's pretty much unrealistic and not convincing. The rag-to-riches sequence is done very fast - you don't even enjoy them being first not popular then popular. The nowadays generation probably cant reflect the real thing. So my conclusion - not worth the visit!
Rating: 3
Very good smell, in Europe they sell them a lot but here in USA it took some time to found. They sell them in Saks Fifth Avenue and online..
Rating: 3
Pretty good one, carrying it with myself in the purse. Also, you can order somewhere a small iphone cable - like two inch long which adds nicely to this charger.
Rating: 2
Orzly stand for Apple Watch and iPhone
They sent me this thing with a great delay - over one month. More than that, it is not what I expected at all - it doesn't have the iPhone type of dock - you can't plug it in like you might expect it into this stand. You need to plug the charger to phone first and then just put the phone laying on the stand like its just a normal stand. As for the apple watch part its pretty OK.
Rating: 3
really cool, and as noted by guys on reddit probably the most popular around
Rating: 3
Very good one, as soon as I got it polished all my jewelery around and its shining new
Rating: 3
Endust lcd screen wipes
Work pretty good for the price, got those from Target. Usual problem of such things is that they become dry in a short period of time rendering the while unused stack useless. Those are pretty moist even in a few months after opening the package.
Rating: 2
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
I watched a Mission Impossible Rogue Nation today and it was not bad. A few moments there were actually pretty cool and unexpected, rather at some moments it was really boring and clich�. My verdict - you can go to it, but movies these days are not that good anymore :(
Rating: 3
Pretty cool cordyceps, maybe really the best one around as it comes in extract form, not just mushrooms.
Rating: 3
This one is really good, I use it with new MacBook and the speeds of video files transfer from my SD card is really fast!
Rating: 3
This board is pretty sturdy and good, I like it even as an adult, it doesnt break in half as other more cheaper boards
Rating: 3
Whole foods foaming soap is probably the best around. It foams very good but this foam doesnt leave the heavy oily feeling most of other foaming soaps do. I recommend it!
Rating: 4
Golden Goose Super Star sneakers
Very cool though a bit pricey. I got those from Barneys discounted in half and since then those are my favorite pair of shoes. Never thought sneakers can be so comfy and cool. All other shoes look not cool to me now and I get nervous if dont put those on. Highly recommended if you want some cool stuff.
Rating: 3
This place in Venice LA is pretty cool - plenty of vegan selection, aome rare stuff, some raw foods being made right on spit. Also a good place to meet celebrities I actually met a few
Rating: 3
The little Caribbean Puzzle stand on the Third Street promenade. The little toys look so attractive that people stop and buy almost every minute, among many other little stands on the third street this might be most popular.
Rating: 3
I like the case, pretty good one
Rating: 0
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What puzzle, meaning 'single number' in Japanese, requires the completion of a grid so that each column, row and 3x3 box contain the numbers 1-9?
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2012 Year In Review Video Timeline
Click Category Or Story Above - Or Scrowl Year 2012 Below
Year 2012 – Entertainment/Celebrity/Hollywood Info/Trends/Trivia -
January – Trump’s New Celebrity Apprentice Line-up - Mob boss widow Victoria Gotti, singer Clay Aiken and IndyCar champ Michael Andretti are on tap for the next edition of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice… “The Martha Stewart Show” ends production in April… Kristy McNichol - has come out publicly as a lesbian in hopes of helping others who have been bullied because of their sexual orientation… Jay-Z released his latest collaboration "Glory feat. B.I.C." on his website LifeandTimes.com on Monday. The new track commemorates the birth of Jay-Z and Beyonce's newborn baby girl, Blue Ivy… With Madonna performing the SuperBowl half-time show – it’s announced that Kelly Clarkson will perform the national anthem at Super Bowl XLVI… Will.i.am announced that he's doing a global tour with Intel to promote its new Ultrabooks… Goodbye Etta James - The 73-year-old blues legend died on Friday at Riverside (CA) Community Hospital from complications of leukemia… The first single from Madonna’s's upcoming album "MDNA" is called "Give Me All Your Luvin'" and is set for a February 3 release, two days before the singer performs at the Super Bowl… Top Movie, “The Grey”…
The One That Got Away - Katy Perry
February - Passing – Don Cornelious – best known as host of the long-running “Soul Train” music show… Rap artist M.I.A. flips the SuperBowl TV audience the bird – while performing with Madonna during the Halftime show!..
84th Academy Awards - Some Winners:
Best Picture - "The Artist"
Best actor - Jean Dujardin - "The Artist
Best actress - Meryl Streep - "The Iron Lady"
Best supporting actor - Christopher Plumper - "Beginners"
Best supporting actress - Octavia Spencer - "The Help"
More February - Top Pop Hit Song - "Stronger" – Kelly Clarkson… Michelle Obama and "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon turned the White House into a playground to promote the first lady's "Let's Move!" fitness campaign… Mrs. Obama and Fallon did pushups and twirled hula hoops… Passing – Whitney Houston (48) is found dead in a hotel room bath after two nights of heavy partying. Ms. Houston was found dead by her bodyguard in a hotel suite reportedly littered with bottles of prescription pills. Paramedics rushed to revive the 48-year-old but she was pronounced dead at 3.55pm yesterday afternoon.… Oprah Winfrey took to Twitter last night to ask Nielsen viewers to watch her cable network OWN…
Goodbye Whitney Houston
54th Annual Grammy Award - Some Winners:
Album of the Year: "21," Adele
Record/Song of the Year: "Rolling in the Deep," Adele
New Artist: Bon Iver…
More February 2012 Pop - The sketch-comedy series "Key & Peele" has earned a second season from Comedy Central two weeks after its premiere… A Los Angeles talk radio team has been suspended for 10 days for referring to the late Whitney Houston as a “crack ho.” John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, known as John and Ken on KFI in Los Angeles, apologized for the comments… Passing – Davy Jones of the Monkees – of a heart attack at 66… 84th Annual Academy Awards – 1. Best Picture: "The Artist"… 2. Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"… Best Actress: Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
March – Oprah Winfrey has landed the first sitdown interview with Bobbi Kristina Brown since the passing of her mother, Whitney Houston… Top Pop Hit Music Single, “Set Fire To The Rain” – Adele… Rapper Coolio was arrested on a warrant charging him with failure to appear in court on a traffic ticket almost two years ago… Music Passing - Michael Hossack, longtime drummer for the classic rock band the Doobie Brothers, has died of cancer at age 65… Director and legendary actor Clint Eastwood has signed on to let the cameras shoot his home life, debuting May 20… George Clooney and his father were arrested Friday during a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy… Rosie O'Donnell 's daily talk program "The Rosie Show" was canceled by Oprah Winfrey 's OWN network… Kohl’s Stores Go American Idol - Kohl's has partnered with AI to create the exclusive apparel line, Authentic Collection, which will be sold in stores from April through June to coincide with season 11… Hilary Duff and her husband, hockey star Mike Comrie , welcomed their first child into the world… Hunger for “Hunger Games.” There’s a huge buzz for the movie – which opens in a few days… To kick off the release of her new album, Madonna is joining Twitter for one day to answer questions from fans. The pop legend will be turning to Twitter on Monday night to promote her 12th studio album, MDNA… Keith Olbermann is looking for a new job after less than a year as a talk show host at Current TV…
April – The group behind the "Kony 2012? internet video that broke records by getting more than 100 million views in less than a week - and subsequently received heavy criticism - is planning to release a sequel…A Burger King commercial featuring Mary J.Blige singing about chicken has been pulled. But the fast-food chain is blaming music licensing issues for the decision — not criticism of the ad… Bruce Willis and his wife, Emma Heming Willis, welcome their first child into the world…
"Glad You Came" - The Wanted
Music news – Academy Of Country Music Awards 2012- Winners: Entertainer of the year: Taylor Swift… Top male vocalist: Blake Shelton… Top female vocalist: Miranda Lambert…
Blake Shelton - "Honey Bee" Hit From 2011
More April 2012 Pop - Heidi Klum moved to end her marriage from singer Seal a little over two months after they separated… Latin pop singer Marc Anthony has filed for divorce from singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, ending their seven-year marriage… Engaged - Brad and Angelina are going to get married…
Passing – American pop culture icon Dick Clark (82)…
Dick Clark Introduces Beach Boys 1964
More April - Rihanna's fans were surprised to see her upload Instagram photos that feature her sitting on top of a bald bodyguard's head, rolling what appears to be a cigar leaf full of marijuana… Rocker and wildlife hunter Ted Nugent has agreed to plead guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed in southeast Alaska… President Obama appears on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" …“The Voice” vs “American Idol” – Social Media says “The Voice” has more traffic - The Voice" has proven to be a formidable foe to the formerly untouchable "American Idol" on the ratings front… People magazine has named Beyonce as the World's Most Beautiful Woman for 2012… Passing - Tommy Marth, saxophonist for the rock group The Killers at 33. .. New Selena Gomez Perfume Is Launched…
May – CNN ratings have hit the lowest numbers they’ve achieved since August 2001. In April of 2012, CNN ratings plummeted a total 21% over April of 2011, and in the 25-54 year old demographic, the decline was even more marked, with a 29% drop… Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has been set to host the season finale of Saturday Night Live… Passing- Beastie Boys’ “MCA”… Adam Yauch. He was 47… President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama honor songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David… Movie, "The Avengers" smash debut box office receipts with a $200.3 million first-weekend debut….
More From The Month Of May - Tom Gabel, the lead singer of punk rock band, “Against Me!”, says he's becoming a woman... Shock jock Howard Stern promised to tone down his act for his judge's role on "America's Got Talent"… Britney Spears To Be A Judge On “X-Factor” next season…
Passing – Disco Music Legend Donna Summer (63) of cancer. Lovingly named the "Queen of Disco" …
Donna Summer At Her Peak
Billboard Music Awards - Top Artist: Adele, Top New Artist: Wiz Khalifa, Top Male Artist: Lil Wayne, Top Female Artist: Adel…
Passing - Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, who with brothers Barry and Maurice helped define the disco era. He was 62…
Robin Sings Out Front On, "I Started A Joke" From 1969
More May 2012 Pop - Lady Gaga canceled her sold-out show in Indonesia after Islamist hard-liners threatened violence, claiming her sexy clothes and provocative dance moves would corrupt the youth… Phillip Phillips Crowned American Idol winner… Justin Bieber sings on TV's "Ellen" performing his hit single Boyfriend to diehard fans with Bieber Fever!... CBS declared victory in the 2011-12 television season, saying it was the most-watched U.S. network for the 9th year thanks to hits like crime drama "NCIS" and the nation's top comedy "TheBig Bang Theory"…. American Idol Champ Phillip Phillips' "Home" sold 278K digital copies in its first week, more than any other coronation song (an official single celebrating the winner's victory) in American Idol history… Passing - Jim Paratore -- the man who founded TMZ and created a slew of hit shows including "Ellen" and "Rosie" -- died of an apparent heart attack Tuesday during a bike trip in France…
"Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye fea. Kimbra
June – Police say Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose was robbed of three gold-and-diamond necklaces worth some $200,000 after the hard rock band's concert in Paris… Miley Engaged - After three years of dating, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are ready to say “I do”… Bob Welch(66), a guitarist who played with Fleetwood Mac before launching a solo career, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest…
Top Pop Hit Music Single – “Call Me Maybe” – Carly Rae Jepsen…
More From The Month Of June - Tom and Ray Magliozzi announced they're retiring from "Car Talk" on NPR this September… Reclusive singer Lauryn Hill says she hasn't paid taxes since she withdrew from society to guarantee the safety and well-being of herself and her family. The eight-time Grammy Award winner and New Jersey resident was charged this week with willfully failing to file income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service…Several members of the MTV "Jersey Shore" cast -- including Jenni "JWoww" Farleyand her boyfriend Rodger Mathews, Pauly "Pauly D" Delvecchio, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro andMike "The Situation" Sorrentino -- were involved in a "massive" bar brawl Friday night at Seaside Heights hotspot Bamboo Bar… 2012 Tony Award Winners – Best Musical: "Once", Best Play: "Clybourne Park"… Pink hair is here to stay! Demi Lovato debuted freshly dyed bright pink tips at the X-Factor San Francisco auditions this weekend… Ann Curry is reportedly being phased out of her co-anchor position at "Today"… Passing - Don Grady, an original Mouseketeer and Robbie of "My Three Sons" has died of cancer at the age of 68…Charlie Sheen's new FX comedy " Anger Management " debuted to huge numbers last night , scoring the biggest scripted comedy debut in cable history. It pulled in 5.47 million total viewers… After five years of marriage – Tom Cruise and Katy Holmes are calling it quits…
July – CNN’s Anderson Cooper has confirmed what most people in the media world and New York already knew: He is gay… Passing - Andy Griffith , the television icon who headlined The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock . Griffith was 86.
More July - Passing – Ernest Borgnine (95)… San Diego Comic-Con Death - A "Twilight" fan was struck and killed by a car in front of a horrified crowd of fellow Twi-hards camping out two days ahead of the opening of San Diego Comic-Con… Both Jenifer Lopez and Steven Tyler won’t be returning as judges on “American Idol.” Jennifer Lopez called in to " On Air With Ryan Seacrest " today to tearfully confirm that she is leaving " American Idol "… Passing - Hollywood movie producer Richard D. Zanuck (77)… Sylvester Stallone’s Son Dies - There were no signs of foul play or trauma in the death of Sage Stallone, at the age of 36… An epic Bruce Springsteen concert in London's Hyde Park ended on Saturday with organisers pulling the plug with the singer and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney still on stage and playing at full throttle after more than three hours of music… Several rock legends, including Elton John, Robert Plant and Queen guitarist Brian May, sent a letter to the Telegraph on Tuesday accusing Google of enabling pirates to steal their music. The letter, which was also sent to British Prime Minister David Cameron, implored both the government and the private sector to do more to protect musicians’ intellectual property rights … It’s announced that Mariah Carey will be replacing Jennifer Lopez as a judge on “American Idol”… Passing - Sherman Hemsley of “The Jeffersons” at 76… Passing - Chad Everett, the blue-eyed star of the1970s TV series "Medical Center" at 75… Snoop Dogg wants you to know that he's tired of hip-hop, is Bob Marley reincarnated and is embracing reggae instead of the culture of guns he once rapped about. Also, he's got a new name: Snoop Lion…. Passing - Gore Vidal - author, playwright and commentator has died in Los Angeles. He was 86….
August – An arrest warrant issued for Cuba Gooding Jr. was lifted on Wednesday after the "Jerry Maguire" actor met with police in New Orleans regarding an incident in which he allegedly pushed a female bartender… Stevie Wonder has filed for divorce from his wife Kai Millard Morris after 11 years of marriage… Music Passing - Marvin Hamlisch, who composed the scores for dozens of movies. He was 68… Passing - Judith Crist, a blunt and popular film critic in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, has died. She was 90… Justin Bieber makes a comment on Prince Harry’s thinning hair problem: “I mean, there are things to prevent that nowadays, like Propecia"… Legendary 60s pop-rock band The Monkees announce that they will tour together for the first time since singer Davy Jones died of a heart attack in February… Randy Travis was charged with driving while intoxicated after the country singer crashed his car and was found naked and combative at the scene… The Spice Girls Re-Unite for the Closing Olympic Ceremonies. They’d been gone for four years… Top Pop Hit Music Single – “Whistle” – Flo Rida… Snookie Has A Baby - Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and her love of two years, Jionni LaValle, welcomed their first child… Madonna - As she kicked off the U.S. leg of her "MDNA Tour" in Philadelphia, Madonna said she was happy to party in the USA after touring Europe for three months…Chris Lighty, a hip-hop mogul who helped the likes of Sean "Diddy" Combs, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey attain not only hit records, but also lucrative careers outside music, was found dead in his New York City apartment Thursday in an apparent suicide… LeAnn Rimes sued two women she claims illegally recorded a phone conversation with her and posted snippets online, one day after she sought professional help for anxiety and stress… Republican Convention – Clint Eastwood does a 12-minute improvised riff, which featured the 82-year-old Academy Award-winning actor and director pretending to have a conversation with an invisible President Obama, represented by an empty chair …
September – Randy Jackson will not return as a judge on "American Idol"…“Jersey Shore” will have just one more season – and that’s it. New season begins in October… Top Pop Hit Music Single – “Lights” – Ellie Goulding… iHeartRadio Music Fest In Las Vegas - Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Usher, Linkin Park, the reunited No Doubt, Brad Paisley, Green Day and more than a dozen other A-list performers will be headlining Clear Channel’s 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival. The list also includes: Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Lil Wayne, Swedish House Mafia, Pitbull, Deadmau5, Miranda Lambert, Enrique Iglesias, Linkin Park, Jason Aldean, Pink, Mary J. Blige, Calvin Harris and Shakira…A man allegedly clutching a pair of scissors was arrested after police say he tried to force himself inside Miley Cyrus’ Los Angeles home…
MTV Video Music Awards - Video of the Year: Rihanna, “We Found Love” feat Calvin Harris…
September - Lindsay Lohan was arrested in New York on charges that she clipped a pedestrian with her car and did not stop, police said… P!ink performs on the “Today” show… J.K. Rowling launched her long-anticipated first book for adults, "The Casual Vacancy"… George Strait To Stop Touring. The 60-year-old country music uperstar announced that he'll embark on his final concert tour early next year… Passing - Andy Williams, who charmed audiences with his mellow delivery of songs like "Moon River" and "Can't Get Use To Losing You" in the 1950s and 60s. He was 84… Bieber Throws-Up During Concert - The 18-year-old superstar, seemingly suffering from some sort of stomach ailment, threw up on stage during a concert in Glendale, Ariz..
October - David Chase has returned with his first work since "The Sopranos" went black. The director premiered his debut film, " Not Fade Away ," at the New York Film Festival… Nicki Minaj 's continued media exposure due to her judging role on "American Idol" has generated substantial social returns. An appearance on "The View," coupled with the launch of her own fragrance, brings 130,000 new fans to Minaj and lifts her 23-14 on Billboard's Social 50 chart… Top Pop Hit Music Single – “One More Night” – Maroon 5… Lady Gaga Gets Sick On Stage - During a concert in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday night, Lady Gaga vomited on stage not once, twice, but at least four times mid-performance… Justin Bieber Tweets That He
Was Robbed… that some of his belongings were stolen during a show in Washington state… Brad Pitt officially makes his debut as the first male spokesman for the iconic female perfume Chanel No. 5 in a new ad campaign… TV Buzz – “Honey Boo Boo”… Bruno Mars hosts and sings on "Saturday Night Live" and unannounced guest star Tom Hanks stopped by to mock the presidential debates…Elizabeth Taylor surpassed Michael Jackson as the highest-earning dead celebrity in the past year, with her estate pulling in $210 million, much of it from the auction of her jewels, costumes and artwork… AMC's "The Walking Dead" pulled in 9.5 million viewers for its first season showing. It was the second episode of the show's third season… Korean pop sensation PSY will bring his "Gangnam Style" to this year's MTV European Music Awards show in Frankfurt in November… Oprah Winfrey interviews Justin Bieber – saying it was her biggest since Michael Jackson… An Internet hoax claiming Justin Bieber had been diagnosed with cancer, and that fans had begun shaving their heads in solidarity…
November – Khloe Kardashian's first outing as the new co-host of "The X Factor" helped boost the show's audience by 30 percent…“Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together” NBC holds a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy featuring some artists native to the areas hardest hit. Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi of New Jersey and Billy Joel of Long Island are scheduled to appear at the concert, hosted by “Today” show co-host Matt Lauer. Other performers include Christina Aguilera and Sting… Blake Shelton wins the Country Music Association Awards' entertainer of the year… Thousands of Aerosmith fans watched the band perform on Monday in front of the building in Boston where they once lived… Top Pop Hit Music Single - “Gangnam Style” – PSY… Thousands of screaming fans lined the black carpet late on Monday(Nov. 12) for the final "Twilight" film premiere as the cast of "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" bid farewell to the franchise and its loyal followers…
More Month Of November - Country-pop star Taylor Swift will ring in the New Year as the headline act on TV special "New Year's Rockin' Eve," which will feature a two-hour tribute to late host Dick Clark…Biggest Rock Album Since 2008 - Mumford & Sons showed when the indie folk-rock quartet stormed the Billboard 200 last month with "Babel," which arrived with 600,000 copies sold… After nearly two years together, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez have gone their separate ways…. American Music Awards: Artist of the year: Justin Bieber , New artist of the year: Carly Rae Jepsen . Pop/rock female artist: Katy Perry , Pop/rock male artist: Justin Bieber … Passing - Larry Hagman – best known for “Dallas” and “I Dream Of Jeannie” at 81… Miley Cyrus has a new hair look – short and chopped and – still blonde. This is the second hair make-over for Miley this year, when in August – she went to a short – pixie-style look complete with bangs…
December – Alex Baldwin who plays ruthless executive Jack Donaghy on "30 Rock," has entered an overall deal with Universal Television, the studio arm of NBC Universal that produces the series. Under the two-year agreement, Baldwin will develop and produce series ideas for Universal TV - including projects that he will potentially star in…2012 Kennedy Center Honors - David Letterman's "stupid human tricks" and Top 10 lists vaulted into the ranks of cultural acclaim as the late-night comedian received this year's Kennedy Center Honors with rock band Led Zeppelin, actor Dustin Hoffman, Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy and ballerina Natalia Makarova… Shakira being sued by Ex-Boyfriend – as Antonio de la Rúa seeks to "recover damages" of at least $100 million for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty… Passing - Dave Brubeck, a jazz musician who attained pop-star acclaim with recordings such as "Take Five"… He was 91… Rihanna is delving into the world of fashion, starring in a reality television show competition that will challenge designers to make outfits for a handful of celebrities… The season finale of "The Voice" has enlisted some high-profile talent to help send the show's third cycle off with a bang. Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars and The Killers have been tapped to perform on the two-hour extravaganza… The annual Z-100 “Jingle Ball” was another success with top pop music acts from One Direction To Justin Bieber. Also appearing – Ne-Yo and Taylor Swift… 12/12/12 Concert - Bruce Springsteen was the opening act in a benefit concertto help neighbors in the New York metropolitan area hit hard by Superstorm Sandy. Also performing at Madison Square Garden, - Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys and the Rolling Stones…
More Month Of December - Passing - Ravi Shankar, the sitar master who influenced The Beatles. He was 92… ABC News veteran and former correspondent Sam Donaldson is facing a drunken driving charge in Delaware… Stones 50th Anniversary Concert – With Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga … and other top acts including the Black Keys and John Mayer jammed with the Stones… Madonna, 54, topped Billboard's list of highest-grossing live tours, earning an estimated $228.4 million in ticket sales from her sold-out ninth worldwide tour in support of her 12th studio album "MDNA"… WINNER - Cassadee Pope, who was country singer Blake Shelton's protege on the third season of NBC's "The Voice," has won the show's competition… Ashton Kutcher filed court papers to end his seven-year marriage to actress Demi Moore… Passing - Jack Klugman , the three-time Emmy Award-winning actor best known for his portrayals of slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison on TV's “The Odd Couple”… he was 90… Passing - Charles Durning, the two-time Oscar nominee who was dubbed the king of the character actors. He was 89… LeAnn Rimes and "The X Factor's" Carly Rose Sonenclar weren't quite in sync when they performed "How Do I Live Without You" and many say Rimes was awful… Janet Jackson is engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Qatari billionaire Wissam Al Mana... With Tate Stevens winning the X Factor - it looks like Britney Spears will not be asked back for next season’s “X-Factor”... New Years Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest – Set to perform – Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepson, Neon Trees, Pitbull, OneRepublic, Karmin, Brandy and Flo Rida... Taylor Swift 's "I Knew You Were Trouble" is shaping up to be the biggest beneficiary of gift card downloads, as it could sell somewhere in the range of 525,000 to 575,000...
The Year 2012 In News Headlines And Information
January 1 – An early morning New Year's shooting left four people dead at a condominium near San Diego, authorities said Sunday. Police responded to a 911 cellphone call of shots fired in Coronado, a wealthy seaside suburb of about 24,000 people on San Diego Bay…
January 8 - Romney Wins In New Hampshire - Republican front-runner Mitt Romney emerged on Sunday from back-to-back debates inNew Hampshire a bit dinged but not seriously dented as rivals stepped up attacks to slow his march toward the presidential nomination… Passengers leapt into the sea and fought over lifejackets in panic when an Italian cruise ship ran aground and keeled over, killing at least three and leaving dozens missing…
January 15 – Oil In Nome - Crews have laid a hose along a half mile stretch of Bering Sea ice and were hoping Monday to soon begin transferring 1.3 million gallons of fuel from a Russian fuel tanker to the iced-in western Alaska city of Nome… The co-founder of Pinkberry Frozen yogurt has been charged with assault for attacking a homeless panhandler with a tire iron after the man flashed a provocative tattoo at him…
January 22 - Oakland, CA - Riot police fought running skirmishes with anti-Wall Street protesters on Saturday, firing tear gas and bean bag projectiles and arresting more than 200 people in clashes that injured three officers and at least one demonstrator…
February 1 – Republican Primary – Mitt Romney Wins Florida. And, after his resounding 15-point victory in Florida, Mitt Romney has taken a giant leap toward securing the Republican presidential nomination… Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday… President Obama touted January's jobs gains as a signal of economy recovery and warned Congress not to "muck it up"…
February 8 - 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante - Missouri teenager sentenced to life in prison with possible parole for killing 9-year-old girl… BP said it had sanctioned a major new project in the Gulf of Mexico, the latest sign the British oil group is getting back to business in the area after its 2010 oil spill… The U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $3.3 billion in its first quarter… Gov. Chris Gregoire handed gay rights advocates a major victory Monday, signing into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington State…
February 15 – Iran trumpeted advances in nuclear technology on Wednesday, citing new uranium enrichment centrifuges and domestically made reactor fuel… Iran has stopped selling crude to British and French companies, the oil ministry said on Sunday, in a retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions…
February 22 - President Obama apologized Thursday(Feb23) in a letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the burning of Korans at the largest American military base in Afghanistan. The incident at Bagram Air Base has fueled days of angry protests… Two students die and three were wounded in a fusillade of bullets at Chardon High School Ohio (near Cleveland) in an attack that left "friends laying all over the place" in puddles of blood…
March 1 - Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., says he and his investigators have evidence that President Obama's birth certificate is a forgery… Super Tuesday Results - Republicans in 10 states weighed in on the GOP presidential nomination race in its busiest day yet. Mitt Romney won six states, Rick Santorum clinched three and Newt Gingrich prevailed in one… January ranked as the fourth-warmest for the 48 U.S. states on record since 1895…
March 8 – Moody's declared Greece in default on its debt Friday after Athens carved out a deal with private creditors for a bond exchange that will write off 107 billion euros ($140 billion) of its debt… Two people were killed and seven people were wounded in a shooting on Thursday at a psychiatric institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center… Afghan President Hamid Karzai said a U.S. service member killed 16 people — nine of them children and three women — in a shooting spree Sunday that he condemned as "an assassination"…
March 15 – Higher gas costs drove U.S. wholesale prices up last month. But excluding the big jump in gas, inflation was mostly tame… Convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich entered a federal prison in Colorado on Thursday to begin a 14-year sentence for corruption… A motorcycle assailant opened fire with two handguns Monday in front of a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse, killing a rabbi, his two young sons and a schoolgirl…
March 22 – Pink Slime Meat - Two of the biggest U.S. supermarket operators, Safeway Inc and Supervalu Inc, will stop buying the ammonia-treated beef product critics call "pink slime" because of customer concerns… More than 25,000 people filled Fort Mellon Park in Sanford, Florida on Thursday night(March22) to protest the lack of an arrest in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin …
Jet Blue Pilot Melts Down - one of the airline's captains had a mid-air meltdown , causing a flight from New York to Las Vegas to be diverted to Amarillo, Texas. The captain, Clayton Osbon, became incoherent and the co-pilot locked him out of the cockpit… Vermont teacher Melissa Jenkins was strangled and police today arrested a married couple and charged them with her death…
April 1 – A Pakistani court convicts Osama bin Laden's three widows and two of his daughters of illegally entering and living in the country and sentenced them to 45 days in prison, with credit for time served… President Obama signed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, banning insider trading on Capitol Hill…
April 8 – NBC News decision to air an edited call from George Zimmerman to police in the moments before he shot Trayvon Martin was "a mistake and not a deliberate act to misrepresent the phone call… The U.S. Navy deploys a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region amid rising tensions with Iran over its nuclear program… A massive 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia… George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., has been charged with second-degree murder in the 17-year-old's death…
April 15 – Causes Upheaval - The Los Angeles Times published photos of U.S. soldiers posing with what the paper said were bodies of insurgents in Afghanistan…
April 22 – Nine small bombs exploded in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, after an opposition supporter was shot dead in clashes ahead of a fourth nationwide strike in eight days…
May 1- Bangladesh - Rescuers on Tuesday(May1) had recovered 103 bodies from a turbulent northeastern river after a heavily packed ferry capsized… Five people, claiming to be anarchists, have been arrested near Cleveland for trying to blow up a bridge… President Barack Obama pays a surprise visit to Afghanistan…Criminal charges are filed against members of the Florida A&M University marching band who were involved in the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion last November… Federal authorities charged 107 doctors, nurses and social workers in seven cities with Medicare fraud Wednesday in a nationwide crackdown on unrelated scams that allegedly billed the taxpayer-funded program of $452 million… Arizona vigilante Jason Todd "J.T." Ready - the former Marine with ties to neo-Nazi and Minutemen groups is one of the five people killed in a shooting spree in Gilbert, Ariz…
May 8 – Michele Bachmann is now a Swiss citizen. The Minnesota congresswoman and former Republican presidential candidate was recently granted dual citizenship… North Carolina Bans Same Sex Marriage …
May 15 – Rebekah Brooks, a close confidante of Rupert Murdoch, was charged on Tuesday with interfering with a police investigation into a phone hacking scandal… Passing - Mary Richardson Kennedy - the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. died on Wednesday. She was 52... G8 Gathering - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged at a summit to work with Europe on a package that balances growth with debt reduction as world leaders try to prevent the worsening euro zone crisis from destabilizing the global economy…
May 22 – The world's tallest tower and Japan's biggest new landmark, the Tokyo Skytree, opened to the public… Authorities have arrested an alleged Zetas drug cartel leader nicknamed "El Loco," AKA the Fool or the Crazy One, on charges that he dumped 49 headless bodies on a highway outside Monterrey, Mexico…. Dharun Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail by a New Jersey judge who said he "acted out of colossal insensitivity" toward ex-roommate Tyler Clementi , who committed suicide over Ravi’s actions. Ravi, guilty of spying on Clementi, his gay college roommate, with a webcam… Romney Clinches Presidential Nomination with 1,144 delegates… Seattle Shooting Spree – Five Are Dead Plus The Gunman…
June 1 – New Mexico Wildfire Largest In Its History – 190,000 acres so far… Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison Saturday for his role in the killing of protesters during last year's revolution that forced him from power…
June 8 – Shellie Zimmerman - the wife of Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman is arrested, charged with perjury in connection with her testimony during her husband's bond hearing… The Justice Department announced Wednesday it will give up its criminal case against former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards…
June 15 - In a speech in the Rose Garden, President Barack Obama explained his administration's decision to allow as many as 800,000 young illegal immigrants to apply for temporary legal status and work permits… Found Dead - Rodney King - the man who was at the center of the infamous Los Angeles riots… Asians have surpassed Hispanics as the largest group of new immigrants to the United States…Commerce Secretary John Bryson, already on medical leave , has formally resigned his post…
June 22 - Jerry Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of child sexual molestation and faces up to 442 years in prison… Islamist Mohammed Morsi was declared the winner Sunday in Egypt's first free presidential election in history… The Supreme Court upheld a key part of Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration law in a 5-3 decision on Monday that allows police officers to ask about immigration status during stops…
July 1 – Syria's main opposition group says nearly 800 people have been killed in escalating violence across the country in the past week… President Barack Obama kicks off his first bus tour of the 2012 campaign with news meant to cheer struggling Rust Belt voters: His administration is taking on China over an allegedly unfair trade practice…
July 8 - President Barack Obama called for a one-year extension of Bush-era tax cuts on annual income up to $250,000, while letting those that chiefly benefit the very wealthy expire on schedule at year's end… Visa Inc, MasterCard Inc and banks that issue their credit cards have agreed to a $7.25 billion settlement with U.S. retailers in a lawsuit over the fixing of credit and debit card fees in what could be the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history…
July 15 - A JetBlue pilot suffered an eye injury when a green laser was pointed directly into the cockpit as the plane was en route to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport… An American Navy ship fired on a boat in the Persian Gulf , killing one person and injuring three others aboard the craft… A lone gunman burst into a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., at a midnight showing of the latest Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises," and opened fire, killing at least 12 people and injuring at least 50, police said. James Holmes, 24, of North Aurora, was apprehended at the scene clad in a bullet-proof vest and riot helmet….
July 22 – A pickup truck carrying 23 people veered off a Texas highway and crashed late Sunday, killing 14 and injuring 10 others… Passing- Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, died on Monday at her home in San Diego. She was 61… Damascus and Syria's second biggest city,Aleppo, came under shell fire as troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad stepped up efforts to crush rebels threatening the government's two main power centers…
August 1 - Chick-fil-A - CEO - Dan Cathy, after saying he supported traditional marriage – set off Chick-fil-A protests for gay marriage and those against gay marriage… At least seven people were killed, including the suspected gunman, in a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., south of Milwaukee… NASA's Curiosity rover has transmitted its first color photo and a low-resolution video showing the last 2 1/2 minutes of its white-knuckle dive through the Martian atmosphere…
August 8 - President Barack Obama is pledging a wide-ranging response to the worst drought in a quarter-century. In his weekly radio/Internet address, the President said his administration is giving farmers and ranchers access to low-interest emergency loans, is opening more federal land for grazing and is distributing $30 million to get water to livestock… Three people, including a police officer and the suspected gunman, are dead following a shooting near the Texas A&M campus in College Station…
August 15 - President Barack Obama said the United States needed to do more to safeguard U.S. troops after a spate of Afghan "insider" attacks that have left 10 American troops killed in the past two weeks… Rep Akin Facing Firestorm After Comment - Facing a firestorm of criticism over his comments about "legitimate rape," Missouri Rep. Todd Akin canceled a scheduled interview with CNN's Piers Morgan…
August 22 – President Barack Obama is holding on to his lead in Ohio, but he now faces tighter races in Florida and Wisconsin… Navy SEAL Book - The U.S. government was surprised by the news that a Navy SEAL who participated in the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan has written a book about the operation in which the al Qaeda leader was killed. "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden" was written by a Navy SEAL under the pseudonym Mark Owen…
September 1 - Rebels seized an air defense facility and attacked a military airport in eastern Syria… As the remnants of Hurricane Isaac pushed their way up the Mississippi valley, spinning off severe thunderstorms and at least four tornadoes, some on the Gulf Coast were impatient with the pace of restoring power days after the storm dragged through the region…Responding to popular demand from beer enthusiasts, the White House has released the "secret" recipes for two of President Obama's home brews - a honey ale and honey porter… Charlotte Democratic Convention - Bill Clinton Makes Obama Nomination Speech… Chicago-area police sergeant Drew Peterson is guilty of first-degree murder in the 2004 drowning death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio…
September 8 – More outrage about a film mocking Mohammad… the movie – from Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is called "Innocence of Muslims” which depicts Mohammad as a buffoon…Islamist militants armed with antiaircraft weapons and rocket-propelled grenades stormed a lightly defended United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya , killing American ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three members of his staff… For the first time in a quarter of a century, Chicago teachers went on strike after last-ditch negotiations over the weekend failed to produce a new labor agreement for the country’s third-largest school district…The first eight months of 2012 have been the warmest of any year on record in the contiguous United States…At least three people died and 28 others were wounded after police fought hundreds of protesters who ransacked the U.S. embassy in Tunisia in their fury over a film denigrating the Prophet Mohammad…
September 15 – The Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda urged Muslims to step up protests and kill more U.S. diplomats in Muslim countries after a U.S.-made film mocking the Prophet Mohammad which it said was another chapter in the "crusader wars" against Islam"… Protesters enraged by a film mocking the Prophet Mohammad battled with police in several Asian cities on and vented their fury against the United States, blaming it for what they see as an attack on the Muslim religion… A French magazine ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad by portraying him naked in cartoons, threatening to fuel the anger of Muslims around the world who are already incensed by a film depiction of him as a womanizing buffoon.
September 22 - Afghanistan banned all Pakistani newspapers from entering the country in an attempt to block the Taliban from influencing public opinion via the press… President Barack Obama acknowledged in unaired portions of a "60 Minutes" interview that his campaign ads sometimes go "overboard" when it comes to attacking Mitt Romney…Amid warnings from other world leaders—and planned protests outside—Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, his last speech in front of the world body as president of Iran… Greek police clashed with hooded rioters hurling petrol bombs as tens of thousands took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday in Greece's biggest anti-austerity protest in more than a year… Army brigadier general Jeffrey Sinclaiar has been charged with forcible sodomy, inappropriate relationships, and possessing alcohol and pornography while serving as a senior commander in Afghanistan earlier this year… A man who apparently lost his job at a Minnesota sign-making business returned to the company and allegedly killed four people before fatally shooting himself…
October 1 – Mitt Romney said that the presidential debate won't be about "winning or losing" but instead it will be a chance for the candidates to describe the "pathway" on which they'd like to take the country… Californians awoke to yet another unprecedented spike in the price of gasoline that brought the one-week increase in the Golden State to a whopping 36 cents a gallon… An outbreak of a rare and deadly form of meningitis has now sickened 26 people in five states who received steroid injections mostly for back pain…
October 8 - Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the "worst-case scenarios" were now playing out in Syria and Turkey would do everything necessary to protect itself, as its army fired back for a sixth day after a shell from Syria flew over the border…The United States sends military troops to the Jordan-Syria border to help build a headquarters in Jordan and bolster that country's military capabilities in the event that violence escalates along its border with Syria… Unemployment in Greece hit a record high of 25.1 percent in July as the country's financial crisis continues to exact its heavy toll… Canada was in uproar over a 15-year-old schoolgirl who was found dead, an apparent suicide, five weeks after she uploaded a video to YouTube describing years of bullying that drove her to drugs and alcohol… Jim Lehrer said that he accomplished precisely what he wanted to while moderating the first presidential debate: get Mitt Romney and Barack Obama talking to each other…
October 15 – A shooting at a spa near a Brookfield, Wis., mall left three dead and four others wounded… Passing - George S. McGovern(90), a proud liberal who argued fervently against the Vietnam War…
October 22 –– Third and Final Presidential Debate. This one moderated by Bob Schieffer – who, so far, did the best job. Conducted at Lynn University, it looks like both did a decent job. No clear winner… A CNN.com story headlined "Do hormones drive women's votes?" sparked a social media backlash that lasted for seven hours… The East Coast is bracing for Hurricane Sandy, a "rare hybrid storm" that is expected to bring a life-threatening storm surge to the mid-Atlantic coast, Long Island Sound and New York harbor… Sandy Hits – As millions along the East Coast awoke Tuesday without power or mass transit, with huge swaths of the nation's largest city unusually vacant and dark. New York was among the hardest hit, with its financial heart in Lower Manhattan shuttered for a second day and seawater cascading into the still-gaping construction pit at the World Trade Center… New Jersey took the brunt with coastal flooding and power outages everywhere.
Hurricane Sandy - CBS-TV
November 1 - Death toll is up as At least 95 people in North America died in the superstorm and officials said the count could climb higher as rescuers searched house-to-house through coastal towns… Hurricane Sandy – Seems that Staten Island has some real problems. 19 are dead, including two boys – taken away by a water surge while their mom tried to hold on to them in their SUV… Workplace Shooting – Three Dead In Fresno - Deliberately and methodically, a Fresno meat-processing plant employee shot four of his co-workers -- two fatally -- before killing himself… Obama Wins - President Barack Obama claimed a second term from an incredibly divided electorate and immediately braced for daunting challenges and progress that comes only in fits and starts…
Obama Victory Speech - 2012
November 8 – Damage in New York State from Superstorm Sandy could total $33 billion when all is said and done, Gov.Andrew Cuomo said Thursday as the state began cleaning up from a nor'easter that dumped snow, brought down power lines and left hundreds of thousands of new customers in darkness… CIA Director David Petraeus has submitted his resignation to President Obama, citing an extramarital affair… An outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to steroid shots for back pain made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts. So far, 32 have died…
November 15 - Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza, including the prime minister's office… U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clintonin Jerusalem for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as expectations rose of a ceasefire soon to end a week of fighting around the Gaza Strip… After 82 Years – Hostess – is going out of business. It was best known for Twinkies and Hostess cup cakes – but its desert products were part of growing up in America…
November 22 - Joe Luis Saenz, one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives was arrested in Mexico and returned to Los Angeles to face charges of murder, kidnapping and rape… Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak abruptly announced he was quitting politics, injecting new turmoil into the Israeli political system weeks ahead of general elections… Winning tickets for the record Powerball jackpot worth more than $587 million were purchased in Arizona and Missouri… Lindsay Lohan is arrested and charged with third-degree assault after a fight at a nightclub in the Chelsea section of New York City…
December 1 - Radio Address - President Obama is urging Congress to extend tax breaks for the middle class, saying it's "unacceptable for some Republicans in Congress to hold middle class tax cuts hostage simply because they refuse to let tax rates go up on the wealthiest Americans"… The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has returned home to a hero's welcome after winning a resounding endorsement for Palestinian independence at the United Nations… A 7.7 quake centered off northeastern Japan shook buildings as far away as Tokyo triggering a one-meter tsunami in an area devastated by last year's Fukushima disaster, but there were no reports of deaths or serious damage…
December 8 - The sudden (suicide) death of a nurse who unwittingly accepted a prank call to a London hospital about Prince William's pregnant wife Kate has shocked Britain and Australia, and sparked an angry backlash from some who argue the DJs who carried out the hoax should be held responsible… Gunman Opens Fire In A Portland Mall - The masked gunman who opened fire in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., killing two and seriously injuring a third before killing himself… 20 children and six adults were shot and killed at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. The massacre involved one gunmen who was also dead at the scene…
December 15 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who skipped an overseas trip this past week because of a stomach virus, sustained a concussion after fainting… The gunman in the Connecticut shooting rampage committed suicide as first responders closed in, the governor said Sunday, raising the specter that Adam Lanza had planned an even more gruesome massacre and was stopped short. Lanza blasted his way into the building and used a high-power rifle to kill 20 children and six
adults, including the principal who tried to stop him, authorities said… Time magazine has named President Barack Obama as its 2012 Person of the Year …. NRA - the nation's largest gun-rights lobby called for armed police officers to be posted in every American school to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings"…
December 22 - A gunman set a trap and shot and killed two firefighters responding to an early morning blaze in Webster, N.Y., police officials said. Two other firefighters were in serious condition… A "stubborn" fever that kept former President George H.W. Bush in a hospital over Christmas has gotten worse, and doctors have put him on a liquids-only diet… A powerful winter storm system pounded the nation's midsection Wednesday and headed toward the Northeast, where people braced for the high winds and heavy snow that disrupted holiday travel… Facing a stalemate in "fiscal cliff" talks, President Barack Obama pressed his Republican foes in Congress to have some eggnog, sing some Christmas carols and come back to work next week ready to pass a scaled-back plan to help middle-class Americans… President Vladimir Putin signed a bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children, part of a harsh response to a U.S. law targeting Russians deemed to be human rights violators… Passing - H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the retired general credited with leading U.S.-allied forces to a victory in the first Gulf War, has died at age 78…
Year 2012 In Technology News And Information
January- Wikipedia's English-language site shut down and the organization said it would stay down for 24 hours. Instead of encyclopedia articles, visitors to the site saw a stark black-and-white page with the message: "Imagine a world without free knowledge"… Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is leaving the struggling Internet company, as it tries to revive its revenue growth and win over disgruntled shareholders under a new leader… SOPA STOPPED FOR NOW - Immediately following Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’ss (D-NV) decision to postpone a full vote on “Protect IP Act” (PIPA), which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, Rep. Lamar Smith(R-TX), chief sponsor of the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA), has announced that he will delay further consideration of the contentious anti-piracy bill in the House “until there is wider agreement on a solution”… Facebook - announced in a blog post that Timeline will be coming to all users in the next few weeks…
Top Video Games Here In January 2012:
Kinect Adventures X360
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 X360
Mario Kart 7 3DS
Super Mario 3D Land 3DS
Zumba Fitness Wii
Call of Duty: Modern warfare 3 PS3
NBA 2K12 X360
The Elder scrolls V: Skyrim X360
Kinect Sports: Season Two X360
February – Facebook files to raise $5 billion in an initial public offering. In 2011, Facebook earned $1 billion on sales of $3.7 billion. As of December 31, Facebook had 845 million monthly active users… Pinterest – Hot Social Website - Pinterest is the breakout social network of 2012… Kodak is exiting the digital camera business and it will instead license its brand name to other camera manufacturers… "Slingo," a leader in online games for 17 years, is making its way to Facebook with a redesigned version of the popular bingo/slot-machine game… The Federal Bureau of Investigation may soon be forced to shut down a number of key Domain Name System (DNS) servers, which would cut Internet access for millions of Web users around the world. In November of last year, authorities arrested six men in Estonia for the creation and spread of DNSCharger, which reconfigures infected computers’ Internet settings, and re-routes users to websites that contain malware, or other illegal sites…
March – YouTube Trend – Kids posting Youtube videos asking – ?Am I pretty, Am I ugly?” mostly by young girls…
More March - Apple releases its third-generation iPad. No, it doesn’t have a name… Top Video Game – X360/PS3 – “Mass Effect”… A Bangladesh court on Wednesday(March22) ordered authorities to shut down five Facebook pages and a website for blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed, the Koran and other religious subjects… Losing Your Smartphone - On average, people lose their smartphone once per year, according to Lookout Mobile Security… Online Movie Watching Outpaces DVD’s For The First Time - U.S. movie buffs will pay to watch more movies online in 2012 than they will on physical video formats like DVD…
April – Google and Apple continue to dominate the smartphone market in the US. More than seven out of ten smartphone owners in the country own a device that runs on Google’s Android operating system or Apple’s iOS operating system… Twitter is cracking down on spammers. The company on Thursday filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco against five of its most aggressive spam enablers… Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock…Walmart launches a service that converts customers’ DVDs and Blu-Rays and upload them to its cloud storage, so the film can be viewed anywhere and on various devices from computers to iPads to mobile phones…
May – Microsoft launches a $99 Xbox console package with a monthly subscription. Microsoft will offer a 4GB console and a Kinect sensor for $99 and a monthly subscription of $15 that will run for two-years… - Now that Pinterest is the third most visited social network in the U.S., some startups are seizing the opportunity to facilitate pinning across the web. Case in point: WP Pinner, an all-in-one Pinterest tool for users of the blogging platform WordPress… FaceBook Creates App Center - Facebook users who haven't yet discovered the joys of FarmVille or plugged in to the sounds of Spotify will be getting an easier way to find apps that run on the site… Beginning To See Signs Of Change – Google Chrome routed more Internet traffic than Microsoft's Internet Explorer… Google Places is gone, replaced by a new feature that combines its Google Plus social site and renowned restaurant reviewers Zagat…
June – Netflix said it has created its own content delivery network called Open Connect. It's a series of servers, routers and fiber that can send Netflix video from the source to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Comcast, Time Warner Cable) amd Verizon Wireless… Kicking off the annual E3 video games trade show — by far the biggest week in the video games calendar -- market leader Microsoft took the stage at a Los Angeles press conference and unveiled, "Xbox SmartGlass"… Facebook starts rolling out the App Center: A mobile app portal within the social networking site. With 600 titles available at launch, App Center collects the apps that can post to Facebook as well as the ones that use the site for login authentication… A new Internet standard giving the global network more room to grow is now in effect. Internet operators switched to a new standard called IPv6 that allows for trillions of "IP" numbers or addresses, up from the current 4.3 billion… Top Video Game - Diablo III (PC)… Apple's social network Ping will be gone in the next release of iTunes…
July - Bad News For Blackberry as RIM reported 5,000 layoffs, a giant quarterly loss and -- worst of all -- another delay to its next BlackBerry system as the company's BlackBerry 10 operating system in January… Netflix Sets Streaming Record - Netflix CEO Reed Hastings posted on Facebok that the company had exceeded 1 billion hours of streaming video in June… Yahoo is hiring longtime Google executive Marissa Mayer to be its next CEO, the fifth in five years as the company struggles to rebound from financial malaise and internal turmoil… Microsoft Corp reported its first quarterly loss as a public company on Thursday as it took a previously announced hit for writing down the value of its ailing online unit… YouTube launched its own face-blurring tool, a valuable tool for protesters trying to protect themselves from government recrimination... Demand for Google's 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet seems to have well exceeded the tech giant's expectations. Last week, Google posted a message to its online store saying that shipments of the 16GB model were delayed one to two weeks… First Time For Google – Google said Thursday that in Kansas City it will sell both wideband Internet access and cable-TV programming, charging subscribers $120 monthly for a package that includes a 1 GB Internet connection, hundreds of high-definition networks and a Nexus 7 tablet computer that will operate as a remote control for its cable service…
August –Microsoft has finally said that Windows 8 is now complete . Microsoft has begun delivering RTM versions to manufacturers and the general availability of the tablets and computers using Windows 8 will be on October 26th… Pandora's share of overall radio listening now 6.13% about double from last year… Top Video Game - “Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance” (3DS)… Strong demand for Google’s debut tablet were reaffirmed shortly after the Nexus 7 launched, as Google quickly sold out of its entry-level model …
September –Samsung accuses Apple of resorting to litigation in an effort to limit consumer choice after the iPhone maker said it was seeking to stop the sale of Galaxy S III smartphones in the United States… Android is growing at a rapid pace. Last December there were 700k devices activated each day. Then, earlier this summer, that number was at 900k. One month later in late July it hit 1M. Now, in early September, there are 1.3M devices activated every single day…Google announced it is discontinuing support for Internet Explorer 8 in Google Apps , including its Business, Education, and Government editions…Apple unveiled a thinner, taller, faster iPhone 5 at a highly anticipated event in San Francisco. The device, which is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S, is the thinnest smartphone in the world… A German court has dismissed Apple Inc.'s claim that Samsung Electronics and Google Inc.'s Motorola Mobility infringed patents used in touch-screen devices… The company that makes Apple's iPhones suspended production at a factory in China on Monday after a brawl by as many as 2,000 employees at a dormitory injured 40 people…
October – Samsung is suing Apple over claims that the iPhone 5 infringed on its patents"… Facebook tops 1 billion users… Facebook rolls out a feature in the U.S. that lets users pay to promote their posts to friends, just as advertisers do… On-Line Scammer Kristy Ross Caught – Fined $163 million - For the last five years, Ms. Ross has been flooding the internet with pop-up ad after pop-up ad, all claiming that your computer — yes, yours specifically — is infected with viruses … Pirate101," the follow-up to the popular, free online kids' game "Wizard101," is launching to the general public on Oct. 15… Top Video Game - Resident Evil 6 (X360/PS3)… After years of losing money, Newsweek announced that it will stop printing its magazine and become a digital-only publication… Best Buy Co Inc is planning to sell its own tablet, the Android-based "Insignia Flex," for $239 to $259…Apple has lost its appeal against a ruling that cleared rival Samsung of copying its registered designs for tablet computers, in a decision which could end the two firms' legal dispute on the subject across Europe… Microsoft launches its new Windows 8 operating system and Surface tablet …Hurricane Sandy - Many cell towers that are still working are doing so with the help of generators and could run out of fuel before commercial power is restored, the Federal Communications Commission said. The landline phone network has held up better in the affected area, which stretches from Virginia to Massachusetts, the FCC said.
November – Microsoft has announced that Windows chief Steven Sinofsky, heir apparent to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, has left the company… Google is investing $75 million in an Iowa wind farm as part of its effort to encourage development of cleaner energy sources. The deal gives Google Inc. a stake in the Rippey Wind Farm in Greene County, Iowa… Black Friday retail sales online this year topped $1 billion for the first time ever as more consumers used the Internet do their early holiday shopping… Microsoft is trying to skewer Google as a lousy holiday shopping guide in its latest attempt to divert more traffic to its Bing search engine. The attack began this week with a marketing campaign focused on a recent change in how Google runs the part of its search engine devoted to shopping results. The revisions require merchants to pay Google to have their products listed in the shopping section. In its new ads, Microsoft Corp. contends the new approach betrays Google Inc.'s longstanding commitment to provide the most trustworthy results on the Web, even if it means foregoing revenue.
December - Verizon and Coinstar announced a joint video streaming service to compete with Netflix and Amazon . The service, which is called Redbox Instant by Verizon, is now in its testing phase and is set to become available by the end of the year…After a long period of closed beta testing, Microsoft made the beta version of its social network, Socl, available to everyone… Google announced the latest numbers for its Google+ social network and described it as the “fastest-growing network” of all time. The Internet giant revealed that more than 500 million people have joined the social networking service since it launched a little over 14 months ago… Google Launches It’s IOS - so Apple phone users finally have a map that works… Hulu Plus more than doubled the number of subscribers who pay for access to its premium content in 2012. The streaming service now numbers 3 million paid subscribers… Families across the United States had to rely on other sources of entertainment after Netflix's video streaming service was hit by a Christmas Eve outage…
Year 2012 In Sports News And Other Fascinating Facts
January – Joe Torre resigned as Major League Baseball's executive vice president for baseball operations to join a group trying to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. Torre managed the Dodgers from 2008-10, then retired and joinedMLB last February as a top aide to Commissioner Bud Selig…. Hostess/Wonder Bread files for Chapter 11 BK Protection… Jim Rome, the notorious radio and TV talker - he of the acerbic rants and intentional provocation - has switched networks again, going from ESPN to CBS Sports… Joe Paterno wishes he had done more after hearing accusations in 2002 that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky had been caught acting inappropriately with a young boy in the Penn State locker room, but admits he "didn't know which way to go" with the information… Passing - Joe Paterno Jr.whose glittering career as Penn State's football coach was tainted by a child sex-abuse scandal. He was 85…
February – McDonald's has announced that it will be discontinuing the use of the controversial meat product known as boneless lean beef trimmings in its burgers. The product was recently brought to the attention of the public by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who derisively referred to it as "pink slime"… SuperBowl 46 – New York Giants 21… New England Patriots – 17… An record average of 111.3 million total viewers tuned in to NBC 's SuperBowl coverage, according to figures from Nielsen… Mars, the candy maker, plans to shrink its candy bars come next year. A regular Snickers bar will be slimmed down about 11%... Passing – Baseball’s Gary Carter. The star catcher, whose single for the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series… NY Knicks Jeremy Lin in the Spotlight… Police were called in to break up a crowd that had gathered at the Florida Mall near Orlando in anticipation of the release of a new limited edition, glow-in-the-dark Nike shoe…
March – Passing - Andrew Breitbart, the outspoken conservative writer, activist and website operator. He was 43… Rush Limbaugh tells his talk show fans that a law student was a "slut" for her testimony to Congress about the need for birth control coverage. On Friday, two days after Limbaugh's tirade, President Barack Obama called student Sandra Fluke to commend her willingness to speak out and share her dismay over the slur…. A tearful Peyton Manning announced the end of his 14-year career with the Indianapolis Colts … Denver Broncos players, linebacker D.J. Williams, defensive tackle Ryan McBean and tight end Virgil Green, have been suspended for violating the NFL's anti-doping policy… Five Year - $98 million Deal - Free agent quarterback Peyton Manning will play for the Denver Broncos… Lottery ticket-holders in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland each selected the winning numbers for the world record-breaking $640 million Mega Millions jackpot… Magic Johnson’s Investment Group To Purchase The LA Dodgers – At A Record Price - $2.15 billion dollars…
April – New Disney Cruise Ship Emphasizes Unique Gaming - Disney launches its newest ship, the Disney Fantasy , out of Port Canaveral, Florida… Passing – Thomas Kinkade (54) – famed painter – of natural causes… Emmy-Award TV writer/director Ken Levine publishes his third book – “Growing Up In The ‘60’s”… The Kentucky Wildcats beat the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59 to win the NCAA men's basketball championship in New Orleans… Passing - Mike Wallace – best known for his work on “60 Minutes”… Fox News said it was firing Joe Muto - an employee who had anonymously posted videos and comments about behind-the-scenes workdays at the television network, leading media website Gawker to dub him the "mole”… Bubba Johnson wins the Masters after winning in a sudden death playoff and a shot to the green from the woods… The Red Sox blew a 9-0 lead after the Yankees posted back-to-back seven-run innings in the seventh and eighth in New York's unlikely 15-9 victory ... Goodbye New Jersey Nets – last game played as the team moves to Brooklyn next season…
May – A New Jersey woman arrested for allegedly putting her 5-year-old daughter in a tanning booth says it was all a big misunderstanding. Patricia Krentcil, 44, said she took her daughter with her to a local tanning salon, but that the child was not exposed to the booth's synthetic UV rays… Suicide – NFL’s Junior Seau(43) who mostly with the San Diego Chargers before also playing for the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots… Kentucky Derby Winner - Kentucky Derby winner "I’ll Have Another" came out of his 1-1/2-length victory over Bodemeiste… It was Floyd Mayweather defeating Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand by not far - 116-112… Controversial - Breast Feeding On The Cover- Time magazine cover features Jamie Lynne Grumet, a 26-year-old woman breastfeeding her three-year-old son. Grumet… Newsweek's May 21 issue declares Barack Obama the country's "first gay president"… – Passing - Stacy Robinson, a wide receiver on the New York Giants ’ first two Super Bowl-winning teams… Mitchell Guist, one of the stars of Swamp People on the History Channel, died this morning from injuries suffered during a fall off his boat… Boxer Paul Williams, known as "The Punisher," has been left paralyzed from the waist down after a traffic accident Sunday in suburban Atlanta… Former NBA star Dennis Rodman - was sentenced to 104 hours of community service after being found guilty last year of four counts of contempt for failing to pay child support…
Top Music Albums - June 2012
Born and Riased – John Mayer
21 – Adele
What We Saw From The Cheap Seats – Rgeina Spektor
Here – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Up All Night – One Direction
Blown Away – Carrie Underwood
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – Nicki Minaj
…Little Broken Hearts – Norah Jones
Immortal – Eric Church
June – Passing - Richard Dawson(79), the actor and the Emmy-winning host of Family Feud… Passing – Ray Bradbury(91), the science fiction-fantasy master… Boxing - Pacman Loses... Timothy Bradley promised to shock, though the biggest shock in his fight with Manny Pacquiao came from the judges' scorecards. .. The Los Angeles Kings won their first Stanley Cup since the franchise was founded in 1967, eliminating the New Jersey Devils in Game 6, 6-1… NBA Champs - The Miami Heat take the NBA - Miami Heat's 121-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat’s LeBron James dominated these NBA Finals… CBS announced it has created CBS Sports Radio, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week lineup of national programming… Citing health concerns, Larry Byrd steps down as president of the Indiana Pacers…
July – All-Star Game – The National League clobbered the American League 8-0… Fire officials in California say at least 21 people were treated for burns after attendees of an event for motivational speaker Tony Robbins tried to walk on hot coals. At least three people went to a hospital and most suffered second- or third-degree burns…. Passing - Jon Lord, the keyboardist and co-founder of Deep Purple, has died. He was 71… Actor and comedian Fred Willard was arrested on suspicion of engaging in a lewd act at an adult theater in Hollywood… The statue of Joe Paterno, Penn State's late, disgraced former football coach, has been taken down, after university officials announced early Sunday their decision to remove it… Summer Olympic Games Open in London In Spectacular fashion. Movie director Danny Boyle put on an incredible 3-hour opener. It even featuring a stand-in for Queen Elizabeth II parachuting with James Bond into Olympic Stadium… All Time Olympic Record - Michael Phelps won his 19th Olympic medal Tuesday night by anchoring the United States' gold-medal 4x200 relay team, moving him past Russian gymnast Larissa Latynina for the most in the history of the Games… Katherine Jackson said she was "devastated" his children have been "taken away" from her while she was vacationing in Arizona. She was named their legal guardian in Michael Jackson's will….
Top Movies - July 15, 2012
Ice Age: Continental Drift (1st week $46.6 million)
The Amazing Spider Man
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protecton
Katy Perry: Part of Me
Moonrise Kingdom
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
August – Britain captured its first gold medal of the London Games when Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won the final of the women's pair at the Olympic rowing regatta… 2K Sports has announced a partnership with hip-hop impresario and part-NBA owner Jay-Z, who is the executive producer of the upcoming "NBA 2K13" video game…. Olympic boxing's governing body said it had asked London Games' organizers to tell American broadcaster NBC to cease its ringside commentary at the boxing arena on Friday because they were disrupting officials… Shot putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus became the first athlete to be stripped of a medal at the London Olympics after her gold was withdrawn Monday for doping… The three stars of the Olympics: Jamaica’s Uasain Bolt, USA’s Michael Phelps and Britain’s Mo Farah - all delivered the signature performances of the Olympics… Priceline is bringing back popular pitchman William Shatner in a new television ad, seven months after "killing" his character in a bus crash spot … Tony Scott, director of such Hollywood hits as " Top Gun ," ''Days of Thunder" and " Beverly Hills Cop II ," died Sunday after jumping from a Los Angeles County bridge, authorities said. He was 68… Passing – TV actor William Windom (88)… Passing – Singer – Scott Mckenzie (73)… Passing - Neil Armstrong (82) – Who made "one giant leap for mankind" with a small step onto the moon. He commanded the historic landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the moon July 20, 1969…
September – Tiger Woods has become the first $100 million man on the PGA Tour. Woods finished third Monday(Sept2) in the Deutsche Bank Championship and made $544,000, pushing his career total to $100,350,700…Despite aggravating an ankle injury, Derek Jeter was in the New York Yankees lineup – and he singled to center in the seventh inning to drive in a run and tie Hall of Famer Willie Mays for 11th place on the all time hits list at 3,283… Passing - NFL Films President Steve Sabol… NASA's Mars rover Curiosity reached out and touched a Martian rock with its huge robotic arm for the first time, then took off on its longest Red Planet drive to date… The NASA rover Curiosity has beamed back pictures of bedrock that suggest a fast-moving stream, possibly waist-deep, once flowed on Mars — a find that the mission's chief scientist called exciting… NFL refs returning to pro-football after three weeks of blown, reversed and no calls by substitutes… President Obama appears on “The View” and the ladies were just beside themselves…
At The Movies -
October – Passing - Alex Karras, who gained fame in the NFL as a fearsome defensive lineman and later as an actor. He was 77… Slump - Alex Rodriquez watched the New York Yankees' biggest game of the year on the bench…Hulk Hogan responded to his leaked sex tape, telling "Today's" Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb that it has crushed him. Hogan confirmed the woman in the video is Heather Clem, the now ex-wife of his best friend, Todd Alan Clem, aka radio host Bubba the Love Sponge…Follows Nike - Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Budweiser, said it would not renew its relationship with cyclist Lance Armstrong at the end of 2012, but will continue to support the embattled former professional cycling racer's cancer charity…Fallen Wall Street insider Rajat Gupta was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for leaking Goldman Sachs boardroom secrets to the hedge fund manager at the center of the U.S. government's crackdown on insider trading… Donald Trump offers to donate $5 million to charity if President Obama releases his college and passport records… Unstoppable - The San Francisco Giants route the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 in Game 7 - and will face the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. But Wait - The Giants were down by two games and made a total comeback- one of the best in baseball playoff history… The San Francisco Giants take the World Series, beating the Detroit Tigers in four games.
November – Hyundai Motor Co and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp conceded on Friday that they overstated the fuel economy by at least a mile per gallon on more than 1 million recently sold vehicles, and agreed to compensate owners for the additional fuel costs… Showtime's "Homeland" hit a series high with its Sunday episode -- and it helped to deliver a first-time honor for the network, Showtime said Tuesday. With "Dexter," in its seventh season, inching up 5 percent from last week to score 2.28 million total viewers, Sunday marked the first time that Showtime has aired two back-to-back episodes of original series that have drawn more than 2 million viewers each in a single night… … News Corp. said it was acquiring a 49 percent stake in the YES Network, the New York Yankees' regional cable sports channel… Hector “Macho” Camacho, a former three-division champion, is shot and later diedsin Puerto Rico… Kevin Clash, the actor who created the voice and persona of Elmo on Sesame Street, resigned from the children's show today in the wake of a new allegation that he had a sexual relationship with an underage boy… Passing - Motivational Speaker- Zig Ziglar at age 86…
December - The world's tallest woman has died in eastern China. She was 39 and 7 ft, 7 inches… NFL news/information – Jovan Belcher – a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs shot and killed his girlfriend at a house near the team's facility. The player then drove to a location near the team's main campus and took his own life… With a crushing right hand, Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Manny Pacquiao in the sixth round of a non-title bout in Las Vegas… The Los Angeles Dodgers announce that they have signed Zack Greinke to a six-year $147 million contract… Former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager (HAY'-gur) announces that she's pregnant with her first child, due in the spring… Richard Engel, the chief foreign correspondent at NBC News, and his production team have been released amid gunfire at a Syria checkpoint after they were taken prisoner in the civil war-torn country. .. Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported from the U.S. over his gun control views. Morgan has taken an aggressive stand for tighter U.S. gun laws in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting…
1) SOMEONE THAT I USED TO KNOW--Gotye featuring Kimbra (6.80 million sold)
2) CALL ME MAYBE--Carly Rae Jepsen (6.47 million)
3) WE ARE YOUNG--fun. featuring Janelle Monae (5.95 million)
4) PAYPHONE--Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa (4.76 million)
5) STARSHIPS--Nicki Minaj (3.98 million)
6) WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL--One Direction (3.89 million)
7) SOME NIGHTS--fun. (3.84 million)
8) STRONGER (WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU)--Kelly Clarkson (3.82 million)
9) GANGNAM STYLE--Psy (3.59 million)
10) ONE MORE NIGHT--Maroon 5 (3.46 million)
Site Created And Compiled By Gary West
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i don't know
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In terms of Skyfall product placement what watch brand does James Bond wear?
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Product placement in pictures: Skyfall - Brands & Films
Product placement in pictures: Skyfall
November 4, 2012
|By Erik
A lot has been written about excessive and blatant product placement in the latest Bond movie Skyfall . But let me say somethingdifferent: product placement in Skyfall wasn’t excessive and wasn’t blatant. Actually it was more subtle than I’ve expected. Mind you, we’re still talking about James Bond movie, so there is a lot of products and brands integrated in the movie, but Skyfall is no Transformers or some other examples of product placement prostitution.
When the information about Heineken’s $45 million deal (roughly a third of Skyfall’s production budget) first surfaced, there were numerous articles and blog posts about James Bond selling out. We have to be honest, though. All Bond’s movies had product placement, some were more subtle and some were more blatant when it comes to brand integration. Also, David Leigh who runs website The James Bond Dossier said, that Bond has consumed a wide variety of beverages from the start, in both in his literary and cinematic incarnations.
So, what’s the fuss?
First, let’s check products and brands from Skyfall. [POSSIBLE SPOILERS]
Cars: Landrover, Audi, Beetle, Range Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin
Landrover Defender and Audi were seen in a car chase scene: Eve drove Landrover, while the bad guys tried to escape in Audi. During the chase a few VW Beetles fell from the train.
Range Rover was used to transport Bond to MI6’s new location and M and Bond used Jaguar XJ.
The legendary Aston Martin DB5 also made an important appearance, but I won’t reveal why :)
Aston Martin DB5 from Skyfall
Sony
Skyfall was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures. Columbia Pictures is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, so the appearance of different Sony products should not be a coincidence. I have reviewed several movies, distributed by Sony Pictures and probably all of them included Sony’s brands.
Bond (or was it Q?) used Sony Vaio laptop (first seen in Casino Royale) and Sony Xperia T mobile phone. Nothing special or excessive there: only Vaio’s logo and a glimpse of the new Xperia.
Sony Vaio from Skyfall (2012, MGM and Columbia Pictures, screen capture)
Macallan whisky
Macallan whisky was probably the most “in your face” placement. It occurred during the first meeting between Bond and Silva. The main villain offered James a drink, a 50-year old Macallan, because it’s his favorite drink.
Additionally, we saw M and Bond drinking Macallan on two different occasions.
Macallan whisky (on the desk) from Skyfall (2012, MGM and Columbia Pictures, screen capture)
Heineken
The much hyped Heineken appeared in two scenes: Bond was lying in bed with a girl and we could see a bottle of Heineken in his hand. The other appearance was in a big office: Tanner, one of MI6 employees was sipping beer from Heineken bottle. That’s it. Nothing excessive.
Heineken in Skyfall
Omega
We know that Bond wears Omega, but I couldn’t recognize his watch. Anyway, he wore a Seamaster model.
Omega Seamaster from Skyfall (2012, MGM and Columbia Pictures, screen capture)
Tom Ford
James Bond has been wearing Tom Ford for the second time. Similar as with Omega you can’t recognize the brand of his clothes – the fact that we know what he wears is just matter of clever/aggressive marketing campaign(s).
Bond also wore Tom Ford Marko TF144 sunglasses.
You can read more about James Bond’s clothing in the excellent blog post at Clothes on Film .
Tom Ford Marko TF144 sunglasses from Skyfall (Source: Filmofilia.com)
Walther PPK
Walther PPK pistol is a longtime Bond companion, but in Skyfall Q introduced an improved gun with a thumbprint code.
Walther PPK from Skyfall (2012, MGM and Columbia Pictures, screen capture)
THE VERDICT
23rd Bond movie is very good. Even though Casino Royale remains my personal favorite, Skyfall is an improvement over Quantum of Solace. Also, Daniel Craig’s movies are vastly superior to Brosnan’s, Dalton’s and Moore’s. Bond is now more human and not a cartoon that would become if Pierce Brosnan stayed in his role.
Product placement used to be synonymous for Bond movies and has to be analyzed with that fact in mind. All Bond movies have got excessive product placement, but Bond was also a sexist, he delivered amusing one-lines, the majority of Bond girls had stupid names (Christmas Jones, Pussy Galore …) … to name just a few of Bond’s trademarks.
With everything taken into account, product placement in Skyfall was nicely done. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it and I hope people will stop complaining about it.
Do you agree?
There are more pictures of brands from Skyfall in the blog post Product placement slideshow: Skyfall and on Brands & Films Facebook page
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Omega
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What is Africa's 2nd-largest country, abbreviated to DRC?
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BBC - Culture - Does Bond’s product placement go too far?
British cinema
Does Bond’s product placement go too far?
James Bond is as synonymous with brands as with sex and car chases. But does advertising in the films go over the top? Nicholas Barber crunches the numbers.
By Nicholas Barber
1 October 2015
There are a few moments in the Bond films which even the most forgiving 007 fans can’t recall without wincing. There’s Pierce Brosnan’s hang-gliding off a glacier in Die Another Day. There’s Roger Moore’s Tarzan impression in Octopussy. And, up there with the worst of them, there’s the Casino Royale scene in which Eva Green asks Daniel Craig if his watch is a Rolex. “Omega,” he replies. “Beautiful,” purrs Green. “Eurgghh,” groans everyone in the cinema.
Product placement is integral to the Bond formula; all those less-than-subtle corporate logos pop up as regularly as dinner suits, megalomaniac villains, and women with double entendres instead of names. But there are times when a Bond movie stops being a Bond movie and starts being an advert: Pierce Brosnan driving a tank through a perfectly framed Perrier lorry in Goldeneye is another shudder-worthy example.
We’ve heard as much about Spectre’s sponsors as its stars
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Could it happen again in Spectre, the 24th official film in the series? As ever in the run-up to a Bond movie’s release, we’ve heard as much about its sponsors as its stars. Aston Martin and Land Rover are due to provide our hero’s transport. His phones happen to made by the very company that is distributing the film, Sony. And Belvedere, Bollinger and Heineken have been announced as Bond’s tipples of choice, despite the chorus of complaints when he swapped vodka martinis for beer in Skyfall. On the official 007.com website, there is even a menu devoted to the film’s 12 brand “partners”, leaving us in no doubt as to how central they are to the franchise. But, considering how embarrassing product placement can be, wouldn’t Bond be better off without it?
View image of (Credit: Heineken)
Michael Rosser, the news editor at Screen magazine, doesn’t think so. “Money in film is not what it was,” says Rosser. “The home entertainment market is in decline, so there has to be other ways to make money from movies, and product placement is really a big part of that. In an ideal world, sure, you wouldn’t have it. But, realistically, if you want a Bond movie that’s as spectacular as we’ve come to expect, then it can’t be made on goodwill.”
Indeed, Spectre is reported to have a budget of well over $300 million (£198 million), making it the most expensive Bond movie so far – and the film’s marketing is set to cost a similar amount. “If it takes product placement to generate that money,” says Rosser, “then so be it. I’d rather have a two-hour Bond movie with 30 seconds of ads in the middle of it than no Bond movie at all.”
Making a killing
Daniel Craig said as much when he was making Skyfall in 2012. “The simple fact is that, without [product placement], we couldn’t do it,” he commented. “It’s unfortunate but that’s how it is.” And yet Skyfall went onto rake in $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office, against a budget of under $200 million. Surely such a staggeringly lucrative film shouldn’t have to advertise beer and watches to make ends meet.
View image of (Credit: Rex Features)
“That may be true,” says Darryl Collis, a director of one of Britain’s leading product placement agencies, Seesaw Media. “But Skyfall was an anomaly: it made almost as much as the last two Bond films put together. And the question is, would Skyfall have taken that much money if it didn’t have all those advertising partners promoting it?”
If you think you may not be alive tomorrow, you might as well have the best of everything – Barbara Broccoli
There is a lot more to Bond’s product placement deals, says Collis, than a certain car being on screen for a certain number of seconds, and a certain amount of money changing hands. As beneficial as this transaction may be to both parties, it’s what happens beyond the film that really matters. When a brand becomes an official partner in the Bond business, it earns the right to produce limited edition 007 Vodka bottles or watches, to run 007-related competitions and giveaways, and to reference 007 in its print and screen adverts. This cross-promotion is valued by the brands, because it cements their association with Bond’s grown-up glamour, but it’s just as crucial to the film.
‘Shifting perceptions’
“It’s incredibly smart of the film company to do these deals,” says Chris Sice, managing director of Blended Republic, an agency that advises the likes of Johnnie Walker on how to integrate their brands into films and television series, “because they’re getting others to do the marketing on their behalf. Every time there’s an announcement about one of the brand partners, there’s the most extraordinary avalanche of media coverage, and it all raises awareness of the film. Every time they make an advert that mentions Bond, that reminds people that the film is on its way. The brands are paying for the privilege of promoting a Bond movie.”
View image of (Credit: Rex Features)
How much money these brands are paying is rarely confirmed, but astronomical sums are bandied about: $45 million has been cited in relation to Bond’s swig of Heineken in Skyfall. The brewery, you might think, is going to have to sell a lot of beers to recoup that outlay. But Collis believes it’s money well spent.
“Forty-five million sounds like a lot,” he says, “but Bond is a global property. If you break it down into all the different countries that the company would be advertising in, anyway, it doesn’t seem so much. Heineken also knows that people will be watching a Bond film for decades, so it’s not as if they’re paying for a one-off ad. They’re paying to become known as a premium brand in the long term. It’s more about shifting perceptions than shifting products.”
View image of (Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing)
Brand, James Brand
The reason that Bond movies can shift perceptions is that they occupy a niche which is unlike that of any other blockbuster. However many box office records are broken by the Avengers, Star Wars or Transformers, it’s only 007 who signifies a taste for high-end consumer goods. And it’s all thanks to his creator, Ian Fleming. “Fleming describes in great detail all the things that Bond uses,” the film franchise’s co-producer, Barbara Broccoli, has said, “whether it comes down to a glass of wine, a meal he is eating, a car he is driving, or what suit he is wearing. That’s how Bond became synonymous with quality goods. That notion really started with the books. If you think you may not be alive tomorrow, you might as well have the best of everything.”
In marketing terms, James Bond’s suit means more than Daniel Craig’s suit
It should be noted, perhaps, that Bond’s watch in the books is a Rolex, not an Omega, but even if the brand names change, the character’s eye for luxury is now so well established that a designer suit will always fit into his films more snugly than it will ever fit into a Bourne or Mission: Impossible instalment. And because Bond spends more time drinking and seducing female spies than any other action hero, he can sell a lifestyle to an older, more affluent and more aspirational audience than Spider-Man or Captain America.
“It’s a cliché that Bond is someone who every man wants to be, and every woman wants to be with, but it’s true that in marketing terms, James Bond’s suit means more than Daniel Craig’s suit,” says Collis. “The appetite to drive what he’s driving, to drink what he’s drinking and to wear what he’s wearing is incredible. And I’ve experienced the Bond effect first-hand. At the very end of Skyfall, he picks up an old Barbour jacket in Skyfall House – and that jacket immediately sold out. They were retailing for £400, and soon people were selling them on Ebay for £2,000. I remember it because I bought one myself.”
If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter .
This story is a part of BBC Britain – a new series focused on exploring this extraordinary island, one story at a time. Readers outside of the UK can see every BBC Britain story by heading to the Britain homepage ; you also can see our latest stories by following us on Facebook and Twitter .
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i don't know
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Likud, meaning 'the consolidation', is the leading conservative political party (at 2012) of which country?
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Likud : definition of Likud and synonyms of Likud (English)
Elections
Likud ( Hebrew : הַלִּכּוּד HaLikud, lit. The Consolidation) is the major center-right political party in Israel . [4] [5] [6] [7] It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. However, after ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party lost the Knesset election in 1992. Nevertheless, Likud's candidate Benjamin Netanyahu did win the vote for Prime Minister in 1996 and was given the task to form a government after the 2009 elections . After a convincing win in the 2003 elections , Likud saw a major split in 2005, when Likud leader Ariel Sharon left the party to form the new Kadima party. This resulted in Likud slumping to fourth place in 2006 elections . Following the 2009 elections , the party appears to have mostly recovered from its loss, and now leads the Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu.
A member of the party is often called a Likudnik ( Hebrew : לִכּוּדְנִיק). [8]
Contents
8 External links
History
This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed .
(November 2011)
Formation and Begin years
The Likud was formed by an alliance of several right wing parties prior to the 1973 elections ; Herut and the Liberal Party had been allied since 1965, and were joined by the Free Centre , the National List and the Movement for Greater Israel . It was given the name Likud, meaning "Consolidation", as it represented the consolidation of the right-wing in Israel. [9] It worked as a coalition of its factions led by Menachem Begin 's Herut until 1988 when the factions formally dissolved and Likud became a unitary political party. From its establishment in 1973, Likud enjoyed great support from blue-collar Sephardim who felt discriminated against by the ruling Alignment .
The first Likud prime minister was Menachem Begin, who had led the party to victory in the 1977 elections , the first time the left-wing had lost power in Israel's political history. A former leader of the hard-line paramilitary Irgun , Begin helped initiate the peace process with Egypt , which resulted in the Camp David Accords and the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty .
Shamir, Netanyahu first term, and Sharon
The second premier was Yitzhak Shamir , who first became PM in October 1983 following Begin's resignation. Shamir, a former commander of the Lehi underground, was widely seen as a hard-liner with an ideological commitment both to the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip , the growth of which he encouraged, and to the idea of aliyah , facilitating the mass immigration of Jews to Israel from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union .
The third Likud premier was Benjamin Netanyahu , elected in May 1996, following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin . Netanyahu proved to be less hard-line in practice than he made himself out to be rhetorically, and felt pressured by the United States and others to enter negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization and Yasser Arafat , despite his harsh criticism of the Oslo accords and hawkish stance in comparison to Labour.
In 1998, Netanyahu reluctantly agreed to cede territory in the Wye River Memorandum . While accepted by many in the Likud, some Likud MKs, led by Benny Begin (Menachem Begin's son), Michael Kleiner and David Re'em , broke away and formed a new party, named Herut – The National Movement , in protest. Yitzhak Shamir (who had expressed harsh disappointment in Netanyahu's leadership), gave the new party his support. Less than a year afterward, Netanyahu's coalition collapsed, resulting in the 1999 election and Labour's Ehud Barak winning the premiership on a platform of immediate settlement of final status issues. Likud spent 1999-2001 on the opposition benches.
Barak's "all-or-nothing" strategy failed, however, and early elections for Prime Minister were called for March 2001. Surprisingly, Netanyahu declined to be the Likud candidate for Prime Minister, meaning that the fourth Likud premier would be Ariel Sharon . Sharon, unlike past Likud leaders, had been raised in a Labour Zionist environment and had long been seen as something of a maverick. In the face of the Second Intifada , Sharon pursued a varied set of policies, many of which were controversial even within the Likud. The final split came when Sharon announced his policy of unilateral disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank; the idea proved so divisive both on the Likud and the opposition Labour benches that Sharon announced the formation of a new party, Kadima , from the ranks of both Likud and Labour supporters of unilateral disengagement.
Kadima split
Ariel Sharon's perceived leftward shift to the political center, especially in his execution of the Disengagement Plan , alienated him from some Likud supporters and fragmented the party. He faced several serious challenges to his authority shortly before his departure. The first was in March 2005, when he and Netanyahu proposed a budget plan which met fierce opposition, though it was eventually approved. The second was in September 2005, when Sharon's critics in Likud forced a vote on a proposal for an early leadership election, which was defeated by 52% to 48%. In October, Sharon's opponents within the Likud Knesset faction joined with the opposition to prevent the appointment of two of his associates to the Cabinet, demonstrating that Sharon had effectively lost control of the Knesset and that the 2006 budget was unlikely to pass.
The next month, Labor announced its withdrawal from Sharon's governing coalition following its election of the left wing Amir Peretz as leader. On 21 November 2005, Sharon announced he would be leaving Likud and forming a new centrist party, Kadima , and that elections would take place in early 2006. As of 21 November seven candidates had declared themselves as contenders to replace Sharon as leader: Netanyahu, Uzi Landau , Shaul Mofaz , Yisrael Katz , Silvan Shalom and Moshe Feiglin . Landau and Mofaz later withdrew, the former in favour of Netanyahu and the latter to join Kadima.
Netanyahu second term
Netanyahu went on to win the Likud Party Chairman elections in December, obtaining 44.4% of the vote. Shalom came in a second with 33%, leading Netanyahu to guarantee him second place on the party's list of Knesset candidates. Shalom's perceived moderation on social and foreign-policy issues were considered to be an electoral asset. Observers noted that voter turnout in the elections was particularly low in comparison with past primaries, with less than 40 percent of the 128,000 party members casting ballots. There was much media focus on "far-right" candidate Moshe Feiglin achieving 12.4% of votes, who is the only candidate who aims to see Likud actually pursue the policies presented in its own official charter.
The founding of Kadima was a major challenge to the Likud's generation-long status as one of Israel's two major parties. Sharon's perceived centrist policies have drawn considerable popular support as reflected by public opinion polls. The Likud is now led by figures who oppose further unilateral evacuations, and its standing in the polls has suffered. After the founding of Kadima, Likud came to be seen as having more of a right-wing tendency than a moderate centre-right one. However there exist several parties in the knesset which are more right wing than the post-Ariel Sharon Likud.
A truck canvassing for Likud in Jerusalem in advance of the 2006 election
Prior to the 2006 election the party's Central Committee relinquished control of selecting the Knesset list to the 'rank and file' members at Netanyahu's behest. [10] The aim was to improve the party's reputation, as the central committee had gained a reputation for corruption. [11]
In the election, the Likud vote collapsed in the face of the Kadima split. Other right-wing nationalist parties such as Yisrael Beiteinu gained votes, with Likud coming only fourth place in the popular vote, edging out Yisrael Beiteinu by only 116 votes. With only twelve seats, Likud was tied with the Shas for the status of third-largest party.
In the 2009 Israeli legislative election , Likud won 27 seats, a close second place finish to Kadima's 28 seats, and leading the other parties. After more than a month of coalition negotiations, Benjamin Netanyahu was able to form a government and become Prime Minister.
A leadership election was to have been held on 31 January 2012 between Benjamin Netanyahu, Moshe Feiglin, and Vladimir Herczberg.
Ideological positions
Tzipi Hotovely described as the "ideological voice" of the Likud Party. [12]
The 1999 Likud charter emphasizes the right of settlement.
"The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting." [13]
Similarly, they claim the Jordan River as the permanent eastern border to Israel and it also claims Jerusalem as belonging to Israel.
"Jerusalem is the eternal, united capital of the State of Israel and only of Israel. The government will flatly reject Palestinian proposals to divide Jerusalem, including the plan to divide the city presented to the Knesset by the Arab factions and supported by many members of Labor and Meretz." [14]
The 'Peace & Security' chapter of the 1999 Likud Party platform rejects a Palestinian state.
"The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river. The Palestinians can run their lives freely in the framework of self-rule, but not as an independent and sovereign state. Thus, for example, in matters of foreign affairs, security, immigration and ecology, their activity shall be limited in accordance with imperatives of Israel’s existence, security and national needs." [13]
With Likud back in power, starting in 2009, Israeli foreign policy is still under review. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, in his "National Security" platform, neither endorsed nor ruled out the idea of a Palestinian state. [15] "Netanyahu has hinted that he does not oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, but aides say he must move cautiously because his religious-nationalist coalition partners refuse to give away land." [16]
In June 2009 Netanyahu outlined his conditions for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, including the state being demilitarized, without an army or control of their airspace. [17]
Economy
The Likud party claims to support a free market capitalist and liberal agenda, though in practice it has mostly adopted mixed economic policies . Under the guidance of Finance minister and current party leader Benjamin Netanyahu , Likud pushed through legislation reducing value added tax (VAT), income and corporate taxes significantly, as well as customs duty . Likewise, it has instituted free trade (especially with the European Union and the United States ) and dismantled certain monopolies ( Bezeq and the sea ports). Additionally, it has privatized numerous government-owned companies, e.g. El Al and Bank Leumi , and has moved to privatize land in Israel, which until now has been held symbolically by the state in the name of the Jewish people. Netanyahu was the most ardent free-market Israeli finance minister to-date. He argued that Israel's largest labor union , the Histadrut , has so much power as to be capable of paralyzing the Israeli economy , and claimed that the main causes of unemployment are laziness and excessive benefits to the unemployed."[ citation needed ] Under Netanyahu, Likud has and is likely to maintain a comparatively fiscally conservative economic stance, although it might be considered centrist or even progressive from a world view.[ citation needed ] However, the party's economic policies vary widely among members, with some Likud MKs supporting leftist economic positions that are more in line with popular preferences. [18]
Palestinians
Likud has espoused opposition to Palestinian statehood and support of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip . However, it has also been the party which carried out the first peace agreements with Arab states. For instance, in 1979, Likud Prime Minister, Menachem Begin , signed the Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat , which returned the Sinai Peninsula (occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967) to Egypt in return for peace between the two countries. Yitzhak Shamir was the first Israeli Prime Minister to meet Palestinian leaders at the Madrid Conference following the Persian Gulf War in 1991. However, Shamir refused to concede the idea of a Palestinian state, and as a result was blamed by some (including United States Secretary of State James Baker ) for the failure of the summit. Later, as Prime Minister, Netanyahu restated Likud's position of opposing Palestinian statehood, which after the Oslo Accords was largely accepted by the opposition Labor Party , even though the shape of any such state was not clear.
In 2002, during the Second Intifada , Israel's Likud-led government reoccupied Palestinian towns and refugee camps in the West Bank. In 2005 Ariel Sharon defied the recent tendencies of Likud and abandoned the policy of seeking to settle in the West Bank and Gaza. Though re-elected Prime Minister on a platform of no unilateral withdrawals, Sharon carried out the Gaza disengagement plan , withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and demolishing the Israeli settlements there, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank. Though losing a referendum among Likud registered voters, Sharon achieved government approval of this policy by firing most of the cabinet members who opposed the plan before the vote.
Sharon and the faction who supported his disengagement proposals left the Likud party after the disengagement and created the new Kadima party. This new party supported unilateral disengagement from most of the West Bank and the fixing of borders by the Israeli West Bank barrier . The basic premise of the policy was that the Israelis have no viable negotiating partner on the Palestinian side, and since they cannot remain in indefinite occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel should unilaterally withdraw.
Netanyahu, who was elected as the new leader of Likud after Kadima's creation, and Silvan Shalom , the runner-up, both supported the disengagement plan, [19] [20] however Netanyahu resigned his ministerial post before the plan was executed. Most current Likud members support the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and oppose Palestinian statehood and the disengagement from Gaza.
Culture
Zeev Jabotinsky
Likud promotes a revival of Jewish culture , in keeping with the principles of Revisionist Zionism .
Likud emphasizes such Israeli nationalist themes as the use of the Israeli flag and the victory in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war . Likud publicly endorses press freedom and promotion of private sector media, which has grown markedly under governments Likud has led. A Likud government headed by Ariel Sharon, however, closed the popular right-wing pirate radio station Arutz 7 ("Channel 7"). Arutz 7 was popular with the Jewish settler movement and often criticised the government from a right-wing perspective.
Historically, the Likud and its pre-1948 predecessor, the Revisionist movement advocated secular nationalism. However, the Likud's first Prime Minister and long-time leader Menahem Begin, though secular himself, cultivated a warm attitude to Jewish tradition and appreciation for traditionally religious Jews—especially from North Africa and the Middle East. This segment of the Israeli population first brought the Likud to power in 1977. Many Orthodox Israelis find the Likud a more congenial party than any other mainstream party.
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Likud : Wikis (The Full Wiki)
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Likud
Elections
Likud ( Hebrew : הליכוד HaLikud, lit. The Consolidation) is the major center-right political party in Israel . [4] [5] [6] [7] It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. However, after ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party has won only one Knesset election since 1992, in 2003. However, Likud's candidate Benjamin Netanyahu did win the vote for Prime Minister in 1996 and was given the task to form a government after the 2009 elections . After a convincing win in the 2003 elections , Likud saw a major split in 2005, when Likud leader Ariel Sharon left the party to form the new Kadima party. This resulted in Likud slumping to fourth place in 2006 elections . Following the 2009 elections , the party appears to have mostly recovered from its loss, and now leads the Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu.
A member of the party is often called a Likudnik ( Hebrew : לִכּוּדְנִיק). [8]
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Economy
The Likud supports free market capitalism and liberalism , though in practice it has mostly adopted mixed economic policies . Under the guidance of Finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu , Likud pushed through legislation reducing value added tax (VAT), income and corporate taxes significantly, as well as customs duty . Likewise, it has instituted free trade (especially with the European Union and the United States ) and dismantled certain monopolies ( Bezeq and the sea ports). Additionally, it has privatized numerous government-owned companies, e.g. El Al and Bank Leumi . Netanyahu was the most ardent free-market Israeli finance minister to-date. He argued that Israel's largest labor union , the Histadrut , has so much power as to be capable of paralyzing the Israeli economy , and claimed that the main causes of unemployment are laziness and excessive benefits to the unemployed."[citation needed] Under Netanyahu, Likud has and is likely to maintain a comparatively right-wing conservative economic stance, although it might be considered centrist or even progressive from a world view.[citation needed]
Palestinian policy
Likud has in the past espoused hawkish policies towards the Palestinians , including opposition to Palestinian statehood and support of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip . However, it has also been the party which carried out the first peace agreements with Arab states. For instance, in 1979, Likud Prime Minister, Menachem Begin , signed the Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat , which returned the Sinai Peninsula (occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967) to Egypt in return for peace between the two countries. Yitzhak Shamir was the first Israeli Prime Minister to meet Palestinian leaders at the Madrid Conference following the Persian Gulf War in 1991. However, Shamir refused to concede the idea of a Palestinian state, and as a result was blamed by some (including United States Secretary of State James Baker ) for the failure of the summit. Later, as Prime Minister, Netanyahu restated Likud's position of opposing Palestinian statehood, which after the Oslo Accords was largely accepted by the opposition Labor Party , even though the shape of any such state was not clear.
In 2002, during the Second Intifada , Israel's Likud-led government reoccupied Palestinian towns and refugee camps in the West Bank. In 2005 Ariel Sharon defied the recent tendencies of Likud and abandoned the " Greater Israel " policy of seeking to settle in the West Bank and Gaza. Though re-elected Prime Minister on a platform of no unilateral withdrawals, Sharon carried out the Israeli unilateral disengagement plan , withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and demolishing the Israeli settlements there, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank. Though losing a referendum among Likud registered voters, Sharon achieved government approval of this policy by firing most of the cabinet members who opposed the plan before the vote.
Sharon and the faction who supported his disengagement proposals left the Likud party after the disengagement and created the new Kadima party. This new party supported unilateral disengagement from most of the West Bank and the fixing of borders by the Israeli West Bank barrier . The basic premise of the policy was that the Israelis have no viable negotiating partner on the Palestinian side, and since they cannot remain in indefinite occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel should unilaterally withdraw.
Netanyahu, who was elected as the new leader of Likud after Kadima's creation, and Silvan Shalom , the runner-up, both supported the disengagement plan, however Netanyahu resigned his ministerial post before the plan was executed. Most current Likud members support the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and oppose Palestinian statehood and the disengagement from Gaza.
Likud charter
The 1999 Likud charter emphasized the right of settlement in " Judea , Samaria and Azzah" (more commonly known as the " West Bank " and Gaza )," [9] and as such, brings it into direct conflict with Palestinian claims on the same territory. Similarly, their claims of the Jordan River as the permanent eastern border to Israel and Jerusalem as "the eternal, united capital of the State of Israel and only of Israel," do the same.
The 'Peace & Security' chapter of the 1999 Likud Party platform “flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river.” The chapter continued: “The Palestinians can run their lives freely in the framework of self-rule, but not as an independent and sovereign state.” [9]
With Likud back in power, starting in 2009, Israeli foreign policy is still under review. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, in his "National Security" platform, neither endorsed nor ruled out the idea of a Palestinian state. [10] "Netanyahu has hinted that he does not oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, but aides say he must move cautiously because his religious-nationalist coalition partners refuse to give away land." [11]
In June 2009 Netanyahu outlined his conditions for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, including the state being demilitarized, without an army or control of their airspace. [12]
Anti-Arab statements by Likud members
In February 2004 Likud member and deputy defense minister Ze'ev Boim , speaking at a memorial ceremony, said "What is it about Islam as a whole and the Palestinians in particular? Is it some form of cultural deprivation? Is it some genetic defect? There is something that defies explanation in this continued murderousness." In a comment, Likud member of Knesset Yehiel Hazan supported Boim's statements: "I think this it is in their blood. It is something genetic. I have not researched this, but there is no other way to explain this,". He added "Don't believe an Arab, even one who has been in the grave for 40 years." [13]
In remarks at the Knesset in December 2004, Likud member Yehiel Hazan repeatedly likened Palestinians to "worms" and stated that the Palestinians are a nation of "murderers" and "terrorists." [14]
In a New Yorker magazine interview Moshe Feiglin , leader of the right wing Manhigut Yehudit faction of the Likud Central Committee, is quoted saying “You can’t teach a monkey to speak and you can’t teach an Arab to be democratic. You’re dealing with a culture of thieves and robbers. Muhammad, their prophet, was a robber and a killer and a liar. The Arab destroys everything he touches.” [15]
Culture
Zeev Jabotinsky
Likud promotes a revival of Jewish culture , in keeping with the principles of Revisionist Zionism .
Likud emphasizes such Israeli nationalist themes as the use of the Israeli flag and the victory in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war . Likud publicly endorses press freedom and promotion of private sector media, which has grown markedly under governments Likud has led. A Likud government headed by Ariel Sharon, however, closed the popular right-wing pirate radio station Arutz 7 ("Channel 7). Arutz 7 was popular with the Jewish settler movement and often criticised the government from a right-wing perspective. Historically, the Likud and its pre-1948 predecessor, the Revisionist movement advocated secular nationalism. However, the Likud's first Prime Minister and long-time leader Menahem Begin, though secular himself, cultivated a warm attitude to Jewish tradition and appreciation for traditionally religious Jews--especially from North Africa and the Middle East. This segment of the Israeli population first brought the Likud to power in 1977. Many Orthodox Israelis find the Likud a more congenial party than any other mainstream party.
History
Main article: History of Likud
Likud has its roots in Irgun , a militant group operating in British Mandate Palestine . The military wing of Irgun was co-opted into the Israeli Defence Forces at Israel's foundation, while the political wing became Herut and eventually Likud. Over the years it has undergone an evolution into a more pragmatic party. [2] [3] Likud leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced his party is committed to a "full peace" with the Palestinians, though he is still under international pressure to explicitly endorse a Palestinian state. [16]
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The 2,500th anniversary of whose birth was celebrated in China in 1949?
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Beijing celebrates Confucius birth for first time in decades - Asian Correspondent
Beijing celebrates Confucius birth for first time in decades
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Beijing on Tuesday celebrated the anniversary of the birth of ancient philosopher Confucius for the first time since the founding of communist China, in a ceremony that included delegates from Taiwan.
The event took place at the Confucius temple in the city’s historic Guozijian quarter in honour of China’s most famous philosopher, born in 551 BC, whose influence is on the rise again after being suppressed under Mao Zedong.
Long banned by the communist regime which considered Confucianism a feudal belief, this tradition was only officially reinstated in the 1990s in Qufu, birthplace of the Chinese thinker — but never in Beijing.
The ceremony — placed under high security and closed to the public but not to reporters — included Chinese officials alongside a delegation from Taiwan, once China’s bitter foe, where Confucianism has always been celebrated.
China and Taiwan split in 1949 and Beijing considers the self-ruled island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. But ties between the two have improved in recent years.
The ceremony also included 500 young volunteers, most of whom were students at Beijing’s Renmin University. Wearing traditional costumes, they performed the body movements that always accompanied the reading of Confucian texts.
The temple was built in 1302 and then extended under the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is the second largest Confucian temple in China after the one in Qufu, in the eastern province of Shandong.
Considered a state religion under the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) but later banned under revolutionary leader Mao, Confucianism — which calls for ruling by virtue and government morality — seems to have been completely reinstated in China.
Confucius Institutes, which aim to promote the Chinese language and culture, have been established around the world.
In January, the biopic “Confucius” starring Hong Kong action movie star Chow Yun-fat attempted to rival “Avatar”, the Hollywood blockbuster that was kicked out of some theatres to make way for the Chinese film — without much success.
AFP
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Confucius
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What creature is the 1940-50s TV puppet character Muffin?
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Embassy Of India, Beijing
Embassy of India
Cultural Relations between India and China: The Tradition of Continuity
History of Cultural Exchanges
Both India and China, are not mere societies; they are civilizations. We do not know exactly when and how they started exchanging their cultural elements, but what we do know is that they grew in parallel and shared their cultural traits since the beginning of human history and this tradition of sharing has been continuing ever since.
Even before the transmission of Buddhism, the Shang-Zhou civilization and the ancient Vedic civilization in 1500-1000 B.C. showed some evidence of conceptual and linguistic exchanges. For instance,"wumingzhi" (nameless finger) in Chinese is called "anamika" (nameless) in Sanskrit and in Pali. Similarly, some ancient Indian literature mentions "chinas" referring to the Chinese people. The Mahabharata of the fifth century B.C. contains reference to China. Chanakya of the Maurya dynasty (350-283 B.C.) refers to Chinese silk as "chinamsuka" (Chinese silk dress) and "chinapatta" (Chinese silk bundle) in his Arthashastra. Likewise, the Record of the Grand Historian of Zhang Qian and Sima Qian has references to "Shendu", may be referring to ��Sindhu�� in Sanskrit.
In sixth century B.C., the birth of Confucius and Sakyamuni opened a new period of exchanges between the two civilizations. Emperor Ashoka��s propagation of Buddhism after his conversion in 256 B.C. brought both civilizations even closer. Ashoka��s bilingual (Kharoshti and Greek) edict points at extension of Buddhism in the direction of China and Central Asia. The trend continued in first century A.D. during emperor Kanishka��s period. His empire, with its capital at Purushpura (now Peshawar inPakistan), enabled Buddhist pilgrims and scholars to travel on the historic ��silk route��. Kashyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna made the White Horse monastery at Luoyang their abode. Along the silk route, Khotan Turpan and Kucha became prominent centers of Buddhism and India-China exchanges. The great scholar Kumarajiva initiated efforts to collect and translate important Buddhist texts at a great Buddhist conclave in Chang��an (present Xi��an) where he stayed until his death in 413 A.D. and managed to have 98 major Buddhist canonical works translated into Chinese. He is widely believed to be responsible for bringing in Mahayana Buddhism and Madhyamika doctrine into Chinese philosophy. In the beginning of the fifth century A.D., Dharmakshema, an Indian Buddhist scholar came to China bringing with him the ��Mahaparinirvana Sutra�� which was translated into Chinese about the year 415 A.D. Meanwhile, the Chinese Pilgrim Fa Hein had left for India along the Silk Route and arrived there in 405 A.D. Batuo (464-495 A.D.) and Bodhidharma visited China; Xuan Zhang (604A.D.) and I Ching were students at the prestigious Nalanda University. All along, the Silk Road played a significant role in facilitating India-China cultural, commercial and technological exchanges. It also connected both of us with the people of ancient Persia and the Mediterranean.
Both civilizations also shared scientific knowledge. In eighth century, Indian astronomer Aryabhata's astronomical signs were translated into Chinese in the book "Kaiyuan Zhanjing" compiled by Gautama Siddha, an astronomer in Chang'an of Indian descent. It is also believed that he translated the Nabagraha calendar into Chinese. During the Ming Dynasty, navigator General Zheng. His arrival at Calicut in early 15th century is also a testimony of China��s ancient maritime linkage with India.
Modern Phase of Cultural Exchanges
Our exchanges continued during the days of our struggle for self-governance. In early 20th century, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore visited China twice, in 1924 and in 1929. Since 1911, Chinese scholars and intellectuals have been visiting and revisiting Tagore��s life, works and philosophy.
Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis, whose mortal remains rest in the North China Martyrs' Memorial Cemetery in Hebei Province, sacrificed his life in the service of the Chinese people during the Sino-Japanese war. A part of the 1938 medical team of five Indian doctors, he stayed on in China working in mobile clinics to treat wounded soldiers. He was eventually appointed as Director of the Dr. Bethune International Peace Hospital built by the Eighth Route Army.
Both India and China began their journey of independent governance almost at the same time, India in 1947 and the People��s Republic of China in 1949. In 1955, the first Indian cultural delegation headed by then Deputy Minister of External Affairs Mr. A. K. Chanda visited China which was warmly received by the Chinese leaders and people during their tour. In the 1960s and 1970s Bollywood movies such as Do Bigha Zameen, Awara and Sree 420 of Raj Kapoor and Noorie struck an emotional chord in the hearts and minds of the Chinese people. Even today, people on the street hum the tunes of the songs of these films. Movies like 3 Idiots and The Life of Pi have been well received in recent times.
Since 1988 both countries are bringing their people together through structured Cultural Exchange Programmes. The latest CEP signed in October 2013 during the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh��s to China, provides for cooperation in a gamut of cultural fields including exchanges of visits of performing artists, officials, writers, archivists and archaeologists, organizing cultural festivals, film festivals and exchanges in the field of mass media, youth affairs and sports.
In 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee had committed to build an Indian style Buddhist temple in Luoyang, Henan province and President Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurated the temple during her visit to China in May 2010. In February 2007, the Xuanzang memorial was inaugurated at Nalanda. In June 2008, joint stamps were released, one stamp depicting the Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya and the other depicting the White Horse temple at Luoyang. A Centre for Indian studies was set up in Peking University in 2003. Chairs of Indian Studies/Hindi have also been established in Shenzhen University, Jinan University, Fudan University, Guangdong University and in Shanghai International Studies University. The 60th anniversary of the establishment of India-China diplomatic relations was celebrated with much fanfare in both countries in 2010. In March 2012, during President Hu Jintao��s visit to India for the BRICS Summit, leaders of both sides decided to celebrate 2012 as the "The Year of Friendship and Co-operation" and both countries resolved to further strengthen cultural exchanges between our peoples.
Exchange of Youth delegation between Indian and China has been continuing since 2007. During the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India in November 2006, the two sides had agreed to launch a five year programme for mutual exchange of youth delegation. In this context, the China had invited five hundred youth from India over the next five years. Later, during the visit Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to India in December 2010, the two sides agreed to continue youth exchange activities in next five years. Further, as part of the ��Year of India-China Exchanges-2011��, China also invited 500 Indian youth to visit China within the year 2011. Reciprocal visits were also paid by the Chinese side each year. During the visit of President Xi to India in September 2014 the two sides recognizing the significance of youth exchanges in increasing mutual understanding, the two sides agreed to continue with the annual exchange of 200 youth from 2015 to 2019.
During the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang in 2013 the leaders designated 2014 as the Year of Friendly Exchanges between India and China. To mark this special year, Glimpses of India Festival was organized across several cities of China through 2014 showcasing Indian performing arts, exhibitions of modern Indian arts, depictions of Buddhism links between the two countries, food and film festivals. As part of the festival Kalashetra, Kathak Kendra Troupe, Sangeet Natak Akademi and a Bollywood Troupe from Indian Council for Cultural Relations visited China. Sangeet Natak Akademi performed at the Reception Marking the 60th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence at the Great Hall of People. Food Festivals were also organised in cities like Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hong Kong to give the local people a taste of authentic Indian cuisine. Yoga Festivals were organized in the month of July, 2014 in Beijing, Shanghai and Dali in partnership with Department of AYUSH, Government of India. Buddhist Art Exhibitions were organized in cities like Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chengdu. Indian Film Festivals were also organized in cities like Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Hong Kong and Xi��an in partnership with Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
During the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to India in December 2010, the leaders of India and China agreed on a project involving compilation of an Encyclopedia of India-China Cultural Contacts. The Encyclopedia of India-China Cultural Contacts was released in both English and Chinese versions during Hon��ble Vice President of India��s visit to China on June 30, 2014 in Beijing. The Encyclopedia features over 700 entries, encapsulating the rich history of contacts and exchanges between the two countries in the trade, economic, literary, cultural and philosophical spheres.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a three day state visit to China from May 14th to 16th2015. Prior to the visit, Prime Minister launched his own ��Weibo�� handle to connect withthe Chinese people. The details of the visit were first shared with the public via thisWeibo handle, and the handle has since become immensely popular among Chinese netizens. The Prime Minister��s visit was rich in symbolism, reflecting the growingcloseness between India and China. For the first time, President Xi Jinping travelledoutside Beijing to receive a foreign leader in Xi��an, in his home province of Shaanxi.President Xi also accompanied Prime Minister to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda �� itself asymbol of the shared legacy of our two great civilizations �� and organized a grandwelcome ceremony at the Xi��an city wall. Premier Li Keqiang joined Prime Minister atthe Yoga-Taichi performance with the world heritage site of Temple of Heaven as thebackdrop, the first ever such event, which highlighted the cultural connectivity betweenthe two countries. The two leaders even clicked a ��selfie�� which went viral with over 33million hits on the Weibo. There were 24 agreements signed on the government-to-government side, 26 MoUs on the business-to-business side and two joint statements,including one on climate change Expanding people-to-people exchanges and culturalcontacts figured as a major theme of the visit. Prime Minister��s visit to the Great WildGoose Pagoda, joined by President Xi, and his attendance at the Yoga-Taichi eventalong with Premier Li exemplified the importance that our leaders attach to tapping theshared cultural heritage. Moreover, three new institutions: the Centre for Gandhian andIndian Studies in Shanghai, Yoga College in Kunming, and National Institute for SkillDevelopment and Entrepreneurship in Ahmedabad were launched.
On December 11, 2014, the 193 member UNGA approved by consensus with a record177 co-sponsoring countries including China a resolution to establish 21st June as"International Day of Yoga". In its resolution, the UNGA recognized that Yoga providesa holistic approach to health and well-being and wider dissemination of informationabout the benefits of practicing Yoga for the health of the world population. Embassy ofIndia Beijing and Consulates at Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong celebrated theFirst International Day of Yoga today on 21st June, 2015 in China. The event wascelebrated in more than 14 cities of China including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao,Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Kunming, Xiamen, Wuxi, Hangzhou,Wenzhou and Changzhou in which thousands of people participated enthusiastically.Several Chinese celebrities including musician Ms. Siqin Gaoli, actors Mr. WangBaoqiang, Mr. Du Yiheng, and snooker champion Mr. Ding Junhui gave personal videoendorsement messages, congratulating on the occasion of International Day of Yogaand inviting people to participate in the event.
Both India and China have vibrant cultures and vibrant people. Buddhism, Xuan Zhang, Tagore, Dr. Kotnis, Nalanda, Yoga and Cinema are only symbols of our long tradition of exchanges. They are testimonies of our shared heritage. The momentum has been set and the pace can only increase in the 21st century.
August, 2015
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In what sport do Indian states and city teams compete for the Ranji Trophy?
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Cricket Tournaments in India
Home > Sports > Indian Cricket > Cricket Tournaments in India
Cricket Tournaments in India
Cricket Tournaments in India, like Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy etc, are the perfect platform to identify aspiring and new talents of Indian cricket.
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Cricket Tournaments in India is considered as a celebration by the population as the game has achieved the status of religion in the country. India has a rich history of organising several domestic level tournaments. The history of domestic Cricket tournaments in India dates back to almost the same time of India's first participation in international Cricket. Most of the domestic Cricket tournaments in India have been named after the pioneers of Indian Cricket , who have made the largest contributions to the well being and development of Cricket in India. The tournaments are mainly organised at different levels like district level, state level, or national level and various Indian Cricket Associations are in charge of organising these tournaments. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) supervises most of the domestic level cricket tournaments organised in India.
Ranji Trophy
The very first of the Cricket tournaments in India was the Ranji Trophy that was organised in the year 1934-35. The tournament was named after the legendary Indian Cricket player, Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, and was initiated with a view to bring out top class talented cricketers from different parts of India. The Ranji Trophy is considered to be the premier cricket tournament in India. Most of the participating teams in this tournament mainly represent various Indian states. Apart from the state teams, there are also some other teams that are run and managed by different corporate houses or governmental organisations. Such teams include the Railways and Services etc. The teams are divided into two groups named the Elite Group and Plate Group and there are two different winners for each of the groups. The teams in the Elite Group are considered to be the best ones in the Ranji Trophy.
Duleep Trophy
It is one of the most popular and prestigious Cricket tournaments in India. The tournament started its journey in the year 1961-62 and was named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinghji, the nephew of KS Ranjitsinhji. In the initial period, the tournament was played between 5 teams, chosen from 5 different zones of India like the East Zone, West Zone, North Zone, South Zone and Central Zone. The teams used to play against each other in a knockout format. However, the format of the championship was changed in the year 1993-94 and the teams started to play in a league format.
Irani Trophy
Among the Cricket tournaments in India, the Irani Trophy is a noteworthy and popular tournament. The tournament was named after the late Z R Irani and was conceived during the 1959-60 season to mark the completion of 25 years of the Ranji Trophy Championship. Mr. Irani was associated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since its inception in 1928, until his death in 1970. He also played the role of the honorary treasurer of BCCI from 1948 to 1962, and served as the President of BCCI from 1966 to 1969. In this tournament, a match is played between the Ranji Trophy Champions of the preceding year and a selected Rest of India XI. The winner of the match wins the championship trophy. Though, it is a one-match tournament, the Irani Trophy is counted among the few domestic matches that are followed with keen interest by cricket lovers in the country. The top class Indian Cricket players take part in the game, which has often been considered as a sort of selection trial to pick the Indian team for foreign tours.
In all the tournaments like Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy, mainly longer version of the game of Cricket is followed. The matches usually have duration of 3 or 4 days. However, there is a One-Day tournament in India also. This tournament is named the Deodhar Trophy and it is considered one of the prominent One-Day Cricket tournaments in India.
Deodhar Trophy
The Deodhar trophy is named after Dinkar Balwant Deodhar, known as the grand old man of Indian cricket. The tournament started its journey in 1973-74. Deodhar was one of the premier first class batsmen to lead Maharashtra and he died in 1993 at the age of 101. The tournament is played following the standard 50 over format and 5 teams compete with each other in the Deodhar Trophy. The teams are made from 5 different zones like the North zone, South zone, East zone, West zone and Central Zone and the tournament follows the league format. There are no semi-finals or finals in this tournament and the winner is decided on the basis of highest points earned by each team at the end of all the matches. The team earning the highest points ends up as the winner.
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Cricket
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The human brain represents roughly what percentage of the body's resting metabolic rate (energy expended)?
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Ranji Trophy, 2007-08, Plate Group B Matches
Home > Sports > Indian Cricket > Ranji Trophy > Ranji Trophy - 2007-08 > Ranji Trophy, 2007-08
Ranji Trophy, 2007-08, Plate Group B Matches
The teams of Madhya Pradesh and Railways claimed the top spots in the Plate Group B of Ranji Trophy, 2007-08.
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The Plate Group B in the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08 consisted 6 teams that were put into the group for their poor performances in the previous editions of tournament. The BCCI put the teams into the group and the most of the teams were representing various Indian states in the most popular and premium domestic cricket tournament of India. The teams that played in the Plate Group B included the likes of Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Railways and Jammu & Kashmir. All the teams gave their best efforts to claim one of the top two spots in the group and they also tried hard to secure a berth in the knock out level of the Plate Group. The teams like Madhya Pradesh and Railways eventually became successful to do so from the Plate Group B, as they earned the highest points from the group matches.
The first of the Plate Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08 was played between the teams of Goa and Haryana and the two teams played the match at Margao from 03-06 November, 2007. The Goa team clinched a victory of 26 runs in the match to earn 5 points and the Haryana team remained pointless. The teams of Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh were involved in the second match of the group and the match was held at Jamshedpur from 03-06 November, 2007. The Madhya Pradesh team earned 5 points from the match by clinching a victory of 170 runs and the Jharkhand team failed to earn any points from the match. Then, the Railways team played against the Jammu & Kashmir team in the next match of the group and the match took place at Delhi from 03-06 November, 2007. Playing well in the match, the Railways team clinched a victory of an innings and 88 runs and also earned 6 points from it. However, the Jammu & Kashmir team could not earn even a single point from the match.
The match between the teams of Goa and Railways was the fourth of the Plate Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08 and the match was held at Margao from 15-18 November, 2007. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded the Goa and Railways teams 3 and 1 points, respectively for the match. The next match of the group involved the teams like Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh and the match took place at Jammu from 15-18 November, 2007. The winner of the match was the Madhya Pradesh team with a margin of 4 wickets and the team also earned 5 points from the match. The Jammu & Kashmir team failed to earn any points from the match. The Jharkhand team played against the Haryana team in the next match of the Plate Group B and the match was held at Jamshedpur from 15-18 November, 2007. Clinching a victory of 131 runs, the Haryana team earned 5 points from the match and the Jharkhand team remained pointless in the match.
The teams of Goa and Madhya Pradesh were involved in the seventh of the Plate Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08 and the match took place at Margao from 23-26 November, 2007. The drawn match saw the Madhya Pradesh and Goa teams earning 3 and 1 points, respectively from it. The Haryana and Railways teams then appeared in the next match of the group and the two teams played the match at Rohtak from 23-26 November, 2007. The Railways team earned 6 points from the match by clinching a victory of an innings and 86 runs and the Haryana team remained pointless in the match. The next match of the group saw the teams of Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand playing against each other at Jammu from 23-26 November, 2007. The Jharkhand team won the match by a margin of 250 runs to earn 5 points and the Jammu & Kashmir team failed to earn any points.
The Jammu & Kashmir team appeared in the tenth of the Plate Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08 also and this time, it played against the Haryana team at Jammu from 01-04 December, 2007. The Haryana team became the winner of the match by a good margin of an innings and 123 runs and earned 6 points from the match. The Jammu & Kashmir team once against failed to earn any points from the match. The teams of Jharkhand and Goa were involved in the next match of the group and the match was held at Jamshedpur from 01-04 December, 2007. The match officials awarded the Jharkhand and Goa teams 3 and 1 points, respectively for the drawn match. The match between the teams of Madhya Pradesh and Railways was the next in the Plate Group B and the match took place at Indore from 01-04 December, 2007. The match remained drawn during the stipulated duration and the match officials awarded the Railways and Madhya Pradesh teams 3 and 1 points, respectively for the match.
The Haryana team played against the Madhya Pradesh team in the next match of the Plate Group B and the two teams played the match at Rohtak from 09-12 December, 2007. The drawn match saw the Haryana and Madhya Pradesh teams earning 3 and 1 points, respectively from it. The next match of the group involved the teams like Jammu & Kashmir and Goa and the match was held at Jammu from 09-12 December, 2007. The Jammu and Kashmir team earned 3 points and Goa earned 1 point from the drawn match. Then, the teams of Railways and Jharkhand met with each other in the last of the late Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08 and the match took place at Delhi from 09-12 December, 2007. The Railways team earned 6 points from the match by clinching a victory of an innings and 47 runs and the Jharkhand team remained pointless in the match.
(Last Updated on : 16/01/2009)
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Via Appia is regarded as the first modern what?
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Rome Ancient Appian Way, map aerial photos, history, villas for rent
Jogging and biking on the Appian Way
You can see in the left map of ancient Italy the route of the road.
In the initial section, near Rome, it was a highly monumental and scenic road. It then connected thriving towns and regions of Southern Italy, and it finally reached Brindisi, the gateway to Greece and to the East, which where the cradle of Mediterranean civilizations.
VILLAS FOR RENT IN THIS AREA
Villa in the Appian Way park in Rome : scenic and sophisticated villa with pool, with large garden, ideal for refined parties and weddings, with exquisite catering, for 12-200 persons. It can also host 12 persons in 6 suites. It allows archaeological excursions, and also nearby golf, biking, and tennis.
Villa di Fiorano - along the Appian Way near Rome : "Fiorano", an amazing elegant 18th century large villa, with large park, fountains and swimming pool - suitable for celebrations, weddings and parties, with fine catering.
Only the section near Rome retains the original route and general aspect, after 2,300 years since it was first paved.
In this first tract, two parallel contemporary roads run along it, the Appia Pignatelli and the Appia Nuova. Only after the ancient Bovillae (the present Frattocchie) the modern road was paved on the ancient one, and it thus looks like many roads in Italy, although every now and then it is flanked by ancient monuments and ruins.
The first, and ancient tract, and its surrounding areas were transformed into an archaeological park, to preserve its historical and natural resources, and its landscape. The park is one of Rome's most acclaimed sights, and it is visited by tourists all year round.
With the inception of the park, building within it is strictly forbidden. Only the few pre-existing villas built generally during the 19th and in the early years of the 20th century were condoned and thus authorized to remain. These rare villas are thus highly desirable, as they are surrounded by one of the most spectacular and beautiful parks in the world, rich of archaeological monuments and works of art, practically in Rome's centre. They are rare, and consequently priceless.
The above small map gives you an idea of the layout of the archaeological park compared to all Rome's layout. The small brown area is what Romans call "Centro Storico" or "Historical centre", which is encircled by the Aurealian Walls (the "Centre" for tourists). All areas around it within a radius of 3-4 kilometers are still considered "Centre" by Romans.
Romans regards all areas within the large ring of Rome still as "Central". To find a villa with garden nowadays you need to go outside the ring. As mentioned, only very few fortunate persons own villas in the Appian Way park, thus not only in the centre, but also surrounded by a most amazing archeological and natural area.
An aerial view of the Circus of Maxentius, and to its left, the House and the Mausoleum of Romulus, the founder of Rome, encircled by rectangular walls.
The photo enables a view of the northern area of the park, bordering the "Centro Storico", which is encircled by Marcus Aurelius' Walls. The Appian Way Park appears like a green oasis in Rome's centre.
The right aerial photo shows the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella, the adjoining Caetani palace, and the ruins of a monastery in front of them (on the other side of the road).
The Caetani were a noble family originating from the present Gaeta. They imposed heavy tolls to pass through the Appian Way, which brought over time to the formation of two new parallel roads, the Appia Pignatelli and the Appia Nuova, to bypass the tolls. However, because of this, nowadays we still have a preserved ancient Appian Way.
To the left you can see an aerial view of the Quintilii Villa (Villa dei Quintili). It is situated between the Appian Way road and the present Appia Nuova, on which you find also a museum with the archaeological finds of the area. A team of archaelogists works permanently in this area.
Nearby you also find the tomb of the Orazii and of the Curiatii, the champions of Rome and of Albalonga, in the first epic war of Rome and its neighbours.
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Rome.info > Appian Way, Via Appia Rome
Appian Way & Tour
Latin: Via Appia
The Appian Way or Via Appia Antica in Rome is one of the most famous ancient roads. It was built in 312 B.C. by Appius Claudius Caecus. In it’s entirety it spanned 350 miles(563kms). The Appian Way stretched from the Roman Forum to modern day Brindisi. Large stones made up the bulk of its construction and a softer gravel that was compacted between the rocks cemented it. Roman roads and especially the Appian Way were extremely important to Rome. It allowed trade and access to the east, specifically Greece.
The Appian Way is visible today and many significant tombs and architecture line its borders. It was this Via Appia Antica road that many events took place. It might be most famous for its role in the slave revolt lead by Spartacus in 73 B.C. After the Roman army subdued the insurrection they crucified more than 6000 slaves and lined the Appian Way for 130 miles with their bodies.
Tour Tickets:
By following this link you can book a Via Appia bike tour .
The Appian Way is also lined with tombs of ancient patrician families of Rome. Among the tombs one will find the Christian catacombs , San Sebastian, San Domitilla, San Callixtus, and the most impressive, the tomb of Cecilia Metella. Walking along this road is rich in history and vision, a good starting place is at the gate of San Sebastiano. The Appian Way is so rich in history and significance and is really is a valuable experience. It is said to be the road in which Peter had his vision from Christ and headed back to the city of Rome to be persecuted.
The part of Via Appia which is now called Via sacra(Sacred way, in the city center of Rome) begins at Capitol Hill. It passes through the Roman Forum leaving it just after the Arch of Titus. This ancient road also borders the Palatine and the Circus Maximus, as well as Caracalla's Baths , reaching the imposing gate of St. Sebastian.
The remains of aqueduct Claudius are also located nearby, and are still well preserved.
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